Killer Whale Tales
Jeff Hogan, the founder of Killer Whale Tales , shared his passion and expertise with our 2nd graders today. We learned an awful lot while getting in some good laughs, he was quite the entertaining teacher! We learned about the Souther Resident Killer Whales in the Puget Sound and how to identify them, distinguish between gender, age, and pods, compared how our bone structures are very similar, learned communication sounds, about thier basic needs and how we can help them. Ask your child what he/she learned. Some interesting conversation prompts might be…
- What are the three bumps on either side of an orca's face? (hair follicles)
- How old is the granny in the J-pod? (she was born in 1911-she is 103, the oldest whale known in the world!)
- How are orca pods determined? (orca whales live with their moms)
- What do orcas love to eat? (king and chinook salmon)
- Teach me some orca calls (we learned that each pod has their own calls. (J-Pod) S1: cowboy, S2: dental drill, S4: duck with gas, (K-Pod) S16: kitty cat, S17: two kitty cats, (L-Pod) S19: hiccup, S37: teacher call
- What are we doing right now that helps orca whales? What else can we do?
Clean Water is a Human Right
Two thumbs way up for the water song our 2nd graders performed at MMM! Big props to the talented Connor Desai for creating the lyrics from the stories we shared and composing a Motown song to capture it all! I'd like to thank the 2nd graders for taking this to heart, practicing with zest and to the PTSA for funding this music program. The fun doesn't stop here… a music video with this song is in the works! Stay tuned...
You really know how to make a teacher feel appreciated!
I honestly think I had more pep in my step last week, as if the souls of my feet had springs in them. Every person I spoke to, I had to share the news of how fabulous my students and families are. Thank you for such a great teacher appreciation week. Everything from cards, flowers, apples, popcorn, chocolate, afternoon coffees (such a pick-me-up!), adult grape juice and a happy basket packed with all things fun! AND did I mention the delicious dinners? I only wish I took a picture of my plate each night to share with you what talented cooks we have among us. I believe any of us would love to be so lucky to have this luxury-to get hours of time free-up to spend with family instead of preparing dinners. As some of you may know, my husband and I work pretty opposite hours. My meals don't turn out as gourmet when I'm cooking for a 1 and 3 year old each night. Amara said "Amazing" on a couple of occasions and my husband looked forward to his late-night leftovers. This was a perfect and much appreciated gift!