January 27th - Week 3

Monday -
What an adventurous week I had! Monday was spent at the Hidden Valley Nature Center with Mrs. Fake's 2nd grade class. Here we spent time walking the icy terrain to the barn where we wrote about our grand entrance. Once snack was over, we split into groups and studied different animal tracks throughout the area. After lunch we walked up to the yurt and listened to a story that was perfect for the occasion. Before ending the day we found sticks the lengths of rulers and made varies shapes and perimeters. It was a beautiful day well spent in the outdoors. A day all should be very thankful for.

Tuesday-
Tuesday school was canceled. Mother Nature decided to lie a bed of rain and ice on the Earth's floor.

Wednesday-
The rest of the week was filled with various adventures. Wednesday a "TAR WARS" presenter spoke about smoking. He took a different approach, asking the 5th graders to come up with a poster showing how not smoking was cool. Showing a representation of life, smoke free. Soon posters will fill the wall and one poster will be chosen to compete against all of the schools in Maine.

Wednesday
Agriculture Club-
This week we cleaned up the slushy sidewalks, fed the bunnies, and checked on what we planted last week. The Greenhouse effect isn't working just yet, but it can take up to 10 days before they sprout, so we are looking forward to seeing those this coming Wednesday. Additionally, we reused the seed of an avocado to plant more.


Wednesday and Thursday
TLS -
This week I got to spend a class period with each of the 5th grade classes. We spent our time getting to know each other better than what meets the surface. Students were put into various groups and asked to come up with commonalities that they have. These commonalities had to be specific. They couldn't say anything that I would know by looking at them or by being in their community (ex. they are all wearing boots or they all live in Lincoln County). This was a challenging task for the students, but they were able to overcome it and dig a bit deeper. I was able to observe strengths and weaknesses. As stated before, I am really looking forward to seeing these kids grow closer together.

Friday
Cooking Club-
Last winter, Maggie started the cooking club and it was a hit. Friday it officially re-started with a group of 6 graders. This year my goal is to provide a sample of each mealtime, a snack, and a dessert. I want to teach children how to cook items that are quick, inexpensive, healthy, and something that the kids can do by themselves if they would ever need to.  This week we enjoyed a breakfast meal, eggs. These were not ordinary eggs. They were not fried or scrambled or boiled, but rather baked in a muffin pan. We created a delicious ham, egg, and cheese muffin tin dish in under 25 minutes and they turned out fantastic. One girl stated how she always had to have ketchup with her eggs, but that these were perfect without it. The other girls stated how they couldn't wait to tell their relatives so they would start making it for them. I would call it a success.