It is one thing to study or discuss history – it is another thing to watch it unfold in front of you.  I never thought I would see an African-American president in my lifetime.  I definitely never expected someone as capable and wonderful as Barak Obama.  I have nothing else to say except that my heart is full of hope.  God Bless America.

Halloween can be so much fun, but it’s also a “lost day” for curriculum.  Earlier in the week I had let our 3rd graders go onto their blog pages to create titles and choose templates.  Their excitement was encouraging and I thought that maybe I could have them begin to create their first posts on Friday (also Halloween).

The assignment for their first posts was about friendship and they had to respond to the following questions:  What qualities do you look for in a friend? What are some responsibilities that you have toward your friends? If friendship were a color, what color would it be for you? How are you a good friend to other people? What’s your favorite thing to do with a friend?

At 8:00am they arrived to school bouncing off the walls and in full costume.  We had 3 of the 4 Beatles, a ladybug, a birthday present, Indiana Jones, and so on.  By 8:20 I was reminding them that the parade was not until 10:00 and we that we needed them to calm down and cooperate.  Now I was having serious misgivings about doing anything academic.

At 8:30, half of the class went to science and the other half followed me (dressed as Bob the Builder) into our smaller room down the hall.  They were very excited when I told them to each get a laptop because we would be writing our first blog posts.  I gave directions while demonstrating on my new smartboard and set them to work.  I walked around between the tables to monitor their progress and to be available for tech assistance.  As I walked around I realized very quickly that it was totally silent except for the sound of fingers tapping on the keyboards.  Here were thirteen 8 and 9-year old kids in full costume, working, focused, engaged, happy.  It was an awesome sight.  I was further amazed when almost half of them completed the post before time was up.  I was only requiring 4 sentences, but that can take an eternity for a child who is new to typing.

Now our classroom blog is up and running!  Please click here to see The View From 3rd Grade or click the link to the right under the “Additions” menu.  The 3rd graders are excited and ready to receive comments from you.  Drop on in for a visit!