summer blog challenge

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This Week’s Blogging Challenge: Summer Food!

One of my family’s favorite summer traditions is the giant Fourth of July celebration in our town of Andover.  We are blessed to live along the parade route, and every year we invite friends (like Mrs. Shedd!) to park in our driveway, watch the parade with us, and have a picnic lunch afterwards.  The town green is just a short walk up the street, full of games and activities for the whole family.  It is just a blast.

So our picnic table was full of summery delights, from hot dogs to “Frog Egg Salad”.  Yum.

This week’s blogging challenge is for you to share a food of summer.  What has tickled your taste buds this summer?  Let us know!

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Awesome Summer Reader #2!

Tukie recommends the Pokemon graphic novels to all of you.  Did you know they go from right to left instead of left to right?  I didn’t.  He is on book #2 of this series, and then he will already have completed three books this summer.  Who’s up for joining Mrs. Shedd and Tukie in the summer reading challenge?  Yeah, Tukie!

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Book Recommendation: Lost on a Mountain in Maine

Another summer blogging tradition is sharing our book recommendations.  I’ll be sending home blogging instructions next week, and we hope that many of the students will share all about their reading adventures on their own blogs throughout the summer.

One of my favorite read-alouds that we did not have time to squeeze in this year was Lost on a Mountain in Maine.  If you like action and adventure in your book choices, this is a true story of a young man who got lost on Mount Katahdin.  Amazon says, “Based on the true account of a boy’s harrowing journey through the vast wilderness of the Katahdin Mountains, Lost on a Mountain in Maine is a gripping survival story for all ages.”

Here is an article by Justin Housman about Donn’s adventures to whet your appetite.

12-Year-Old Donn Fendler Survived Nine Days Lost on Maine’s Katahdin

Donn lived to 90, and he didn’t shy away from adventure his whole life, from becoming a Green Beret to collaborating on a graphic novel of his story not long before he passed away in 2016.

You are always invited to check out books from our classroom over the summer, and I will have a few copies of both of these available if you are interested.  Stop in to visit!

 

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Safely Moved

Here’s the latest from our classmate Finnian about his move west.

“Right now we are living in our camper as we wait for our house to close. My school will only be 5 mins away from our new home, which is fantastic! We toured my new school Tuesday, and I am looking forward to starting. It was such a long adventure traveling across the country (61 hours). We did stop at the OH Caverns, Mt Rushmore, and the Dinosaurs Museum in WY. We have also stated exploring this area. Craters of the Moon was soooo hot but worth it. Thank you for the prayers.”

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Blog Challenge #6: Learning Connection

Learning opportunities are all around us.  How have you made connections with things you learned in school last year?  Share by e-mailing me (or write on your blog) about something this summer that has connected to your learning.  We want to know more.

Last year in history, we took a look at the growing transportation in our young United States.  Trains, steamboats, and covered wagons interested us, and we learned about the canals being built as part of that transportation system.  This summer, Mr. and Mrs. Bracy did a bike tour of the Erie Canal.  Take a look at a few highlights from their learning adventure!

2021 Cycle the Erie Canal: Ride Day 1
By Mr. and Mrs. Bracy
On Sunday, Day 1, we rode from Buffalo to Medina for 49.32 miles. We explored the history of the Canal at the Erie Canal Discovery Center and the Lockport Visitor Center. We learned about the Five Locks and Locks 34 & 35 at the Canal Museum.
2021 Cycle the Erie Canal:  Ride Day 2
Monday was Day 2 riding from Medina to Fairport for a total of 62.04 miles. We enjoyed stops at the Village of Holley, Brockport, Spencerport, Rochester, and a stop at REI.
2021 Cycle the Erie Canal:  Ride Day 3
Day 3, Tuesday, saw us riding 50.36 miles from Fairport to Seneca Falls. This day included stops at Palmyra, Newark, Lyons, and Clyde. In Lyons we stopped at the Hotchkiss Peppermint Museum learning much about the history of peppermint oil.
2021 Cycle the Erie Canal:  Ride Day 4
Wednesday was Day 4. We rode from Seneca Falls to just west of Syracuse. After 28 miles our riding concluded. We rode 190 miles along the Canal completing the half of Cycle the Erie Canal ride. On Day 4 we enjoyed stops at Erie Canal Heritage Park and the Village of Jordan which has beautiful flower beds and an awesome mural.
Do you have questions about the Erie Canal for the Bracys?  Leave a comment!