Vineyard Time!

                                                                                                               November 2, 2014

Me & Mom at Vineyards

Vineyard Time!

     The vineyards are a beautiful area east of Nassau County.  You can visit most of them all year long, but personally, I feel the most beautiful time of year there is Fall.  The trees are full of colors, leaves are falling, vegetables are fully harvested, and the aroma of freshly baked pies fill the brisk air.  My mother and I visit the vineyards quite often, and I want to move there eventually.  We visit friends that own different vineyards and stores. While we're there we taste wines, dine on amazing foods, and shop.  This is the time of the year when the wine is fermenting, and it attracts many ladybugs.   It is very peaceful and relaxing, listening to live music and feeding livestock.  

grape vines

ladybug

                             
Vocabulary:

1. vineyards (noun)- A place to grow grapes for winemaking.
2. beautiful (adjective)-Delighting the sense and mind.
3. visit (verb)- To go and stay at a place for a short period of time.
4. harvest (noun)- The gathering of crops.
5. brisk (adjective)- To be active and cool outside.
6. dine (verb)- To eat your big meal of the day.
7. ferment (noun)- When yeast and organisms for bacteria.
8. ladybugs (noun)- A small round lightly colored insect.
9. peaceful (adjective)- Free from stress or disorder.
10. livestock (noun)- The animals kept and raised on a farm or ranch.


Activity:

*CUBE - Students roll dice and say theall the vocabulary words and then use them in a complete sentencein addition to writing them down in their grammar books.
ex: vist- I visit the zoo with my aunt.


Grammar Point:

Alphabetical Order is an important activity that helps you look up words in a dictionary quickly.  When place words or objects in ABC order you start by looking at the first letter of every word and start with the beginning of the alphabet.  For example, if you have any words that start with the letter "A" that is your first word to list.  If you have more than one word that starts with the letter a you must look at the second letter as well.  Place all of the vocabulary words in ABC order. It has been started for you.

1. beautiful
2. _______________
3. _______________
4. _______________
5. _______________
6. _______________
7. _______________
8. _______________
9.________________
10. _______________

Pumpkin Picking!

                                                                                                              October 26, 2014
                                                       

Lily picking her pumpkin

 Pumpkin Picking Time!

During the Fall months pumpkin picking is always a fun time.  This is one of my best friend's daughter, Lily.  We all went to White Post Farms, where there were pumpkins, rides, hay rides, shows, and lots of animals.  We saw kangaroos, llamas, swans, zebras, monkeys, goats, cows, and birds.  Lily had so much fun feeding the animals, and she went on a pony ride too.  We laughed as we watched the pig races and dog show.  The hay ride took us on a big tractor, and drove us all around the farm then we played in the hay.   Lastly, we picked our pumpkins.  This is the one Lily liked, and it was as big as her!  We had so much fun, and at the end of the day we were all so tired.  We headed home with food in our belly, sweets to eat, and pumpkins to carve.

Cow

Kangaroo

Vocabulary:
1. pumpkin-(noun) A large edible orange fruit.
2. rides-(verb) A fun activity to play /experience.
3. hay ride-(noun) A ride in an open wagon filled with hay.
4. show-(verb) A display of animals, people, or objects to make you laugh.
5. animals-(noun) Any living thing other than human beings.
6. tractor-(noun) A powerful motor driven vehicle that is used to pull heavy things.
7. farm-(noun) A piece of land with a barn, crops and animals.
8.tired-(adjective) To be very sleepy.
9.sweets-(adjective) Tasting like honey and a treat.
10. carve-(verb) To cut to make something.


Activity:
* Choose a word that best completes each sentence.

I love to go on ____________.  They always make me laugh, especially when they are fast.

My sister and I _____________________ my pumpkin out and make a scary face.

I had so much fun _________________________ picking with my family.

My favorite __________________ was the dog show.  They did so many cool tricks.

We seen many different ______________________ and fed them.

The ___________  ___________ took us all around the fields.

Candy is very ______________ and sometimes I get a belly ache.

The animals live on a ____________________.

At the end of the day I was very ________________ from all that we did.

The big green ______________________ pulled the hay ride and was loud.


Grammar Point:

Plurals, are a way to represent more than one of an object or person.  An example would be Stacy is my friend, meaning one friend but, jen, Mike, and Louise are all of my friends. You have to add an "S" on the end of the word to represent more than one.  Listed below are some animal names showing one, add an "S"
to the animal names to represent more than one.  Look back in the reading passage for help.

Kangaroo= Kangaroos                                                         Zebra= ___________________

LLama = _________________                                          Goat= ____________________

Monkey= __________________                                        Bird= ___________________

Cow= __________________                                             Swan= ___________________


*Add at least four more animals in the same manner.

The Fall Season

                                                                                                              October 12, 2014

The Fall Season
     There are four seasons in the year Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.  The present season is Fall,
which started on September 23rd. During the season of Fall the leaves turn from green to orange, yellow and, red and they fall to the ground.  The weather gets cooler, and the sun goes down earlier and earlier each night.  It is a fun time to pick pumpkins, make pies, cookies, and rake leaves with family and friends.
There is a fun holiday in October and it is called, Halloween.  Children get dressed in costumes and go trick or treating to neighbors for candy.

Fall colored leaves

Vocabulary:

1.season (noun)- One of the four periods of the year.
2.Fall (noun)-One of the four seasons.
3.leaves (noun)-Found on the end of tree branches and change color.
4.weather (noun)-The condition outside, windy, rainy, sunny.
5.pumpkin (noun)-A large, edible orange-yellow fruit.
6.holiday (noun)-A day fixed by a custom held as a pastime.
7.Halloween (noun)-The night of October 31st.
8.costume (noun)-a style of dress which is silly or cartoonish.
9.neighbors (noun)-A person who lives near you.
10.trick-or-treat (verb)-To get candy in a bag.


Task:
* Look at each picture and write a vocabulary word to name the picture. The first letter is written for you as a hint.
                                                             

Grammar Point:
Nouns name a person, place, or thing.  In discussing the reading passage "Fall Season" we can identify many nouns such as,
pumpkin= a thing, neighbor=person, home=place.  Read through the paragraph again and circle all of the nouns you can find.  Write 5 sentences using the nouns of your choice.
                                                                 
                             

Colorful Flowers

                                                                                                                                                                                           September 28, 2014

Colorful Flowers

Flowers are everywhere!  They bloom during certain seasons, and have so many different types.  Daisies, pansies, zinnia's, marigolds and impatiens are some types of flowers you may see through the seasons.  The most popular flower during Autumn are mums.  All flowers need certain things to grow.  Flowers need, sunlight, air, water, and soil to grow.  All plant have the same basic structures; roots, stem, leaves, flowers or petals. In order to grow a flowering plant you need to dig a hole in the soil, and place seeds or a bulb in the ground and cover it with the soil.  Next, you water the plant, and it will soon grow roots.  As it grows  you will notice tiny leaves, and finally, flowers.  Each part plant has a specific job.  The roots hold the plant in place, and gets nutrients from the soil for the plant to grow.  The stem holds the plant straight up, and sucks vitamins through the roots.  The leaves pull in oxygen and sunlight to make food for the plant.  The flower or petals hold the nectar and seeds to grow a need flower.

Mums

                                                                     

saddie flowers

                                                         

                                         

marigolds

Voaculary:

1. petals(noun)-  colorful part of a plant

2. bloom(verb)- the flower of the plant

3. season(noun)- on of the four periods of the year, (winter, spring, summer, fall)

4. nutrients(adjective)- providing vitamins or nourishment

5. soil(noun)- a part of the earth's surface

6.structures(noun)- different parts of the plant

7. roots(noun)- anchors the plant to the ground and absorbs vitamins

8.stem(noun)- grows opposite of the roots and helps the plants stand up

9. leaves(noun)-  pieces of the plant that absorb light and oxygen

10. flower(noun)- the blossom of the plant, stores the seeds

                                                              

Task:

* Circle one of the two word choices that best completes the sentence and write it on the space provided.

1.  Pieces of plant that absorb light and oxygen (nutrients/leaves) _________________

2. Different parts of a plant (structures/flower) ______________________

3. The flower of the plant (roots/bloom) __________________________

4. Anchors the plant to the ground and absorbs vitamins (stem/roots) ______________________

5. The colorful part of a plant ( bloom/flower) _____________________________

6. Grows opposite of the roots and helps the plant to stand up (stem/season) ______________________

7. Providing vitamins or nourishment (soil/nutrients) __________________________________

8. One of the four periods of the year ( season/stem) _______________________________

9. A part of the earth's surface ( soil/ structures) _____________________________________

10. The blossom part of the plant that stores seeds (flower/petals) ______________________________


Grammar Point

You have learned many new science vocabulary terms in your reading of colorful flowers.  Please go outside and choose any flower you  like and glue it onto a piece of paper.  Label the science vocabulary words;  roots, stem, leaves, flowers on your paper as well.  You will be presenting your labeled science vocabualry terms and plant structures to your classmates.

My pets!

                                                                                                                   9-21-14
My Pets!

     I would like you to meet my pets.  I have one dog, named Bailey, two cats named Jamie and Alley, and lastly I have a fish named Mama.  All of my pets have been rescued from the streets of Brooklyn and the Bronx.  These animals were very sick, mistreated, and alone.  I was lucky enough to find them when I did, for their future was not a bright one.
     My dog was used a bait dog and had bites and cuts all over her, she was very skinny.  She was about one and a half years old when I found her, she will be 13 this February.  My black cat Jamie was part of a litter down the block from my job, in Brooklyn.  He was the only cat left and I took him home. He was so sick he couldn't meow, he just laid there with bubbles coming out of his nose, and his eye was swollen shut.  I took him to the vet, and he is now a handsome long haired black cat that is almost two years old.  My youngest cat, Alley, is still a kitten.  I found her on the way to work, where I stop and feed the stray cats, she was meowing so loud.  It was snowing, very cold, and she was so scared.  It took me forty minutes to catch her, down an alley, thats why her name is, "Alley Cat"  She was so tiny and soaking wet!  I took her to the vet, and she had, ear mites, and was dehydrated.  She is now a healthy and spunky kitten that loves to play!  Mama was my class pet, that now lives at home with me.
     I feel so lucky to have saved my pets, because  they saved me too!

Jamie & Alley

Bailey

Vocabulary:

1.  pets ( noun)-An animal that you take care of and love.

2.  rescued ( verb)-To save from a dangerous situation.

3. sick ( adjective)- Ill or being unwell or unhealthy.

4. mistreated (verb)-To treat badly, or unfairly, cruel.

5. alone (adverb)-Having no one else there.

6. bait dog (noun)-setting an aggressive dog to attack or kill a defenseless dog.

7. skinny ( adjective)-A part of the body that is very thin.

8. meow ( verb)-A sound a cat makes.

9. vet ( noun)-An animal doctor.

10. kitten ( noun)-A baby cat.


Task:
*The vocabulary words are all mixed up. Unscramble all of the letters and write the vocabulary word correctly.

1.  ynsnki-  ___________________________

2.ttenki-  _____________________________

3.eanol- ______________________________

4.etv- _________________________________

5. owem- ______________________________

6.taib god- ______________________________

7.ckis- _________________________________

8. step- _________________________________

9. dcesure- _______________________________

10.  stmidetrae- _____________________________


Grammar Point

Adjectives are words that describe something.  Like he was a hairy bear or scary bear.  Hairy and scary describe the bear.  Look back in the reading about "my pets" and identify all of the adjectives.  Draw an illustration to represent the describing adjectives and create one of your own as well with an illustration.

My Niece's 2nd Birthday Party!

                                                                                                                                 9-15-14

My niece's 2nd birthday party!
 Over the weekend I went to visit my sister, her husband, my niece, and nephew.   It was my niece's 2nd birthday party, and we had a celebration with family and friends.  We love to spend time together sharing  stories, laughs, taking pictures, and playing games.  It is a tradition to sing happy birthday, make a wish, and blow out the candles.  We also play games like, hit the pinata, open presents, and receive goody bags.   She looked so cute in her birthday outfit, and we had so much fun.  I love spending time with my family, and creating wonderful memories.                                                        

My niece, the birthday girl.

Vocabulary;

1. Niece (noun)- A daughter of my sister.

2. Nephew (noun)- A son of my sister.

3. weekend (noun)- A period of time from Friday evening to Monday morning.

4. celebration (noun)- To have a party, a happy time.

5. tradition (noun)- The handing down of a belief or custom.

6. birthday (noun)- The anniversary of the day a person is born.

7. pinata (noun)- A paper figure filled with candy.

8. presents (noun)- A gift.

9. goody bags (noun)- Bags filled with toys and candy.

10. memories (noun)- Keeping a mental picture forever.


Task;
*Draw a line from the vocabulary word to its matching definition.

- celebration                                                  - A period of time from Friday evening to Monday morning.
     
-memories                                                     -A paper figure filled with candy.

-Niece                                                         -The anniversary of the day a person is born.

- tradition                                                       -A daughter of my sister

-goody bags                                                   -Keeping a mental picture forever

- weekend                                                      -Bags filled with toys and candy.

-presents                                                        -The handing down of a belief or custom.

-birthday                                                        -A gift.

-Nephew                                                         -A son of my sister.

-pinata                                                            -To have a party, a happy time.


Grammar point

Compound words are when two independent words are pushed together to make a new independent word.  Cup+cake=cupcake, rain=coat=raincoat, spider=man=spiderman.  Look in the reading passage for any compound words and underline them.  List all the compound words you can find the same way I did.  Word+word=compound word.   Use each compound word in a complete sentence.

My first day, again!

My first day of college, again!  I find myself sitting in a familiar classroom, with a familiar feeling, and it begins once more.  I think no matter how old you are, what language you speak,  how many degrees you have, and how optimistic you are the first day still makes you nervous.  I made sure to get to class early, but when I arrived nobody else was there.  I sat alone with crazy thoughts racing through my mind like, "Am I in the wrong room, was class cancelled, is it the wrong day?" Why do people make themselves crazy over new experiences?  I think it is in our nature, to worry and then to realize it is ok and to relax.  The professor came in with other students, and all of my worries disappeared.   It doesn't matter if your 5,  25 or 65, the first day of anything give us butterflies in our bellies! My first day of college was a old feeling with a new beginning. 


Vocabulary;


1. familiar-(adjective) Well known


2. optimistic- (adjective) To feel hopeful or confident


3. nervous-(adjective) To feel jumpy


4. cancelled-(verb) To put a stop to something


5. professor-(noun)  A person who teaches at a college


6. disappeared-(verb)  To not be visible


7.  butterflies in your belly- (idiom) To feel anxious




Task;

Choose a vocabulary word from the word bank above and write it in the blank that best completes the sentence.

a. The college ___________________ was very helpful the first day of class.

b.  The girl felt very _________________________ that she will do well in her classes.

c.  Our concert was ___________________________ because of bad weather.

d.  The kitten __________________________ behind the curtain.

e.  It was my first day of class and I had, ____________________________________________ because I was _________________________.

f.  In gym we played a game of hopscotch.  I am very ___________________________  with it. I play all the time.


Grammar Point

Verbs are words that show an action, someone or something is "doing" something.  He jumped over the puddle.  The word "jumped" is a verb and describes the action the boy is doing.  Reread the story about, "my first day again" and draw a square around each verb or action word.  Write a complete sentence using the verbs you found and two of your own verbs as well.