Friday, October 28, 2011

Friday





Since we are working on homophones this week in Reading, the bonus question goes like this: Write a definition for 'mourning.' That's not 'morning' but 'mourning.'


Have a safe weekend driving, walking, or whatever activity fills your time during this exciting and 'scary' time.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thursday



A little research goes a long way when it comes to bonus questions! Let's see how many fourth graders find the answer to today's bounus question: Where in the United States Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America?


One of our Math problems yesterday described resident ants which reminds that this is the season for resident spiders and mushrooms. Bathrooms and backyards are favored locations!

Next time we'll take a look at a good example of a current event/news item summary. Stay tuned.
















Thursday, October 13, 2011

Answer to the Bonus Question



This was a more difficult bonus question and there were some close answers, such as "the Emeraly City." But, we were looking for the nickname for a street made famous in early Seattle. Here is the explanation:


Seattle's historic Skid Road district (now better known as Pioneer Square) centers on Yesler Way. This road is often said to have been the original "Skid Road" in the literal sense serving a saw mill owned by Henry Yesler. Yesler acquired land from Doc Maynard at a small point of land at what is today near the intersection of 1st Ave and Yesler Way. He also acquired a swath of land 450 feet wide from his property up First Hill to a box of land about 10 acres in size full of timber spanning what is today 20th to 30th Avenues. His mill was built on the point of land that looked south towards a small island (Denny's Island, part of his land purchase from Doc Maynard) that has since been filled in around and is the heart of today's Pioneer Square.

The Skid Road was built on that 450 foot wide slice of land from the top of First Hill to the mill on the point. Since the building of the mill much of what is today's Seattle is the result of extensive terra forming by the local people to make the hilly landscape of Seattle habitable. At the time of the building of the mill it was some of the only flat land available. The Skid Road became the demarcation line between the affluent members of Seattle and the mill workers and more rowdy portion of the population.[9]

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Wednesday



Smile for Picture Day tomorrow! Decisions, decisions...to wear a tie or go for the plain-shirt look...


Which city is nick-named Stumptown? Now we have a bonus question for the week.


Density. Yes, we're learning about water in Science and the kids did an activity with warm and cool water today and how those conditions affect water density.