Roadside America & McDonalds

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Roadside America. As you can see from the sign below, it is considered the world's greatest indoor miniature village. :-) They just recently celebrated their 80th anniversary, so it has been around for awhile! The kids loved going around the room, pressing buttons to make different things move. Josh's sister and another new friend joined us for the day to make it even more fun!

 

It is always a tradition to get a picture in front of "Ma and Pa" before we leave!

We finished up our day with lunch at McDonald's. The kids had a blast in the playroom once they finished their happy meals. :-)

The Franklin Institute

We went to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia yesterday. What a fun and busy day! We got to be part of both a Liquid Air show and the Science of Combustion show, and then we got to explore all over the museum.

Here are some bits and pieces of our day! We were moving around so fast that I didn't take quite as many pictures as I usually do! A few of these are borrowed from another teacher. :-)

 

Exploring the Air Force plane

I try to encourage working together as a team! Here they are trying to pump up a balloon as much as they can before the timer runs out. (They still have some work to do :-))

They are turning a train wheel and then hitting the brakes to see how quickly it makes the wheel stop!

 

One of the first things we did was walk through the Giant Heart - twice! This display has been around for a long time (I walked through it when I was in elementary school!) and is always the thing that kids remember the most about the Franklin Institute!

 

One of the newest areas is the Sports Zone room. The boys loved racing against the Philly Phanatic and trying out some surfing techniques - among other things! 

Faith and I were buddies all day :-)

 

Group picture to conclude our fun field trip!

Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum

On Thursday we went to Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum for their Hands-on History day. We got to walk around and explore an 18th and 19th century village filled with all kinds of preserved items from that time period of Pennsylvania German culture.

We got to work with sheep's wool and learn about the process of turning it into yarn.

We had to use these special "combs" to get all the knots out of the wool.

We got to go on a wagon ride through the village!

A group picture in front of the general store before we got to go explore inside.

Enjoying the beautiful weather during our lunch break!

Although there are many parts of this time period that fascinates this teacher, I am so thankful for certain modern conveniences! Thankfully, this outhouse was not the actual facility we had to use! :-)

 

A Dunkin Donuts Field Trip!

 

Enjoying some yummy donuts and milk!

Oley Turnpike Dairy

We had a fun afternoon at Oley Turnpike Dairy! We got to climb on hay bales, ride on trikes, slide down a slide, conquer a corn maze, go on a hay ride through the cornfield, visit animals in the zoo, and best of all, finish our fun day with ice cream!

   

 

Joshua and Michael enjoying their ice cream!

Faith enjoying her ice cream with 3 of my Kindergarten "alumni" :-)

First Fun Friday!

On Friday, we went to a big park with the elementary students. We had lots of fun!

9 More Days and Counting!

I'll tell you what. This teacher is exhausted! I took over as full-time teacher in April, and it has been quite the adventure! This past week especially I think both the students and I felt the distinct pull of summer. We are all ready to be done with school!

Of course, we still have a few more days left so we are trying to make each day count. On Friday, we had a picnic lunch, played at a playground, and went on a walking trail. It was so nice to be out of the classroom and out in the beautiful, sunny weather!

One-Room Schoolhouse Fun!

We went on a field trip to Quiet Valley Farm yesterday. The students dressed up for the 1800's, and got to experience what it was like to be in a one-room schoolhouse. They also got to learn about sheep, wool and how to use a loom to make cloth. It was a fun-filled day!

Want to see more pictures? - Click Here!

The DaVinci Science Center

On Tuesday we went to the DaVinci Science Center. It is a GREAT place to take elementary kids because everything is hands-on. You are allowed to touch everything ;-). Wow, does that make a teacher's job a lot easier!!

This place deals with every type of Science. We got to be involved in an Electricity program which was pretty amazing. Some of the kids got to participate and see how electricity works. They got to touch starfish and sea urchins, play with magnets, go through a tunnel, lift weights, pretend to be meteorologists, learn about dinosaurs....honestly, there are just too many fun things to name!

A special part of our time at the DaVinci Science Center was being able to be part of a weather program with our local meteorologist, Ed Hanna! He has done many school programs, and did a great job keeping the kids' interest with pictures and videos.

 

There was a camera man there for a little bit, and we discovered that we were going to be featured on the news!!! That was rather exciting to hear. :-) I was able to capture the moment on my phone. Not the best quality, but you can hear what he is saying. It does a teacher's heart proud when she hears her students being called attentive, devoted and sharp on TV!

 

We took one last group shot before the kids explored the fun Dinosaur room. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get everyone to not only look at the camera at the same time, but also smile? Yeah, the second after this picture was taken, they literally bolted all over the room. They just don't seem to grasp the importance of capturing the moments like their teachers do. ;-) It was a fun {exhausting} day of exploring!!!!

Bounce U

On Friday, the students on Honor Roll were able to go to Bounce U - an indoor playground filled with bouncing equipment. ;-) They were bouncing, sliding, climbing and having loads of fun together! Definitely a great way to get rid of some of their endless energy.  By the end of our time, there were rosy cheeks, and tired bodies heading to the bus. Success!!!

Check out more pictures here!

Christmas Shopping!

This afternoon we went Christmas shopping at a nearby dollar store. Each student had 3 people they could buy something for. During this Christmas season, we wanted to focus on the spirit of GIVING rather than the spirit of getting. Most of the students were buying presents for Mommies, Daddies, and Grandparents. Some were also buying for friends, so we had to make sure we guarded our shopping baskets so certain people couldn't peek!

They were each able to buy 3 gifts because they all earned 3,000 merits in school. You get merits for getting your work done, quoting Bible verses, getting 100% on your tests, showing character etc. 

This shopping event went really smoothly, for which we were all thankful! When it was first mentioned as a possibility, we weren't sure how we all felt about it. ;-) Organization was the key though!

Wrapping paper, tape and tags were also purchased, so when we got back to school, each group could wrap their presents. I think it is safe to say that everyone is officially in the Christmas spirit now! :-)

 

Red Lobster

Every quarter we do something special with the students who get on honor roll. The first quarter of the school year ended last week, and all 14 students made it on honor roll!

Red Lobster has a special program they recently started for students, and so we took advantage of the opportunity. The students had a great time learning about Red Lobster and all the important responsibilities everyone has to make sure things run smoothly in the restaurant.

We got to meet Larry Lobster, wear hair nets, visit the kitchen area, scoop out biscuits, compete in a coloring contest, and best of all, enjoy a free lunch! It was a great learning experience for us all. :-)

Strawberry Acres

Today we went to Strawberry Acres for a field trip - not to pick strawberries, but to pick APPLES! We started off with learning about what happens to apple trees during the different seasons. Then "Johnny Appleseed" told us his life story. After the story was over, the students were asked some questions about him, and one of the questions was, "Why does he wear a pot on his head?" A first grader raised her hand, and stated, "Because he wants to cover his bald spot!" Hmmm....well, you never know. :-)

The best part of the day was taking a bumpy ride in an open air bus into the apple orchard. Each student could pick 3 apples to take home with them. The field trip was then concluded with petting some animals, and even feeding them some grass. What a beautiful fall day for a field trip!