Sandhill Crane Watching

First day of fall break for me, and my mother and I took a trip an hour north to see the sandhill cranes at their migratory stop at the Jasper/Pulaski Sandhill Crane refuge. 

Mom stepped out of the car, surveyed the scene of hundreds of cranes in the fields, and looked like a child on Christmas morning. Her face lit up and she simply glowed! Oh, how I wish I'd had my camera ready!

She stood on top of the viewing tower and wordlessly gazed out across the fields at all the birds. I think she may have been speechless at the sight.

 The viewing tower.

It's accessible for wheelchairs and those who prefer not to use the stairs.

 Mom stood like this for a long time, just watching the cranes silently. I got a little teary eyed - I think she was very moved by what she was seeing.

 I wish I had a better camera and could've gotten close-ups of the birds as they rested in the fields.

 There were viewing telescopes on the tower. I took this photo hoping I would get a better shot of the birds.

 Cranes were constantly arriving and settling into the fields. We never saw less than two in flight at a time, and wondered if they mated for life.

 Mom uses one of the viewing telescopes for a better view.

 The birds seemed to congregate around several drainage ditches in the fields.

 Another flock of cranes comes into the refuge.

Although we'd had an overnight frost and it was cool, the sun was shining and we had a beautiful day to bird watch.

The noise of the birds was quite loud. I realized after listening to them for a while, that what I had thought was raccoons in the past were actually migrating sandhill cranes! They fly so high when they migrate, they are just specks in the sky. But you sure can hear them! And the homes I've lived in in Indiana have all been under the migratory flight paths of the sandhill cranes. I'd had no idea I was hearing cranes back then.

What a day. Mom and I both agreed we felt blessed and privileged to see such beautiful birds in the wild.

Making Your Teacher Chuckle

Here is a question that was on this week's Daily Geography assignment:

"Which highway would you take if you were traveling between Bozeman and Helena, Montana?"

Nearly all the children answered the question correctly by looking at a map that went along with the assignment. Then there was K's response:

"Well, I'd rather go through the woods, but if I had to take a road I'd..." and he gave the correct response.

You have to admire his honesty!

Space! The Final Frontier

Currently we are studying Space in Science, and are having a blast. Although our focus is on exploration and things beyond our solar system, I could not resist the Greek tie-in with planetary astrological symbols found on NASA's site. (I actually got these from my friend, Pam, at Yankee Ridge, and used them when I taught there.)

I put them up on the Eno board, and numbered them, then we played a quick game of trying to match each symbol to its planet. As we identified each, I read the lore behind the symbol and how it connected to Greek mythology. Now the symbols are suspended from the classroom ceiling.

Then, I had the kiddos bring in a mini pumpkin or gourd. We painted them various shades of green, and then decorated them with googly eyes and other accoutrements to turn them into aliens. As a surprise, I put out my Darth Vader nightlight, plugged him in, and arranged the aliens around him.

Games vs. Classics

Tuesday the student-selected question of the day was, "What is your favorite video game?"

My response was 100 pin bowling on the Wii which made some of the kids smile and mention that they like that game, too.

Then it was A's turn, and his answer was quite unexpected. "Well," he offered in all seriousness, "ever since I started reading the classics, I haven't had much time to play video games."

Talk about making your teacher feel good!!

This is the same boy who, during the first week of school, asked me to recommend a book to him. I said that he simply could not go wrong with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. A came over to me the very next morning, clutching the book in his hands. He looked up at me solemnly and declared, "Mrs. I., this is the BEST. BOOK. EVER."

Family Announcement

See this? Look closely! The feet belong to Kyle, Ashley, Braden, Adelaide, and....

Our newest l'il grandbaby!

Solar Ovens

Thursday was the day we took our solar ovens out onto the grounds behind Hershey and made s'mores with them. We started the year studying Heat in Science, and our culminating activity was to design, build, and then cook in our solar ovens.

(What else do you cook at HERSHEY Elementary except s'mores??)

Thursday afternoon it was in the mid 80s and cloudless, so we packed our cookers up and headed to the grounds behind the building and baseball fields. It was a lovely day, and what a perfect way to celebrate learning something with children!

While the children got their ovens set up and situated in the sun, I sat in the shade, opening marshmallow bags and sorting graham crackers and chocolate bars.

Soon I was joined by some of the children. We brought books with us so we could read while we waited. The weather was absolutely perfect!

W and M check on their marshmallows during the cooking process.

 E and S's group tried using a mirror to reflect the sun's rays into their solar oven.

 A enjoys a gooey s'more - his oven worked!

M's oven didn't work too well, but he still enjoyed the eating part of the activity!

What is THIS??

Guess what this is:

Need a hint?

It's round.

It's white.

Its size is about the size of a volleyball.

It sounds like a rubber ball when you pat it.

It's very lightweight.

It's edible.

It grows wild around Hershey.

As it ages, it turns brown and gets smaller.

When older ones are squeezed, a brown puff of smoke comes out of them.

Any guesses? It's a HUGE puffball! A retired principal who used to work at Hershey found a bunch and brought them to school. I was a lucky recipient. He even gave me a recipe to cook it:

Fried Puffball


Take one large puffball. Using your fingers, pull off the tough outer layer, exposing the creamier white layer underneath. Using a knife, cut into large slices. Dip into an egg/breadcrumb mixture until breaded, and fry in olive oil with some butter and garlic added to it. Fry until brown.

Mr. Mauer swears it is like manna from heaven. But I still am not sure I dare actually eat it. (He had four or five more in the trunk of his car and intended to eat them all!)

Richard, our evening custodian, saw it sitting on my desk after school and exclaimed, "You gonna eat that? You know you can, doncha?" And he proceeded to tell me about eating them, and how this year puffballs are enormous and found everywhere because we had the perfect weather for them (sustained high temperatures and lots of rain.) And actually, I did find two this afternoon on the Hershey school grounds by the cornfield - my class was outside baking s'mores in the solar ovens we built, and two large puffballs, although not quite as large as this one, were right on the ground under one of the trees.

I may do a little research about puffballs before I actually ingest any. But I am feeling a bit daring...

So How Do I Grade This??

The stereotype of the absent-minded professor, like many stereotypes, is rooted in some truth. My experience teaching gifted kiddos has taught me that many, many of them have "absent-minded professor syndrome," and remembering to do things can be a challenge.

Handing in homework is one of those challenges. Usually the homework has been completed, but for a portion of my class, it's not in the grading basket, but in the desk, a backpack, a cubby, or even left at home.

So, after school has been in session for about a month, I start cracking down on late work. I warn the children ahead of time that, starting on whatever date, work not handed in on time will have 10% of the grade deducted. Generally, that works on most children as a spur, and after a few papers with disappointing scores, they remember to hand in their work.

L is a pixie of a 4th grader who dances into the room every morning, gives me frequent hugs, and flits from one thing to another. There is no guile or malice in this child - she is genuinely sweet and kind. Remembering to hand in her work is not her strong suit, though, and even with the deductions on her scores, she still struggles to remember. Forgotten work is brought to me with a smile and an apology, and then she dances back to her desk, only to forget again the next time an assignment is due.

This morning I was grading Math, and sure enough, L's was missing. I posted her name on the reminder board, and about an hour later she skipped up to my desk with it, handed it to me with a grin, apologized with a happy smile, and hopped back to her desk.

I grabbed my red pen and began flipping through the assignment, checking her work and thinking what a shame it was that L was once again going to lose 10% off her score.  And then I got to the last page.

There, in big, fancy letters was written, "Mrs. I., you ROCK!"

My heart melted and I smiled as I read L's little note to me. I have no doubt her heartfelt message had been put there the previous day, and had not been added to "bribe" me into not deducting 10% off the grade. L is known for her spontaneous words of affection as well as her hugs.

The more I looked at those tender words, the less inclined I felt to deduct 10%. And so I didn't. Was I being fair? Maybe, maybe not. L certainly struggles more than anyone else in the class with late work. But by the same token, maybe it was time to give her a bit of a break, and let one late assignment go by the way.

I just couldn't take 10% off that little sweetie's grade.

A Cousin's Wedding

Craig and I are supposed to be in Boston this weekend for my cousin, Robert's, wedding. Unfortunately, Phyllis hurt her hip and we remained at home to help her while Curt, Vanessa, Jenny, and Mom went on with out us.

Fortunately, Curt and my cousin, Jennifer, have been posting some pictures for all to see!

 Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Karen Weyman. 

My cousin, Shannon, is second from the right of the bride. Robert looks happy! 

My mother (in the pretty maroon blouse) and sister Jenny wait outside the church for the bride and groom's appearance.

My uncle, Ned, had a knee replaced in August, and he was anxious to compare scars. Since I could not be there in person, I sent him this picture. My knees are looking pretty good!