The Elvis Caterpillar

Take a good look at what three of my students found on the playground this afternoon. It looks furry like a mammal, has what appears to be a ponytail, and seems to "glide" rather than crawl across the leaf. It drew the attention of staff and students alike, as we puzzled til our puzzlers were sore.

Then it occurred to me to google it.

This is the caterpillar of the puss moth, sometimes referred to as the "Elvis Caterpillar" due to it's awesome pompadour and slug-like build, according to www.squidoo.com/caterpillar-identification.

The site went on to say that these caterpillars have stinging hairs, and that they sometimes drop out of trees onto unlucky passersby. These moths are relatively uncommon, so if you see one, you are lucky -- but don't touch!

Neat find, my young entomologists!

Fifty Years From Now

There are moments during a teacher's career that cannot be measured in worth, because the truth is, they are priceless. These moments seem to make up for all the times that your well-planned lessons are met with dozens of questions, or worse yet, blank stares. These moments make up for the times when you've already sent disruptive students away from the puzzle table and back to their desks, and you've attended to three stomach aches, a headache and an ant bite before 9:30 a.m.

These moments make it all worthwhile.

Today I experienced such a moment.

We were in history and geography class discussing the country of Hong Kong. We talked about the Opium Wars between Britain and China, and how Britain set up a port city in Hong Kong to keep the trade open, against China's will. Hong Kong was leased to Britain for 99 years.

Bad form, Britain, my class concluded.

Then we discussed China's communist government taking over, which led to the exodus of the Chinese people into Hong Kong. China wanted Hong Kong back, but Britain refused, saying that China would ruin Hong Kong.

Good form, Britain, my class concluded.

In 1997 the 99 years was up. China took Hong Kong back, but agreed to make no changes for fifty years. "Guys," I said, "this is current history! This wasn't ages ago, this is right now! Do you realize that we are in those fifty years?"

My students were amazed to think that they were living in history, and that we didn't know what changes China would make to Hong Kong because those fifty years aren't up yet. I told them to listen to the news in 2047 to find out the end of this story.

"I never knew H & G was fun!" Matthew shouted. "Mrs. Hatfield,  you make H & G fun!"

I was tickled pink, but the best was yet to come...

"Will we still be alive in 2047?" the class eagerly asked. We did the math on the board. "Most of you will be 44."

"How old will you be, Mrs. Hatfield?" Again, we did the math and came up with the ripe old age of 83.

"Eighty-three!" the class was shocked.

Then Matthew looked at me and smiled. "Don't worry, Mrs. Hatfield," he consoled, "I'll come visit ya and let ya know what happens."

Project Passport

One of my favorite activities to do with my students the last week of school is to wrap up the year's history and geography studies with a craft. This craft is not only fun, but it is educational as well. And it fits in so nicely with fourth grade's foreign country theme.

We make passports.

First I let them see my family's real passports. They are free to look at them, laugh at old pictures, and see the different countries we have travelled to. I explain to them how a passport is used, and why it is necessary to have one for international travel. They always find this fascinating.

After all questions have been asked and answered, the real fun begins. I give each student their own passport that I have put together previously by cutting a piece of blue construction paper in half, and then adding five sheets of printer paper cut in half and stapled down the middle to create 10 pages when folded into a book. Then using a pattern I have cut out, I spray paint a golden eagle on the front. A gold paint pen works nicely to add the lettering.

I give each student the laminated picture of themselves that I have been using all year for bulletin board displays. They tape or glue their picture on the inside cover.

Since our history and geography books are in the form of lifepacs, I let the students cut out pictures of all the places we have studied this year to use as "stamps" to fill their passports. To ensure that each student will have all their lifepacs at the end of the year, I always collected them before starting a new one.

Students cut out flags of Australia, Turkey, Kenya and  Brazil. They had flags of Hong Kong, Great Britain, Argentina and Ukraine. There were platypuses, penguins and anacondas. Some had visited the Sydney Opera House, while others preferred pictures of the Crown Jewels.

Great explorers like Christopher Columbus and Henry Stanley filled their pages. Tropical rain forests, grasslands, deserts and polar regions stamped their books. Some even travelled to outer space, a place where my passport will NEVER get stamped!

One word of caution: When it comes to glue, less is best! Every year I have at least one student who has to prop their passport open to keep the pages from gluing shut.
















This project is a huge hit with even the most art-resistant students. This year I turned it into a gradable project. Everyone earned an E+ for their efforts, and produced a fine souvenir of 4th grade in the process.

Appreciation Week Extraordinaire

Seven Quick Takes (vol. 9)

I can't even begin to describe how blessed I have been this past week. How can I put into words the feeling that my heart is overflowing all over the place. Hopefully if I try to share just a little glimpse of this feeling, you can catch a few splashes yourself.

God is so good to me, and this week especially He is reminding me that I am one of His favorites. I bet He is just waiting to remind you the same thing, because you are one of His favorites, too!







1. Teacher Appreciation Week began on Monday with a special tribute to each teacher by their students, and a hall of fame posted in each of our three buildings.






2. Sometime during math class, a refreshment cart came to my door filled with a variety of drinks and snacks. And get this, the parent that was serving wore a black dress and pearls. Nice touch, Rachel!





3. On Tuesday and Thursday our students' parents brought in fresh fruit, muffins and a tray of cupcakes to show their appreciation to the teachers. On Wednesday a gift was found by each teacher on their desk. And on Friday, moms served us lunch while another mom, dressed in an evening gown and heels, took lunch and recess duty. God bless you, Patti!




4. My lovely daughter, Ania, left this on my desk Thursday morning.










5.  Friday was my pre-birthday celebration. My students each shared something sweet about me at assembly, as did my own children and husband. At home, my family cooked dinner for me, fried chicken salad and Mexican Sundaes for dessert. My cousin gave me a gift that was a real blast from the past. Yes, cows were my life growing up on a dairy farm, and everyone USED to give me cow gifts. I haven't received one of these in decades. Thanks, Kath!





6. Saturday was my birthday, and it was a day for me to give back some of this wonderful appreciation, which only served to intensify its effect. Ania was asked to participate in the Marine Mud Challenge at Fort Gordon, but their team needed an adult member. Andy stepped up to the plate and signed up for Ania's sake. I just love that man!






7. Saturday night was Spring Dance for our high school. Kevin's class of nine boys came over to our house for a barbecue before the dance, put on by two of Alleluia Community's youth leaders (one of whom also happens to be my sister-in-law's fiance). So while the rest of the family was at the mud challenge, Kevin was having a cook out for his class at my house, but did I have any worries? Absolutely not because our youth leaders are awesome!



P.S. This morning as I laid in bed thinking about my seven quick takes, Philip crawled in next to me and said, "Happy Mother's Day, Mama. I love you." Heaven help me....stand back, I think I may just spontaneously combust!

Add your own seven quick takes here.

Day at the Museum

Wednesday dawned bright and early for my fourth grade class as we gathered at 6:00 a.m. to board the bus for our final field trip of the year. Where were we headed? To Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina, three hours away. 

Every year I begin planning this trip in March, and every year I am amazed at level of ease that this trip comes together. I NEVER have trouble finding enough chaperones. In fact, this year I had a nearly 1:1 parent/student ratio. And with this being Lucia's fourth grade year, I asked Andy to be our bus driver. He agreed.

 Even at 6:00 a.m. everyone SEEMED bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We circled up for a prayer, climbed in the bus, got the kids settled and began our pleasant marathon day.

Here are some of the highlights of our day at the museum.
 

Our handsome bus driver

Happy Trails

Lucia pulling the high rope

Daddy pulling the low rope

Andy challenged Lucia to a rope pulling contest in which two ropes were attached to a lever. Lucia won with a little help from a chaperone who couldn't bear to see her lose. I'm not sure if Andy was giving it his "all" or not.

The bed of nails

The bed of long nails

Ugly frog from the front

Ugly frog from the back

Students enjoyed visiting the museum's rain forest and aquarium where they could pet a ball python from West Africa as well as some small marine animals such as hermit crabs and horseshoe crabs.


The students had a great time with all the hands-on exhibits. There was an area for duct tape creations, an area for stop-motion movies, building with wood, aluminum foil art as well as simple machines such as levers and pulleys.

Lucia's stop motion movie.

We also visited their Imax theater which held a three story dome screen that warranted gasps, oohs and ahhs from the group.

When we pulled into our school parking lot at 5:45 p.m. there were many happily worn out children, almost as many happily exhausted parents, a done bus driver and one fourth grade teacher thankful for yet another memorable trip to  Discovery Place.

Welcome to Country Day

Welcome, karibu, wilkommen, salve, bienvenue, yokoso, bienvenido, Boas Vindas...

If you happened to be at Alleluia Community School this morning, you may have noticed something a bit strange about the fourth grade class; they were not in uniform.

Today was fourth grade's annual "Country Day" celebration.

In our history and geography curriculum, we spend  our year studying different countries of the world and their cultures. So this is a fun way to put our writing and research skills to the test and wrap up the year.

The students have been working on their country reports for five weeks, doing research, writing paragraphs, coloring flags and drawing maps to create a 12 page (or bigger) report on a country of their choice. The students did wonderful reporting work, and all achieved an E+ for their efforts.

The whole activity culminated in the tradition that has become known as Country Day. Each student dressed as a native from their country, and introduced themselves to the student body as well as to friends and relatives who came to see.

Boy from Germany
Mummy from Egypt
Leif  Erikson from Sweden

Lief Erikson
Farmer from Japan
Viking from Iceland

Senorita from Mexico
Shepherd from Israel
Lindsay Plaid from Scotland

Queen from France
Dancer from Ireland
Tour Guide from St. Lucia

To top it off, they brought in samples of authentic food, which their parents so graciously prepared.  We had a real smorgasbord!

Thank you, fourth grade, for a wonderful Country Day 2012!

Big, Fat, Juicy Adjectives

Here's a fun way to teach your students about adjectives. Start with a simple sentence such as:

My big pig happily ate my juicy burrito.

Next spend some time identifying the adjectives. Since pig and burrito are nouns, the words that describe these nouns are adjectives.

Then the fun begins. Go around the room and let each student add an adjective to the sentence, which gets funnier and funnier as you go. 

1.  My big, fat pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting burrito.

2.  My big, fat, purple pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy burrito.

3.  My big, fat, purple, hairy pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy, green burrito.

4.  My big, fat, purple, hairy, good-for-nothing pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy, green, rotten burrito.

5.  My big, fat, purple, hairy, good-for-nothing, million-ton pig happily ate my juicy, disgusting, slimy, green, rotten, tasty burrito. (Yum!)

After the class has a good laugh, ask them to draw a picture of the final sentence. Here is a sample of what my class turned in after doing this activity a few weeks ago. (note: the pig at the top of this page is also student drawn).

Prim and Proper Pig

Bacon Strip Pig

Very Hairy Pig

Balloon Pig & Burrito Log

Twelfth Night Eve

One of the longest standing traditions of our fourth grade class is our annual Shakespearean productions.This was started by Karen Murrell, Alleluia Community School's fourth grade teacher for 16 years. She retired in 2008, but left a legacy of Shakespearean actors and actresses across the years.

Kevin (the one in turquoise)
as the "Doctor"
Romeo and Juliet 2006

Ania as Adrian
The Tempest 2008

Some of the plays had to be adapted to fit the demographics of the class. For example, in 2006, there were eight boys and only one girl, so I bet you can guess who got to star as Juliet! All the other roles were masculinized.

Philip as Julius Caesar 2010

Since she retired, Karen continues to come back each year and offer her expertise in these productions, and I am happy to allow her access to my students. This year, as well as last, we have a new director, Amy Parris, with Karen offering to produce the show.

So, as tradition would have it,"Twelfth Night" will be performed tomorrow, and, as with most plays performed by children of this age, it came together at the last minute, after much coaxing, bribing, encouraging, reminding, and nail biting.

So, without further ado, I offer you these scenes from today's dress rehearsal, and beg of thee thy prayers for tomorrow's performance.

Valentine and Maria
let in Sir Toby Belch

Lucia as Maria
Lady Olivia's Chamber Maid

Twins Sebastian and Viola
thought each other dead

Sebastian and Viola
reunited at last

Cast and Curtain Call

Malvolio realizes he's been
the victim of a cruel trick

You Rock!

Today our geology chapter in science came to a close with a resounding crescendo! It was rock collection day in the fourth grade, and fun was had by all who participated.

Each student brought in their own collection of rocks, labelled, and displayed in some fashion. For most, their method of choice was an egg carton.

The students spent some time admiring each other's collections while I went to each desk, asking pertinent questions, and grading each one. All of my students got an "E" for Excellent!



After lunch, we invited each of the other elementary grades to come in one by one and view the collections. My fourth graders were awesome as they answered questions, sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm with the rest of the school.

What is this one called?

Kindergarten Comes to See

"EEW...petrified dino poop!"

Explaining a Rock

As each class lined up to leave to make room for the next class to come in, I handed each student a rock of their own. Then I watched their gratitude turn to surprise when I told them that they could go ahead and EAT their rock. They were chocolate rocks!

First Grade

Chocolate Rocks!

I think the second graders responded the best when they all shouted together, "Mrs. Hatfield, YOU ROCK!"

Right back at you, students of Alleluia Community School.  "YOU ROCK!"