ObG# 29

A. Rogers  2010

I love the way I was able to capture the way each raindrop clung to each leaf!

Red Cliffs

A.Rogers Apr. 2011

Concrete Poems part 2

This is what the completed project looks like. They are so deliciously adorable! They had to use one or more poetic elements that we have learned about this year to write a poem five lines or more. Doesn't sound too hard, right? Believe me. I have many kids crying that it is sooooooooooooooooo hard and they don't know what to write. I will focus more on the rest of the class next week since I have many of the lowest kids done, or close to, after having my special help.

These are the elements they had to select from. Some will use several or all of them.
- Onomatopoeia
- Alliteration or consonance
- Rhyme
- Personification
- Metaphor
- Imagery

 

A. Rogers Apr 2011

Thought for the Day

A.Rogers Apr. 2011

Concrete poems- part 1

At the end of the last language arts unit, which was on Amazing Animals, we started a project, which we have not had much time to work on. Since we started our end of year testing this week and things are pretty stressful and chaotic, I thought it would be a good time to get going on them. We are working on concrete poems, which are poems where the writing of the words form the picture, or are part of the picture. The first thing we are doing is creating our "3D" pictures for inspiration. And there are rules!

1. No pencils, crayons, or other writing tools allowed for sketching. You must use your artistic eye to see the image in pieces, or individual shapes.

2. Make the picture simple and clear.

3. Make the animal the main focus of the picture. If you put flowers, trees, etc, make them complementary.

4. The animal must be large and fill the space.

5. Plan where you are going to write the poem. Which part of the picture will become the poem?

6. What is special about your animal that you want to write your poem about? Make that trait noticeable in the picture.

7. If you don't like how something is turning out, use your problem solving skills to fix it. There is no such thing as a mistake in art! Make something you don't like work for you.

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Photos arranged into collage using Picasa 3.8

I think they are amazing, don't you?
 Unfortunately, my cell phone pics are not that great.

Heart melted

I had the day off so I spent some time with my mom. She and I went and got lunch and then she had agreed to watch the munchkins while my sister went to her math class. The boy and I played with Duplos, colored Scooby Doo pictures, and watched Glee. What a great afternoon! I love this picture. It is so sweet how when we were done building, he went to get his little lion to put in the house. He and "Lelly" had done this a few weeks ago, but he is so smart and remembers everything! Well, it's a nice house, but he might want to stretch out to watch TV. Not so sure he has much space.
<3

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Easter Blessings and Renewal

Today was a bittersweet day. 

BITTER: Instead of attending my normal church service and Sacrament meeting, we had Stake conference. Upon arrival, the usher presented me with a map of the new ward boundaries and I was heartbroken to discover I have been placed in a new ward. I love my Bishop and he has helped me through a lot of emotional and spiritual turmoil the past year, and I still meet with him from time to time for guidance and support. Now I feel like I have to start all over in this key relationship. I also really love my home teacher. He is totally amazing and always sincere and helpful. Other than that, I can not say that I am totally connected in the ward or anything, but in my opinion, those are the two most important people in my ward. Although it will be difficult, I feel I must look at this as an opportunity for renewal and the opportunity to grow spiritually, where in many ways I have felt desperately stagnant, or even dying the past several years. Perhaps, this really is what I need.

SWEET: I had the best Easter celebration with my family! We "hid" eggs for Jude (21 months) and had a wonderful dinner. My grandma Irene made an absolutely perfect ham! It was glazed with brown sugar and honey! Luckily we had a lot of leftovers, including tons of deviled eggs (my absolute favorite!)
Jude was a great egg hunter. The only problem was that some of the eggs had M&M's and so they were a bit gooey. Once in a while, an egg would pop open and the "nummies" and "cannie" would spill on the ground. At that point, much like a hamster, he would start popping as many "cannies" into his mouth as he could fit! This became messy when the M&M's were melted and it got all over his face and hands. He also got a beautiful, honey colored teddy bear that is literally as big as me! This was something that he spied in Costco a while ago and was devastated when Mama and Dada said no. Mama decided he had to have it with how it broke his heart... and at only $30! His heart melted when he found it hiding in the back yard with the eggs. He ran up and gave it "hougs" and "lups" (hugs and lips).

New babies

My older sister teaches 1st grade at another school here in St. George. Over the past few weeks, the kids in her class have been learning about how baby chicks hatch. On Friday. they got the Easter surprise they were hoping for!

 A. Rogers Apr. 2011

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Park Day with the Bub

I love these pictures of my nephew playing at Tonaquint Park. I love his happy smile. He is such a perfect little boy and always so much fun!

 A. Rogers Apr. 2011

 A. Rogers Apr. 2011

A. Rogers Apr. 2011



Easter bunny's on his way

Oh, I couldn't help it! I have to post this a couple days early. I don't think my sister reads this blog, and if she does, oh well. The surprise will be spoiled for her, but not for the babies. I can't wait to see Jude's face on Sunday when the Easter Bunny brings this to his house!

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

At first I thought it was a  bunny, but now I think it looks more like a dog. Oh well, I say it's a bunny and it was in the Easter section at the store. I guess if Jude decides it's a dog, that's what it will be. :) Isn't it cute?

And of course, the Easter Bunny couldn't forget baby Lauren!

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Even when we're quite big enough to go it alone

There have been times when I have felt literally as if I was being carried somehow through the trials of life, much like my friend here is carrying her daughter, piggy back style, across the cold river so that she will not get her feet wet. I love this picture because of the image it draws in my mind of our loving Father carrying us throughout periods of life in much the same way.

A.Rogers Apr. 2011

Bridges- big or small

"We build too many walls and not enough bridges."

~ Isaac Newton

A. Rogers April 2011

Handprints on a sandstone wall

"I wash my hands of those who imagine chattering to be knowledge, silence to be ignorance, and affection to be art."

~Khalil Gibran

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

More from yesterday

A couple more pictures from yesterday's hike in Red Cliffs.

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Hiking Red Cliffs

Today was the first nice weekend in over a month, so I celebrated by going on a morning hike to Red Cliffs with some friends. I have been wanting to do this for so long and I was not disappointed. We had a great time and the weather was perfect and nature was beautiful!
It is so hard to pick just one picture... I don't know who the people at the top are. We waited and waited for a very large group to clear out and these people just wouldn't move, even though they could clearly see I wanted to take a picture... of the scenery- not them. :)

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Ain't nobody like your girls ObG#28

I was going through some more old pics last night and sharing them with parents. I found this one of a field trip to the symphony at the college that we take the 3rd graders to every year. These are some of my favorite girls ever and I love the way they are so close. I think they will stick together and be there for each other for many more years. We all need friends like this, who are there for us, who build us up and who have our back when we need it.

A. Rogers Oct. 2008

Winners!

This is the best part of the whole science fair thing! Seeing the pride in the participants' faces as they each receive a simple certificate and ribbon. We had so many kids participate this year; it was wonderful! I snapped a few pictures of those who got medals. How 'bout these brothers? They are invincible when it comes to science fair! Big brother (3rd grade) has won 1st place every year since Kindergarten and little brother (2nd grade) has won a medal every year too! I will post the cute picture of their faces when I get permission from their mama!

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

 

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Science Fair

What a crazy, but amazing day! I am so proud of all the Dixie Sun scientists. I am so happy that the science fair is finally over for 2011! I am so thankful that I got to be able to put such a great opportunity together for the kids this year. I am so honored to have been a part of such a great experience. All of the kids did such an amazing job, and I truly mean that! All of the judges, all of the teachers, staff, and administrators, all of the parents- everyone who helped, volunteered, judged, or just visited the fair commented about how many kids participated and how well they did. The judges remarked many times about how difficult it was to judge the kids because they all did such quality projects. Wow!
Here is a picture from the open house of one of my former students, now a big 5th grader. She tested to see if people preferred the taste of organically grown fruit to fruit grown in other ways. I love her happy smile!
Don't tell, but I think I will have a party tomorrow. Cookies and a movie. "Science fair is over party!" :)

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Glad to know I'm appreciated!

This week is teacher appreciation week and each of us got these really cute magnetic frames from our wonderful Sunshine Committee that has done so many sweet things for us all year long. They truly do make us feel appreciated! I have always loved this quote by Haim Ginott that they put on the board.

"Teachers are expected to reach unattainable 

 goals with inadequate tools. 

The miracle is that at times they accomplish 

this impossible task."

 

A. Rogers April 2011

A. Rogers April 2011

Red brick road

"I think your life is governed not by the bricks or mortar around you, it's governed by who holds your hand and who spits in your eye."

~David Mc Callum

A. Rogers April 2011

"The sun will come out tomorrow."

A.Rogers Apr.2011

After a cloudy, rainy, even at times, snowy couple of days, these fluffy, cotton ball clouds are a lovely sight.

Strawberries, strawberries, strawberries!

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

I can't wait till these babies are all ready to pick and eat. They get prettier and more vibrantly red every time I look at them!

Dandelions everywhere

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Sleeping beauty

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

"We're all in the mood for a melody..."

"... and you've got us feelin' alright."

~Billy Joel, "Piano Man"

Jude loves music. He loves "soungs." He loves to dance. He claps whenever we sing a "soung" he knows and loves. I love when he asks if he can play the "mee-no?". He always asks for permission first, then he goes in the other room and pounds away from one end of the piano to the other. It's the best!

A. Rogers Apr.2011

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

Desert Beauty ObG#27

A. Rogers 2009

"Now when you pick a pawpaw

Or a prickly pear

And you prick a raw paw

Well, next time beware

Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw

When you pick a pear try to use the claw

But you don't need to use the claw

When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw

Have I given you a clue?"

~Baloo, "Bear Necessities" from Disney's "The Jungle Book"

Sweet Memories ObG#26

This is dedicated to my most dedicated follower! Inasmuch as my classroom was broken into over the weekend and my laptop with all my recent pictures (that I ironically deleted from my camera 2 days ago) was stolen, I must post a few ObG's in a row. Have you ever seen such a sweet face? I snapped this perfectly adorable shot at our Halloween party about two and a half years ago!

A.Rogers Oct.2008

Sweetest Dreams ObG#25

"Let us sleep for in dreams we enter a world that’s entirely our own. Let us swim through the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud"

~Albus Dumbledore 

A.Rogers July 2010
Jungle Cruise line, Disneyland

Mariquitas ObG#24

The Ladybug wears no disguises.

She is just what she advertises.

A speckled spectacle of spring,

A fashion statement on the wing....

A miniature orange kite.

A tiny dot-to-dot delight.

~J. Patrick Lewis, "The Little Buggers"

How many ladybugs can you find in this picture? 
How many caterpillars? 

A.Rogers 2009

No DS? How could you survive?

No, the Native Americans and the early settlers DID NOT have a DS, a Wii, or a laptop to go play Club Penguin! Can you believe that?
Just kidding. These kids are too smart, and weren't that surprised at all to discover this and, as we compared and contrasted cultures and how we play, they actually connected games we still use that may have started as Native American/Pioneer games. Because like one girl explained, when I acted shocked that they didn't think Pioneer and Native American children played Nintendo, "Duh, Miss Rogers! They didn't have that kind of TECHNOLOGY, or even ELECTRICITY back then!!! So they had to use other stuff like rocks and sticks." How could I have not thought of that?
Here are some of the things they thought of that could have been invented long ago:

Tag

Hide and Seek

Dramatic play 

(War, House, School, Hunting games)

Jump rope

Hop Scotch

Checkers or Chess

Races

Wrestling

Ball games 

(Did you know LaCrosse was actually a game invented by tribes of the 

Iroquois Confederacy, and was a pre war game)

Figurines made of sticks, wood, bone, clay, etc

(like toy soldiers or wrestlers)

Dolls

Jump rope

Stick pulling

Leap frog

Marbles

YoYo

We made some Inuit ( not Eskimo) dolls (they would really have been made of leather and fur sewn together) and some simple games like many Native American children might have played hundreds of years ago.

 

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

 

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

 A. Rogers Apr. 2011

One little girl got pretty creative and glued the small picture that showed how to put it together in the child's arms like a doll or a baby. Then several other kids liked it and copied her.

 A. Rogers Apr. 2011

One boy thought it would be funny to have the child hold the baby by the head. Such a boy!!! :)

A. Rogers Apr. 2011

(I just noticed the paper on my desk is a badly failed spelling test... 

good thing the name is not showing since I didn't take the time to crop these today. LOL)

Next week, if we have time, I would like to learn some string games and make corn husk dolls. Very fun! I love Fridays like this!!!