Mr. Navarra

Welcome Back

Hello New Families,

It is my pleasure to welcome all of you back for another year of learning and fun! Yes, it has taken me a long time to get back to this blog. Of course, you haven't missed a thing since I send a parent letter home every Monday. Feel free to read my past blogs about me in order to learn more about..........me. I will update this as much as possible within the constraints of a busy teacher work day. Let me know what you need. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Mr. Navarra

NEWS FROM THE FRONT

Hello good people. Things have been going very well lately. The class has been busy with writing their stories for their hard cover books. I have edited 13 so far and hope to have a Publishing Party sometime in April. The stories are varied and exciting. I'm sure you will enjoy reading them. Each student will read his or her book to the class as a final read-aloud. Also, the class has been reviewing for the CRCT test. There is a lot of material to rview. That's why we started early. We'll be done with all of our review before Spring Break. Our unit on Japan is just about finished. We have the play Momotaro that we are rehearsing. Thanks to Dr. Davis for his incredible hands-on lesson of Japanese Bunraku. Hope everyone is getting the hard cover parent letters. Mrs. Perez sent out two letters this week. Hope all is well with you and yours.

General Navarra

2008 New from the Fronlines

I know everyone has been reading the hard copy parent letters so I'll make this brief. All of my students are the best. Reading, writing, and math are going strong. Spelling is going well. Science has been all about space. Social Studies will be about Japan. Keep up the excellent work and behavior. 2008 is a great year..............so far!

2008 Stuff

2008 is going to be even better than 2007. 2007 ended with a trip to Italy. Venice, Milan, and Rome are great cities each with very different characters. My wife and I enjoyed it very much. We celebrated our 12th anniversary and New Year's in Rome. This year already has us taking trips to Chicago, New Jersey, and Denver. Travel broadens the mind. So, go ahead. Take that trip somewhere special with someone special. It will do you some good.

Zoo Atlanta

Let me just say thanks to all those wonderful parents for coming on the field trip to the Atlanta Zoo. This field trip was worth while since one of our science standards are animal habitats. The class will reflect on their trip and what animals they observed. Habitats will be part of the life cycles unit for science. I had a lot of fun in the reptile room. It is worth going back to the zoo every year.

Apple Dolls

A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Perez and Mrs. Miller for their Apple Doll creations activity. It was fun carving the apples to look like faces. Then the students placed the apple on a water bottle. The water bottle is then covered with cloth to look like clothing. Of course, the water bottles are filled with water to keep the apple from tipping over. This craft was our way of welcoming a new season. The students did a great job helping each other.

Fun Stuff

The class will be making Apple Dolls and Pumpkin Rolls for our Fall Gathering. Our room moms have been doing a terrific job. I know these crafts will be fun for the students and give them a little break from all that hard work. The class is looking forward to their visit to the Atlanta Zoo. We have a lot of chaperones going with us, which gives parents a chance to come out and support Kennesaw. Thank you parents. Jump Rope For Heart is coming and I'll be supervising a group of jumpers. Every year I enjoy spending some extra fun time with students. Kennesaw has been a leader in raising money for the heart association. I'm proud to be a part of such a worthy cause. See you there!

Regrouping

Hi all,

Ms. Stengel is taking the class to the next level with addition regrouping. The class has been working very hard on this concept. Each student has their own math manipulatives kit to use for lessons. The new Harcourt Series is just great. Each lesson gives the students the opportunity to be involved with  hands-on activities. So far, there have been numerous games that I taught to the class that Ms. Stengel is continuing. Games are great way to reinforce concepts and skills that need revisiting. Keep up those basic facts and problem solving skills. The students can write their own problems: Two statements and a question sentence just like TIPS from morning work binder.

Folktales with Music

It has been my pleasure visiting with other classes in order to read folktales from around the world. Very often, folktales are set in various countries with a rich musical culture and tradition. I have had the opportunity to play my Nigerian Djembe as a follow up to Why the Sky is Far Away: A folktale from Nigeria. I will also bring in my Bougarabou drum from Senegal. My Chinese Doirya is a frame drum made in Xianjing, China. This drum will work best with Lon Po Po- a Chinese folktale from China. I might use my Armenian Duduk for any Armenian folktales or Silk Road origin tales. A Duduk is an apricot wood flute played with a long reed called a Ghamish. The Duduk is the official instrument of Armenia. My Duduk was made in Armenia for professional players. I read A Story A Story- a folktale from all points in West Africa. I brought in my African clay pot called an Udu. All this stuff is so much fun and I hope to visit in many more classes.

The Secret Formula for bubbles

The class had so much fun participating in the Matter Matters Rotation. They were able to see changes in the three states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. For our station, each student got to make a super bubble with David Stein's creation called the Bubble Thing. They also used bubble trumpets to make baby and momma bubbles. The secret formula to make bubble formula is this: 12 cups of water, 1 cup of blue Dawn dish soap, 3-4 tablespoons of glycerine. You can buy it at CVS. The proper weather for bubble making is a cloudy sky, no wind, and some humidity. It is best to try to make bubbles in the wee small hours of the morning when the whole wide world is fast asleep. Da dee dee Da dee dee dee dee dee dah! Bubbleologists Unite and good luck creating all those mind blowing bubbles!