Meeting Gail Gibbons

When I was in St. Louis I got the chance to listen to a great children’s book author speak to a crowd of educators.   Gail Gibbons was a wonderful speaker.  She autographed my book “Corn” which details the agriculture process of corn from the field to the table.  Below is a picture of her and I after she signed my book.  What an amazing event!

 

Digital Media in the Classroom

This week I am taking a class from Marla Thompson.  It is Digital Media in the Classroom, and I am learning a ton of new things.  We have learned how edit pics with www.photobucket.com  and then to take those photos and put them into photostories and also windows movie maker.  I am excited to help the kids do a better job of making their own.  We already do these, but now I have learned how to perfect them!  It will be a fun time incorporating these into the classroom.

Here is an example that I made for class.

Civilization IV After School Club

Some 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at Lake Maloney and Osgood are participating in an after school club called Civilization IV.  It is a computer game that students are playing.  It is all about building towns, cities, and civilizations.  The kids have to use good strategy when building their empires.  Mrs. Maline is in charge of this after school club, and the kids just love it!  It is a great way for kids to get excited about using technology in a fun, safe way while learning at the same t ime!  Below are some pics of the club.

Moving Yearlings at the Connell Ranch

Last weekend, with the wind blowing like crazy, Ty, Taylor and I all went to Tryon to the ranch to help mom and dad move their yearlings from their winter feed in the Morgan Corrals to the Connell Ranch.  It is about a 4-5 hour trip cross-country.  Taylor rode with mom in the pickup and trailer and met us there.  Tyrell and dad were on their horses, while Ty and I had 4-wheelers.  It was  fun time, except for the wind.  Ty and I went down to see the head of the Birdwood Creek.  It was really pretty.  The trip was tiring, but was so much fun!  I am glad that Taylor got to enjoy her first cattle drive!  Check out the photos below!

Lake and Osgood students team together to produce food chemistry videos

On Monday, March 9th, Lake and Osgood 4th graders teamed up to bring their food chemistry unit to an end.  Students have been studying and testing for nutrients in different foods and liquids for the past several weeks.  Students have been webcamming between the two schools to dicuss the different nutrients, and results from the testing process.  On that Monday, Lake students went to Osgood to spend the afternoon with the 4th graders there.  The goal was for students to work as teams to produce a video showcasing their knowledge learned from our unit about the different nutrients that we studied.  Miss Brinkmeyer and I talked about team expectations, timelines, etc…and then let the students get busy.  It took all afternoon, and lots of planning and team work, to produce the videos.  They did a great job!  Check out the videos below!

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of green day!  But, do you know where it really started?  Why do we wear green?  Why do some people eat corned beef and cabbage?  What are shamrocks?  Check out this website for the answers to all of these “green” questions and more.

http://holidays.kaboose.com/patrick-history.html

Also, check out these games for St. Patrick’s Day!

http://holidays.kaboose.com/patrick-party.html

Round Tables

4th grade recently switched out their desks for round tables.  I really like this idea because of collaboration and group work.  The kids love it because it is something different.  It makes transitions so much easier too.  The groups each have a bucket with their pencils, pens, erasers, etc…in the middle of their table.  They can also keep a chapter book at their table with them.  Here are some pictures of our round tables in our classroom. 

Motion and Design Final Challenges

4th graders recently completed their final challenge for their science unit motion and design.  The groups chose which kind of vehicle to design and then make.  They then met the challenge of making those vehicles move according to the directions.  Check out the pics below of their final design project.

Up with People Visits our Classroom

Today was a great day!  Our 4th grade classroom received a special treat by way of 3 visitors from different parts of the world.  The 4th graders “buckled up” to take a “plane ride” to each of the places that they were from.  After “landing” in that country, they listened to some of their traditions, cultural sayings, and talked about what food in popular in their country.  On their first imaginary stop, Ohray took us to Arizona where he took the kids on a pony ride through the canyons.  Then he told a story to the kids.  Then, he showed them how to make a food using ground corn.  Next, came Uli-Lisa from Germany.  She took us on a train ride to her hometown (via Google Earth).  We saw a beautiful church there.  We went to her garden and picked ingredients to make wonderful sauerkraut.  Last, Jochemfrom the Netherlands took us on a boat ride where we got to see the windmills and tulips.  We also learned about mashed potatoes and carrots and onions at his house.  The kids loved the visit from Up with People.  They really learned alot.  Check out the vidoes of some of the things the kids did.

Nebraska Agriculture Maps

Nebraska Farm Bureau has been so generous in donating agriculture resources to the 4th grade classrooms in North Platte Public Schools.  They donated a resource kit to each 4th grade classroom (16 in all) in NPPS.  Each kit contained:  seed packets of different crops grown in NE, crop cards, livestock cards, and resource guides.  All of these resources go with the NE agriculture map that we use as a main study in our agriculture studies of NE history.  NPPS district provided each 4th grade classroom with 10 maps for student usage.  Below are some videos of kids using the maps, and also some pictures of them using the maps.  The kids really enjoy the maps!