Blast From the Past

Just another regular school day.  We practiced our group Christmas program parts, and that went pretty well. With only three weeks until Christmas break, I'm getting nervous about how we're going to pull this off.  So many things to think about! How to decorate the front of church, where the decorations will come from, organizing the speakers, figuring out where the kids should stand, printing up the bulletins...


In history, we're in the midst of the Minnesota Civil War, aka- the Dakota Uprising.  One of my 5th graders has grandparents with a farm right on the edge of Courtland, and a band of Dakota Indians always stops by on their way to commemorate the hanging of the 38.  My student brought in a video this tribe put together on the Uprising (his grandpa is in it!), so I'm going to watch it at home and see if we can watch part in school.  If he remembers, he's going to bring in some pictures tomorrow.


I hung up more snowflakes today.  Our ceiling is pretty much coated with them now.  The space above my desk could use a few more.  And I haven't put many over the lab table just in case our lab were to get a little crazy. 


We're nearly to the end of Artemis Fowl... my class begged me to keep reading and finish the book, but there were just enough pages we had to save it for tomorrow.  One of the 5th graders is on vacation until Friday; she's going to miss the end!  I'll probably give her the book so she can read the last chapter on her own.  Now the dilemma is which book to read next?  The next Artemis Fowl? Or the second Fourth Stall book?  Or a completely new book? 


Our first basketball game was tonight against Janesville.  I got to see my old 3rd graders again!!!  Now they're in 7th grade.  Last year there wasn't many in that class that went out for basketball.  I was surprised to see so many of them this year!  At least three or four more of them are playing!  If I'm counting right, nine of my old students are on the Janesville basketball teams.  It was really hard not cheering for them when they made a good play, but since I was sitting with the Courtland fans I just cheered in my head.