Elfnapped!

On Wednesday, there were a bunch of kids staying after school for a program called Destination Imagination.  It was wonderful to see the kids work in teams and use their creativity.  They left for a while to go research in the computer lab.  It sounds like they have a lot to do to prepare for a competition in March. I started to wonder what happened in the other third grade classes, so I decided to check out another third grade class at Glengary the next day.  It completely confused Team Bond, as I heard they searched high and low for me.  Team Bonkowski, which is the class next door to Mrs. Bond's class, welcomed me in.  Just for comfort, I did bring my wreath that the girls made for me, as well as the letter Mrs. Timlin wrote to me.  I found a sweater bag to put the note in, as I have noticed Team Bond adding notes to their mitten and sweater bags on the Winter Bucketfiller Board.  Mrs. Bond had a few more on her desk.  I hope she didn't mind.

While I was in Mrs. Bonkowski's class, I noticed there was another teacher.  I have seen him come into Team Bond here and there.  His name is Mr. Thomas, and he is an intern teacher from MSU.  Team Bonkowski created beautiful snowflakes while I was there. I always love seeing kids get creative!

I decided to hang out for another day in Team Bonkowski, but Team Bond had other plans for me.  I guess they wanted me there for their party, so while the kids were out of Mrs. Bonkowski's room, a girl and a boy came and got me.  I was a bit worried, as they had this purple thing that looked like a hippo and they used it to grab my hat and put me in a green cylinder.  Luckily it was filled with cushy blue felt, and it was actually quite comfortable.  Mrs. Bond remembered that I lots of kids had wrote persuasive letters to me about sitting on the book spindle.  They said that it would be like an amusement park ride when it spun, but that I would also get a great view of the classroom and be around books!  I do remember some kids thinking that the Greater Gator bucket would also be a good place, even though there is a couple stuffed gators near by.  I think I may choose that location tomorrow, as I would love to read what the kids have done to earn the Greater Gators.  Mrs. Timlin talked about that in the letter she sent me.  I wonder if any of the kids have earned one for being trustworthy...the word of the week?

The kids had a great holiday party.  They made ornaments that were stuffed with slips of paper that highlighted specials things about them at this age.  I think they will like reading these when they are older.  They also played fun games.  They had to stack cups fast, hit balloons with paper plates, and even stack nuts (the fastener kind) using only a candy cane.  After the party another teacher came in.  Mrs. Bond had to take her daughter to the doctors.  The children seemed to do well.  They learned more about area.  They also read about energy conversions, although some of the struggled with the questions at the end.  Finally, they worked on Kwanzaa Hearts.  They had to put them in their desk to finish tomorrow.

Well, one last day before holiday break!  I am sure that there will be a lot of excitement in the air! It sure has been fun watching the learning in their exciting educational environment!