I Love My Job!

I received the sweetest note ever today from a secret student, but I have a hunch who it is. That doesn't matter though, because it was the words that this person wrote that brought tears to my eyes. So I can always remember why I teach and what it means to touch a life for good, here is the letter.



Miss Mills,
    You are so kind. You always are being kind. You aren't just my teacher but I can call you my best friend. You always are there for me and not just me but for us all. I am so glad I got you for my teacher.

from: ? 

That is why I teach. This is why I have the best job in the world. 

Love,

Miss Mills

Hawaii and Other Adventures

This week our ship anchored in the port of Hawaii on Tuesday, February 7! It was such a wonderful trip and while there we learned more about Hawaii's culture, and experienced some dance, food, and basic Hawaiian words. It was a lot of work to put it all together, but thanks to Joy, Bethany, Richard Baird, Natalie Jones, and Michelle Coleman it was a huge success. After the party other teachers came up to me and told me how my class told them all about the party and how they are getting ready to go to New Zealand next. Yay!! That was the total purpose of the trip, to show them by having good behavior and doing their best, we get to visit exotic places and have a grand time. Here are some pictures of what we did that afternoon. (Miss Mills was quite pooped after this event, having to vacuum and move all the desks back in time for re-teaching, but thank goodness for planning time) :)

 My amazing roommates Joy and Bethany 

 Thanks to the moves of Joy and Bethany, our ship learned how to do basic Hawaiian moves like the hella and hula. 

That was the most exciting event of the week for the crew, but the day before they had a lot of fun after I showed them how to do a video detailing a weathering or erosion experiment. I can't post up the kids videos, but man, they were creative and very accurate! I was so impressed. Here is my example, and I just want to say, I am totally converted to modeling before letting kids go loose, because I doubt many groups would have had as successful a time as they did if I hadn't shown my example first. Not that I am a master teacher, because I am far from it, but for this time, I helped my students show their true potential.

It was a fantastic week, and there was a lot a laughter and high spirits. Not the best physical week for Miss Mills, because on Tuesday at 5:30 am, she fell and scraped up her knee pretty bad (bad enough that she is now wearing a bandage and wrap 24/7). We actually had two injuries aboard our ship this week, one student is wearing crutches because of flat feet and the pain caused by that, and I am a hobbling old captain. Ha ha. Needless to say, by the end of the day, we just chilled because Miss Mills could stand no longer :)

This next week I'll be on the ball, require some hard work, but also a lot of play, since it's VALENTINE'S DAY soon!! Let's just say there may be a proposal aboard ship, and lots of love. More details to follow.

A New Look

Hello Again!
This week the crew were able to be part of a fashion show...for characters from historical fiction novels. They were so creative and cute. Some of my favorites were Judd Travers from "Shiloh," (the boy who portrayed him even drew a fake beard, and almost got in trouble with another teacher, until I explained the situation, ha ha), Ella, from "Ella Enchanted," Mary from "The Secret Garden," the sweet boy from "Where the Red Fern Grows," (the boy who dressed up for that wore overalls and a orange t-shirt, it was so cute!), a military man, one girl dressed up as a duck, from "Make Way for Ducklings," and I can't remember what book this was from, but one of my students dressed up in a plaid dress with a sweater, and carried a picnic basket with a dog inside. So cute!! And the walks were the best :) Mary, from, "The Secret Garden" had a lot of sass, which is unlike the character, but it definitely left an impression on us audience. She was so spunky, but that is Mary, so I was impressed. It was a wonderful book report fashion show, and awards were even given. My absolute favorite book report yet!

Below are some pictures of my classroom, because, yes, I changed it again. After the Rendezvous all the tables were in different places, and I decided to rearrange to fit what I liked more. Here is what it looks like now:

 I'm actually really proud of this poster-and the kids started to make some great connections with the books they were reading.

 A new place for tables, and some vocabulary sheets for guided reading 

 The kidney table got moved to the back, so there is more space, and I actually like seeing everyone from behind.

 We are in table groups again

Reading Corner!! 

Another thing that happened this week was the old, old, OLD and DEMENTED copier in the upper grade faculty room hit the bucket. It is finished, never going to work again. So, some co-workers decided to give it a proper burial. May it rest in peace. 

So long you evil copier :) You will not be missed 

Though this was super funny, the best part of the week was when I was grading the spelling tests and some girls from my class left me cute notes and pictures. It made me realize again children are so forgiving and worth every sweat and tear. This is why I teach: 

 This sweet girl makes my day everyday with her smile. 

 The note is backwards, but I cherish this note so much. She said, "Miss Mills, you really are the best teacher ever and I really mean that!" It made me teary-eyed. It was exactly what I needed to see that Friday night. 

We just learned how to simplify fractions, and this girl was frustrated with it, but once she got it, she was so excited to share her knowledge. I'm so proud of her!!! (She simplified 6/8 to 3/4) 

Can I just say, I HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD!

Mountain Man Rendezvous

Another term has passed, and along with that comes the next term party. For the first term all of Mapleton School children who didn't get 2 citations went to Trafalga and had a blast. It was actually really stressful for me, but this party for term 2 was AMAZING! For the term 2 party all of the 4th grade was able to participate in a Rendezvous :)

We just finished a unit on the Mountain Men of Utah, such as Jim Bridger, Provost, and Jedediah Smith, which the kids all loved. To celebrate amazing behavior and the learning we just had, the four 4th grade teachers, all worked so hard together, and with amazing help from the principal, the Rendezvous was a success! I had so much fun watching the kids go through the different stations, eat and enjoy company at the trading store, and giving beaver skins to students who wanted to answer a mountain man question. Beaver skins were how each student was able to "buy" anything from the trading store or to do different activities. The stations were nerf guns, buffalo chip throwing, making dream catchers, a frame station, a 3-legged race, throwing beans on a target, walking through a mountainous area (using only construction paper, so creative), and arm wrestling.

I was also so happy that my team members were so helpful with helping me get my room cleaned up and set up for the trading store (Room 18 was a party for sure :) ) The best part was seeing how happy everyone was. Enjoy the pictures!!

 Who Will be the Winner? 

 One student walking through the mountain range 

 Miss Blaisdell is on a mission :) 

 Mountain Men Waiting 

 Lovely Frame 

 Impact! 

This was the buffalo chip throwing; one student literally almost pelted me, ha ha 

This day would not have been a success without an amazing 4th grade team, wonderful supportive room mothers and parent volunteers, and of course, excited and full of life 4th graders!

2012 Time Capsule and Enjoying "It Snowed and Snowed"

After all the "It Snowed and Snowed" I noticed countless numbers of students from other grades and other classes looking and peeking under the transparency's to see what lied beneath. It made me so proud of my students. Here are some of their work up on the wall:

Then for today, I gave the students an option to decorate their 2012 time capsule either with paint or colored markers. Some chose colored makers, and then proceeded to write down their thoughts and goals for 2012 around each number, but most wanted to use paint. It was so adorable to see them working at the round table in the back, especially with their red bibs I made them from cut up pieces of tablecloth, ha ha. Yes, I am learning to be more resourceful.

After decorating each digit in the 2012 number, the students wrote something around each number.
2: Who I Am; How Tall I Am; What is my Shoe Size
0: I Like...
1: Last Year I...
2: My Goals for this Year are...

It turned out really well, and most everyone got the decoration part done today. Monday will be spent writing. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy of this writing project. What a wonderful way to remember being 9 or 10!

 Love the colors and patterns :) 

Aren't their bibs so cute!! Oh, I am so in love with my idea!

All you need is some paint, a plate, brushes, and a tablecloth

One sweet boy put his 2 backwards--a great memory to share with posterity

Kimberly was proud of her design

As you can see, I have amazing sailors aboard my ship. Could not have asked for a better crew! Stay tuned for the next fun writing project we are going to do (also thanks to Pintrest)!

Love,
Captain Mills 

It Snowed and Snowed

Hello! Thanks to Pintrest, I found this amazing idea and used it on my students, and they LOVED it! I introduced the writing activity by showing them my example and explaining the concept. Basically, a picture of a snowy scene is drawn and in that picture, one object or animal that is going to be hidden under a blanket of snow (yay for puffy paint). Beneath the picture are lines to put down 5 clues to what the hidden thing is. I told my class that they wanted to keep it super secret so they could all be part of a guessing game...and boy did they take me seriously! I constantly heard, "Hey, don't look at my picture," or saw kids holding their hand over their hidden object. Seriously, so cute! Even when they showed me their rough draft before they could start their final, they were very secretive and sneaky. Ha ha. Kids are amazing! Below are some pictures of the process for "It Snowed and Snowed."

 Here is the example. Can you guess what it is? Look down!

 Uncover the transparency and you will see there is a MONKEY! 

 The sweet hand is covering up something magical :) 

 In the process of adding the snowbank, he he. So secretive

Hm, do you have a guess? It's a bubble! 

I was so impressed how creative these were! My students never cease to amaze me.

Christmas Time

Hello! It's been a long time since my last post; teaching has been so busy, but so rewarding. For the past few months the crew and I have gotten to know each other well and done many activities. I should have taken more pictures of their work, but I've been impressed with how well they work together on projects such as, "Delicious Apple Adjectives" and their Native American tribes. For Thanksgiving they made the cutest flip book. Each child had to choose a Native American, a Pilgrim, or a Turkey, and then write the name, what the character was doing, and where they were doing it. The catch was each part had to have a description, such as "eating sweet buttery corn in the red forest." I'll have to take a picture and post it.

Thanksgiving passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was Christmas! Our 4th grade team decided to have each of our 4th graders make an ornament or something like it for their parents, so that weekend I was searching for ideas, when I found the cutest craft! On the familyfun.go website I came across Gingerbread Garlands! After having my roommate teach me how to fold and cut so I could feel confident teaching it (along with some fraction and division applications), I was excited for Monday to come so I could teach my crew how to do this craft. For the next 2 days each worked busily on making their own gingerbread garlands. During that time there was also a Sing Around the Tree-A Mapleton Christmas tradition where all the grades get together for an assembly and listen to each grade level sing and then sing carols together. On Tuesday we had a white elephant christmas party, thanks to a wonderful room mom. Finally, on Wednesday, all the garlands were finished, and each turned out so beautiful and unique.

The conductor gingerbread is my favorite!

 I love the creativity!

Mario and Gang gingerbread!!

Now, there is a week break, and during that time I am going to get ready for SEP's coming in January, work on lesson plans, draw a winter scene for a descriptive writing for the first week back, and make a game board for a new incentive I'm going to start. More explanation later :) Merry Christmas!