Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Community Ambassadors Resource Alliance

Hello, I am happy to announce a fundraising event for the Community Ambassadors Resource Alliance at the Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Rookwood Pavilion. Joseph-Beth will host a BOOK FAIR Day for CARA (Hamilton County board of MR/DD) on Thursday February 7, 2008, from 8AM to 9PM. 20% of your purchase will be donated back to The CommunityAmbassadors Resource Alliance and a portion of this will go to the NEXT CHAPTER BOOK CLUBS of Hamilton County. Thursday February 7th is only a week away from Valentine's Day, so just incase you need to shop you may want to come to Joseph-Beth first...plus there is free gift wrapping (complements of Joseph-Beth and CARA volunteers!).

Monday, January 7, 2008

Making Aquariums

We began our aquarium project today. We made initial observations on the conditions in our aquariums before we added any living organisms -- we took measurements to determine the depth of the sand and the water. We measured the water temperature. We observed the appearance of the water and the sand inside of our aquariums. Then we added water plants, goldfish, and (in some cases) snails. We made notes about the size, appearance, and behavior of all of the elements that we added to our aquariums, and we made predictions about what we expect might happen in our aquariums over the next 21 days. Once we had all of that work completed, we settled our new fish in so that they could begin adjusting to their new environments.

Beginning tomorrow, we will watch the movie Finding Nemo, as a way to compare and contrast life inside an aquarium with life and behavior of similar organisms in the open habitats of the ocean and, specifically, on a reef.











Saturday, January 5, 2008

Goldfish have Arrived


Today I found the most wonderful little neighborhood pet store where the owners helped me with what we need for our "aquarium project." Kathy and Mike Raleigh, owners of The Animal House, on Hamilton Avenue were just great when I showed up with all my dollar bills and asked for a whole lot of gold fish and water plants and snails...


So...


The goldfish are there, in the tank in the classroom, swimming contentedly (I hope) and waiting for all of you to arrive on Monday.

Friday, January 4, 2008

I am Embarrassed


Alright. This is embarrassing, but I have one last Christmas gift that I need to thank someone for. The problem is that somewhere between school and home, I lost whatever tag or card would have told me who gave it to me... I have asked all the 6th graders which of them gave me this wonderful present and they all just stare at me blankly... They seem to have no idea at all, and so are not helpful in my dilemma.


So, I am opting for public humiliation along with an attempt at expressing my sincere gratitude. Whoever you are, the family that gave me the wonderful package of Starbuck's Christmas Coffee and Biscotti -- it is fabulous, and I have enjoyed it very, very much. It is not that I am not grateful; it is just that I am a terrible dingbat!


Thank you, thank you, thank you!