The Campfire Chronicles

reported by Miss Camp

September 14, 2001

Our first order of business was to name our camp! We chose Camp Linus for two reasons. First, Linus is a friend of Snoopy and Woodstock who are fellow scouts that will visit our classroom throughout the year! Second, Linus sounds a little bit like Linnaeus!

We have three rules at Camp Linus. They are our motto:

1. Be Safe.
2. Be Kind.
3. Be Productive

To be safe, we walk in school and we keep our hands and feet to ourselves.

To be kind, we don't talk when someone else is talking, and we listen attentively. Also, we are quiet during "independent work time" so that we don't disturb our neighbors who are working.

To be productive, we remember directions, follow directions, and use our time wisely.

Just like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, we can earn Merit Badges at Camp Linus. Earning a merit badge means that the student has mastered the skill and is able to be a leader or role model for the other students in that area. The merit badges we are currently working on include:

• Hallway badge
• D.E.A.R. Time badge
• Independent Worker badge

We will soon begin working on our merit badge for "Attentive Listening."

Scholastic Book Orders for September are due by Friday, September 21.

The purpose of homework is not to learn new things, but to practice what we learn in school. Regular homework will begin in October, and it will be given on Monday through Thursday nights.

Just as there are consequences for breaking laws in our country, there are consequences for breaking the rules in our classroom.

The purpose of consequences is to help us think before we speak and act, and to be accountable for our choices. We are working in our class on making wise choices, and on caring about our actions. The consequences are:

1. Break the rules once: write your name on the board.
2. Break the rules twice: circle your name.
3. Break the rules three times: Stay in at recess and write a letter to mom or dad explaining the rules you broke.

We start fresh each day. If a student has to write three letters in one week, the third letter is written to the principal.

The purpose of our rules is to create a learning environment in our classroom that is safe, kind, and productive. Our rules reflect our values:

• Respect for each other, our books, and our classroom.
• Responsibility
• Wisdom (Wise Choices)

Sept:	What is in a community? (maps, globe)
Oct:	What are family stories? (cultures, ancestors, timeline, explorers, viewpoints)
Nov:	How do people live together in a community, state, and nation? (founders, citizenship, government)
Dec:	What is the Solar System?
Jan:	What's up with the weather? (and Solar System continued)
Feb:	What is energy? (Looking at Body Systems & Nutrition, and at Chemistry - matter, force, and energy)
Mar:	Continue Energy
Apr:	What is a habitat? (plants and animals)
May:	What are the mysteries of our past and future? (a.k.a. Where do people start communities and how do they grow and change?)
June:	Continue mysteries

Here at Camp Linus we are detectives. We are always looking for clues. Here are some clues we have already started hunting for:

• Character Clues: These clues help describe a character that we are reading or writing about.
  • Linus has red eyes. (The clue is "red eyes." It is a clue that Linus is sad because he was probably crying.)
  • Charlie Brown's teeth are chattering. (The clue is "teeth are chattering." It is a clue that Charlie Brown is probably cold.)

• Context Clues: Some words can mean a lot of different things. For example, the word play can mean play a game, play an instrument, play a tape, a story acted out on stage, or a football strategy. We look at the other words in the sentence (the context) to give us a clue about the meaning of our mystery word.
  • Schroeder likes to play the piano. The clue is "piano." It is a clue that the word play means making music on an instrument, not playing a game or going to see a play.

Our class contains architects, drafters, engineers, artists, thinkers, and construction experts!

Combining all of our special talents, we constructed the town of Camptown. We used boxes, pipe cleaners, wallpaper, beads, soup cans, construction paper, and, of course, paint!

Our town sits on a beautiful road system that includes arches, street lights, and a lovely park with a pond. Our town includes a police station, fire station, post office, church, school, hospital, house, and more. We have helicopters, jet skis, and a playground. Come see!

Drop Everything and Read!

Every day we have 20 minutes of quiet independent reading.

1. Pick a book of interest to you.

2. Check the 5-word Rule: Open the book to one full page, and read it. Count on one hand how many words you skip over or aren't sure about.
   • If you count five, the book is too difficult. Try a different book.
   • If you count zero, maybe the book is too easy.
   • If you count less than five, start reading!

3. Find a comfortable place in the room and read quietly for 20 minutes.