Rudolph . . . We Want Your Job!

I have recently found the greatest treasures in other teacher's blogs. This idea I saw on a wonderful blog here. With the crazy, hectic schedules right before Christmas and the illness that was going around at school, unfortunately you will not see every one of the ACES in this slideshow. The children pretended that Rudolph was planning to retire and Santa was looking for a replacement. They not only had to create the finest looking set of antlers, but also they had to complete a job application highlighting the skills that would make them a good choice for Rudolph's replacement. Here are some of their responses:

*I can jump high.
*I am in good physical shape.
*I like being cold.
*Santa is so nice I'd like to work for him.
*I am very reliable.
*I am really daring and not scared of anything.




I'm sure Santa will have no problem choosing a replacement with these highly qualified applicants!! Who knows, he may just have to hire them all!

The Gingerbread Man

We are participating in a Holiday Card Exchange project. The theme for the project this year is gingerbread men. The 1st and 2nd grade ACES did a readers' theater today. We hope you will enjoy! I will be posting more information soon about the Holiday Card Exchange.

LoGaN's ExTrEmE rOoM mAkEoVeR

Enjoy Logan's presentation! He was disappointed in the quality of the pictures he got from the internet, but he did a fantastic job! He also worked on making some great transitions that didn't show when I transferred his presentation to Slideshare :(

Logan e r m2

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ExTrEmE rOoM mAkEoVeR

The 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade ACES began an Extreme Room Makeover project in early October. The students were given the task/creative challenge to make over their bedrooms. They were each given a budget of $5,000 and a list of possible internet resources. It was so awesome to watch this project unfold. Most students chose to display their information using PowerPoint. Some decided to make a poster. Many were very frugal and hesitated to spend their budgeted amount. Some filled their rooms with the latest technology and gaming systems. My hope for this project is that the students gained an appreciation of budgeting. We talked about how we must first provide for our needs - bed, pillows, blankets, etc. Then we can think about those items that we might want for entertainment. We talked about how in our families, parents must first provide for our needs. Hopefully the boys and girls can better understand the next time they are told that they don't NEED the newest Xbox 360 game or latest fashions at the mall!!! I plan to continue posting their presentations and pictures of the posters they are creating. Enjoy this first of many . . .

Dominic erm

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Meet the 1st Grade ACES . . .

I'm so glad I did! These little darlings are always ready to learning something new. We get so busy each Friday afternoon that I kept forgetting to take their pictures individually. I couldn't be more thankful to have the opportunity to teach them.

Fuel Up to Play 60

The 5th and 6th Grade ACES made a very quick attempt at a 30-second commercial highlighting how to "Get Healthy, Be Active, and Make a Difference". This was part of a contest sponsored by the Play 60 movement to encourage kids to get off the couch and play. We learned that it's not easy to condense thoughts and ideas from a group into 30 seconds. They gave it their best shot in the hour that we had to spend. Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Weird - but Totally Awesome - Science

The ACES enjoyed some weird, but totally awesome, science experiments recently! We ooohhhhed and aaaaahhhhhed over bubbles. They weren't just your everyday ordinary bubbles. They were bubbles that contained trapped carbon dioxide gas from our dry ice. We made Insta-Worms and Green Slime (hopefully everyone who took some home followed my directions about not opening the slime unless they had permission from a parent :)) We energized Glow-In-The-Dark Powder and made balloons scream.

These experiments came from the Steve Spangler Science Company. If you would like to receive a weekly experiment in your inbox, just visit www.stevespanglerscience.com!

The ACES had a great time with these experiments and gained some knowledge about science concepts in the process. I even heard a few of them say that SCIENCE is their new favorite subject!