Tis the Season for Gifts

The other day Mrs. Bond told the kids they were going to write about gifts.  Well, after all, this is the season for gift giving.  However, she had a different twist on it.  She talked about the gifts each person has within them to share with the world.  She showed them a book called Classroom Habitudes by Angela Maiers, which highlights the importance of having students realize the gifts each of them had to offer.  Each student brainstormed the gifts they had within and wrote them in their Idea Notebooks.  It was neat when the kids shared, as Mrs. Bond wrote them all on a chart. It surprised me though, some of the kids did not know what gifts they had inside them.  One boy is always the first to raise his hand and participate in classroom discussions with smart things to say, yet he didn't know that it was a gift he had.  Silly boy!  I hope he can recognize that many kids are so scared to answer questions and participate.  His courage and leadership is a strength!  It will definitely help him later in life too! The kids typed up their paragraphs about their main gift inside and printed them off.  Then they decorated a paper like a gift.  They used glue and colored sand to create the wrapping paper.  It got a bit messy, as the kids put on lots of glue, but it worked out.  Today I decided to hug the gift sign that Mrs. Bond painted to show the kids how much I like the gifts they have inside to offer the world! They liked seeing me there!  I even snuck and wrote a little note to them!

Today the entire third grade class has a winter party.  They had a breakfast and then did a craft.  They did a neat craft that can measure the amount of snow is on the ground.  It seemed like the whole day was full of crafts.  The students really enjoyed using their creativity.  They even had Art this afternoon, so it was a day full of artsy fun! I bet the families of Team Bond will enjoy all of the handmade treasures heading their way!  

My time in Team Bond is coming to a close, and again, I have enjoyed being with them.  I am going to see if I can get assigned here again later on this year.  I saw something on the wall about Digital Learning Day.  I think it is February.  It would be neat to be there for it, since I got to be there for Hour of Code.  

Round and Round Etavonni Goes

Today felt more like a ride at an amusement park than a day spent in a classroom.  What was I thinking when I moved to the top of the book spindle?  I had to hang on pretty tightly!  Speaking of amusement parks...the class had a sub named Mrs. O.  She did a really cool thing to get the kids attention that sounded like a roller coaster! Maybe they can teach it to Mrs. Bond.  It looked like they really enjoyed it!

They are making beautiful wreaths made out of plastic baggies.  I noticed one of the boys left a lot of the baggies under his desk, but Mrs. O picked them up.  No matter what type of classroom I am in, I am always noticing how the teachers are always so helpful.  I did notice a lot of the kids helping Mrs. O too.  Being a sub must be hard, but having students that are willing to lend a hand really helps!

I really like watching the video that Mrs. O played this afternoon on the transfer of energy.  My favorite transfer is food energy!  I found some cookies in the Teacher's Lounge tonight.  Those calories transferred into energy to help me fly back to the classroom.

Tomorrow the kids have extra time in art because they are working on clay pots.  Mr. Miller, the art teacher, left a note for Mrs. Bond to let her know of the adjusted time.  How neat is that!  I hope they make cool things and have fun!

One thing that I would really like from the students is letting the kids find me on their own.  I know they are super excited to show people where I am, but it makes it more fun when kids find me individually.  I love to see their searching eyes and then their smile when they do find me.

Finally, I have to give a shout out to my email buddy, Maddie!  She emailed me a lot last year, and she has been emailing me again this year.  What a kind and welcoming young lady!  She just told me that she is going to be published in a book!  I hope she will let me know when it comes out! Mrs. Bond is so lucky to have such wonderful students each year!

Etavonni

I'm Back in Team Bond

I am so glad that I am back in Team Bond!  This is my 3rd year being assigned to watch them and report.  Each year I look forward to joining Mrs. Bond and checking out what her students are up to! The kids noticed me today, but what they don't know is that I actually arrived on Tuesday night!  I was able to watch the kids from inside a box on their bookshelf.  My first thought when I arrived was...Mrs. Bond doesn't have many kids.  She only has like 12 desks in her room.  She has never had a class that small! When the kids arrived, I figured out that she has 3 tables that kids sit at too now.  She really does have 23 kids in her class.  Weird though...15 boys and 8 girls.  It's crazy that there are twice as many boys as girls. I wonder if it is like that in all the third grade classrooms?
        In the morning they worked on cards with Michigan lighthouses in the winter.  It was crazy to see how the ice forms on the lighthouses.  Mrs. Bond said it looked like a scene from Frozen. They also did a neat thing in the afternoon called Energy Playground.  Kids played but they were able to explore things that used energy. There were sounds galore all over.  From buzzing motors,  to carols from musical cards, and a high pitched noise machine, the kids had fun making noise.  (I have found this to be the case in most 3rd grade classrooms I visit!) A few kids were on laptops working on coding a lit tree.  I heard a bit about it and it has something to do with the trees in Washington, DC.  I am not sure how kids can code trees for Washington, DC, but it looked pretty cool!
     

      Today I moved to the outside of the box (I took a picture from my view point), and sure enough, the kids noticed me during their read aloud in the morning.  Mrs. Bond was so excited when one of the kids pointed to me.  She let them know my background.  I am not a Santa Elf...I am a Learning Elf.  Instead of reporting to the big guy in the North Pole, I report to the head people in schools...principals, superintendents, professors, etc. Mrs. Bond had to go to a meeting this morning, so a guest teacher came.  I think her name was Mrs. Abbot. She seemed very nice.  I felt a bit bad that she struggled with the projector, as the image was blurry, but she was a good problem solver.  The wipe board works just the same!
        In the afternoon students had fun measuring their body.  They measured their arms, their necks, their wrists, and a bunch of other things.  Some of them still need to work on stating at the 0, as they came up with some weird measurements.  One girl thought a boys waist-to-floor measurement was 7 inches.  (That's more like my size!) Silly her...she was using the wrong end of the meter stick.  After math the kids left and went to art.  Then they came back in for just a bit because yesterday was one of the girl's birthdays, and she chose to have an extra recess for a thing called 15 Minutes of Fame.  This must be something new.  I will have to keep my ear open for more examples of it.
       I hope I will get to stay for a bit more in Team Bond.  I did notice there were some kids that still need to work on their listening.  It is such a shame when Mrs. Bond is talking to them about their assignments, and they can't even tell her what they are supposed to be doing.  I also noticed that some kids were being bucket dippers. Perhaps it was just a bad day for them.  (I did notice there is a full moon tonight!) I look forward to watching the kids learn more and enjoy their time with Mrs. Bond in third grade.

Reaching New Heights!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Today, the kids cracked up to see me swinging high above the class sitting comfortably on a lush baggie wreath!  I love the view around the classroom, as it is adorned with these great crystal wreaths.  Who knew sandwich baggies could be so beautiful!  In fact, I overheard some girls talking about making me one.  Mrs. Bond hung it right in front of me.  They are supposed to put a note on it, letting me know that it is for me.  I don't think they knew I was listening in.  I am so excited to know that I will be able to keep one! 

This morning, Mrs. Timlin, the principal, talked about the word of the week.  The word of the week is trustworthiness. What an important word to focus on!  Being a trustworthy person is a life skill that is so essential.  You have to be a trustworthy friend, a trustworthy employee, and a trustworthy neighbor, among other things.  Being able to count on other people to be honest and loyal and dependable is what makes relationships grow! I wonder if I will be able to spot kids being trustworthy to each other?  I sure do hope so!  I noticed Mrs. Bond put the word on this poster.  I wonder what she is going to do with it?

Today in math, Mrs. Bond showed the class how to use the iPad and an app called Minecraft to practice perimeter.  It was pretty cool.  She made a diamond rectangle that had a perimeter of 14 by having 1 row of 6 blocks.  The kids seems super excited to use Minecraft in math.  Not all the kids were able to do it today, but Mrs. Bond said every child would be able to do it by the end of the week.  That's nice that she can trust them with her own iPad! 

In the afternoon, Mrs. Bond read more of The Secret Zoo!  OH BOY!  IT IS GETTING SO GOOD! Today, the kids met a new character, Mr. Darby.  He is an old man that wears a purple velvet trench coat, has a long gray beard, with long gray hear in a pony tail, and wears beady sunglasses.  He sounds creepy, but Mrs. Bond assured the class he is a good guy.  She also said that she sometimes pictures Dumbledore from Harry Potter with sunglasses on.  Some kids thought he sounded cool.  

Then, the kids were able to tune into a live video stream from inside the White House.  There was a man getting interviewed about the White House artifacts, furniture, and art. It was very interesting.  He talked about presidential portraits, the furniture presidents decide to have, and even a piano that was the 300,000th piano Steinway produced, complete with eagle legs. 

Then, the highlight came at the end of the day.  It was Goal Time, and the kids were busy!  There was a pet club meeting in the back of the room, as well as a spa!  Hand massages in a container of water, raffles for bracelets, and even a braiding station. They even had background music playing.   Some kids were creating snowflakes and drawing, while others were crocheting.  One boy created a small hat on the knitting loom.  I think it could even fit me.  I may try one on tonight, as there is a rainbow one on the top of the yarn pile.  The other hats are in bags with kids names on it. 

A man brought in Mrs. Bond's mail, and there were more cards delivered.  This Holiday Card Exchange project is pretty neat.  The kids LOVE getting mail! Mrs. Bond got a card all the way from Canada today!  Check out the chart they have created to keep track of the information shared on the cards. It amazes me that the class sizes are pretty small...with the exception of Sweet Apple Elementary in Georgia.  (What a cute name for a school!)

Again, this third grade classroom has been so much fun to visit.  I may have to try to see if I can stay here for the rest of the week.  I hear they have a party on Thursday.  What fun! 

Cheers to Learning, 

Etavonni

A Friday with Mrs. Share!

(I tried to post this on Friday, but my internet was acting funny.  I thought it posted, but when I went on, I noticed that it never was published. Sorry for the delay.)

Hey, something strange happened last Friday!  When the door opened, it wasn’t Mrs. Bond.  It was a different lady.  I heard the kids calling her Mrs. Share.  They all seemed to know her, so she must be OK.  She said “hi” to everyone.  Some of the kids saw me right away.  They told Mrs. Share that I am here to watch the learning in the room.  Mrs. Share said she was nervous because I was watching her.  I was laughing…he he ha ha…

The kids had to go to a thing called PE.  I wish I could go because you get to wear special shoes called PE shoes.  I wonder if they are magical.  Are they flying shoes?  Anyway when the kids came back it was test time.  I don’t know how they kept it all straight.  Blue this and Yellow that.  Then Kalyn and Brandon got to use the computer behind me.  I hope I’m not in trouble. 

After the “BLUE/YELLOW test” the kids went to music.  I love music.  I wonder if they were singing “Elf in the Pointy Shoes” or “Red Is My Favorite Color”.  I love those songs.

The next activity was called TFK.  I heard so many good readers.  There was Gabby, Margeaux, and Lily, just to name a few.  A lot more kids read, but I was really interested in the stories.  I didn’t know jellyfish bloom!  And those field trips, should they be about learning or fun?  I just can’t decide. 

Oh no!  The kids are making a mess!  They called it desk organization, but it looks like room disorganization.  They were trying to clean up.  I hope they can do it.

Yumm! Brianna brought carrots back from lunch.  My bunny loves carrots.  I hope my mom remembers to feed her.  I miss my bunny.

I enjoyed lunch because I took a nap.  It’s hard work watching 25 students all day.  I’m really glad I took the nap at lunch cuz there was no sleeping during science.  It looked like the kids were learning all about different kinds of energy.  That means sound energy was noisy, light energy was bright, and electric energy had noisy motors too.  The quiet center was the one with the books.  Most of those kids went to the hall.  They knew it was easier to think in the quiet.  I liked watching science because everyone got to test the stuff.

Math made me laugh.  A man came in to get Mitchell.  Mitchell was with a lady.  Then the man asked if the students were taking a test.  They kind of laughed because they were working so quietly and diligently.  Mrs. Share gave them a flower note.  Ethan called it a shining moment.  I like that.  I like things that shine.

Ahhh!  Next came quiet reading time.  I saw Aidan, Katelyn, Julia, Spencer, and oh so many students enjoying their books.  I was jealous because I didn’t have a book with me to read.  (I should have brought the story Maddie wrote for me.  Mrs. Bond…if you read this, can you print it off for me?) The books at my house are smaller and easier for me to hold.  It seemed like all of the kids were getting smarter right then and there.  All of those wonderful words soaking right into their brains.  Oh how I love to see them learning!!!

Yahoooooo!  Mrs. Share read from The Secret Zoo.  I am so curious to find out what happens.  Will they find Megan?  Will the animals continue to help the friends?  This is so exciting!

George and Nick were sitting near me for Roses and Thorns.  They were so excited to share.  Then Kalyn and Margeaux did a little play.  I think they like having fun.

Oh, Boy! What I wonderful day I had in Mrs. Bond’s room.  It was a great Friday to see all of the learning going on.  I am ready to climb to new heights next week! 

A Lonely Weekend

I am bummed that I came at the end of the week.  I was just getting used to meeting the new members of Team Bond and then the weekend hit.  Boy, Glengary Elementary sure is quite when the staff and students are not there.  While it was quiet though, I had time to look around the classroom and the hall.  I took a rest in the mailbox in the hallway.  Perhaps this will be a good spot to keep in mind to hang out one day.

While I was out in the hall, I read over one of the bulletin boards.  There were many different posters that had examples of different ways you can be smart. Next to the posters was a huge graph that had kids names on it next to each poster.  I bet the kids had to figure out the type of smartness they use most.  I myself am more of a linguistic guy...a word smart kind of elf!  I love words!  That's why I love writing this blog.  

While writing this post I checked my email, and I just have to share with you an email I got from one of the students.  I actually got a couple emails from students.  How special is that! The student, who I'll call MT, asked me a ton of questions!  I love the curiosity of kids! I figure other kids may have the same questions, so I decided to copy the reply I created (in red text) for others to read.  I also got an email from the class with a ton of questions.  It is too late to answer all of the questions, so I am going to have to email Mrs. Bond back later on in the week.  For now, enjoy the email from MT. 

Wow MT!  You do love to write!  I am going to copy your email below and just reply to the questions in a different color...otherwise, I just know I will forget to answer some of your questions.  By the way, thank-you so much for the little note you put in the boat on Friday.  That was very kind of you. 

Hello class Elf! I'm MT and I'm in Team Bond. I want to welcome you back to team Bond! Will you stay with us until Christmas or longer? I am not sure what my schedule will be.  I know I have to make some stops in other classrooms, as I have some reports to turn in before all the schools leave for the holidays.  I may be able to stop back in after the new year.  It just depends on where I am assigned.  I'd LOVE if you would. I LOVE to read and write. What do you like to do for fun? I am like you, I love to read.  I enjoyed reading this weekend.  Your teacher has a lot of books.  There was a book called Snowmen at Night, and it reminded me of what I do.  During the day I have to be really still, but then at night the magic happens. Do you play any games? No. I don't play many games. I travel alone mostly, so it is hard to play games. What are they called? I'd love to talk to you and see you move. Do you like GA and JG's boat that you were sitting in?Yes, I found their boat to be a perfect fit for me.  It was just the right size.   Or did the spike ball scare you? The spike ball was a bit crazy, but I was OK with it. Josh made me a little nervous with it, but it worked out OK. How do you eat? I usually pick something up to eat when I do my reports.  I really don't have to eat a lot, being little and all.  Don't you get awfully hungry? Will you help me finish my river story? No, I am sorry.  I cannot help you with your assignment.  That is your job.  I am sure you will be able to get it done.  It is on top of my desk. My desk is the third desk at table one and it has a name tag on it that says ______. Are you scared of us? Not at all.  You all are so kind.  I have never received so many notes before.  I even got a nickel wrapped up in paper.  Do you know if I'm on the naughty list? I am not sure.  I don't really have anything to do with the big guy in the North Pole. I grew up an educational elf...learning elf.  So we aren't really connected, other than the fact we look the same as the elves that report to Santa.  My brother and sister would LOVE to meet you. Do you have any brothers or sisters? I have a brother that is visiting a preschool building as a learning elf.  Maybe I can have him send Team Bond a photo of what he is observing.  I know some kids had questions if there were other learning elves out there.  I have another brother that is in a first grade classroom too. Thank you SO much for coming to our classroom. What did you do over the weekend? Funny you should mention that.  I just jumped on the computer to add a blog entry, and then I checked my email.  I probably should get back to my blog entry.  In fact...I may just have to add this to my blog.  I bet the other kids would want to read some of these things too.  I left you a note, it is the neon green one. Please respond to it. I have many more questions to ask you but I have to get ready for bed. Thank you for reading this email! Bye until Monday!!!  Yes, in a few short hours you and your classmates will be here!  I am looking forward to seeing you again! 

Ps.you should create an account for edmodo on the computer. Then you could post things to team Bond!!!  Can you tell me more about this Edmodo? How would I get an account?  I know I heard Mrs. Bond talk about putting things on Edmodo, but I am not sure if it is something that I can do.  Maybe you can ask her for me. 

Happy Learning!

Etavonni the Elf 

The Michigan River Boats and Notes!

I was able to sneak on Mrs. Bond's computer while she was out of the class.  I think she was meeting with a mom, as I noticed a woman come in right before the kids left the room.  I already have been given lots of notes by the kids.  What a warm welcome to Team Bond!

Look at some of the notes that I got! 

Like I said before, the boats turned out great.  I am looking at a table with some on them from my view in the boat. 

 I wonder what they learned about Michigan rivers and the Great Lakes?  If Team Bond would like to email me, my email address is learningelf@gmail.com.  I will try to sneak on a computer and answer you back! 

Cheers to Learning, 

Etavonni

Day 2 in Team Bond

Today I got a lot of attention.  The kids were staring at me a lot, as I moved to the filing cabinet. I noticed that the kids were writing in cursive, so I decided to practice my handwriting and made a name tag.  

The kids are getting excited for the holidays, and Mrs. Bond was getting crafts ready for kids to make.  She showed the class 2 projects they were going to work on for the morning, but I will keep that hush, hush, as they will be giving these to family members.  I watched Mrs. Bond demonstrate the crafts, and I wished I could make them too!

They also talked about opinions and generated questions that would be good to ask to get the opinions of others.  They are going to be doing interviews at home soon.  One good question I liked was, "What day of the week do you like the best?"  I bet there would be a lot of interesting answers to that!  

They had a special visitor come in to help.  They called her Mrs. Richard.  She spent most of her time out of the room, but then she read a really cool book about a man named Henry Ford.  It was a creative story about how Henry Ford met Santa.  Mrs. Richard said that the elves making toys in an assembly line helped Henry Ford make cars the same way.  

Then they had that BA test that I was talking about.  The students worked very hard on their tests.  When they were done they worked on multiplication menorahs.  A menorah is the candle holder used to celebrate Hanukkah. Mrs. Bond had to leave for a doctor's appointment.  She had an issue with her ear...and she couldn't hear very well.  Hopefully the doctors can help her. 

There was a new lady that came in the classroom.  I saw her come in this morning then she was gone.  I guess she liked it here because she came back and stayed until the end of the day.  I bet she’s part of the team.  The kids all called her Mrs. Share.  I guess she likes to share a lot.  Cool Name!

I learned about energy transfer.  The new lady from Team Bond read from a very interesting book.  I liked the part about sound waves.  Did you even know that there are waves that travel through the air that you can’t see? The teacher said that waves were coming out of her mouth right to the students’ ears.  There are so many kinds of energy.  I was impressed to see how many of the students knew about these different kinds of energy.  Then the class used their creativity to create an example of an energy source and the transfer of energy it provided.

The Mrs. Share had the students stop their work to go to Media.  I wish I could have gone with them.    I really love books.  I heard some of the students asking if they were going to use the computers.  They seemed really excited about it.  In the room I made some new friends on the shelf where I was sitting while they were gone.

When everyone returned, they finished drawing examples of energy transfer.  The students glued some notes into their science spirals.  A boy named Johnny tried to help Mrs. Share find Mrs. Bond’s spiral.  He even checked under all of the tables, but no luck.  The students reviewed all the types of energy they had studied.
I could tell the day was coming to an end.  The students were trying to finish things up.  Some were writing an opinion paragraph, some were doing cursive, and one was over near the door writing on little pieces of paper and sticking them to the wall.  It was curious though, one girl in the pink top and a braid kept lying on the floor.  I’m wonder if this is a new learning technique I’ve never heard of before.  I’ll keep observing this to see if I can figure it out.

Then two blond girls, both with a purple top on, were staring at me.  I mean really staring at me.  I started to get a bit nervous, but I held my head high and let them look.  I guess they have never seen a learning elf before.  They had to go back to their seats as the teacher was winding up the day.

When the students were getting themselves organized to go home a boy showed up in front of me.  He has short blond hair and was wearing a gray jacket.  He was staring at me too.  But he did more than stare; he was trying to talk to me.  He was speaking so quietly and the room was kind of loud that I couldn't understand him.  I would be really cool if he could write me a note.  I like the two notes that Andrew and Alyse wrote.

Well, the children have gone home for the night.  I made friends with the moose who was sitting next to me.  He told me that the reason the room gets so cold at night is that the heat is turned down.  I was very cold last night.  The moose said I could sit with him to stay warm.

I really like it here in Team Bond.  I may just have to stay a while longer.

My Arrival in Team Bond

I flew in this afternoon, and only a few children noticed.  I knew I should have waited until the evening, but I was too excited to start learning about third grade.  Luckily, they were not distracted by my presence.  Mrs. Bond, their teacher, was surprised to see me sitting on top of the Everyday Math box.  (I picked this view because it allowed me to see the entire room.)  There are many elves traveling around during this season.  Most of them are reporting back to a special man with a beard that's white, but I am special.  I am a Learning Elf.  Etavonni the Learning Elf!  Each year at this time, I go around to third grade classrooms and see what children are learning about.  Then, I send my reports to educational leaders...people like principals, superintendents, professors, and even some governors.  This year I thought I would try something new, so I have created my very first blog.  It was about time, as more people should know about the cool things going on in classrooms...not just the education leaders!

So...back to my visit in Mrs. Bond's 3rd Grade.  Well, they are located in Commerce Township, MI.  They are a part of the Walled Lake Consolidated School District in Michigan.  I found them when I was on twitter last week @TeamBond2012.  They were tweeting about having fun in their Energy Playground. They also tweeted that they played a game in PE called Cell Tag and learned about organisms.  I thought both of those things sounded super cool, so I put them on my list of classrooms to visit!  

I got to the classroom while they were in lunch, and when they got back from lunch, the students continued reading silently.  They did a pretty good job of being quiet and keeping interested in their books.  Mrs. Bond did have to remind some boys that were behind me to stay focused.  Then the students had to write their books in a book log.  I liked how they had to do a subtraction problem to find out how many pages they had read.  After that, they reviewed for their BA test.  I was curious what a BA test was, and luckily one of the students asked towards the end of the day, and I found out that BA stands for Benchmark Assessment.  Some of the students left with a grandpa that volunteers and the rest of the students practiced area and perimeter using the MOBI, which was kinda like a clipboard that you can write on, but the writing was able to be seen on the wall.  It was neat!  Then the students played a game called Multiplication Top-It.    In Science, the students are studying energy, and they were able to watch a video all about how energy can be transferred.  One boy was surprised to hear that food was a type of energy.  He only thought electricity was energy.  One girl remembered learned about kinetic energy, which another young lady reminded her that it meant moving energy.  All in all, the video was great.  Tomorrow Mrs. Bond said the kids would be creating energy cartoons...I wonder how those will turn out?

Students were able to go outside for an hour for Student Activity Time.  This is a time where third grade teachers get together.  The room was very quiet, so I took a quick nap.  I was exhausted after my long flight.   When they got back, the students worked on word study. Most of the kids had to work on homophones.  I noticed that many children struggled with the word tide.  They did not know how to use it in a sentence, but that makes sense since they don't live by an ocean.  They do have the Great Lakes, but the Great Lakes don't have tides.  Another word that some had a hard time with was hymn.  I don't think people talk a lot about hymns, they must just call them church songs?????  

At the end of the day there was a lot of activity.  Kids filled out their assignment notebooks, children emptied their mailboxes, students got new jobs for the week, and the children had to clean the floor.  I did notice there were a lot of things left on the floor.  Good thing one of the classroom job is Floor Patrol, as the young man did a good job of reminding people to pick up.  

All in all, I enjoyed my first afternoon in Team Bond.  I am looking forward to learning a lot while I am here! Apparently the kids are working on The Secret Zoo projects at home.  I am not sure what that means, but it sounds kinda cool!  Anything to do with secret zoos has my attention!  I guess they have to bring them in by Wednesday!  I can't wait!  I will have to make sure I pick an awesome place on Wednesday to get a nice view of the presentations!  

Thanks for reading my very first blog entry!  Look for more to come!  

Cheers to Learning!

Etavonni  the Learning Elf