Welcome to Grade 3

Mrs. Renton left a special message on her class blog for the incoming Grade 3 students...

Welcome to Grade Three!

I wanted to share some thoughts on their year ahead and the learning waiting to be explored.

Learning is like a seed

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

This is part photo, part drawing of a seed of acacia longifolia or Sydney golden wattle. It grows in the wild in my area and produces seeds around 6mm in length.

Why is learning like a seed?

In all of us when we are young there is a strong ability to learn, our seed, if only we are given the chance to experience new things and we keep our minds and eyes open to the world around us. With these experiences as its food and water, our seed starts to grow into a strong plant. Eventually, our plant brings forth flowers and seeds of its own.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

With new seeds to sow learning into the hearts of minds of others, our knowledge grows and our plant thrives and is joined by others.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Our seeds grow strong into a tree of knowledge. Our learning continues throughout our lives adding new branches and planting more seeds as we share our learning with others.

Our learning and sharing can help keep our minds young even though we might grow older. I still discover new learning and, when I do, try to find ways of sharing with others.

A man made famous because of the cars he produced, Henry Ford once said, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."

Grade 3 with Mrs. Renton will bring you many chances to grow your trees of knowledge and blogging will allow you to share with others as it has with me.

P.S. Like Mrs. Renton, I don't skateboard, would much rather go rock hunting and also have a love of science and drawing. I have been using computers with students since 1981 and am interested in many other subjects. There is so much to know and the aim of my journey is to learn as much as I can and share my learning with others. If we had all of the knowledge in the world it's of no use unless it is shared.

5 thoughts on “Welcome to Grade 3

  1. Anna from 4A

    Dear Ross
    I really like this post. I think it interesting. It is a creative way of thinking about your learning. I have never heard anything like Henry Fords message. I think it is also very creative. If you keep learning your mind will stay young. Isn’t that amazing. Even though a seed is small it will get bigger and bigger in life.

    Can you please give me the address for Mrs Rentons class blog. I would like to comment on it.

    Your sincerely
    Anna from 4A

    Reply
    1. Anna from 4A

      Hi Ross
      Thank you for telling me that the link was up the top. I have had a really good look on their blog. It is really interesting.
      THANK YOU
      King regards
      Anna

      Reply
  2. The Blogging Hawks

    Hello Ross!

    Thank you for the LOVELY comment! The first thing we did before we even read your comment was talk about how you live in Australia. Some of us thought we might even be lucky enough to SKYPE with you this year … that was before we google searched the current time in Sydney!!! So … as we leave this comment for you … early THURSDAY morning … you are SOUND asleep … because it is CURRENTLY 2 o’clock in the MORNING where YOU are … and … it’s FRIDAY!!! Sweet Dreams! 😉

    We really liked your very first comment to us and about how it was ALL about learning. We also think that learning can go on and on and on and on … no matter HOW old you are. It would be really BORING if we stopped learning because you don’t get to learn cool stuff … like how to make a “fake geode” or learn math and science and technology. Like, just YESTERDAY, one of the Blogging Hawks came back from a trip to Drumheller. He brought some fossils, some plaster castes of dinosaur fossils, some peridot and a really cool GEODE. We wondered how geodes are FORMED so we searched google for an answer. Even Mrs. RENTON didn’t have a clue about how geodes were formed. We think YOU might be interested because Mrs. Renton told us you are as crazy about rocks as SHE is … maybe even CRAZIER about them than she is!!! 😉 So, we’ll share the link we found: http://www.magickeys.com/books/bitaba/geodes.html#pic23 Did you know that geodes can be formed in MUD BALLS or in old animal burrows or a hollow piece of soil … or even around tree roots!!! Wow! We even figured out how to make a FAKE geode. Some of us are going to try it out!

    We think it’s going to be REALLY cool learning with you this year, Ross! Thank you, again, for such a GREAT first comment!

    The Blogging Hawks 🙂

    Reply
    1. rossmannell

      Post author

      Hello Blogging Hawks,

      Yes, time differences can make contact hard. I see it’s a little before 3p.m. Thursday for you as I write this but here it is nearly 7a.m. Friday. When I have Skyped or Googled with classes in U.K., Canada or U.S.A., I always have to think about time. To help, I have a series of world clocks only computer. Luckily, I am often late to bed and early to rise each day so it can be a little easier. Midnight for me would be 8:00 a.m. for you if I have my time zones correct although summer time starts for Australia this weekend so 1 a.m. will be 8:00 a.m. for you. When I rise at 6 a.m., it would be 2 p.m. for you. With sumer time, my 6 a.m. would become 1p.m. for you. Aren’t time zones interesting?

      I am fascinated by stones and many other things and have geodes in my collection. All it seems to take to form one is a space, the right chemicals and time. The geodes I have are volcanic. They were “bubbles”. Fossils also form in a similar way. As flesh and bones or plants break down, chemicals can fill the space so the remains of plants and animals become stone. Some years back, my school helped raise money to buy “Eric” the plesiosaur. In Eric’s example, he was a fossil made from the beautiful stone, opal. He , through help from many schools, was purchased by the Australian Museum in Sydney.

      You can see some of my geode collection by looking at the following link when I was sharing with a U.S. student named, Keira.
      http://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2013/10/26/what-stone-is-that-a-follow-up-post-for-keira/

      Ross Mannell
      Teacher (retired), N.S.W., Australia

      Reply

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