Boone Hall Plantation in Charleston, SC

We've been studying the Civil War and last weekend my husband and I took a trip to Charleston.  While we were there we went on a tour of one of the most historic plantations in the South.  I promised my students that I would share with them the pics from our trip.

 Boone Hall Plantation

 Entrance way

 Smokehouse

 Cotton Gin

 Field of cotton

 Pecan trees lined the long driveway.  The original owner's son actually planted all these trees knowing he would never see how they looked now since it takes a century for them to fully develop.  He had an awesome vision. :)

 So pretty!

 I recommend this tour for you and your family if you are ever in Mt. Pleasant, Charleston.

This is an actual slave cabin.  The family had 20 + slave cabins but only 9 original cabins are still standing.

Rock & Read

We enjoyed a visit this past week to the library where we took some time to "rock" and read for a little while.  The students loved being able to sit in a rocking chair, relax, and cozy up with a good book.

Celebrating SC Palmetto Day!

To celebrate this day in SC, each student used a template to create a palmetto tree project.  I was very impressed with them, and the fact that ALL my students participated in this extra credit project.  To reward their hard work, each students received extra credit in their weakest subject area.

Read Aloud to prep us for PASS testing

We had the privilege of having Rex's mom, Mrs. Barnett come down to our room to read a book to us.  The name of the book is Hooray For Diffendoofer Day and Dr. Seuss died before finishing it, so Jack Prelutsky actually finished it.  This book does a great job with reminding students how hard we've worked all year to prepare, and how they are "ready to take the big test!" :)  Thank you Mrs. Barnett for not only reading this to our class, but allowing us to keep it to enjoy for a few days. :) 

St. Patrick's Day Celebration

Last Monday, we celebrated St. Patrick's day with leprechaun shakes and made rainbows with pots of gold (Skittles and Rolos.)  Students really enjoyed making these edible treats!

 First they got treats (I'm so "Lucky" to have you in my classroom)  from Mrs. P :)

Saying Good-bye is NEVER easy! :(

We had to say farewell to one of our classmates this past Friday.  Sydney and her family are moving so needless to say we shed some tears and hated to see her leave.  Sydney is a sweet student and has such a wonderful and kind-hearted spirit.  We will miss her and we hope to stay in touch and even become pen pals.  

I did my best not to cry in front of her, but couldn't help but shed tears after we hugged and she left.  I'm used to crying on that last day of school but not during the year.  Love you always Syd!

Crazy Hat Day

Another day to celebrate Dr. Seuss was our hat day this past Wednesday! We each wore either a regular hat or crazy hat. :) 

Keys To Friendship

Our guidance counselors and wonderful parent volunteers helped to organize different stations that allowed students to see what life is like for people with disabilities.  Disability stations ranged from being blind to being, not having hands to being in a wheelchair.

This was a powerful lesson that I hope my students will take with them in life.  I was super proud of well-behaved they were at each station.  I am hoping these lessons will last a lifetime.

Blendng In!

Each year I like LOVE teaching this lesson on camouflage.  The students always do so well with understanding this concept better and knowing the difference between camouflage and mimicry.   Every student was given a white plain butterfly.  Next, they find an object in the room at eye level that can be seen by everyone and color their butterfly to match the object they chose.  Once students left for related arts, I taped their butterfly onto the objects chosen.  When they returned they all took turns trying to find the butterflies that blended in.

Fun Run for Boosterthon!

Friday was an amazing day! We ran, we danced, and we celebrated raising over $1,700 for our school to purchase a sunshade for our playground.  In 13 years of teaching I have never seen kids so excited and pumped up about a fundraiser.   The Boosterthon peeps sure do know what they are doing, and they spread a great message of building character with our students.  We started getting ready by decorating our classroom door.

The students really worked hard to ask people for pledges for them for our Fun Run day.  Each day I would have more and more kiddos who had pledged more money.  As of Friday, we were leading the school with more than $50 per lap.  We've earned a free homework pass, extra recess, a bubble gum day, and even more prizes are to come I'm sure. :) Here are a few pictures from Friday's Fun Run.  I am looking forward to next year's Boosterthon!

We also celebrated Rex's birthday and Rad Brad even allowed him to hold the flag while we sang the "Star Spangled Banner."

 The max to run was 35 laps and the majority of my students ran much more than 35.  I was super impressed! I know they slept well Friday night! LOL!

 I know my little man sure did! :)

I couldn't be more proud of Prevatte's "Peeps!"