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.