Last Blast

Each June, our awesome PTO sponsors one of the student's favorite events... Last Blast!  This wonderful activity takes place on our final day of school.  This year, the Critter Barn brought animals for us to touch and learn about, we had a Strong Man show, and activities and play time at the Heath Township playground!  Fun was had by everyone and too soon the kids asked, "It's done already?"  Thank you to our fabulous PTO for planning this culminating event for our students and teachers!  It is a fantastic way to celebrate a year of learning and fun.

Our first station was the Critter Barn station.  We began by watching their pot bellied pig do some tricks!  After that, we were given the opportunity to pet many types of farm animals.  Don't worry... there was a fantastic hand washing station for us at the end of our petting experience!

 Jenny Lou could sit, spin around, roll out rugs with her snout, and even beg (although she could not get up very high due to her big belly!)  The kids were very entertained by her!

Feeding and petting baby goats

We were fortunate to be the first group because the animals were hungry for breakfast!

Maddie, Sierra and Kaylee try to feed and pet a sheep

Levi pets a baby goat

Hunter takes a turn petting the baby goat

Kendrick feeds a sheep

Gavin touches the bird

Milking a goat!

Kairi pets an angora rabbit

Ariyah pets a rabbit

Sierra takes a turn with the rabbit

Kairi holds a baby rabbit

Teagen and Claire hold baby rabbits

Maddie and Lilly hold bunnies

Mason holds a baby rabbit

Jessica holds a baby bunny too

Kaylee loves the bunny!

Holding baby chicks

Kendrick holds a bunny

Next we went to a Strong Man show in the gym! Our presenter began by breaking a pile of paving blocks with his arm!  He then went on to show us his hand grip strength by ripping a phone book in half, then a deck of cards and then ripped the half-sized deck in half again!  He also bent a bolt in half and broke a nail in half!  He invited our Mason up to pick up a very heavy ax.  Mason could barely even hold it without help.  This man took two of these and held them out over his head and then lowered them down to his face!  He also bent a horse shoe!  Finally, he laid down on a small bed of nails and placed a board on his chest.  Mrs. Ferrell then went up and stood on top of the board!  Wow!  The kids were very excited by his amazing strength!

Not only did he amaze us with his strength, but there was a message too.  He pulled out a $100 dollar bill and asked the children who would find it valuable and would like it.  Every hand went up.  He then  crumpled it up and asked who still found it worthy. Many hands still went up.  He then stepped on it, and finally he rubbed it under his armpit.  He then went on to explain that sometimes we feel like a crisp, fresh $100 dollar bill.  But other days, we might feel crumpled up, or stepped on, or grubby like we forgot to brush our teeth.  But no matter what, we are ALL valuable! We need to motivate each other rather than step on each other.  We need to value many talents - not just pro athletes or pop stars!  He told the children to think about what they are passionate about and work hard at it!  Maybe a sport, but possibly an instrument, or art, or whatever dreams they might have.  Encourage each other and help keep each other accountable! It was a neat message.  I'm not sure if the kids will remember the message over the amazing feats of strength, but maybe parents can reinforce the message at home!

Do you see that stack of paving bricks???

Getting ready to break them!

Here he goes!  His arm went through the entire stack, causing a roar in the crowd!

Getting ready to show grip strength by ripping a phone book in half!

Here he goes!  Success again!

Next, he showed us his grip strength by ripping a loose deck of cards in half.
He then took the ripped half and ripped it in half again!

Mason was invited to hold one of the heavy axes.  He needed help to hold one!

He took two of the heavy axes and held them out, then lowered them to his face!

Bending a bolt in half!

Bent bolt!

Horse shoe straightened out!

He laid down on a bed of nails on his back.  Then Mrs. Ferrell stood on top of a board on his chest!

Can you imagine lying on a bed of nails with an adult standing on top of you??
Many of the kids said they saw 'nail holes' in his shirt!  Maybe not a compliment for the lady standing on top of him!

Our final rotation was at the Heath Township park!  Options included playing on the playground, playing kickball, face painting, temporary tattoos, a freeze pop, and side walk chalk.  What fun!

Annabel on the monkey bars

Hunter on the climbing structure

Kairi gets her face painted by Mrs. Stork

Izzy and Mrs. Ferrell

Makayla and Maddie enjoy a Freeze Pop and face painting!

Mrs. Ferrell and Miss Nykamp, who spent her morning with us again!

Finally, we went to the track for the annual human tunnel!  Students and parents make a human tunnel around the track to send off the fourth grade students to the middle school.  It is a tradition that students look forward to from their first year of school at Hamilton Elementary School!

And finally... our final class picture of the school year!  With the Strong Men!  

Thanks for a great year everyone!  And thank you to our wonderful PTO, who sponsored this event!

Enjoy your summer everyone!  And you know I have to remind you again to read, write and review your math facts to avoid the Summer Slide!