Fire Prevention Week

The fire drill today didn't scare us as much as the one yesterday did. I had more trouble getting a few of the kids out of the classroom though... one girl wanted to finish drawing some lines before leaving. She's also the one who yesterday wanted to know if there were a real fire, could she go in the coatroom and grab her backpack? 

By 5th and 6th grade, all the fire stuff is review, so we mostly asked questions about how fires around here typically start (kitchen, smoking, and electrical) or what kind of training do fire fighters need to do. Then we toured the trucks in the parking lot, tried on some of the gear, honked the horns, sprayed the hose, and took a group photo. Then back to class! They were bummed they didn't get as much read-aloud today, so we cut out one round so we could read before lunch. I think we'll finish our book at Camp Omega. 

That was everyone's high for the day (pretty much), that we're going to Camp Omega tomorrow. The low is that a lot of them need to pack and it's going to take FOREVER. My low was that everyone suddenly said they're not bringing duct tape because their parents won't let them take any from home. We kind of need that to make our pop bottle rockets. Sigh. Good news: I dug through my desk after school and found a few rolls, so that should help the tape shortage. And this class is really good at sharing supplies, so I think we'll actually be okay. 

Another high for today was that the firefighters gave us root beer float supplies! A great end of the day treat. 

The 7-8th graders had a good class too. We mimicked the rock cycle with starbursts... cut up bits of starburst to make sedimentary rocks, warmed them with our hands (or armpits as one group of boys tried), melted them on tin foil over a burner (I have a few portable burners/heating things). I think they actually grasp the concept! Next week we're going to do the lab again, but use crayons just to make sure it really sunk in. 

One more high: I had pretty flowers to look at on my desk today. When I got home last night, there was a bouquet resting on a porch chair along with two little bottles of prosecco and a homemade card saying, "Congrats on being aunts!" A certain someone made a special trip from Mankato to leave the surprise for my other sister and me so we could celebrate before/after bible study. Since I'm going to be at camp the next two days, I figured I'd bring the flowers to school so I could admire them at least one day!