The Big Snow

On Saturday February 6, 2010 Me (A.G.), Sammy, Dad, Noah, and Ruby had an adventure in the snow. First we built a snow fort. Well. . . not exactly a snow "fort" but it was three tunnels connected. After that we went sledding! I loved every time I went down but my favorite run was after Sammy and Noah went inside and me, Dad and Ruby piled onto the sled, then we tore down the hill. As we hit a jump/dip Ruby and I were sent flying! As we looked back, Dad held up half of the sled, as we looked down we realized that we were sitting on the other half. Our sled had BROKEN in half! Then Dad decided to go inside.

 After that, Ruby and I were tromping around in the snow when my snow boot got stuck. I yanked and yanked and finally I pulled my foot out. But the boot was still stuck!!! Our neighbors were shoveling their driveway right across the street. So Anna Grace (me) with one shoe off and one shoe on and her sister Ruby went stomping to the bottom of the driveway. "Are you having fun?" asked our neighbors. "Yes, but. . ." Then I realized my other boot was stuck!! We happened to be standing on a huge pile of snow. While trying to pull out my boot I flipped upside-down, so I was hanging by one foot. As Ruby ran up the driveway to get help I was yelling "help!!!" but the neighbors didn't hear me! I managed to sit up and pull my foot and get my boot out. Then I walked over and tried to pull out my other boot, but I couldn't. Then Dad came outside and dug my other boot out and we walked inside. Then I put on warm socks and slippers and sat by the fire!

THE END

By: Anna Grace Calhoun

Friday Downtown

On Friday afternoon I did a little exploring in the snow & I had to return some library books at Jefferson Memorial Regional Library. Knowing that I'd probably be stuck inside for a few days I walked to the Downtown Mall to return the books, get a piece of pizza, and watch a movie. The snow was coming down pretty hard, but lots of people were hanging out Downtown too! It seemed like everyone was enjoying their day off from school and work. I even saw some kids on sleds. Below you will see some of the pictures I took.

Pretty Snow; Destructive Snow

The first picture is about how snow can be pretty. I took a picture of the snow on my pine trees on the side of my house. The second picture is how snow can also be destructive. I was going to build a tree house in that tree -- but I guess it's too late! The third picture is my brother sledding and how snow is good for sledding! From Henry.

Snowy Charlottesville

I woke up this morning to find that it was already snowing (again). It was so light at first that I could barely see it out my window, but around 9:30 or so the flakes started to get bigger. I live near the Downtown Mall so there are a fair amount of cars that drive down my street and as far as I can tell the roads aren't too bad yet. In the beginning the snow seemed to melt as soon as it the roads, but now it seems to be sticking a little.

It's hard to tell how much snow we've had since there is still snow on the ground from the last storm. I read today that a snowfall of 18.3 inches from this morning through late Saturday would set a new record for snowy winters! In records kept since 1881, the 1995-96 winter holds the record with 54.7 inches of snow during the season. Charlottesville’s Observatory Hill weather reporting station has received 36.5 inches so far this winter. The average snowfall in a normal winter is 17.8 inches.

The Daily Progress is trying to keep a blog of sorts on the storm to keep everyone updated and safe. This website also has links to upload your own photos and videos of the storm.

http://www2.dailyprogress.com/cdp/news/local/article/central_virginia_could_see_28_inches_of_snow/51889/

Below you will find some pictures taken at my house this morning around 11:00. Does this look similar to where you are? I'd love to see what the snow looks like where you live.

Podcasts

Today we went to the computer lab to work on our podcasts. The first step was to look at all the artwork in our folder on the computer and decide where we wanted those pictures to go in our script. Below you can how Carly and Anna Grace marked their script to show the sequence and length of the pictures.

Next week we will be working with GarageBand to finally put the pictures and text together! You can check out all of our podcast artwork in this album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/thirdgradestonypoint/Podcast#

or in this slideshow:

http://picasaweb.google.com/thirdgradestonypoint/Podcast#slideshow/5432264280693345042

Hopefully this gets you excited to see our final podcasts.

Wanted! Someone with common interests

We know a little about ancient Greece, but now we all have these burning questions that we'd like to investigate further. Today we wrote advertisements/commercials to explain what type of focused Inquiry Circle we'd like to work with now. These new groups will be based on interest and common questions, rather than a single text. You'll notice that some of us tried to add a little humor into our ads to catch everyone's attention. On Monday we'll read through all the advertisements and vote on the ones that seem like the best match. Which group would you like to join?

I’m very interested in Gods, but I also want to know about the food. I am really interested in the Trojan War, especially the wooden horse. I kind of think the buildings were also interesting. But what I want to learn about most are the Gods. I want to work with someone who is patient, funny, and serious. My big questions is – How do the Gods watch us? I don’t want to work with anyone who gets mad easily.

Please listen to some of my questions. What did they slaves do to get freed? Was the army treated better than the civilians? How did they get their medicine? Some of the topics that interest me are the: Trojan Horse, Trojan War, boats, medicine, and architecture. You can see that I am interested in lots of things. I am most interested in the boats. The people I want in my group are serious and hard working. They should also be willing to share ideas and stay focused. If you are not interested in the things I am and are one of those people who aren’t serious, focused, or hard working – get lost! We should share some of the same thoughts.

I want people that come up with good ideas and are pretty talkative. I want people who like to study things to get better at them. I want people who enjoy doing art work and pottery for fun. I want people who are also interested in studying about war in ancient Greece and how they built their spears and war ships. Also people that have a smidge of humor of in them. You should be pretty good at art.

I want to learn how the ancient Greeks made their homes. One of my questions is: Why did they treat the slaves so badly? Also, what kind of plants grew in ancient Greece?

The question that interested me the most was how the location affected the civilization. I think the pottery interests me a lot too. I do not want partners that interrupt or don’t listen to others. I would like someone that listens well and is my level of reading. My level of reading is sort of slow and sort of fast.

Hello! If you want to be in my group, you will have to be honest and you must have a good sense of humor. You must be at a high reading level and do not interrupt. You must not be afraid to talk. We will be studying Gods and Goddesses, myths, and mythical creatures. You must also have good ideas. If not, you better shoo or I’ll hit you with a fly swatter (not really)!

Interested in war? So am I! Are you wondering what the Spartan’s secret ingredient was to being the strongest army in Greece? Would you get kicked out of the army if you were wounded badly? How long were you forced to stay in the war before you could leave? I want people who are willing to read for at least 20 minutes or more. You must be friendly, fair, helpful, bold, and willing to be friends with different types of people. But this… this group must have boys AND girls.

WANTED: LOYAL, KIND people with good ideas. I would like people who like people and want to study the Odyssey, the Spartan soldiers, and the gods. I’m most interested in the Odyssey. The questions that I have are: How long ago was the Trojan War? How long did Odysseus live for? If the gods were mortals, how long would they have lived for? I’m most interested in my last question. I work well with people who have good ideas and if they wrote an essay on the book they would explain a lot about the book. If anyone who wants to be in my group but doesn’t do these, they should beware!

I would like anyone who can speed read. Also, they must be nice so if you aren’t nice get lost! You must be a good thinker as well as a speller so if anyone is all of the above pick me! (Please be interested in women’s rights). Please be funny and willing to read a lot! Reward: a nice person and a good thinker for your group!

I am interested in people that would like to learn more about boats, gods, goddesses, war, buildings, and monsters. I am most interested in gods and goddesses. I normally read a night for around one hour. I am looking for people that love reading. I am also looking for smart and nice people and not people that lie and people that pay attention instead of playing around.

If you like talking about women’s rights and if you are nice and diligent come and listen… but if you are not get out of here! Now I have many questions, but I also know a little about the rights they need to have. One is that women need to go outside more than two times a year! Think about it, women do not get to do a lot of stuff except do dishes, laundry, and make up beds! So if you’re in my group then be: nice, diligent, get along well, no interrupting, patient, talk slowly and clearly, and do not yell.

Wanted: I am looking for a person who is honest. What kind of reader am I? Ok, I’ll tell but please make yourself feel at home. I like to read interesting books. I am a pretty good reader, well that’s what I’ve been told. I am into music and poetry, the role of women, and death & the Underworld. I’m also looking for a person that has a lot of perseverance, integrity, and is willing to take a challenge. I don’t like to work with people that are slow, no offense if you are. I have a big question that I am wondering about, and I need your help on it: If the Greeks lived somewhere else would they ever accomplish what they did? Do you have a brain like mine? I’m looking for people that are willing to work hard and are comfortable with one another – also be patient.

I would like to work with nice people. I am interested in learning more about the sports in ancient Greece like the Olympics. Also, I am wondering how they got their food. Do you you think it was fun to live in ancient Greece? I look forward to hearing what you think.

I would like to learn more about the pottery in ancient Greece. I do not want people that are mean to me. I want people that have passions. If you do not like to read more than four pages a then do not pick this group, because I will always read four or more. I would also like to know more about their food.

I would like to know what the other gods names are like. I know the main gods were Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Athena but who are the gods that don’t sit on the thrones? I would also to learn about the Olympics like how people cheated and what games they had. The other thing that I wanted to learn about is all of Odysseus’s adventures. I want to know what really happened and what kind of monsters he met. I want to work with people that have lots of interesting ideas and can have a good conversation.

Hi! I’m looking for a really good group. I have so many things I to read about, but… what I really want to study about… gods and goddesses! I want a group of people who are nice and not mean. I want group members who are interested in researching and welcoming in a loving group. People should be interested in gods and goddesses to be in my group!

I want to study the art of war. Like the 10 year war with the Trojan horse. I also wonder why the Romans changed the Greek gods’ names and why some were the names of planets? Group members should be fair. If you think you’re fair then join my group.

Critical questions from our Inquiry Circles

Based on the reading, thinking, and talking we've done with our ancient Greek Inquiry Circles, we each now have a some burning questions that we are passionate about learning more about. Which questions catch your attention?

• Which God was most important to women and girls?
• What did the Greeks think was most important?
• What are some of the stories they have about the Olympics?
• What were all of Odysseus’s adventures?
• If the Greeks had lived somewhere else, would they ever accomplish what they did?
• Why did they treat the slaves like that?
• Why did slaves do all of the work?
• Were the Greeks kind to everyone?
• How strong were the buildings?
• Why were the women not allowed out?
• Where did the Greeks get food from?
• Was it fun to live in ancient Greece?
• Why do they not let women do stuff?
• How long did ancient Greece survive?
• Why did women not get enough equal rights in ancient Greece?
• How did they make such good pottery?
• How did they carve into marble to make statues?
• What did slaves have to do to get freed?
• Was the army treated better than civilians?
• How did they get their medicine?
• Would the rich ever rethink what they did to the poor?
• Did the Gods ever let a human decide their own consequence and then do it?
• How long did Spartan boys have to train till their first battle?
• Did warriors have to stay in war for a certain amount of time?
• How long could you stay at war?