Skyping with Marcel

We have been learning about Christmas all around the world over the passed 2 weeks. One of the most interesting countries to the kids was Germany. I just happen to have a very special friend from Germany! I asked him if he would Skype with our class and let each student ask him questions about Christmas time (and other times) in Germany! He even sang to us “Happy Birthday” in German! This was SO MUCH FUN. This was our first time Skyping in class. I think we will be trying this again in the future!

 

Here are some interesting things we learned:

• In Germany, the kids place out their shoes by the door for Santa to leave treats instead of stockings!
• They hide a pickle in the middle of the tree, and the first one to find it gets to open presents first!
• Christmas Eve is December 6th
• Instead of coal for naught kids, they get spanked with a rod.
• A lot of traditions we know come from Germany! The most famous is the Tannenbaum, or Christmas Tree!
• Gingerbread people and homes are another tradition from Germany! One of the most famous examples is in the German story “Hansel and Gretel”.

Thanks Marcel for taking time to share with our class!!

Grinch Juice

After doing our character study on the Grinch, and making a craft on how we would make the Grinch smile, we made some Grinch Juice. They absolutely LOVED it!!               

R.A.C.K

Our 2nd grade class has been talking a lot this season about how they can give to others from their heart. We decided to join in with people all over the country who are participating in R.A.C.K. (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness). So, we set out for the Parkview parking lot today and placed candy canes with a special message attached on stranger's cars as a way of spreading a little Christmas cheer. Did you get R.A.C.K.ed?

Spreading Christmas cheer for ALL to hear!

We had a last minute field trip planned for the 2nd grade to go sing to the sweet residents at Ascension Oaks Nursing Home. We were so very excited! The 3rd grade was so thoughtful and helped us out by making cards and putting together little treat bags for us to bring with us.

               

They sounded AMAZING and the residents just LOVED every second. After singing several Christmas songs, they passed out the cards. They even read to them what they said. This made me tear up watching them care for these people. They were so gentle with them.

                           

And y’all… this place even had a MOVIE THEATER! I’m thinking about going ahead and getting on the waiting list!

We had a blast and I’m so glad they were all able to experience bringing such joy to others during the Christmas season!

Technology Field Trip!

Today we had the awesome opportunity to go where no student has gone before….. The technology office!!! Sullivan’s sweet parents invited us on a tour of their office! We got to see where all the magic happens to make our school’s technology run so smoothly. They were ALL kinds of excited!

 

Mrs. Creasy showed us every part of their office and how it works. The kids even got to hold pieces of a computer and they learned how each piece made the computer work!

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One of the coolest parts was being able to go into the server closet. Mr. Creasy showed us the top secret closet where all of the important wires and computers are. We all felt so special getting to see this room!

                       

One of the things I think everyone wanted to jump up and scream about was the oh-so-cool LEGO CABINET!

They were so sweet in promising that our class could come and build Lego robots with them one day very soon! I saw 18 jaws drop when she said that!!

Now… what’s a field trip without a souvenir? Mr. Creasy gave everyone their own piece of a CAT 6 cable cord (did I get that right??) Safe to say they had an AMAZING trip across campus. Thank you Creasy’s for making them feel so special!!

Heart Protectors

During our novel study this week, our main character Freddy argues with his sister A LOT. We talked about what it meant to be a bully to someone, and how God hates to see his children’s feelings hurt. Today we discussed the impact unkind words have on our heart. I cut out a huge red heart from red butcher paper.

While reading the book Chrysanthemum, I told the kids that every time we heard an unkind word, we would crumple the heart. By the time I had finished the book, we had quite a sad looking heart. As I tried to iron out the creases, we talked about how hard it is to make our hearts feel better after hearing such unkind words. I gave each child a band aid and they added their names to it. We came to the conclusion that it’s impossible to take away those unkind words, but we can always try to help and make things better. Then we followed up by talking about how we will always use kind words with others and brainstormed a list of kind things we can say.