Ice Cream In a Bag

Yesterday we had a great science experience that tied in with our field trip last week ~ we made our own ice cream in a bag!  It was a great experience loaded with lots of fun and super easy.  I highly suggest taking some time this summer and doing it with your kids at home.

Supplies:
Milk/Cream
Sugar
Vanilla
Rock Salt
Ice
Zip Lock Bags

You take 2 Zip Lock bags (we highly suggest you use the name brand so they won't spring a leak so easily).  In the larger bag, you place rock salt and ice.  In the smaller Zip Lock bag you place sugar, vanilla, and milk.  Be sure to mix them enough to make the sugar dissolve.  Once ready, place the smaller bag in to the larger bag and shake for about 5-10 minutes.  You will end up with ice cream!

There are ways to make other flavors than vanilla; but, we went with simplicity!  The kids had a blast and enjoyed their creation.  If you look to do this at home, there are plenty of sites to help with other flavors.  Sorry there aren't any pictures, I was having too much fun watching them mix it all up.

Student of the Month

Each month our class has chosen a student as the "Student of the Month."  This year I have allowed the class to vote and select who would represent Room 14 at the monthly Student of the Month party.  I have not been posting much about this throughout the year; but, this month I had to post!  As it gets further along in the year, it often gets more difficult to select that one student who stands out.  This time, I had several who I could see earning the honor; however, it was the last one of the school year.  I talked with the kids and we discussed what qualities the student of the month should have and how they need to show it in the classroom AND on the playground.  The class voted and we ended in a tie that I could not break, so I opted to send both students (shh, don't tell anyone!)

The best part, one of the boys who was voted in responded with, "Really?  I've never been a student of the month!"  You could hear the excitement (and pride) in his voice.  It was at that moment I had a talk with both boys who won this last student of the month and I was able to tell them I kept hearing from their classmates how much they have changed this year.  One student said, "He's gotten really nice.  Last year he was always annoying."  Another student said, "He's fun to play with now."  Of course one student piped in with, "I think he's just afraid of Mr. Price."  I could see the boys really beaming as they saw their classmates truly saw them as friends and heard nice things being said about them.

Very proud of the work these two boys have done for me in my class this year!  Hope that feeling sticks with them and I hear about them getting more student of the month awards in years to come!

Playday

Playday was a big hit today!  So much fun getting out and just playing on the playground and having fun with other classes.  It's a little sad to see how much smaller it is compared to a few years ago; but, it is still a lot of fun getting out there and enjoying the kids from other classrooms and seeing all the teachers cut loose a bit.  I will admit, this year's class was a little too competitive for my liking!  I had to remind them a few times that it wasn't a huge competition.

I think the highlight of the day for me was our shirts and buffs!  I've had several compliment our class and how well we could be spotted from across campus.  Several didn't think I'd actually wear mine; but, if they know me, they know I'll do anything for my class ~ no matter how ridiculous I may look!  (At one point someone said I reminded them of Richard Simmons).

Here's a picture of our class sporting their Playday gear:

Field Trip ~ Rosa Dairy Farms

Today we had an incredible day away from school.  We came in this morning and prepared ourselves to set off on our 2nd grade field trip.  A day of fun and learning.  First stop, Rosa Dairy Farms.

At the Rosa Dairy we learned some history about the Rosa family and how they began their family dairy that has passed on to the next generation.  For those that are wondering, yes, we are talking about the Rosa Dairy that produces the valley famous milk such as the rootbeer milk and the orange cream milk!

Once we learned a little about the dairy and their family, we had time for a few questions ~ boy was that a mistake!  There was the dreaded question no teacher wants to hear.  "How do you know if the cows are boys or girls?"  I held my breath as the speaker stated they have different parts just like in "real life" and then she changed that to humans because cows are in real life as well.  It was probably one of my favorite parts of the day as I look back!

After we had our talk, we were able to board the dairy's "Moo Mobile" to ride around their dairy.  Unfortunately no photography was allowed on the tiny bus; but, I can say the tour is amazing!  I love how the kids are able to drive around that dairy and see everything without getting out and worry about them touching things they shouldn't or slipping and falling.  I wish I had my own "Moo Mobile" to take me around cmapus :)

After the drive around the dairy, we were able to get out and pet a calf!  The calf was very cute; but, also very active!  She jumped quite a bit and we had to watch the kids from scaring her even more.

Matthew, Mark, Gavin, Gabriella, Jayden, and Ethan all try to get a feel of the calf as she bounces throughout her pen

Once done checking out the calf, we got to go do a milking challenge to see how well the kids could milk a cow!  Don't worry, it was a simulation activity.  We had 2 students who were the clear winners of the class being able to milk out 13 ounces in 30 seconds ~ WOW!

Brooklyn is determined to milk this cow dry

Kaden is not going to be outdone as he figures out how to milk this "cow"

After this experience we cleaned up and got to try some milk samples.  Most students chose the chocolate or rootbeer flavored milk.  I opted for the my first ever taste of the orange creme ~ hmm, wishing I had more of that right now!  Very yummy stuff.

From the Rosa Dairy we headed over the Civic Auditorium for lunch and Superior Dairy ice cream!  It was a great cool day to sit and have a picnic.

Gabriella and Brooklyn enjoy their picnic with a friend from the other class!  (I only post pictures of those I have permission slips signed from, that's why the friend is smiling extra special here!)

The only picture I have from ice cream is on my cell phone.  I would gladly post Wyatt's chocolate mustache and beard; but, that was taken to text to his mom so I don't have it available to post here.  But, ice cream was a big hit.

With ice cream done and put away, we then moved over to the carousel. We patiently waited our turn while Mrs. Marshall's class went on. Once we got on, the fun began for us!

Gabriella, Brooklyn, Wyatt, Mark & Kaden all wait patiently for their turn on the carousel.
(I'm guessing that's Ethan probably making funny faces at them)

Jonna is ready to take her ride

Gabriella, Brooklyn and Mark are eager to get moving around and around

It was a great day that has made this teacher one VERY tired guy!  Looking forward to Playday tomorrow, but also dreading it a little because my legs and feet are ready to fall off.

3rd Trimester Wildcat Trip

We had an amazing end of year Wildcat trip to Visalia Lanes today!  The kids were excited and pumped to enjoy a morning of bowling as a reward for their great behavior this last trimester.  I'm so proud of them as there have only been 2 students who have received tags this trimester; that means 19 have not received any!

The kids weren't the only ones enjoying the bowling alley.  I had the fun of bowling some of their turns for them.  Of course, in my old age I may need to ice my arm tonight :)

Enough of my talking, what you really want to here today is some of the pictures I snapped of our trip!

Jonna watches as her ball heads down the lane.

Jayden looks so enthused to prepare for his turn ~ dude, we're supposed to be having FUN!

Love this shot of Angelina as she walks away from what looks like what a great toss down the lane ~ the aura is that of a winner!

Gabriella prepares to take her turn as her classmates check their scores on the board

Joey seems VERY happy with that  shot ~ or VERY upset, sometimes you just can't tell with this kid!

Gabriella looks like she's walking the runway, but I think she's trying to figure out how she's going to get that nasty split down there

Wyatt takes time to glance at the camera before taking his turn

Wow, how many kids can bowl the ball at a time??  Or are they preparing to attack the teacher?

Signs the End of the School Year is Near

It's that time of year again and I always know what to expect.  It never fails, just as school is coming to a close and when school begins to start back up, my insomnia kicks in!  I have so many things on my to-do list and add that with all that I want to do to make the end special for this group, my list is getting larger.  My mind just won't shut off :(

One thing to check off the list is the awards ceremony.  I hate that the awards are given out 3 weeks before school is actually out; but, I don't control the calendar.  The awards assembly was great yesterday and I'm happy to see so many families were represented.  I was especially impressed with the amount of students who hadn't received a tag for the 3rd trimester ~ actually, we almost had the entire class in that category!  What was more impressive was that I had 15 students who haven't received a tag/referral ALL year long!  That is unheard of!  Have I mentioned what a great class this is?  If you haven't heard that before, you may want to read this blog a little more carefully :)

Of course, it never fails.  The awards assembly was yesterday and today I spent a great deal of the morning talking with students and fixing "mean girl" issues.  Never a fun part of the morning, but another sign the end of the year is coming near!  And of course we don't stop there, students believing that since the awards have been handed out, we must not care about behavior any longer ~ WRONG!  Mr. Price ALWAYS cares about behavior; but, some students are learning that the hard way.  Hopefully just a rough morning will fix all those issues and lead us in to a great rest of the week!

I'm almost done DRA testing all your children and I'm impressed with their growth!  As soon as that is done, I can begin the report card process and hopefully check another couple "to-do" items off my list so I can sleep a little.  Luckily baseball season ends Wednesday night and hopefully I can get to my classroom this weekend to get more things done so we can all have an enjoyable last 2 weeks of school.

Dribbling Students

With the heat wave coming on us, I think the sun has ruined my students' brains.  They come in from lunch recess and can't even remember how to take a drink!  Check out Jayden below.  He's so thirsty he can't even take a drink without drooling all over his chin and down his shirt!

Pay no attention to the hand tipping the bottle up on him!  Just blame the kid for not being able to take a simple drink.  Okay, maybe the heat has gotten to the teacher's brain and making me think things are funnier than they really are; but, I loved this picture because you rarely see Jayden really laugh in class ~ such a serious student!