Winter Writing & Holiday treats!

Before we leave for Winter Break, the kiddos completed their persuasive writing assignment: "Winter: The Best or Worst Season?" They had to follow the format that we've been discussing on how to write a successful persuasive paper. Which side would you choose & why?

This is a picture of our beautifully decorated bulletin board with their finished pieces!

I also had to add a picture of all the thoughtful presents I received for the holidays! :)

Happy Holidays Everyone! See you in 2014!!

T-Shirt Making

As we focus on our standards for Indiana State History, we describe Indiana's development as a state and explain its role in the growth of the United States. Since we make learning fun, we had a screen-print artist, Red (yes, that's his name), come into Union to help us design and print our very own t-shirts for students to keep! Each child was given the parameters for creating a design relating to Indiana. They included pictures of our state bird, state flower, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and other meaningful representations of Indiana. They also had to include the abbreviation for our state and a star to locate the current state capital. They turned out great! The kiddos will each wear their beautifully designed t-shirt on Indiana's birthday, December 11th!

Post Jog-A-Thon Celebration!

After a successful Jog-A-Thon, raising money for our school, we had a celebration for breaking our goal! The money raised goes toward NetBooks, Math Pentathlon, 3rd grade Shark Dissection, Young Authors Night, Union Express Mail, Field Trip Transportation, just to name a few! The kiddos had a blast as they heard from an animal expert who brought in a baby alligator & a nice big pig for Mrs. Coffman to KISS! Here are a few pictures from the exciting convocation. 

Fall Party Fun & Halloween!

Before we take our much desired and deserved fall break, our classroom celebrated with a fun, fall party! A huge thank you to my room mom, Michele Durda, and the other parent volunteers who helped make the event go as smoothly as possible! We had some delicious halloween brownies, pumpkin shaped Cheetos & apples and caramel sauce for a snack, pumpkin bowling & a minute-to-win-it game using chopsticks and candy corn for our activity, and a decorative Fall banner as a creative craft!

When Halloween came around I was showered with some thoughtful gifts from my students. They know my obsession with candy! Love them!

Fun from Fort Ouiatenon

As a way to complement our standard, to describe prehistoric and historic Native American Indian cultures in Indiana and explain the effects of European contact and settlement upon these cultures, our 4th graders took a field trip to Fort Ouiatenon located just south of Lafayette, Indiana. European settlers established this first settlement because of the area's abundant buffalo, beaver, and other fur-bearing animals. For Ouiatenon served as a trading post and stopping point for the travelers from Quebec. French voyageurs annually traveled to Wabash to trade their goods for furs, trapped by the Native people. Between 1720 and 1760 the settlement continued to grow and prosper. The Feast of the Hunters' Moon is an annual re-creation of the fall gathering between the French and Native Americans at Fort Ouiatenon in the mid-1700s. This is the festival which all fourth graders attended in October. The grounds stretch across more than 30 acres along the banks of the Wabash River and are filled with all types of vendors for that era such as crafts, fur trading, blacksmiths, games and sporting events, and food vendors. We even got to see a marching parade!

Last Day Gifts

On the last day of school I brought in goodies for the kiddos: bubbles with a note attached saying "You've blown me away this year with all that you've learned! Have a GREAT summer!" It was just a little something to show each student how important they are to me and how much I've enjoyed having them in class over the past 6 months!
As for my co-workers, I could not tell them enough how much I've enjoyed working with them.Through the past 6 months, Monon Trail has become a home to me, and every teacher, family. It was a bittersweet goodbye on the last day as I prepare for a new chapter in my life! I will take all those memories I've created with me throughout my career.

Magic Show!

As the school year comes to an end, our third graders had a great opportunity to watch a magic show courtesy of Elijah's parents who happen to be magicians as their 2nd careers. They did some amazing tricks, and even had a live dove magically appear from a hat!

Teacher Appreciation Week

These are just some of the wonderful notes I received from my kiddos during teacher appreciation week! I also had a gorgeous display of flowers on my window sill as a consistent reminder of how lucky I am to have such a rewarding career that I am so passionate about!

Symmetry with Butterflies

 During rotations in math clubs, we were diving into learning more about symmetry, reflection, rotation and translation. When the kiddos went to my station, they were given a half-drawing of a butterfly. We had a great discussion about what would happen if we painted on one side and folded the paper to make a line of symmetry. Afterwards, they were given 3 different colors of paint and were given and opportunity to conduct their findings. They enjoyed seeing their final product!

Ronald McDonald Visits!

Ronald McDonald was able to come visit our school to teach the kiddos about eating right and exercising to keep their bodies and minds healthy! They were able to get up and participate in activities while he taught valuable life-lessons!

Monon Market

Monon Market was a wonderful success! My class had 5 groups, with 5-6 students in each group. Each group had to create their own business name, product, and prices. They were able to learn about economics, money, profit, resources, capital, slogans, logos, and SO much more! Above, are 4 out of the 5 groups, their businesses included: "S'mores on a Stick", "Lucky Ducky Duct Tape", "Magnificent Milkshakes", "Fisher's Delicious Donuts", and "People's Pop & Popcorn". The two 3rd grade classes made a grand total profit of $409.71! With the profit, the kiddos were given a celebration party, donated some money to PTO, and put some money aside for next year's third graders to pay for their field trip to Wal-Mart to purchase supplies! I am SO proud of them for all their hard work!

Wacky Wednesday

During the week before Spring Break, we had a canned food drive to donate to the less fortunate around Westfield. With each canned item, students (and staff) were able to participate in various themes for dress-up! Here are a few kiddos and I during Wacky Wednesday! So much fun & such a great cause!

Popcorn Parties

 In attempt to keep the students on track, I motivated them through "Popcorn Points!" I created a bulletin board and whenever the whole class was staying on track through quiet transition times, bathroom breaks and throughout the hallways, they earned a Popcorn Point. Once they reached 10 points, they received a Popcorn Party! All the students were able to where pajamas and my I.A. and I also participated! (I even had a onsie to where, which they thought was hilarious!) I brought popcorn and soda and we watched some Pixar short films at the end of the day after packing up! It turned out fabulous and we all enjoyed celebrating their positive behavior!!

Learning the Phases of the Moon

While learning about the Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun, we also studied the phases of the Moon. To allow the students to have a better visual, I had donations of Oreos brought in to conduct an experiment. I separated the students into small groups (so that each student may have an opportunity to be involved) and gave the students 8 Oreos each. With those 8 Oreos, the students had to separate the sandwich and scrap off the correct amount of icing to replicate the correct moon phases.

They had so much fun and really had a chance to understand what the Moon looks like during each phase! Great activity!