Field Trip

I am quickly putting pictures on the blog of our fun and busy day today. They are going to be all mixed up but hopefully you will get an idea of how much fun we had and what we experienced.
We went to the Fire Station where we got to shake hands with a fireman who was dressed in his gear.

We also went to Big John's Hometown Pizza and made our very own pizzas.

Then we walked to Pioneer Park to eat lunch and play on the "castle".

Yummy!

How generous of Andy MacAnally to invite us in and let us have this much fun!

I told the kids, the best way to thank him, is to bring their family to Big John's for dinner.

Andy loves this community and does a lot for many.

Thank you Captain Bennedict for organizing our visit to the Fire Station.

It was really neat to see how you live there and what your job is like.

Maybe some of us will grow up to be Firemen (or women).

Here we are by the bucket that goes up 104 feet in the air.

Captain B said we had really good questions. I think you can tell by this picture that he was having as much fun as we were.

We got to see what is behind all those doors on a fire truck.

Here TC is excited about the tall ladder going up.

Fun with many friends at the park.

My favorite annual picture pose.

Fire Prevention

Today three wonderful firemen came to help us learn about fire safety.

This is Scott, who works with the State Fire Department traveling around to schools showing children

how to stay safe in their homes.

Then Fire Marshal, Tyler Nokes brought in the training trailer where he helped us practice crawling on the floor, feeling the door, and then exiting through a window in case of a fire. He told us how important it is to stay low,make noise so firemen can hear us when we need help.

This is Jimmy who works with the Forest Service. He has fought over 100 fires in his career and really wanted us to understand that fire is not a toy.

He is a wonderful artisit who did an excellent job incorporating his cartooning with his message that, just like people, animals can loose their homes in a fire.

On Tuesday we had an awards assembly and I am happy to honor these students for their honesty (LH was also honored but was home sick).

Anansi Play Schedule

Three Volunteers Needed

for 3 hours on Friday, June 6th for our Field Day. Parents would be incharge of monitoring one event during our K-3rd Feild Day. This is one of the best days of the year. We would love for you to join us. If you are able to help us out, please send me a note, email, or message at 966-3012.

Today was our first rehersal for our Anansi plays (that originate from Africa) and I am still laughing at how funny the kids were. I didn't realize what dramatic actors I had! We will be having 3 plays. Each student will act in at least one play. We will also be presenting our animal slide shows. The show will be in our room (#4) and last about an hour. Plan to be entertained :o)

Group #1 (GH, AD, CSH, KZ, NM, JM, KC, LH, TC) will perform "Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock", on June 3rd at 1:30.

Group #2 (MA, RV, CL, PS, CS(boy), LW, HH, BB, ML) will perform "Anansi and the Talking Melon", on June 5th at 1:30.

Group #3 (LR, SR,NS, DL, NE, CS(girl), SM, BT, DE) will also perform "Anansi and the Talking Melon", on June 6th at 1:30.

Below is a picture of our practice.

Reading buddies this afternoon was really fun.
We are writing a new newspaper and PS and KC wanted to interview Mrs. Allen, so during reading buddies they sat down with her and asked her questions.

Sisters arm in arm, gotta love em!

These two were very focused on a great story.

Mrs. Padberg broke her wrist Friday, so she will be gone for the week.

Anansi Plays

I am going to post some pictures that I have taken this week to update everyone.

On Friday I read a few Anansi books that we will be making into plays.

We decided to get started right away on the background scenery.
These are the two stories our plays will be based on.
We will have 3 plays in all. Everyone will have a part.
As soon as I have dates, I will let you know when to come.

After hearing the stories,

I asked the children to write me a letter to tell

me what part they would like.

BB lost his tooth!

PS shared some of his pictures with us of his trip to Disneyland.

This week we celebrated students who have birthdays

this month. Happy birthday!

Away From The Building

I wanted to let you know that I will be away from the building until possibly Thursday.
Mrs. Padberg will be taking over for the whole day while I am gone. Please feel free to
contact her if you need to. The classroom phone number is: 966-3012 but please don't
leave a message because she is unable to get them. If she isn't able to answer the phone,
please call the office at 966-3000 and Karen or Donna will get her the message.
Hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day and enjoyed your gift. I loved every part of their
work.
Mrs. Schimel

Elephant Trainer Visits Us

Today Darcy Ridgeway came in to share with us her experience as an elephant trainer. She use to work at Six Flags in California with a 26 year old Asian elephant named Taj. Here she is showing us a mold of an elephant's ear.

She shared what she has learned and then let us ask questions.
We learned that elephants have to be about 18 before they can have a baby and they are pregnant for 2 years. No wonder they are endangered.

We watched a video as she talked that showed us what her job was like.
We got to see her scoop elephant poop (lots of it), bathe Taj, and Taj doing her job of stacking logs, which is what elephants are used for in Asia.

She also brought some elephant hair for us to feel. It feels like plastic.

We are so lucky to have her share her wonderful, unique experience with us.
If you want to help elephants, please don't buy anything with ivory. You can
also visit the website www.elephantconservation.org

At 1:00 we practiced a shelter in place drill.

KZ and HH brought in all these pop tabs! Can you believe it? This will help so many people.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to help others.

Darcy showed us a video of her last day working at the zoo while she was giving Taj her daily bath. As you listen you can hear her explain how Taj reacted when she came back to visit after being away for awhile. You can tell that they really were attached to each other.

Mother's Day

We can't wait for Mother's Day!
We are working on something for you and I tell you, it
sure is fun to hear how much YOU are loved! This is all you get to know for now. :o)

Each week we work on our spelling words using our mini white boards.
Our toughest word this week is "again".

Having Fun Reading

I have been gone for a week, so I apologize for not blogging much last week. I will make up for it this week. I did get this one picture today of this group with their newest reading book . I love their energy and they really know how to work as a team.This is an adventure book that you get so far into the story and then you choose between two options for what will happen next. Then it tells you which page to turn to. It is really fun because there can be so many twists and turns.