Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Merry Christmas, third grade! Each year at the Heiskell School the teachers have the opportunity to give gifts to their students at Christmas time. This year I decided to give a simple, but important gift to my dear children. The candy cane is a special Christmas tradition that brings joy to people young and old. Do you know the true meaning behind such a delicious tradition? My third graders have learned it and they would love to share this grace-filled gift story with you. We also measured our hands and feet and made our very own, unique reindeer! Look for the picture below. 

 The Legend of the Candy Cane 

A Candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would help us remember who Christmas is really about, so he made a Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. The white symbolized the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus. The hard candy symbolized Jesus- the solid rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus. It also represented the staff of the "Good Shepherd".

The candymaker then included red stripes. He used three small stripes and a large red stripe to represent the suffering Christ endured at the end of his life.

The candy became known as a Candy Cane- a decoration seen at Christmas time. Although the meaning has faded, it still gives joy to children young and old.

Hallelujah, I'm Alive!

     As most know, I was out sick the first two days of the week. Unfortunately, a sore throat and fever aren't ideal teaching conditions, so the gracious Ms. Patterson allowed me much needed bed rest. Anyway, the point of my writing this blip are the smiling faces I saw yesterday morning. My dear children greeted me with open arms and bear hugs. My desk soon was cluttered with homemade "get well" and "I love you" cards. I'm so proud of the way these children love the people in their lives. They are not afraid to show their sweetness and they let you know, daily, how much you mean to them. The Lord uses each of my twenty-three students to teach me how to love and minister to others in my life. Thank you, my children, for your sweetness, encouragement, and constant love. Thank you for teaching me how to love better and more like Jesus.

 Matthew 18:1-3 

"At the time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Thank you, Veterans, for your service!

     To celebrate and honor the Veterans of our great country, we attended a school wide chapel service. Ms. Heiskell gave a brief history of The National Anthem, followed by our guest speaker, Master Sgt. Adams. The students learned who Veterans are, why they are Veterans, what they do now, and how we can show them that we are thankful for their sacrifice. 

     We furthered the discussion in the classroom by completing a special project. Each student had the opportunity to research someone in their family, or a close friend that is a Veteran. The students were instructed to interview and listen to the Veteran's stories and then write a brief summary of why they are their American hero. It was such a joy to see the students understand the concept of honoring our Veterans, as well as their pride for their family member's sacrifice! I am daily inspired by my students' sweet and willing spirit. It is my prayer that the Lord continues to cultivate within them an appreciation for selfless giving. May they always be aware and humbled by God's grace in and throughout their lives.

The Lord's Plan

The past few weeks we have been studying the genealogy of Abraham. Each student made a visual representation of the genealogy to map out the relationship between Abraham and his ancestors. This has been a wonderful time of discussing how God always had a plan and how it was set in motion. We also had the opportunity to talk about how the Lord uses both good and bad things for His glory and overall plan. Our God is sovereign and it was brilliant to see how each student understood this! We will be expanding our family trees as we learn more about the family God designed from the beginning!     

We Love Our Buddies!

Since school began, third grade and prefirst have become best friends! Every so often, my students partner with Miss Shannon's prefirst class and read books to each other. This is a sweet time for my students to set a good example and encourage the younger students. Enjoy the pictures below!

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 

~1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Miss Mackie, nature walks are the best!"

In third grade the past few weeks we have been learning about animals and their habitats. The great thing about science is that to really teach it to each student you must let them experiment and experience what you are teaching. Conducting experiments and engaging God's creation is where I see the students' excitement and understanding come to life. A few weeks ago our class took a nature walk around the school's property. We had a list of what we were hoping to observe, but before we set out we discussed the importance of documenting our findings. We created our very own field notebooks and set out with our checklist, ready to discover. In short, I was so proud of my students and how excited they were about the walk. They listened carefully to instructions and were so quiet that we could observe the animal sounds we heard! Enjoy the pictures posted below and stay tuned for more fun third grade adventures. 

Third Grade Loves Chicken!

Every year The Heiskell School celebrates the arrival of the Fall season by putting together a fabulous festival. To take the celebration to the next level, each class designs and creates their own scarecrow. Well, do I have a creative class this year! As you can tell by the picture, my class came up with the idea of the Chick-fil-A cow as our scarecrow. However, what completed our scarecrow were the slogan signs around it. Everyone knows that Chick-fil-A has some pretty great advertisements, but maybe they should call up my students when designing their next billboard. My favorite slogans that my students made up are pictured below.... and of course we included the famous phonetic Chick-fil-A spelling!

"Please, Dad, we really want to go!"

Heiskell father/son retreat!
(We encourage all boys to attend with their father, grandfather, uncle, or a close friend)
When: November 6th and 7th

Where: Blue Ridge Camp (www.blueridgecamp.com )
Located near the city of Clayton, Georgia

Attending: Kindergarten through eighth grade boys

Cost: $90.00 per person

Included in fee: Three meals, lodging, and all activities

Register immediately, time is running out! 

Happy Columbus Day!

In honor of Columbus day, third grade at The Heiskell School did a fun project! Today was extra special because we had just finished studying about Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the New World! I loved how excited my students were about Columbus day, because they knew the meaning behind it. This afternoon we colored and cut out Christopher Columbus hats! However, coloring, cutting, and gluing isn't all we did. To demonstrate what we learned, each student wrote six facts about Christopher Columbus on the back of their hats. We definitely showed  everyone that we knew many facts about Columbus off the top of our heads! Enjoy the pictures below! 

We couldn't help but share what we did with Miss Boyd!

 She was clearly impressed!

We Have Spirit, Yes We Do! We Have Spirit, How About You?

Calling all Heiskell students and family members! 

Thursday, September 30th, is spirit night! 

Come and display your Heiskell spirit as we celebrate our beloved school and some delicious chicken! 

Where: Chick-fil-A off of Northside Drive

When: 4:00pm-6:00pm  

How to show your spirit: wear your Heiskell t-shirt!

The Ups and Downs of Air Pressure!

       In third grade science class we have embarked on the journey of studying zoology. We have been discussing how scientists classify animals, and came up with our very own mnemonic phrase to help us remember the system of classification. We then learned a few things about flight and how God gifted some animals with the amazing ability to fly. The students learned that air pressure is a key component of a bird's ability to fly. To demonstrate this principle and to allow the students to experience how air pressure works, we conducted an experiment! Read below to find out what we did!

Uplifting Pressure!

Materials Used:

• A cup completely full of water
• One straw cut in half (first half must stick out of the water by only 1/2 an inch)
• trash bag 

Procedure:

• Place the trash bag over the table and put the cup on top. 
• Put the longer straw in the cup of water.
• Move the cup to the edge of the desk.
• Squat down so your eyes are level with the cup.
• Using your fingers to hold the small straw next to the edge of the cup, blow through the other straw at an angle towards the top of the straw in the cup. (Angle the straw upwards so that the air coming out of it passes right over the top of the straw in the cup.)
• Keep blowing and blowing over the top of the straw in the cup. 

Recorded Class Hypothesis:

• "The water will begin to bubble and will eventually spill out of the cup."
• "Nothing will happen to the water."
• "The air will make a whirling sound, but no water will come out of the cup." 

Results:

• A stream of water squirted out of the straw that was in the cup. 

Conclusion:

• When the students blew air over the top of the straw, the moving air could not press down as hard on the water in the straw. The air over the rest of the water in the cup was not moving, so it continued to press down on the water with its full pressure.
• Since the water in the cup was being pressed down harder than the water in the straw, water was forced up and out of the straw! 
• This is a lot like what happens to a bird's wing. 
• Just as the difference in air pressure over the straw and the rest of the cup lifted water out of the straw, the difference in air pressure between the top and bottom of a bird's wing lifts the wing into the air! 

A Day That Changed America's History

Last Saturday marked a special day of remembrance in American history. September 11th, 2001, brought America to her knees in prayer. Many people will never forget where they were when news of the attack spread.

However, what's more shocking is the fact that these precious third graders were too young to know what happened on that dreadful day. A teacher is not only responsible for nurturing academic knowledge, but also Biblical wisdom and a prayerful heart. These young children will not know how to pray for and evangelize to those in darkness if they are not educated to do so.

Last Friday Ms. Heiskell gave a wonderful chapel presentation concerning the events of 9-11. That afternoon I had the opportunity to further the discussion with my students. The main part of our discussion centered on Matthew 5:44. The students' comments brought tears to my eyes and thankfulness to my heart as I saw more clearly the beautiful and strong men and women of God that they are becoming. After our class discussion each student made a "Pray for America" necklace and also wrote their own prayer for our country. Specifically, one student said, "Lord, thank you for your protection. Please help us learn to pray more even when it's hard." The Lord is at work in the third grade, friends. I pray we have the humility to learn and grow from the passion of these little ones.

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

~Matthew 5:44

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

My third grade class has a famous tradition known as "The Friday Dance." Every Friday before dismissal, we raise our roofs in celebration of another completed week. As much as we love school, we are thankful for the weekend and the restful family time it brings. Thank you, Lord, for time to rest and sweet fellowship with family. Happy Labor Day everyone!

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

3, 6, 9! It's Counting Pattern Time!

This week in math we have been reviewing place value, as well as counting patterns! Yesterday, we broke out our colored pencils and hundreds charts in order to obtain some hands-on understanding! As each child skip counted by 3's and 4's we also noticed some pretty neat patterns. It was such a sweet time when students started recognizing spatial, visual, and numerical patterns! Below are pictures of the hundreds charts we completed!

Third Grade: A Swingin' Bunch!

Today marked the first day of school for the third grade and we couldn't be more excited! We're all prepared with our fresh supplies, books, and an inspiring classroom! We will be using this blog as a window into our world as we learn and experience new things. Below are some pictures of our classroom, as well as the sweet students that make teaching worthwhile! We invite you to follow and pray for us as we embark on the adventure of growing and learning in God's grace!

A Glimpse Into Our World

During the last few weeks of school, third grade has been learning and writing about their own autobiographies. This has been such a sweet time where I have had the privilege to get to know my dear students even more! I am so proud of all the hard work they have done throughout the year. However, more importantly, I am proud of what the Lord is doing inside their little hearts. It is such a blessing to see how the Lord is molding and shaping them to be Godly men and women for Him! Please read the excerpt below from one student's precious paper!

"I am thankful God made me special, because if everyone was not special, then the world would have just the same personality. A unique thing about me is that I wear glasses. God uses me to help teach people who don't know Him. I can teach people by letting them see the inside of my heart. God made me special and unique from anyone in the world!"

The Newest Additions to our Family!

As many of you know, Story Leigh O'Dell was born Monday, May 10th, at 12:10 P.M.! This is the fourth addition to Mrs. O'Dell's clan! Although third grade misses her, we are excited to welcome this new bundle of joy! God has also graciously provided Miss Boyd to take over Mrs. O'Dell's classroom while she is on maternity leave. We are so excited to have both Miss Boyd and baby Story enter our lives! Welcome to the family!

We Love to Read!

This week in third grade at The Heiskell School we are reading "Just Plain Fancy" by Patricia Polacco! This is a great story to focus on the beginning, middle, and end structures of a story! Today as a class we evaluated the story's structure and listed the main, important details that occurred at the beginning, middle, and end. We completed the graphic organizer shown below. Each student actively listened by rewriting the organizer in their reading notebooks. My students love to get involved in group discussions as they share their interesting ideas!

National Day of Prayer!

This Thursday, May 6, 2010, The Heiskell School will be celebrating National Day of Prayer! Please, join us in lifting up our country to the Lord!