Great first day...

Despite the heat, we had a very successful first day of third grade today. We started a bulletin board entitled #180daysofawesome!

We will tweet out each day's post! Be on the lookout on Twitter at @ewatsonroom102

Today's post was about ... all of the new school supplies! There is nothing quite like a new box of crayons. Here's to 179 more awesome days!

Our classroom door says "Kicking off a Great Year in Grade 3!". Our activities today involved a tour of our "stadium", meeting our "teammates" and interviewing the "coach".  

This team is off to a great start! 

Summer!

I love summer!  It gives me a chance to recharge my school battery (so to speak) and to spend quality time with my family.  

We have had a terrific summer.  I did log many hours on lacrosse fields!  Too many actually, but I also tried to spend just as much time at the beach!  

We drove to Maryland and to Lake Placid, New York this summer for lacrosse tournaments.  Did you know... Lake Placid was the home of the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980?

This is my family and some friends staying late and having dinner on the beach!

Luckily, we didn't see any of THESE!

I read MANY books over the summer.  Here are a few I read.

I read this book because my daughter, Caroline, had to 
read it for school!

I read this book for school because it is a second edition and I wanted to see how different it was from the first one.

I read this book because Mrs. Sheehan gave it to me to try.
I really liked it!  

I spent time with my nieces and nephew this summer too!  

This is my niece, Nyla.  She just ate an ice cream from the ice cream truck at the beach!

This is my dog, Finnegan. He loves summer, too!  He really enjoys playing catch, but he NEVER wants to give the ball back to me to throw it again! 

the Finnster!

I made Mr. Watson come to school with me to do some measuring for some new bookshelves!  I have a HUGE classroom library and I need more shelves.  

I also went to the movies this summer, met up with some friends, and cleaned my basement. That wasn't fun, but it sure is clean now! I hope you are having a terrific summer!  

This is Tim, Caroline, and I (with Mr. Watson taking the picture) out for dinner on the Cape.

Blake School Creature Feature

Seventh graders at Blake Middle School are assigned an ELA and math project where they have to design a "creature" using specific geometric shapes and also write a story that teaches a lesson. Today the students visited the 3 elementary schools to share their final projects. We had Zoe Condon, Drew Gordon, Melissa Cox (my former student), and Derek Stevens (Matthew's brother).  They were a big hit with their creatures and their stories.  Check out the pictures!  

Melissa shares her story about two friends, a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie, trying to get to the bake sale. 

Derek's story was about listening and trying your best! 

Zoe's story was about a young bird's struggle to learn how to fly. 

Drew's story was about breaking down barriers and realizing that things aren't so bad where you are. 

Derek and Matthew Stevens! 

Our class was a great audience for the visiting seventh graders!  

Artist in Residence - Bren Bataclan

The Mural is Done! 

Our artist in residence, Bren Bataclan, finished his amazing mural.  Everyone enjoyed watching Bren work. Take a look at home talking to the kids about his work and the pictures of the final project. 

Check out the time lapse video of his work over the week with us!  

Time Lapse Video

Third Grade Music Show: Massachusetts, Our Home

Congratulations to the third graders and Mrs. Stover for a terrific show on Thursday night.  It showcased not only some wonderful singing and students playing their recorders and other instruments, but it also took a look at what we have learned this year.  It reviewed our learning about the Pilgrims and the Puritans .  It talked about colonial life and Benjamin Franklin and his many inventions.  Here are some pictures from the evening!  Great job! 

Warming up!

Looking good! 

Sam is keeping the beat....

Axel is serious about his music! 

Wheelock Reads Week!

Wheelock Reads Week has been fun!  On Monday our Mystery Reader was Chief Meaney.  On Tuesday, author Suzy Kline came to visit with the third grade. She was terrific! On Thursday, Mrs. Olson was our Mystery Reader.  She read The OK Book.  We learned that we all learning what we are good at, but it is okay to be OK at many things.  Annie and David Domeshek came in this morning and were a great reading duo.  They read 2 Mo Willems books.  One was about deciding what to wear to a party and the other was about waiting! Ask your child about the lights!  Tim Watson was our final Mystery Reader today.  He read Officer Buckle and Gloria.  We were reminded about Safety Tip #77: Never stand on a swivel chair!  

Here are some photos:

Suzy Kline advised third graders to keep a notebook in their pockets for story seed ideas!

Suzy Kline received 127 rejection letters before publishing her first book called SHHHH!  Her famous character Horrible Harry is named after her dad.

Mr. Kuehl, Mrs. Watson, and Mrs. Sheehan dress up as story book characters.  Mr. Kuehl is Arthur!  Mrs. Watson is the Paperbag Princess and Mrs. Sheehan is Despereaux.  

Timothy Watson was our final Mystery Reader today!
He also chose our WOW WALL winners for the week!  

Jump Rope for Heart! Update...

Well, the FINAL total has not been tallied yet, but Mr. Slason knew yesterday that we had raised more than $11,000!  So he knew he had to make good on his promise.  Overwhelmingly, the students chose PINK for his dye color.  Today he came to school like this!

Very pretty, Mr. Slason.
But... the kids reminded him he said he would dye his own hair.
He said he owned the wig so it was his OWN hair.

Then he pulled the wig off to reveal....

Wow!  It suits him to a tee!
Well done, Wheelock!