first of all, sorry it has been a bit since my last post - my oldest daughter was in a car accident a week and 1/2 ago and things got a little hectic. thankfully the car and the lap top were the biggest casualties - her injuries should heal soon. in regards to class, i have apologized to the students that their native am. diaries will not likely be returned until after break - but all other work should be posted by the end of next week. This week we finished up our lit circles with a creative water color paper on themes - they also did an in class "on-demand" writing for about 15 minutes. the watercolor pieces and plot-cartoons (selected by each group) will be displayed next week (come take a look if you get the chance - they really are quite good!!!) --- they also worked in class for 2 days on their ch. 7 wsh graphic organizers while we did the geography bee. these too turned out very well :) we will use them as resources for an in class competition on monday. additionally, we have continued with the video series "frontier house" - the kids enjoy this and it opens up quite a lot of conversation regarding changes that society has seen in the past 100 years or so. enjoy the weekend!!! next week we will review ch. 7, play a game, cover ch. 8, finish frontier house, and possibly read a short story (I am Sam is also a possibilty to end our lit. circles. ) --- thanks for your patience. kw oh, and block one, to add to our study of Al Capone Does My Shirts, baked lemon cake with the help of mrs. tippett :) we are thankful for her time and talents!