Reindeer Art

These cute little reindeer are visiting our class right now!  Thanks to the generosity and artistic talent of Mr. Terry Morrow, 4th grade group 1 had the opportunity to have a painting class where he taught us how to paint a reindeer. I love how the personalities of the kids really came out even though they all had the same directions!  

We are fortunate that Courtney will share her grandfather with our class!

Please enjoy this slideshow of this class painting their version of a Christmas reindeer!  

Click below to view.

Origami Class

Monday, December 8th was another great day in GATE!  Our special friends came back to class to share more about their country of Japan.  Makiko, Nami, Sanae, and Akemi shared with students the secrets to folding paper into beautiful shapes.

Our 3rd grade GATE students folded Santa Stars, Wreaths, and Candy Canes just in time for the holidays.  Students were engaged with this hands on listening and learning lesson to create such beautiful ornaments.  They were so excited to take them home the same day to share with their families.  I hope each of these ornaments will find a special place on each Christmas tree and will be a wonderful reminder of these ladies and our GATE class.

The picture at the top of the post is showcasing our Santa Stars!  The photo below shows our colorful wreaths.

Akemi Suzuki is an official Kimono Master. She studied for 18 months to become a Kimono Master.  She brought a beautiful Japanese Kimono for me to wear in class on Monday.  There is a specific process to putting on a Kimono.  She even brought the special socks to wear with sandals and brought beautiful gold sandals and a purse, too!  Thank you, Akemi, for bringing your kimono to class. I loved it!

Please enjoy this slideshow of our 3rd grade GATE students making origami ornaments.  Click below to play the video.

Sushi, anyone? Yes, please!

We rolled SUSHI in GATE today!  Thanks to some generous, talented ladies, our GATE 4th graders had the rare opportunity to learn about sushi and roll their own in class!  Mrs. Makiko Jones (Ken's mom), Nami Hamai (Yukina's mom), Sanae Mikawa, and Sache Yoneyama presented information about the popular Japanese food and how to make it.

Sushi means "vinegar rice."  The ladies shared that sushi was usually served for special occasions like holidays, weddings, or other special occasions.  Many different foods can be used in preparing sushi:  rice, seaweed, vegetables, fish, seafood, and even foods like BBQ!  We made traditional sushi (Nori seaweed on the outside) and we also made "inside out" sushi (rice on the outside, Nori on the inside).  Students could choose to use crabmeat, cucumbers, and eggs if they wanted to use those for their fillings.

Students also learned how to use chopsticks!  Mrs. Jones works Toke Sushi & Thai Grill in Guntersville (1906 Gunter Avenue, Guntersville, AL).  Toke provided each student with his/her very own chopsticks.  Thank you to the restaurant for supporting this lesson!  We learned that sushi can be eaten with chopsticks or with your fingers.  Students used a bamboo mat to roll their sushi.

Enjoy this slideshow of the students being "Sushi Chefs" today in GATE!  Also, a huge thanks to the sweet ladies who spent their morning with us!

Trash to Treasure Ornaments

What could YOU make out of an old DVD?  Our GATE students are so creative!  I love their unique ideas!  I have been saving old DVDs that didn't work for years.  I KNEW there would be a good use for them!  We have recycled these old trash DVDs into works of art!

Each GATE student had two weeks to work with their families to create something unique.  Some are Christmas-y...some are funny....some decorative...I love each one of them!  Personalities of the students shine when they are able to create something with basically no rules!   The only rule for this project was to use the old DVD they were given.  They could add to it, cut it, paint it, glue on it...they did all of that and more!  Look at our colorful bulletin board outside our classroom!

If you look closely you will see a minion, fish, reindeer, and animals!

Check out the peppermint, dinosaur, decorative ornaments...and even a Christmas turkey!

4th grade slideshow

3rd grade slideshow

Veterans' Day 2014

One of the most celebrated days at Albertville Elementary School is our Veteran's Day Program and parade!  All of our 3rd grade students work diligently with Ms. Tracy Rogers, our music teacher, to perform a fabulous salute to our veterans!  This year's program was exceptional!  The students sang a genuine thanks to our guests, spoke words of appreciation, and proudly sang the military march where our veteran guests could proudly stand.  Our lunchroom was packed with friends and family members to celebrate this great day.

All 3rd grade GATE students were a part of the 3rd grade choir (GREAT JOB, students!).  Several 4th grade GATE students were a part of the 4th grade choir, while others carried banners in the parade.

Enjoy this slideshow of GATE students in this AES celebration!

KNOCK-OUT!

Students have been using CRITICAL THINKING with our new math game, Knock-Out!  At the Alabama Association for Gifted Children conference in September, Mrs. Thompson (the Evans' GATE teacher) and I learned to play a challenging math game for all ages!  Knock-Out (with a Muggins Math game on the back of the game board) is a fantastic, fun way to strengthen math and critical thinking skills.  Students have to "think outside the box" to find equations that equal the number they roll on the dice.  Marbles can be placed on different numbers according to how offensively or defensively the students play the game.  The game box says the Muggins Math game is for ages 5 - Nuclear Physicist!

We have had a great time learning the rules to this new strategy game AND learning that mathematical equations can be solved in a number of different ways! 

Super Heroes Fighting Against Drugs!

There were a few SUPER HEROES fighting drugs today at AES!

Clark Kent...with Superman ready to come out if needed!  

Very cute and creative, Evan!

Bat People Hang Together!

 You never know what you might see your principal and GATE teacher doing!

It has been a fun week celebrating Red Ribbon Week...Most importantly, students, please remember....

DRUG FREE!  WAY TO BE!

BE SMART! Don't Do Drugs!

Nerd day!  Be smart - don't do drugs was our Red Ribbon Week theme of today.  

Here are a few photos from today in GATE!

Click on the slideshow at the bottom to see all 3rd grade GATE kids on Nerd Day!

Enjoy this slideshow!

BE BRIGHT! Don't Do Drugs!

Wow!  Today was B R I G H T! :)  

Students and teachers wore neon colors today in celebration of Red Ribbon Week...

DRUG FREE WAY TO BE!

Special Guest...Mr. Morrow Visits GATE!

4th grade group 1 had a special guest today...Courtney's grandfather!  Mr. Morrow, a retired art teacher, spent a couple of hours in GATE today.  He brought gourds that a friend had shared with him.  He also brought many art supplies that the students would need to create their painted gourds.  The students had a great time designing each individual gourd.  We had polka dots, monograms, bats, sports teams, and even a dinosaur gourd!

Thank you, Courtney, for sharing your grandfather and his artistic talent with us!  Another fun fact about Mr. Morrow...his wife is our AES librarian, Mrs. Armorette Morrow!  We all had a great time and look forward to another visit from him again soon!

Please enjoy this slideshow of today's painting.

Red Ribbon Week...Give Drugs the Boot!

Give Drugs the boot!  Western Day was a success!  Today students and teacher wore their western wear to kick off Drug Free Week!  Check back all week to see updates of our dress up days!  Remember, kids...

DRUG FREE...WAY TO BE!

Alabama Public Televison Presents...Colonial Williamsburg

Alabama Public Television is a great supporter of education. There are many programs and resources for teachers to use in the classroom.  This year our GATE program is so fortunate to be one of the four classrooms from around the state to participate in the Colonial Williamsburg history series.  This was a grant worth $250.00 offered to our classes.  I am so grateful!

There are many components in the available series.  Our first adventure with this APTV project was with the 4th graders.  Technology research projects are in full swing in GATE.  As these students are continuing to find reputable resources for their research projects, the Research Rescue Squad video series was an entertaining approach to citing information from credible sources.  The materials provided with this series looked at the difference in PRIMARY and SECONDARY sources of information.  The students played  a game in teams deciding if certain items were a PRIMARY source or SECONDARY source.  They became great at knowing the difference.  Online games through this program also helped us to think about if a website is a credible source, if it is up to date, and if the information is factual.  I know these skills will benefit the students as they progress through their research tech projects!

Thank you, APTV, for investing in our gifted program this year!  We look forward to many adventures in learning about history this year!

Below:  Students work together in teams to decide which items would be a PRIMARY SOURCE or a SECONDARY source.

Circle Creations by 4th Grade GATE

Isn't this a FUN piece of art!?  4th grade GATE students each had a part in creating a circle of their choice!  Students painted circles of their choice of size, color, design, and placement.  This is what happens when 30 students paint 30+ circles!  I love it!  This art is hanging outside the GATE classroom where all students can enjoy this happy work of art.  Each 4th grade GATE student can take pride in this project because EACH student played an important part of this art!

Do you ZENTANGLE? We do!

Third grade students have been introduced to the art form of Zentangle.  Zentangle is an art strategy that combines doodling, drawing precise "tangles", and promotes focus and relaxation.  All the students listened to the same directions, yet their creations are quite different!  We will continue to learn new tangles throughout the year.   

Technology Projects use COOL GADGETS!

Do you like Raspberry Pi?  That's just what Ethan brought to GATE this week!  Ethan and his dad are learning how to program this credit card sized computer (called a Raspberry Pi) which is held inside the blue box Ethan is holding in the picture above.  We can't wait to hear more about what Ethan is creating with this tiny computer!  Below is a picture of Ethan sharing with the class about his cool gadget!

Raspberry Pi was not the only cool gadget brought to GATE last week...check this picture of Kalvin and his GoPro camera!

Kalvin and his family took this GoPro camera on a plane ride at the Albertville Airport.  Our class saw a view as if WE were actually on the flight with them.  VERY COOL!  Thanks, Kalvin, for sharing those videos with us...can't wait to see your tech project when it is complete!