Pandas, Panda, Everywhere

Our first graders were very fortunate to travel to the National Zoo and visit Bei Bei.  Throughout the year, they have been studying pandas and learning some facts along the way.

Firstie wrote and illustrated a panda book during computer class, and it was presented to the National Zoo during their field trip.  Also, they created beautiful panda masterpieces in Art class.

We combined the two projects into a panda movie.  During this project, students learned how to voice over their images.

Check out their informational movie.

Spring Fever

All educators know that as soon as warm weather hits spring fever also hits.  Needless to say, students get a little feisty, talkative, and are just as ready for summer as the teachers.

However, don't believe the spring fever hype. 

Today we went on a field trip to our local YMCA to review water safety.  Our class has never been so attentive, well behaved and eager to learn.  They listened, asked great questions, and were on task the entire day.  They helped rescue each other by throwing floatation rings.  They held on to each other in the huddle position after the canoe capsized.  They cheered each other on as they raced to the end of the pool.  I couldn't have asked for a better field trip.

Spring fever?  Not. Quite. Yet.

Great Day to be Outdoors

Ahhh, the best way to spend a spring school day is to go outside.  After our unit on natural resources and landforms, we headed to our State Park for a day of hiking and canoeing.  We are fortunate to live approximately 30 miles from a relatively unknown gem.  Our State Park offers camping, hiking, fishing, canoeing, and even more.

During our hike we spotted snakes, frogs, various species of ferns, and evidence of the yellow bellied sapsucker.  Our hike started in a hardwood forest and ended in a swamp.

We also went canoeing on our field trip.  Each canoe had two students and one parent.  We learned the person in the bow (front) of the canoe acts at the engine.  Their job is to use all their muscles to paddle the canoe.  The person in the stern (back) of the canoe is responsible for steering and keeping us on course.  It was a very windy day which made navigating quite difficult.  All in all, it was a great day!

Bike Rodeo

This week we had our annual Bike Rodeo.  Our fourth graders learned rules of the road, importance of safety, hand signals, traffic signs, and parts of the bike.  With bikes and helmets in hand, we headed over to the county recreation complex adjacent to our school and put our new knowledge to the test. The students worked their way through nine stations, spending ten minutes at each station.  Each station reinforced a different skill and/or tested the students' safety knowledge. 

Navigating a Narrow Passage

Ducking Under a Low Object

Using Left and Stop Hand Signals