My 3rd grade classroom

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 10:26 pm

A month in now.... wonder how the classroom and Ms Kathy are holding up...:wah:

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 2:30 am

aww I am gald this got bumped I missed it first time round:-4

Kathy, WOW your a 3rd grade teacher every would would love to have in their fondest memories of their school years.

Class looks so friendly and inviting too....Fab pics hun

My girls would be teachers pet for sure:-4

p.s. my 10 year old is on a school trip today...Dangerpoint and Talacre beach...Excited:D

http://www.north-wales.police.uk/nwpv2/ ... d=PR619321

http://www.stayinwales.co.uk/wales_picture.cfm?p=2035

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:48 pm

*****Just a note before I post my pictures. I don't feel comfortable posting my kidlet's pictures right now even though I have permission from the parents to do so. I asked the kids to turn their heads or look away when I took the pics. Many pics I took from the neck down. I wish that I could share the full effect of this project with you. You'd laugh at their expressions of delight when they learn something new:wah: *****.....maybe one day....

Dear Friends,

Just thought I'd check in with some updates about my 3rd grade kidlets;). As usual, it takes a bit of time to get the kids organized and up to par, but we're on the right road now. Today was the first time that we worked in study groups to investigate some of the parts of a simple, green plant.

My friend, bless his heart:-4, sent in a ton of plants from his garden for the kidlets to explore. The kids were paired up in groups of 2 with newspaper on their desks and magifying glasses to view the plants.

They took a bunch of plants that included the dirt, roots and flowers. The task was to use all of their senses to locate the roots, stems, leaves and flowers on a plant and draw pictures of their findings.

Well, you'd think that I gave them a piece of gold. They had a ball exploring and working together. They even found the pistil, stamen and seeds. It's funny...one group thought that this part of the plant was a live spider :wah: It really looked like a spider:p

At the end of the day, we wrapped up the plants and their findings to be brought home to share with their family. What a great day we had....We're growing up and maturing step by step.........slowly we grow......

The first few pictures are of our outside bulletin board that wishes a happy birthday to our school......Our school is 20 years old this September and our school mascot is the teddy bear. Hope you enjoy the rest of the pics.

Chonsi and I are going to do a buddy experiment with our classes after the Christmas holidays. We've going to do the same experiment with our 3rd and 6th graders, write letters to each other about our findings and hopefully have permission to take some pictures...can't wait....

Give me some time to post all pics....

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:52 pm

you always do so much for them!:-4

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:54 pm

Our outside bulletin board.....Happy 20th Birthday to our school.....

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:56 pm

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 4:03 pm

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 4:05 pm

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 4:06 pm

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 4:08 pm

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 4:09 pm

Odie;1013165 wrote: you always do so much for them!:-4

Thanks Odie:-4 I hope these are our budding scientists:-6

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:18 pm

I can't believe that next week begins the month of December. Here's my December bulletin board....

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:20 pm

Here's 2 more pics of my bulletin board:-6

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:22 pm

Fab Pics Kathy:-6:-6

Your an awesome teacher, bet the kideroos love you to bits:-4

Post by **spot** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:23 pm

You're very good at those, I'd not know where to start if I had to make one. It looks wonderful.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:27 pm

Oh, makes me want an elementary classroom, your boards are so pretty!

What did you do today for Thanksgiving? We had the Reptile Man come in, with all kinds of cool critters, the kids were enchanted, the teachers smiled all day long.

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:32 pm

Ahhhhhh Thank you Chezzie and Spot. I love to make our classroom inviting.

The kidlets are really cute. 2 of my little girls were so excited as they had a play date after school. They were going to paint their nails, play school, and have macaroni for their dinner. They invited me to their play date:wah::wah:

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:37 pm

chonsigirl;1069702 wrote: Oh, makes me want an elementary classroom, your boards are so pretty!

What did you do today for Thanksgiving? We had the Reptile Man come in, with all kinds of cool critters, the kids were enchanted, the teachers smiled all day long.

Hi Chonsi,

We did crafts with our 5th grade buddies. We ate cupcakes with Thanksgiving decorations, read stories about Thanksgiving and made turkeys:wah::wah: We cut out a template of a turkey and glued it to an Idaho potato. The potato was the body of the turkey:yh_rotfl It was loads of fun...

pinkchick · Post by **pinkchick** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 3:49 pm

Kathy your boards are so lovely :-4

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:06 pm

Before marrying my present wife I dated a lady that taught third grade. I gained a whole new perspective after sitting in with a small group of her students and helping with their math work. I did this on two occasions. I was intrigued with all the displays, posters etc. in the classroom because all I remember of my 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade classroom was the American Flag and a picture of George Washington above the blackboard. She spent quite a bit of her own money on supplies and told me that's not unusual for most grade school teachers. I just assumed that the school provided all the supplies. The school was in a part of town that drew children from a number of ethnic backrounds, Hmong, Vietnamese, Hispanic, Black as well as Caucasian. I was also surprised with the amount of time she spent on school work outside of the classroom. Prior to this experience, I thought that elementary school teachers had it made and were over paid and under worked. I now have a greater appreciation for what they do and how they do it.

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sun Nov 30, 2008 11:19 pm

Kathy Ellen;1069695 wrote: I can't believe that next week begins the month of December. Here's my December bulletin board....

beautiful Christmas pictures!

You are a teacher that really cares about her students.......not many like you around anymore!:-4

cars · Post by **cars** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:32 am

Awesome, KE, just awesome!!!

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:16 am

I just found this thread for the first time. Amazing!!!!! And what a great idea to take those pictures and let us all have a peek into this wonderful third grade world you have created. I very fondly remember my own third grade teacher - she introduced me to music. Your children are very lucky to have you, Kathy. And so are we!

qsducks · Post by **qsducks** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:32 am

Looks a lot like my son's 2nd grade classroom. Inviting them into the new world of learning. Wish you taught at our school as some of the teachers are so glum:wah:

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:31 pm

My 3rd graders observed mealworms on Friday and they had a blast:-6......

We're beginning a Science chapter on animals and the children will be choosing an animal to research after the holidays. On Friday, we worked in groups of 4 to observe mealworms feeding and moving. The wee mealworms were adorable and loved sucking on the water from apples, spuds, lettuce and cereal...had to add a bit of water to the cereal.

At first, the kidlets were nervous about handling the mealworms, but once they realized how cute they were, it was full speed ahead. Some mealworms were actually flipping in the kidlet's hands (they wore gloves). The mealworms were actually trying to shed their skin, but they looked like acrobats:yh_rotfl...sooooo funny:-6

We learned how the beetle goes through the process of metamorphasis....egg, larva, pupa and beetle. They saw the larva and pupa stages of the mealworm metamorphasis, but not the last stage which was the actual beetle.

This just happened to be the day that principal, supervisor and superintendent in our district were all in our school at a meeting. They stopped in to see my class observing the mealworms.

This was definitely a banner day for us...The kidlets loved the observation and were delighted to see all the big wigs join us:-4

I'll post some pics for you in the next 2 posts. Remember that I'm uncomfortable to put their full face on the net. I've asked them to turn their heads a bit.:p

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:35 pm

My 3rd graders observing mealworms....

Pictures of the mealworms...

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:37 pm

My 3rd graders observing mealworms....

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:39 pm

My 3rd graders observing mealworms....

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:40 pm

My 3rd graders observing mealworms....

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:58 pm

awesome pics!

your very wise not to post their faces, you never know who is out there!

-even their own parents may see them!:eek::eek:

glad they had such a good time with the mealworms!:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:03 pm

I'd like to post this moment with my kidlets in my own thread now, and then share some of their drawings of me to show you how beautiful they think I am....:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl. I'll post them in the next post.....

God bless America and President Obama

I've spent the last few weeks teaching my wee ones, my darling 3rd graders, the beauty of our country....AMERICA.....Land of the free and home of the brave.

We watched a fabulous video of Martin Luther King, and the children cried when they saw how the African Americans were treated years ago. They just couldn't understand how one could be treated so badly. Children at this age do not see color or bondage...they see human beings and freedom to express their ideas.....To dance, to sing, to walk on your hands, to have cuddly webkinz and to give lots of hugs and kisses.

We took a virtual tour of the White House and all of its glory. Oh, they were so impressed with the size and magnificence of the White House. I told them that if I was President Obama's child and could do anything I wanted on the 1st night home, I would jump on my bike in glee and ride all around the White House visiting every room and screaming with delight. One of the teachers heard me and said that she would put on a pair of her purple fuzzy socks and slide around all the rooms. We then wrote a paragraph of what each would do if they were our President's child on their 1st day in their new home. Can't wait to read them tomorrow:-4

We watched President Obama's Inauguration and each child sat there glued to the program in awe. I couldn't believe how focused they were for all of that time. I pointed out all of the dignitaries as they appeared on the screen at the capitol. It was an enchanting and heart-warming event to say the least.

As I was pointing out all of our former Presidents and their wives who were still alive, I started to just chock up and cry. I couldn't help myself....Tears and laughter go hand-in-hand I guess. It was so wonderful to see them so happy and peaceful, and then so sad for me to see them age and know they won't be here forever. Guess I kept thinking of my Mom and Dad and miss them so much. Wish we could stay young forever:-4.

My wee ones realized that I was in bits and ran over to comfort me. We did a group hug and sang a song. They proclaimed that I was the Queen of the world, and proceeded to draw beautiful pictures of me in all of my finest attire. You would have been so proud of me......I was young, beautiful and had lovely shoes and jewelry on...

Yes, indeedy...it was a good day had by all:) I must take some pictures that my kidlets drew so you can see how really beautiful I am:-4

My kidlets love our country and hope that, with patience, we will one day see America standing proud and tall as we should be...a nation amongst nations wearing their finest...dressed to the nines:D

I was also so pleased with the Obamas for all of their warmth and kindness shown to the Bushes....all of their special gifts were endearing:-6. I also loved the fact that they attended the dinner for John McCain....

That was a class act;)

I adore my country, and I'm also proud of all of the countries that our Forum Garden members hail from....I'm thankful of all that you do within your country to make this a "Wonderful World."

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:12 pm

Lovely drawings of me by my little kidlets:-4

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:13 pm

Kathy Ellen;1117937 wrote: Lovely drawings of me by my little kidlets:-4

those are so cute, they really love you!

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:16 pm

Two more pictures of my queenly self:yh_rotfl

mrsK · Post by **mrsK** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 7:51 pm

Kathy Ellen;1117937 wrote: Lovely drawings of me by my little kidlets:-4

They are lovely Kathy.

"Queen of the Moon"

I love it:-4:-4

Aren't kids great?

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:18 pm

mrsK;1117946 wrote: They are lovely Kathy.

"Queen of the Moon"

I love it:-4:-4

Aren't kids great?

they are, but so much as to do with the teacher as well!;)

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:48 pm

It's almost spring and here is our new bulletin board for March/April. We've been working on writing skills and have created some "shape" poems and "limericks." You can click on the pics a few times to make them larger.

I'll post a few pics here of our bulletin board...

Here's our ideas for good traits of writing skills.....

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:53 pm

Here's a pic of our "Shape" poems and the full bulletin board......You can click on it to make it larger....

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:57 pm

Here's a pic of our "Limerick" poems...Click to make it larger...

cars · Post by **cars** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:52 pm

Miss KE, Miss KE, I've said it before, & I'll say it again!

I sure wish I had a 3rd grade teacher like you when I went to school, Miss KE, I sure do!

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:57 pm

awwwwwwwwww I wish I had of had a teacher like you.

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 5:34 am

Thank you Cars and Odie:-4

I really thought my kidlets would have a hard time creating a Limerick, but they understood the concept quite quickly.

cars · Post by **cars** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 8:05 am

There was an old man from tipacanou who fell asleep in a canoe,

while dreaming of venius he . . . . oh, oh I forgot the rest!

:p:wah:

(I learned that limerick in the later grades :p)

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:01 pm

Would you believe another year has passed, and it's time to set up my classroom again! I've just spent 14 hours during the last 2 days in my classroom with no air conditioning. It's been about 95F here and 100% humidity...My thermo says 105 in the classroom

( Unfortunately on these days I have to move furniture and all heavy items. Hopefully we will have less humidity next week:p

I'm posting a few pictures of my classroom and outside bulletin board in the next thread. Kidlets will be in straight rows for now and in groups when I get to know them better.

Rumor has it that I have a lovely class:-4, so I'm all excited now and absolutely can't wait to meet my kidlets:D

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:03 pm

May you have a happy class and a wonderful school year ahead!:-4

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:17 pm

Here's my bulletin board that is outside of my classroom.....Guess you noticed that my theme this year is the "Ocean." Well, it should be since we're all beach lovers here and most of our community work at the beach during the summer;)

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:31 pm

Here is a picture of one of my favorite poems for Kids...."The Fog" by Carl Sandburg. It's such a simple, wonderful poem that confuses the children at first, but when we study poetry...the kidlets eyes open wide when they learn what similies and metaphors are, and always remember this poem.

FOG

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on. Carl Sandburg

The Poem Fog by Carl Sandburg - Example of American Poetry

Poetry written such as the poem Fog by Carl Sandburg is piece of literature written by a American poet in meter or verse expressing various emotions which are expressed by the use of variety of techniques including metaphors, similes and onomatopoeia. The emphasis on the aesthetics of language and the use of techniques such as repetition, meter and rhyme are what are commonly used to distinguish American poetry from American prose. Poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions. A famous example of American poetry is the poem Fog by Carl Sandburg

Here's a picture of the poem on my door for the children to look at for a few days and think about how wonderful and simple poetry can be.

qsducks · Post by **qsducks** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:33 pm

Kathy Ellen;1233152 wrote: Here's my bulletin board that is outside of my classroom.....Guess you noticed that my theme this year is the "Ocean." Well, it should be since we're all beach lovers here and most of our community work at the beach during the summer;)

Now that Quin is entering 3rd grade I can ask for advice:wah:

Kathy Ellen · Post by **Kathy Ellen** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:37 pm

Here's a picture of a list of our classroom jobs....everyone works here:wah: and some cute reminders of good behavior for all.

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:42 pm

Kathy Ellen;1233162 wrote: Here's a picture of a list of our classroom jobs....everyone works here:wah: and some cute reminders of good behavior for all.

I'll do the sweeping.

cute!:guitarist:guitarist