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