A Lonely Weekend

I am bummed that I came at the end of the week.  I was just getting used to meeting the new members of Team Bond and then the weekend hit.  Boy, Glengary Elementary sure is quite when the staff and students are not there.  While it was quiet though, I had time to look around the classroom and the hall.  I took a rest in the mailbox in the hallway.  Perhaps this will be a good spot to keep in mind to hang out one day.

While I was out in the hall, I read over one of the bulletin boards.  There were many different posters that had examples of different ways you can be smart. Next to the posters was a huge graph that had kids names on it next to each poster.  I bet the kids had to figure out the type of smartness they use most.  I myself am more of a linguistic guy...a word smart kind of elf!  I love words!  That's why I love writing this blog.  

While writing this post I checked my email, and I just have to share with you an email I got from one of the students.  I actually got a couple emails from students.  How special is that! The student, who I'll call MT, asked me a ton of questions!  I love the curiosity of kids! I figure other kids may have the same questions, so I decided to copy the reply I created (in red text) for others to read.  I also got an email from the class with a ton of questions.  It is too late to answer all of the questions, so I am going to have to email Mrs. Bond back later on in the week.  For now, enjoy the email from MT. 

Wow MT!  You do love to write!  I am going to copy your email below and just reply to the questions in a different color...otherwise, I just know I will forget to answer some of your questions.  By the way, thank-you so much for the little note you put in the boat on Friday.  That was very kind of you. 

Hello class Elf! I'm MT and I'm in Team Bond. I want to welcome you back to team Bond! Will you stay with us until Christmas or longer? I am not sure what my schedule will be.  I know I have to make some stops in other classrooms, as I have some reports to turn in before all the schools leave for the holidays.  I may be able to stop back in after the new year.  It just depends on where I am assigned.  I'd LOVE if you would. I LOVE to read and write. What do you like to do for fun? I am like you, I love to read.  I enjoyed reading this weekend.  Your teacher has a lot of books.  There was a book called Snowmen at Night, and it reminded me of what I do.  During the day I have to be really still, but then at night the magic happens. Do you play any games? No. I don't play many games. I travel alone mostly, so it is hard to play games. What are they called? I'd love to talk to you and see you move. Do you like GA and JG's boat that you were sitting in?Yes, I found their boat to be a perfect fit for me.  It was just the right size.   Or did the spike ball scare you? The spike ball was a bit crazy, but I was OK with it. Josh made me a little nervous with it, but it worked out OK. How do you eat? I usually pick something up to eat when I do my reports.  I really don't have to eat a lot, being little and all.  Don't you get awfully hungry? Will you help me finish my river story? No, I am sorry.  I cannot help you with your assignment.  That is your job.  I am sure you will be able to get it done.  It is on top of my desk. My desk is the third desk at table one and it has a name tag on it that says ______. Are you scared of us? Not at all.  You all are so kind.  I have never received so many notes before.  I even got a nickel wrapped up in paper.  Do you know if I'm on the naughty list? I am not sure.  I don't really have anything to do with the big guy in the North Pole. I grew up an educational elf...learning elf.  So we aren't really connected, other than the fact we look the same as the elves that report to Santa.  My brother and sister would LOVE to meet you. Do you have any brothers or sisters? I have a brother that is visiting a preschool building as a learning elf.  Maybe I can have him send Team Bond a photo of what he is observing.  I know some kids had questions if there were other learning elves out there.  I have another brother that is in a first grade classroom too. Thank you SO much for coming to our classroom. What did you do over the weekend? Funny you should mention that.  I just jumped on the computer to add a blog entry, and then I checked my email.  I probably should get back to my blog entry.  In fact...I may just have to add this to my blog.  I bet the other kids would want to read some of these things too.  I left you a note, it is the neon green one. Please respond to it. I have many more questions to ask you but I have to get ready for bed. Thank you for reading this email! Bye until Monday!!!  Yes, in a few short hours you and your classmates will be here!  I am looking forward to seeing you again! 

Ps.you should create an account for edmodo on the computer. Then you could post things to team Bond!!!  Can you tell me more about this Edmodo? How would I get an account?  I know I heard Mrs. Bond talk about putting things on Edmodo, but I am not sure if it is something that I can do.  Maybe you can ask her for me. 

Happy Learning!

Etavonni the Elf 

Good-bye for Now Team Bond

 The students noticed that I hung out with my new friends in frames, the giraffe and the cow a bit too long. To be honest with you, I was quite content relaxing and keeping an eye on all of the wonderful learning.  Plus, I figured this was a great place to stay that was germ free.  I don't think many third graders have touched up here.  There have been many kids staying home from school because they are sick.  Mrs. Bond had to remind the kids to cough into their elbow.

I also wanted to hang around Team Bond so that I could hear the rest of The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick.  It was quite an intense ending to Book 1. The Action Scouts had to battle the Sasquatches in The Dark Lands. Mrs. Bond allowed the kids to turn off the lights to make it a bit spookier.  It worked!  I really wanted to be cuddled next to Maxi like I was last week. All in all, the book was awesome!  Since there were some kids out, Mrs. Bond used her iPad to record her reading using a program called Evernote.  I thought that was pretty cool...as I know the kids that were absent would not want to miss the ending!  I wonder if she will email them the recording or will they have to listen to it on her iPad?

Well, since I have had a lot of time in Mrs. Bond's classroom, I decided to get a new perspective on third grade by visiting Mrs. Hamlin's class.  There is one boy that is in Mrs. Bond's bus line that is always talking about his Elf on the Shelf.  He had fun spotting me each day in bus line, so I thought I would give his classroom a visit.  Mrs. Hamlin had been out sick on Monday and Tuesday, and I could tell she still wasn't feeling 100%.  Hopefully she feels better tomorrow.

The students learned about decimals today in math. They learned about the tenths and the hundredths place. While I was listening, I noticed Mrs. Hamlin used these green blocks to show the kids what a tenth looks like and what a hundredth looks like.  A "long" which is a row of 10 cubes stuck together was a tenth.  The little cubes by themselves represented hundredths.  That helped me understand it better.   I really was interested in this app that kids were playing on the iPad.  It was called Stack the States.  Kids had to answer questions about the states and then they would try to catch some of the states.  It was pretty cool.  Just like in Team Bond, Team Hamlin was also working on gifts for the holidays.  Today I noticed some kids wrapping their gifts.  I bet their families are REALLY going to like what they made!  Speaking of families, there was another adult in the room helping out.  I think she was one of the student's mom.  That sure is nice that family members donate their time to help out at school! 

The kids are having another one of those BA things.  This time it is for Science.  They learned all about Matter and Energy, so they were reviewing for it today.  They had to remember all of the forms of energy they learned about.  Let's see if I can remember...light, heat, electricty, sound...and I think there are a couple more.  Perhaps I will be able to think about them more tomorrow.

At the end of the day Mrs. Hamlin read a book.  It was all about Santa getting a new suit.  The kids seemed to enjoy the book.  The kids go to different classrooms for bus line, so I got to see some of the kids from Team Bond. I could tell they were happy to see me!  Well, that's it for now!  Only 2 more days until the kids go on break!