Three Cheers for the Hamilton Elementary PTO!!!

This post is dedicated to our wonderful PTO at Hamilton Elementary!   Because they care so much about the children in our school, they supply each grade level a very generous amount of money set aside for teachers to use as they see needs arise in their classrooms.   In the past, the first grade teachers have used our money for books, supplies, games, admission for field trips, bus and bus driver costs for field trips, and even furniture for our classrooms!   The three of us have different needs within our classrooms as well, so we each spend some on our own students.   Because supply money is tight, the district purchased a much smaller amount of construction paper for the school this year.  In fact, the construction paper is gone already!   So, I chose to use PTO money to purchase construction paper for our class to make our wonderful art projects for Social Studies!    First graders LOVE to be creative and show off their artistic talents to decorate our room.   The fine motor skills needed are so important for little fingers, and the pride they have when visitors or other classes comment on the fine work is very evident on their faces!

So, enjoy the photos of our wonderful creations for December that decorate our classroom and hallway.   And if you are one of our wonderful PTO members or helpers, thank you!   And if your child sold items this year for our fund raiser, you helped make many first graders (and I am certain many other children at Hamilton Elementary) very happy!

They were so busy and full of concentration, they did not even know I took
the photos of them working on their angels!

Keaton starts cutting out his pieces.

The floor was easier to work on for the many parts and space
needed to create our wonderful angels!

Hard working, creative kids!

Vera's angel is singing for us!  See the mouth?

Evan did a fantastic job on his angel!

Josie shows off her completed angel!

Some of our wonderful creations found a home on a bulletin board in our
classroom.  Others hang above our lockers in the hallway!

Our classroom Christmas tree is filled with Santa and
Angel ornaments created by the children!  It makes me
smile to see the crowded mass in one place, and the
open gap in another!  

We made "Curly Santas" to decorate our hallway.  The kids learned how to
start with a circle and keep turning the circle to make a long, curly beard!
As you can see, some of them figured out how to make some very long pieces!

Special Visitor

Today Mr. Taubert,  father of first grader Ryan, came to visit the first graders!   Mr. Taubert is a Hamilton firefighter and reviewed fire safety ideas with our class.  Thankfully, our first graders all spent time in October learning about fire prevention and safety.  Mr. Taubert was very impressed with our knowledge, but hearing these ideas is always a good idea no matter how many times it is reviewed! Thank you Mr. Taubert!

Mr. Taubert talks about smoke detectors.  He told the kids to have their
parents check all detectors in the home to be sure they are still working.
He also said if a smoke detector is needed, to stop by the fire station and
families could get one for free if needed!

Mr. Taubert said bedroom doors should be closed when sleeping.  If a smoke
detector sounds, roll out of bed and crawl low to the ground where the air
is better.  Never hide in a closet or under the bed!

Mr. Taubert shows how to feel the bedroom door with the back of your hand
before opening it.  If it is hot, do not open the door!  Go to the window and get
out if you are on the first floor.  If you are on the second floor, stay low and stay
by the window so that a fire fighter can find you right away if needed.  Each child
was also given a reflective sticker to place on the outside of their bedroom window
so that a firefighter can find children's bedrooms fast if needed.

Mr. Taubert shows the children a thermal camera firefighters use to find
people or pets in homes that are on fire.  The children all got a turn to hold
the camera and check out how it works.

Mackenzie checks out the thermal camera first.  She said when she looked
through the camera, her friends faces were dark blue, meaning they were
the warmest part of their bodies.  What a neat tool to use in a fire!

Mr. Taubert put all of his turnout gear on so that the children could see
what a firefighter looks and sounds like.  The kids thought he looked a
little bit scary, but know that firefighters need all that gear to protect them
in a fire.  They promised not to be afraid of a firefighter!

Thank you for coming in Mr. Taubert!  We appreciate you and the
job that you do to protect us!  

Koltin

This is Koltin!   He is the Student of the Week for November 11-16!   Koltin's favorite color is BLUE! He would love to visit the zoo and his favorite animal is a zebra!  Koltin's favorite television show is Wars because of the Ninjas.  When he grows up, he would like to be a vet to help fish (but not fish that bite or puffer fish!)   Koltin has two dogs named Gauge and Bailey, and one cat named Salem.  His favorite book is Skippy Jon Jones Lost in Spice.  Koltin's favorite sport is soccer and he was on the blue team.  His favorite food is crispy bacon.  Koltin is special because he plays soccer.  The BEST thing about Koltin is that he can blow bubbles!

Jordyn

This is Jordyn!   She is this week's student of the week.  Jordyn's favorite color is PINK.  She would love to visit Disney World someday soon.  Her favorite television show is called "Jessie".  When Jordyn grows up, she would like to be a teacher.  Her favorite book is called "I Read With My Eyes Shut."   Her favorite sport is soccer.   She loves pizza to eat.  Jordyn is special because her mom loves her, but the very best thing about Jordyn is that God loves her!

Let's Talk Turkey!

We cleared our bulletin boards of October work and are now creating our November projects!   The pictures below show the kids creating their turkeys for our large bulletin board.   As an added bonus, Mr. Ferrell surprised the kids and came in to make a turkey with us!   

Jordyn cuts out her turkey feet.  Also pictured are Mackenzie, Koltin, Ethan,
Keegan, Josie, Evan and Abby.

Carter, Olivia, Maddie, Tommy Brandon and Abbi work on their turkeys.

Keaton shows his finished turkey!

Our finished product!   I can't remember a year when every
turkey looked so wonderful!