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!