April Student of the Month

My April student of the month is Hunter!

Hunter has made some incredible progress this year. We have worked through some social issues that have come up and Hunter has developed into a fine young man. He is very bright and witty.

One of my favorite things about Hunter is his cartoons. If you know Hunter and you've never seen one of them you're missing out! Not only are his cartoons funny and well drawn, but they show amazing creativity. They range from Bible stories to new inventions to stories from his imagination. My favorite cartoon of his was an invention that included detailed drawings of gears, levers, and wing designs to lift a bicycle off the ground. So innovative!

Another great thing about Hunter is his reliance on the Lord. Throughout the day if I notice him doing anything negative, I tell him to pray. He immediately stops what he is doing, bows his head, and prays that God will help him stop the negative behavior. It is true that we can do all things through Christ! Hunter is living proof of that.

I am so glad to have had Hunter in my class! I am proud of the progress he has made and thankful for what he has taught me this year.

Miss Indiana Jones

I have a brown leather messenger purse that I carry to school sometimes.

I happened to be carrying it yesterday as we were headed to car line for a blessed weekend break.

Ian looked at me and said, "Hey Miss Indiana Jones."
At first I didn't know what he was talking about but then it dawned on me.
I had a brown strap across my body from my purse and Indiana Jones was a teacher. I guess I reminded him of the movie character.

I wasn't sure how to react but once I thought about it, I decided to take it as a compliment. Here's why:

• Indiana Jones was loved by his students (remember the "eye" love you scene?).
• He was one of the "cool" teachers (anyone who uses a whip is definitely cool).
• He went on crazy adventures in caves and jungles (and ran from rocks and spears and crazy Indian people).
• Indiana Jones was very qualified for his job.
• He used his experiences to teach his classes.
• He was very witty and could solve problems well (he had to or he would be killed!).

I'm ok with being Miss Indiana Jones!

We're Back!

Wow! It's been FOREVER since I've written a blog.

What's happened since my last one?
We've had spring break, standardized testing, and begun the 4th QUARTER OF SCHOOL! WOO HOO!

Well, I could obviously write about several things but this blog is going to be about stardardized testing.
Testing may be a serious topic but my class can take anything and make it funny.

For 4 days we had at least an hour of testing during the morning. Some days we had up to two hours.
I had to monitor my students (walk around and make sure everyone was bubbling their answers correctly and keeping their eyes on their own paper) this whole time so I had lots of time to make observations.

Something I noticed was that every kid had their own testing face.

There was the focused, "I'm trying so hard it looks like smoke may come out of my ears." face.

This is the "Oh my gosh! Am I supposed to know the answer to that?" face.

There was the "UGGGHHHH! I can't do this anymore!" face.

Then there's the "What? I'm taking a test?" face.

And last, but certainly not least, there was the "Yes! I know the answer! Let me write it down before I forget it." face.

I am your Father

Favorite quote of the day:

Kid 1:Tag don't you want to play octopus tag?

Kid 2: I found a worm. It's my son. I'm it's father! Watch! It's going to go down the slide!

March Student of the Month

Ian is our student of the month for March! Ian has been working incredibly hard to make and keep the grades he desires. He always wants extra worksheets so he can practice more of what we are learning. He has made a lot of progress throughout the year!

Something that I love about Ian is that he has a servant’s heart. He loves to help decorate the room, take the trash out, hold the door, and run errands for me. He is willing to do anything I ask of him! He is constantly helping me keep the class quiet and get them in line (which is good because making them do these things is quite a task). Not only does Ian help me, but he also helps his classmates!

Ian makes my day a lot. He often comes back from getting his snack with a little something extra in his hand. It makes me laugh because he will walk up to my desk, lay a candy bar or bag of bugles, or pack of gum down, and return to his desk. He never says anything, just lays it down! Ian makes me smile a lot because he is witty too. I like to crack jokes but most of the kids don’t understand them. Ian is one of the only ones who gets them and actually laughs at them. He is quite the jokester as well!

Ian is a wonderful young man with great manners, a good heart, and a loving spirit. He is certainly worthy of the title, “Student of the Month!”

Acrostic

These little things make me feel so loved :0)

Today is my dad's birthday!

My kids found out it was my dad's birthday today.

They all started saying, "Happy Birthday, Miss Watkins' Dad!" Then we got the brilliant idea to sing to him. If this isn't the best rendition of "Happy Birthday" ever then I don't know what is.

Whoops!

I guess this is what happens when your directions aren't perfectly clear...

Favorite Quote of the Day

Student: Miss Watkins, is it supposed to be hot today?

Me: Yes, it's supposed to be about 80 degrees.

Student: I thought so. I can always tell what the weather's going to be by looking at your shoes.

Deep Down

Friday was a great day for my class! We got all of our work done early so recess was extra-long and we had a really fun workshop that afternoon!

I know you’re supposed to have a routine for your kids but that routine isn’t always going to be followed. My students actually do well when our routine gets thrown off and thank goodness because it gets thrown off quite often!

Our workshop Friday afternoon was from 12:30-2 so we didn’t get to go to chapel or lunch. Instead, we ate lunch early in our classroom and I gave the kids an extra credit coloring sheet for history. They loved getting to eat in the room! I have two tables at the back of my room and everyone pulled chairs up to them so they could eat together. That left me with the whole front of the room to myself and a few minutes of peace and quiet.

After lunch, we headed to the gym for our “Deep Down” workshop. It was an in-school field trip so instead of going through the hassle of getting 12 kids to another location, the field trip came to us! We had a great leader who knew a lot of information on our topic.

The kids got to do interactive experiments to discover how sound waves work, the wonders of echo-location, how fish can live in the Arctic Ocean, and the relationship between clown fish and jellyfish.

To a have a visual picture of sound waves, my students played with a slinky. They didn’t make it move down steps like I did as a kid. They made it go up and down at the same time! Our leader showed the kids how to shake the slinky so that it would bounce waves back and forth between each pair of students. This is how sound waves travel!

Next, the students were divided into groups of three. There was a "dolphin", a "coral", and a "fish." Dolphins use echo-location to find food. To demonstrate this, the "dolphin" had a flashlight, the "coral" had a mirror, and the "fish" was the prey! The "dolphin" aimed the light from the flashlight at the mirror and it reflected from the mirror onto the "fish." Real dolphins use sound to find food by bouncing it off of things such as coral and shells so that it will hit the prey they are searching for. The fish enjoyed trying to get away from the reflected light!

Why is a walrus or fish much better equiped to live in the Arcitc than us? They have blubber! This blubber insulates their bodies so they don’t freeze to death in the cold ocean. We used blubber to keep our fingers from freezing in our mini “Arctic Ocean.”

Each child was given a glove to put on one hand but nothing for the other. One by one, they were called to a table so they could rub one of their covered fingers in Crisco. This served as blubber for our experiment. They then placed their “blubber” finger and a finger with no covering in the mini “Arctic Ocean.” They soon realized that the “blubber” finger stayed much warmer in the cold water than the finger that had no covering on it.

The same principle holds true for animals with and without blubber! If we were thrown into the freezing ocean, we would be very cold because we do not have large amounts of blubber on our bodies. However, animals made for cold water have blubber!

Lastly, the kids learned that clown fish are the only fish that live in harmony with jellyfish. To help them remember this, they created their own jellyfish with clown fish mingling between the tentacles. This was a fantastic workshop that reinforced what my students have been learning in their fish unit!

Students of the Month

I have two students of the month again! Blake and Victoria both had an outstanding February.

Blake is one of the most loving children I have ever met. He compliments me all the time and likes to give hugs. He definitely has a servant's heart. Any time I need help with something he is more than willing to do what I ask. He encourages the other students in my class by including them in games during recess and complimenting them on their school work or art work.

Blake is extremely hyper but once he gets settled down he is also very bright. He is a wiz at math and enjoys reading aloud in class. Blake stays with me after school some days and has made some incredible strides academically this month!

Victoria always walks in the door with a smile. She reminds me a lot of my sister, Kayla. Kayla did not make a B on her report card until she was in high school. She would bring report cards home with her lowest grade being a 95. Victoria’s lowest is even higher than that! She is a straight A student and does not really need me as a teacher. :0) I am convinced that she could read her math or language arts book and immediately know how to do anything put in front of her.

Both of these students deserve a round of applause for their academic efforts and wonderful personalities!

The Roof is on Fire!

 This is my handsome boyfriend, John.  :0)

 

He is a fireman at the Blacksburg Fire Department.

 

On Friday, he brought his fire chief and first captain to my class to do a fire safety program. The kids learned a lot during the program!

 

They learned how to call 911 and what they would be asked by the operator.

•  Name
• Address
• Emergency     

They learned that they need to have an escape plan and meeting place at their house. You also need to make sure you know more than one way out of your house in case an exit is blocked.

My kids got to experience the screeching of the fire alarm in our classroom. They know to check their fire alarm once a month to make sure it is working and to change the batteries every six months.

During the program, my students asked some really good questions-and told some interesting stories during question time. My favorite question that was asked dealt with getting a hurt fireman out of a burning building. The firemen wear an oxygen tank that beeps when they are horizonal to the ground. If the fireman gets in trouble, he can push a button on the oxygen tank and the beeping turns into a shrill screech. This also happens if the fireman stays horizontal for too long.

Once all of the safety precautions were discussed, my students got to have a little fun. They practiced staying low on the ground in order to keep their heads out of smoke (because smoke rises) and how to stop, drop, and roll.

Carmyn, Caleb, and Stone got to try on some of John's equipment to see how heavy it is. It all weighs about 65 pounds!  

Such Wisdom

Our lesson in Bible yesterday was on forgiveness.
         We talked about how God has forgiven us, how our parents forgive us, and how we should forgive each other.
The lesson was pretty short so I asked the kids if they had any questions for me.

One of my kids asked why God didn't just make us in heaven so we wouldn't have to go through bad times.
Before I could respond, another said, "Because God uses the bad times to test our faith."

I was blown off my feet! He was exactly right. Who knew such wisdom could come from a 4th grader?

Scavenger Hunt

As I was cleaning of my desk the other day, I came across a crumpled up piece of paper.

In case you can't read it, it says, "Look in the yellow trash can on the book shelf."

My first thought was, "Oh no. My kids have been passing notes to each other via the little yellow trash can. I don't really want to look in there because I'm afraid or what I might find." 

Well, I had to be the grown up and go look in the trash can. This is what I found:

It says, "I love you Miss Walkins." Yes, Miss Walkins. That is what one of my students calls me!
I couldn't help but smile!

When I realized who wrote the note, I was somewhat shocked. Zachary has a very sweet spirit but doesn't show affection a lot. That made the note even more special.

Later, I was cleaning my room and was near Zach's desk. He sits beside one of my file cabinets and I had noticed him messing with it earlier in the day. I looked to see what he had been fidling with and found a piece of paper in the label holder on one of the drawers.

It says, "Look on your desk."

Zach had set up a scavenger hunt for me! I didn't find it in the correct order but that didn't affect the impact it had on me. Although he was distracted and probably wasn't paying attention to something we were doing in class, how could I be mad?!

A Flight to the Moon and Back

On Monday, we went to one of the best places in South Carolina-the Roper Mountain Science Center.

I remember going there as a kid and was excited to find out that my class would get to go for the Universe in a Day program. I even learned some new things on this field trip!

We started our journey in the Planetarium. In case you don't know, the Planetarium has a dome shaped ceiling that videos are projected on. It feels like you are actually in the video.  My class got to see technology at its finest!Our instructor introduced us to constelations, the path of the sun, and moon phases. We got to see the final shuttle launch and learned about Roy G. Biv-the most colorful man I've ever seen!

We then made out way to lunch where I was pleasantly surprised with a buffet of food. My principle's sons are in my class and she always brings the teacher lunch on field trips. I had lasagna, grapes with dip, bread, and peanut butter cookies. I had always heard her boys say how much they love field trips because there is so much food. I completely understand now!

After lunch, we went to see the biggest telescope in South Carolina. In the Observatory my class learned about how telescopes are made and even got to use some telescopes themselves! They soon discovered that whatever you see through a telescope is upside down. That blew some of their minds!

Our last stop was the Universe Classroom where my class performed two experiments. One showed them why the moon goes through phases. They used a model to see that the moon's light is a reflection of the sun and it goes through phases depending on what area of the moon is visible. The second experiment showed them why it is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. They learned that the sun is in the sky longer in the summer, allowing the air to warm longer. In the winter, the sun takes a shorter path across the sky so it is colder. This also explains the time changes.

My kids really seemed to have a good time. Based on what they wrote about the trip, they learned a lot too! I was very proud of them because they were respectful to everyone we came in contact with.

January Students of the Month

I had two Students of the Month for January! Two of my students showed great academic success and respect in the classroom.

The first student is Caleb. I chose Caleb because although there has been a lot of drama this year, not once has Caleb gotten caught up in it. During one-on-one conversations with several students they have mentioned how Caleb is one of the students they know they can rely on. He is commonly called one of their best friends!  He is very dependable and loyal to those he is friends with.

Not only does Caleb show great character traits but he is also gifted academically. There was a little transition time at the beginning of the year (like there is for every student with a new teacher) but currently his grades are rising! I have noticed that when I scan the room during lessons, he may be the only one looking at me with his full attention. I really like that about him! It is a great blessing to have Caleb in my class this year.

My other Student of the Month is Alex. Let me begin by saying that Alex is a very active student. One of the things we are focusing on with him is teaching him how to control his body and actions. He is one of my students of the month because he was able to control himself more in the month of January than I have ever seen before. He has begun raising his hand instead of automatically coming to my desk with questions and is slowly adjusting to sitting in his seat correctly. Our next goal is teaching him to keep his area organized! :0)

Although Alex is extremely active, it amazes me how this quality about him doesn’t affect how he performs academically. Alex makes stellar grades and hardly has to study at all. He is like a little sponge! I feel like I can say something one time and even if no one else in the class remembers what I said, Alex will. He enjoys school and his grades certainly reflect that.

100th Day of School

Friday was the 100^th day of school!

It’s hard to believe we’ve been in school for 100 days already.  When I sit down at the end of the day, however, I feel it!

We had a party on Friday to celebrate making it through that many days of school.

We made necklaces (or halos) with 100 Fruit Loops,

had a competition to see which team could build the tallest tower out of 100 straws,

and dressed up like 100 year olds!

My kids had a blast and were so entertained that there were hardly any behavior problems. What a blessing that was!

Looking back over the past 100 days, I think the biggest thing I’ve learned (if I can narrow it down to one) is that kids are extremely loving. When they feel like you love them and want them to do well, they have a much easier time performing well for you. Most of my kids genuinely want to please me by making good choices.

The good thing about this is not that it cuts down on behavior management issues (although that is a plus!), but it shows them that there is a reward for treating others well. They learn to value the good marks they receive and are proud of themselves. I child who feels successful is much more likely to believe in him or herself!

It has been a difficult, complicated, emotionally trying, patience growing, entirely enjoyable 100 days.

Game Time!

Someone donated some games to our school and my class got to pick out which two they wanted to keep.

They chose Battleship and Twister. 
              I didn't even know kids still played those games!

We had some extra time that afternoon so I let them drag the games out to play for a few minutes.
I have never seen my class in such chaos.

Everyone wanted to play Twister but it's really only a 4 player game. That left me to decide who would get to play and who wouldn't. I resorted to drawing sticks with their names on them out of a basket. (I always feel bad choosing students to do something when others can't!)

The kids who didn't get to play the first time paired up for Battleship or messed with the snails that have somehow become our new class pets.

The kids who did get to play proceeded in the loudest, funniest, craziest game of Twister I have ever witnessed. From their socks making them slide to the awkward positions they were tangled in to the force of gravity pulling at them, everything combined to create one intense game of Twister!

After the original students had their turn becoming pretzels, they switched with the Battleship and snail players so they could have their chance to twist and turn.

Whoever invented Twister-a mat with colored dots on it and a spinner-is a genius. Thank you for my afternoon entertainment.

Favorite Quote of the Day

My kids will not walk in a line and it drives me crazy.

As we were walking to the bathroom I turned around and said, "This is not a line."
My kids' response was, "Nope, we're and amoeba!"

This is what happens when you are spontaneous...

On Thursday the Spanish teacher was sick. This left me with 45 minutes to entertain my students since they didn’t have related arts.

I looked

 through craft books

online

for puzzles

for reading activities

I found nothing…

so I decided to take my class outside to play. They are a very active group so I thought this would be a good way to get some of their energy out.

As we are headed to the playground, one of my boys asks if we can go down to the lake.

I hadn’t been to the lake yet and was curious as to what was down there.  I agreed to let the kids play at the lake as long as they promised not to get close to the water. They promised so we headed down the hill!

I was pleasantly surprised to find a lake, fire pit, and pavilion at the bottom of the hill.

I let the kids play there for a while (which consisted of putting on a show in the pavilion, hopping over logs at the fire pit, and seeing who could throw a rock the farthest into the lake). When the class was ready to go to the playground, we started our hike through the woods.

The best part of the trail was stumbling upon a cross about halfway to the playground. We stopped and talked about it for a few minutes then continued on our journey.

We finally reached the playground. My kids felt so successful! They had accomplished their goal of making it through the woods and had a great time in the process.

This is one time when being flexible and spontaneous has paid off!

Pay Attention!

It's really funny what kids notice. Sometimes, little things that I would never pick up on grab their attention so much more than obvious things. They notice

whether I wear glasses or contacts

whether I'm driving my dad's truck or my car

if a teacher has an iPhone or a droid

if one of the other kids has on the same pants he wore yesterday

when I get new dry erase markers for my board

when someone gets a new hair cut

and the list goes on...and on...and on.

Yet when I try to direct their attention to a specific passage in our history book that will be on their test they are all over the place! They can't focus on math problems or science questions or language arts sentences but they can pick up on the smallest change in our classroom.

I think the difference is that they are discovering the minute details themselves rather than being told them. We learn all about discovery learning in our methods classes and I think this is proof that it really is effective. I would love to use discovery lessons for everything I teach because the kids get so involved in them! Hopefully as I build my lesson plan library and get into the groove of planning and teaching, I will be able to develop many lessons that students will remember years down the road.

December Student of the Month

Carmyn is our student of the month for December!

I chose Carmyn to be our student of the month because she works very hard on her school work. She makes awesome grades because she tries so hard. She even missed an entire week of school in December because she was sick but managed to have all of her work completed before she came back to school!

One thing I really like about Carmyn is that she loves school. I remember when I met Carmyn on Parent/Teacher night. She was so excited about the first day of school that she already had her book bag packed! The very first day of school I could tell Carmyn enjoyed learning. She finished every assignment quickly and showed great reading and writing skills.

Another thing that is wonderful about Carmyn is her respect for everyone she comes in contact with. Not only does she respect me as her teacher, but she respects all of the students in our class as well. She is a very positive person and is able to see the best in everyone. She loves to help others with problems they are having as well (which is a wonderful blessing to me)!

These are just a few of the reasons I chose Carmyn to be our student of the month!