Yoga Balls in the Classroom

Has your child mentioned the latest "crazy" thing that we've done?  I am sure the list is long of things that they could tell you about as far as "crazy things Mrs. Cantrell does" but our latest adventure has been our chair balls.  Last year I heard of classrooms replacing their standard chairs with yoga balls and I was intrigued.  So during the summer I did some research and knew that I wanted theses in our classroom. I wrote two projects through DonorsChoose in order to get a class set and the projects were fully funded in December!   Just last week we finally aired a few of them up so that we could all practice on them and I believe we might be ready to replace our chairs now! The kids are definitely excited, even after they learned that the balls weren't toys but had actual academic and physical fitness benefits.  

I have had a lot of people ask a lot of questions, most common is "Are you seriously putting a classroom full of 1st and 2nd graders on bouncy yoga balls during the class time?"  I have been happy to defend this choice, leaving the skeptics  intrigued and excited to see how it all works.  So before rumors start flying about "crazy Mrs Cantrell" let me tell you how this will help your child this year.  

• Increased blood flow, including blood flow to the brain which helps students academically
• Engaged bodies, engaged brains ---> leads to deeper learning
• Keeps students actively moving without walking around or disrupting classroom 
• The ball allows students to get the wiggles out, helping them to focus better 
• Better posture (students are excited to hear this will help them in sports)
• Better coordination
• Better handwriting due to posture and blood flow
• Strengthens stomach and back muscles

Already, with just practicing on the chair balls, I have noticed the students are excited and eager to have the opportunity to use them.  For some, it is a balancing act and their stomach and back muscles will improve with the consistent use.  I am eager to see the change in student engagement and increase in handwriting skills.  

If you have ANY questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to holler or leave a comment. I'd love to share my excitement for this opportunity! 

 

Another New Adventure

It seems like this school year is the year for new adventures in our classroom. We've began so many new explorations, stretched our minds in new ways, and definitely learned how to adapt to having a split classroom.  It has been a great adventure so far and I know the kiddos would agree.

This past week we added something new to our learning experiences.  Skype sessions.  Thanks to a project fulfillment via DonorsChoose.org, we were able to get the technology in our classroom that would allow for us to use Skype.  Once the kids learned what it was and how we would use it, they were excited!

 I wanted to use Skype to enhance some of the learning we were doing in our classroom, with science, social studies, and even math.  There are so many different ways to use Skype in the classroom.  We first Skyped with a class of 1st graders in Massachusetts that I had recently "met."  This classroom was also using the yoga balls and we used this Skype session as a way to learn more about the balls and see them in action. It was a HUGE HIT! The Massachusetts teacher, Ms Hewitt, and I have decided to use this opportunity to allow our classrooms to continue to connect with each other in order to learn about different communities, foster relationships with peers, and build upon the sense of a bigger world.

We used Skype on Tues to connect with Dr Don (my uncle) who taught us a little about how the brain sometimes plays tricks on us and modeled that with an optical illusion.  He also taught us about being a scientist; reminding the kids that being curious and inventive is a good thing and leads to a new or expanded learning.  He challenged the class to think of some questions for our next Skype session that we would like a deeper explanation of and he would do his best to help us out.

In the upcoming weeks we have 2 other Skype sessions tentatively scheduled as well.  We will be Skyping with a friend of mine in the Middle East who also donated to the DonorsChoose projects for the Skype materials and for the yoga balls. We will be using that time to say a personal thank you as well as expand on our current Social Studies unit on cultures and communities.   We also have a session scheduled with the author of the Howard B Wigglebottom books for a lesson on listening skills where she will be reading the book aloud, do a mini lesson, and then we'll get to have a Q&A time. A REAL LIFE AUTHOR!

I'm not sure I can possibly demonstrate their excitement with this latest adventure.  I, for one, am excited to use it as a way to move the walls and take our learning outside of Fremont, to the other side of town, outside of Springfield, past the boundaries of Missouri and broaden our cultural awareness, making our children greater stewards and hopefully more understanding members of our society.  I'm eager to see where the kiddos take us on this Skype adventure.  They have mentioned using it to call upon experts; experts in space exploration, experts on different careers, experts on animals.  Again...the sky's the limit with these kiddos and I'm continually amazed.

So stay tuned for more updates on our Skype sessions.

Post Updated

As promised (although a little late) our post about our Springfield Mapping Field Trip has been updated with pictures

Check it out here!

McTeacher Night

Mark your calendars...FEBRUARY 3rd at the North Glenstone McDonalds.   We are having a Fremont Fundraiser and guess who will be helping prepare and serve your food?!?!   Your fabulous Fremont teachers and staff!! 

From 4-7pm, a percentage of all sales will be donated to Fremont so this will be a great time to swing by and pick up dinner for the family. Pass the word around too...the more the merrier!  If you come in to eat, you will definitely see a friendly Fremont face.  I'll be there at 5pm and I'd LOVE to see each of my families come by and support our fundraiser!  

So mark your calendars and tell all your friends and families -- FEBRUARY 3rd -- north Glenstone McDonalds -- 4-7pm.   Can't wait to see you there!

Missing Us Yet?

I take full responsibility for the lack of posts and updates on here.  This blog has definitely been more time consuming than I originally thought. However, I do find it extremely important to have this available as another avenue that parents and family members can have that peak into our classroom and build upon the connections with the children.

I feel there is so much to write about too! I suppose that's what happens when you don't write too often :)   So this post will hit on all the highlights and try to get everyone up to speed with where we are now.   Hang on and hold on tight, here comes a month's worth of updates

• Our student teacher, Miss Alison, had her last day with us right before winter break. I know I can speak for the kiddos when I say they were sad to see her go and loved having her in the classroom.  We wish her the best of luck on her new adventure into teaching! 
• I probably don't need to remind you about our snow days but wow, we had a lot! Especially with it being only 2nd quarter!  
• Our 2nd graders attended a district sponsored performance from The Nutcracker on Dec 11th at the Springfield Little Theater. Prior to the trip we took a few days to study the story line, the theater etiquette, and to explore ballet a bit.  Afterwards, we watched a video performance of The Nutcracker and were able to see how ballet tells the story with movement and music.  
• We were able to go to Hillcrest High School and watch a performance of SNOOPY.  It was our first live performance and for many their first play. 
  
  
  
  • We performed our winter musical in December too! There was even a special appearance from Santa Clause (thanks to our one and only Grant!)
  
  
  
  
• On our last day of December we did a lot of festive activities together, doing our best to spend quality time in the classroom with each other. We were able to go to OCH and do some caroling, we had baked sugar cookies, we created several crafts, we had a winter party and even got to open gifts from our community partners, OCH and National Heights Baptist Church. 












• Winter break came and then stayed a little longer, thanks to the big snow and cold temps here in the Ozarks.  Whew. I was READY to get back into the classroom and I know the kids were too! 

And there ya have it. It seems like I have left out a lot of things but looking back, those were the highlights!  2nd semester has started finally and we're pushing through to make our goals.  I personally love 3rd quarter as it seems this is the quarter where the kiddos really start to make giant leaps in their learnings. 

Springfield Field Trip

I just realized that we never posted about our traveling field trip. They talked non-stop about it once we got back.  But just in case they forgot....here's your update!

 Earlier in December we finished our Social Studies unit on maps, communities, and transportation (thanks Miss Alison!!).  We ended the unit with an all morning field trip with Miss Davis' class where we traveled around Springfield to landmarks that are key to our area.   We also had a HUGE map that we looked at to see distance and compare travel times between points.

It started out as a SUPER cold morning!

Our first stop was at Pleasant View Middle School.   It took us about 8 minutes to get there from Fremont.  Although we didn't get out but instead just sat in the parking lot, we learned quite a bit.  We discussed why were at PV: it is where these students will go for middle school.   We used that time to check out what was similar or different from our school.

The next stop was a new field trip spot for both Miss Davis and myself.  It was also possibly the best part!  We rode 22 minutes to the Springfield Branson Airport for a tour.  And wow, what a tour we got! To be honest, we weren't quite sure what all we were getting ourselves into but wow wow wow.   It began with a tour of the check-in area, viewing the weather maps and travel update tvs.   The guide then took us behind the scenes to see  and we were able to see the security cameras -- the kiddos thought it was neat to rewind the tapes and watch us walk through the corridors.  Next up was a trip down into the basement where the luggage is all handled and then on out to the tarmac where the airport fire engine was waiting for us.  We were able to  talk to the firefighter and then he showed us the water cannons.

 Yes, cannons.  The fire truck has 2 cannons on the front and sprayers underneath.  Those cannons shoot super far! I wish I could remember how far and had a picture of them actually in action...next time I'll get it.  There also just happened to be a small plane waiting at the gate next to us, ready to take off!  This was completely unplanned but amazing as we got to watch it taxi out and then take off right in front of us!!  (See, I told you it was the best stop ever! But wait it gets better...) While we waited for the plane to take off, 2 military jets did a fly by...again, unplanned!  Our guides said the military jets randomly fly over every few days and this just happened to be that day!   Let me say, the kids loved the airport.  What an opportunity for these kiddos! And how many people get to go in the basement? And onto the tarmac? AND have the firetruck shoot water cannons just for fun? And don't forget about the plane and jets.   Whew.  I'll stop now.

The airport stop took over 1.5 hours, longer than we expected but we definitely weren't complaining.  So it altered our next stops just slightly.  We rode for 14 minutes to the Nathaniel Green Park on the SW side of town to see the Campbell-Grey Farmstead.  This was a great connection to our Pioneer studies as we got to see log cabins, a cemetery, and a few other buildings.  The students had a lot of questions and made connections back to the stories we had read.

The last two stops were more of drive-bys since we were running short on time.  We drove by Bass Pro Shops since it's a landmark, being the first and largest Bass Pro Shops in the United States.  The discussion came up about what type of store it was and we talked about the animals (dead and alive) that you could go see.  We also drove through the parking lot of Battlefield Mall.  Several of our students had never been to the mall and didn't understand what a "mall" was whenever it was referenced in the classroom. It also served as key point on our map, representing the intersection of main roads Battlefield and Glenstone.  Again, we discussed what kinds of shops were in there since someone thought it only had clothes.

After that we ended back at Fremont to have a sack lunch in our classroom.  The kiddos used our field trip to label a smaller version of our map to show where we went and what roads we took to get there.  This was a mini review and assessment of the part of a map (label, title, key and compass rose).  Hopefully these maps made it home and your child shared it with you.

As you can see, this was a field trip PACKED full of learning and fun.  It was quite possibly the best field trip...ever!

I hope your kiddo shared at least some of these details with you. If not, go ahead and ask them about their favorite part. I'd be interested to see what they said!  Comment below to let us know if it was PV middle school, the airport, the park, Bass Pro, or the mall.