Diamond Del Visit

Since this is my first year in 4th grade, this is my first time getting to do the Diamond Del program that has been visiting our school for the past few years.  I was overwhelmingly impressed with this program.  My class has just finished our study of rocks and minerals in science so we were very excited when we had the chance to go gem mining today at school.  I was very hesitant at first, one in part because on our 3rd grade field trip last year we went gem mining as part of the trip and two because I was told we were getting into a trailer and mining.  This did not excite me.  Let me be the first to say, I was WRONG!!!  This was a fabulous program.  We began the day by watching a DVD that instructed the students on what was going to happen, what they may find and the rules of mining with Diamond Del.  We then went as a class to mine and was greeted by Mr. Navaro, who was very knowledgeable and kid-friendly.  The mining was in a heated trailer, well planned, had identification charts clearly placed near all students and each student recieved lots of large minerals.  I couldn't have asked for any better for my students, not to mention we had a parent volunteer to walk in and out of the cold rain to escort our classes to Diamond Del.  Then when we returned to our classroom, we watched another video that guided the students through identifying their gems.  We had so much fun doing this adventure today!  When we finished with the video, we were able to use the identification charts that each student received to sort their minerals, create a comparison map comparing and contrasting two of their minerals and create a classifying map with four more minerals.  Each student left today with such knowledge of the minerals that they had found while mining and a treasure they will keep for a long time.  I will post pictures soon of our maps.  Below are some pictures taken my our Chief Chaos Creator of some of the minerals that the students found today.

Students Mining

Bags after mining

Identifying

Sorting

 

If you live in the North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida or Louisiana area and you are looking for a fabulous experience for your students that is on-campus.  I suggest you give Diamond Del a try.  It definitely is one of the best "non"field-trips that I have ever participated in.  It goes right along with the North Carolina Essential Standards in Science for 4th grade.  You can check Diamond Del out at www.diamonddel.com.

Vistaprint Goodies

Vistaprint Goodies
With the move to 4th grade also comes a move to a different classroom.  With that said, I knew that I needed to also find some new decor for my classroom.  This particular class has many students that have difficulty focusing and much of the research says to provide a calming environment for those students.  Therefore, this year instead of opting for a bright, colorful theme to decorate my classroom in, I have tried to stick with blues, greens and yellow for the most part.  This is where Vistaprint came into play.  I have to admit, I'm a Pinterest junkie and have spent many hours exploring all these great boards to find different things I'd like to have in my classroom.  I also kept an eye out for Vistaprint to run specials and Groupon to offer great Vistaprint deals.  In the meantime, I borrowed all of the wonderful ideas that I had found on Pinterest and adapted them to fit my classroom.  Check out some of the Vistaprint goodies that have made their debut in our classroom this year.  

Mousepad

Mousepad

Mousepad

Poster

Poster

Poster

Banner - I was able to fit 2 on one banner so I will have one for next year when I need one.

Finally!!

I created this blog hoping to share my adventures as I looped to 4th grade with a great group of students and teachers but that just hasn't happened.  I think this has been the busiest year yet.  With With a full time student teacher this semester you'd think I would have more time to get things done but that just hasn't worked out, between learning a new grade level and the Common Core, mentoring my student teacher (who by the way is well on her way to becoming a fabulous teacher), and dealing with life at home, things just haven't happened the way I had planned but hopefully that is all turning around today.  We have the day off in observance of Veteran's Day and what better way to spend it than by checking things off my "to do" list.  So...finally I am beginning to blog about our happenings in C-1!!