Thank you, Mrs. Jorgensonsen!

Once again I had to leave early on Halloween. Usually Mrs. Crabbeesub comes in and subs for me, but she recently fell and broke a hip. So her friend, Mrs. Jorgensonsen, came in for me this afternoon. She was a good old fashioned Norwegian substitute teacher. She loved the Halloween treats brought in by the kids and I understand she had a lot of fun dancing with Just Dance on the Wii.

A Visit from John Latimer

John Latimer is a rural mail carrier from Grand Rapids who also has a radio show on KAXE radio (91.7 fm). Every Tuesday morning he hosts the "Phenology Show" and my class has been a part of it for the last 8 or 9 years. Phenology involves watching nature to see how it changes over time. Things like the first robin spotted in the spring, or when a tree loses all its leaves. Every day we talk about weather and changes in nature during science class. We write up a report and call it in to John's show on Tuesday.

Today John came to our class and talked about phenology. We got to go outside (in freezing cold temperatures, I might add) to look at some interesting phenology right along the path near the school forest. We saw a few late blooming wildflowers, a robin's nest and we learned about willow galls.

Thanks John, for being a part of our class.

Fall Wonder Wander

I love these warm, sunny fall days. Today the 5th graders went on a Wonder Wander. They had five minutes to wander along the edge of the woods and find one plant that they found interesting. They then had a half hour to make observations, draw and do sketchbook notes for this plant. The drawings were incredible. These students really know how to look carefully at items from nature!

Spelling Fun Day

Our Thursday spelling assignment is always something kind of fun. By rolling a 12-sided die, we determine which activity will be completed. Some of these are games and others are more art activities. The class favorite is always number 7 - shaving cream. Who wouldn't like to write their spelling words in shaving cream?

It's Snake Season!

Minnesota snakes love these warm fall days. The gravel roads and highways are filled with garter and red belly snakes soaking up those last rays of sunshine. Unfortunately, there are cars on these roads as well. I have seen so many flattened snakes the last few days.

Today I brought in a tiny little garter snake and a red belly snake for the kids to explore. Almost every one of my 5th and 6th graders were brave enough to hold a snake. After spending the day in my classroom, I released them right where I found them - on the gravel road by my house (but I let them go in the ditch).

I am sure the poor little guys were scared to death being held hostage by 36 loud and boisterous kids. But I guess it beats the alternative of being flattened on the road!

Observational Drawing

Our art program got cut a year ago, and so this is the second year I have had to teach art. This week we are working on observational drawing, a skill the students will use in science as they document the plants and animals they study this year.

Today the kids selected an interesting rock and spent some time observing with magnifying lens before they started to draw. The goal was to mix colors using their colored pencils to try to match the colors and patterns just right.

I sure have some talented artists in this class - most of them are way better than I am!

Books, Books, Books

These are the shelves in our classroom. I am a little embarrassed to say that I own most of these books. I just can't resist buying the latest titles. Now I will admit that most of these books were purchased at garage sales and used book sales. A few I get from our monthly book order with bonus points. But many of these I bought just because the book looked good to me.

During the school year I mostly read 5th grade books. My adult novels sit at the bottom of the stack, collecting dust until summer vacation rolls around again. The only way I can truly recommend a book to a student is if I have read it myself, and so I find myself deeply engrossed in a 5th grade novel every night.

These books all contain my name in black sharpie. So if you find a book lying around with MAGNER scrawled in it, please see that it gets back to these shelves. I really appreciate it!