The Day the Firetruck Came

I teach 4th, not Kindergarten or 1st... but my big kids still love an up close look at a fire truck.  

Every fall or winter (either in November, December, or January) the firemen come to the 4th graders in town to give a fire safety lesson.  One hour is all inside where they talk to the kids about exit routes, having a fire drill at home, the importance of smoke detectors, the different levels of fires, how to use a fire extinguisher, and basically what not to do...  They give the kids homework that involves them having a fire drill at their homes and making up an exit route with their families.  If nothing else it sparks good conversations.  

Then the next time they come is an hour outside.  They show off their exploding doll house (it's a demonstration of how gas and fire/heat do not mix), what they look and sound like when they are in their gear (so kids won't hide if they hear a Darth Vadar noise talking to them in a smoke filled room), and then give a full tour of the truck.  They even let the kids sit in the passenger seat for a quick personalized picture to send home to their mamas.  :)  

Are we the only town that does this for this age level?  They started it years ago because 2 fourth graders were playing around with fire near a water heater and things got ugly... so they started this "Learn Not to Burn" program to teach fire safety.

Hope you have a great day!

The Day I Let My Students Dye My Hair...

This fall my grade level had our walkathon (like we always do).  We sent home a letter asking families to please consider supporting our classrooms, to raise enough money for our big field trip and for enrichment activities.  The walkathon came and went, and the money started coming in... but it didn't look like we were going to raise enough... so we offered a little incentive if we reached our class goal.  This year we decided to let the 2 top earners coat our hair with colored hairspray (the stuff that they sell in the Halloween aisle).  My hair was a lovely shade of purple, pink, and orange... it was nice and crispy afterward, and took 3 washes to get it all out.  :)  Will I do it again next year? Of course!

Do you do any incentives to raise class funds?  

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  

For the first time EVER all 5 of us stayed up to bring in the new year, probably because we kept the kids busy last night...  We played challenge games:

 

1) Balancing balloons on cups while wiggling.

2) Throwing mini marshmallows into a clock shaped arrangement of cups.

3) Transferring chocolate candies from one paper plate to a clock pattern using only a straw.

4) Using jumbo marshmallows and launching them across the kitchen and catching them in a cup.

Did we have fun?  Oh yes!  Did they sleep in long enough today?  Nope!

We also had a dance party, watched a couple of shows, built legos, and then made brownie bowls at 11pm.  

Country Living Magazine had posted a picture on IG a couple of days ago and I decided to try it.  Poured the batter into the muffin tins, baked for 30 minutes, pressed down with an additional muffin tin/ice cream scoop to make it deeper, then continued baking for another 7 minutes until really done.  Topped with ice cream.  It was delish!

My youngest started putting his head down on the couch at 11:55... oh, the irony of making him wake back up!  What's on the agenda for today?  Filling in my new planner, thinking about cleaning the house and putting away Christmas, and having a 24 hour date with my honey (lunch to lunch).  My wonderful parents are taking the boys on a special winter break sleepover.  But for now it's all about these pjs. 

Hope you had a great night!  How did you celebrate?