Cow eyes and boats and oobleck, oh my!

This Friday our fourth graders will participate in a "Mad Scientist Day" of sorts. All 100 something students will rotate through three sections of science experiments that include making Oobleck, building their own foil boats, and dissecting cow eyes. The purpose of each one of these experiments is to expand our students' knowledge of each concept. Throughout the school year our students study the human body and, of course, our eyes are part of our bodies. To provide students with a very hands on learning experience, we order 30 cow eyes to dissect and examine because they are the most similar to the human eye. During the dissection, students will be able to identify various parts of the eye and how it works. Our curriculum also teaches our students about mixtures and solutions. This is where the oobleck comes into play. The students will use provided ingredients to make the oobleck and then "play" with it to determine if it's a mixture or a solution. Lastly, the students learn about matter and that it takes up space. By building their own foil boat and determining how many pennies can be placed in this boat without it sinking, the students get a real picture of matter and how it takes up space. Maybe they can also answer the question, "How do metal ships float?"

Stay tuned for pictures of our Mad Scientist Day!

Woah! I'm 30!

This past Thursday I rolled into a whole new decade and I'm really excited about what's in store for me this year! It's always fun to have a birthday during school because the kids are so sweet and some just crack me up! For instance, Connor, one of my sweet boys, told me "happy 30th birthday" every time he saw me Thursday. Apparently, a letter was sent out to all of the parents in my class announcing my birthday because this is what greeted me Thursday morning when I came to school. For those of you who can't tell what all of this is, here we have several yummy cupcakes(which are all gone now), a "money" tree with LOTS of various gift cards on it, and many other sweet cards and gifts.

Whew! I'm zapped!

Well, school has gotten off to a fabulous start, but I tell you what! I'm so stinkin' tired! I am just not used to talking and standing that much during the day because in the summer all I do is drink coffee and get my tan on. :) I wouldn't trade it for anything though because I get so attached to the kids and just love them so much.

This Monday night we have Parent Orientation which is where we make the parents familiar with how we do things at our school and in 4th grade. I have one parent in my class this year that I've taught her older son so I don't have to "orient" her too much. I'm praying nightly that she'll be my room mom again. She was awesome before! She even brought me milkshakes. I can't complain though because I've always had awesome room moms that are so willing to help out with parties and such. Even parties that are postponed until Monday because of snow. Those parents brought new "nanners" for our banana split Valentine's day party that was held on Monday due to the massive snow we got the Thursday night before our originally planned party. Yes! That was a LONG week. I say massive snow because Mississippi rarely gets even the hint of snow and we got a few inches last year!

Remember a couple of weeks ago I posted the Brain Boggle question? Well, the answer to that question was that the spare tire was the flat. :) Many of my kids answered it correctly and were awarded a piece of candy. Last week's Boggle was: A hiker went 7 days without sleep and wasn't tired. How could this happen? Give up yet???? Well, the hiker slept at night. :) Not many got this one correct. Oh well, better luck next week. Here's the Boggle: What has holes all in it but it can hold water?

Brain Boggle

What's a brain boggle, you ask? I like to challenge my students from time to time with a little riddle of sorts. I write the riddle, which I like to call the "Brain Boggle", on the board Monday morning and the kids have until Friday to ask around their family, neighborhood, or church to figure out the answer. They are not allowed to ask anyone at school nor are they allowed to tell anyone else the answer. Student's turn in their answer in the designated folder and I check for correct answers. All students with a correct answer get a piece of candy. Who doesn't like candy, right?
This week's Brain Boggle is...

A man drove 2,000 miles with his family without knowing he had a flat tire. How could this happen?

Stay tuned for the answer!

It's that time again...

It's about that time again and my classroom is all ready! Ready for the clomping of kids' feet, the chattering voices of old friendships being rekindled, and new friendships in the making. Here goes! Another great year is right around the corner.

summertime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At the end of May, I was completely worn out and so ready for summer. Now, that it's here, I'm having a great time just sitting around the pool with a great book and a LARGE diet coke. I miss all my sweeties from this past year though. I often find myself thinking about how their summer is going, what they are up to, and how much they've grown. I recently had lunch with one of my room moms and her sweet daughter. We went to the new place in Madison where the Atlantica grill used to be. It is now owned by the same people who own Walker's Drive In downtown. Boy, was it tasty!!! I must admit that I am a little ready to go get in my classroom and get everything organized and ready for a new bunch of "wide eyes and bushy tails". For now, I'll just get packed up for the weekend on the lake with my family. Maybe I'll even learn to water ski on one ski instead of two!

It's underway!

Our school year has begun and it has been so exciting! We've been in school for about three weeks now and have learned so much already. We've learned about why we have the names we do and we shared it with each other. We have learned a fun math game called Addition Top It and it really helps us remember our addition facts. Can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us!