Lanternfest

It's time to enjoy the beauty of a Fall night and realize that night can be fun and not scary, especially when shared with your friends and family.  We celebrated night through our second annual "Lanternfest."  This is a traditional German holiday, usually celebrated as "St. Martin's Day."  We constructed lanterns with each child and sang the songs taught to us by our German teacher.  It was a great night for all as we strolled around historic Capitol Park lighting the way with our lanterns.  For more information, please visit Hannah Box's blog:  http://hillboxcluster.blogspot.com/

Election Day - Mock Election

Our Middle and High School students researched the campaign platform of each of the presidential candidates, chose a candidate, and prepared Powerpoint Presentations as a project for a class with Dr. Monica Rodgers, our English and History/Civics teacher.  Dr. Rodgers then had the students simplify these presentations for our younger students.  The older students then formed groups to present their candidate to the younger students using their Powerpoint presentations and posters.  After presenting each candidate, they helped the younger students vote in a Mock Election.  I have a feeling that the students in our class, the 5-7 year olds, generally voted for the candidate their parents voted for.  Barack Obama was our winner.

Human Body Replicas

The students created these great human body replicas during our study of The Human Body.  We learned about the various organs and their function including the heart, the lungs, the liver, the stomach, the small intestine, and the large intestine.  As we studied each organ, we colored and cut out the organ.  I traced around each student using butcher paper.  They glued each organ into place.  I liked how this related to our study of maps.  We made a map of the organs.  Next each child colored their replica.  I made sure we had plenty of multicultural markers to match the skin and hair color of the children.  We worked on learning to spell various body parts.  We added three labels to our bodies:  leg, arm, and hand.  The children were very excited about this project.  I enjoy seeing them learn to develop a piece of work over time, rather than in a single sitting.