Ancient Egypt - Our Chicken Mummies - week 1

I kept the mummies a secret!!  Oh, how the kids desperately wanted to know what they were mummifying!  Fish? Chicken? Birds? Hot dogs?  Inquiring minds wanted to know!  Finally, the day arrived.  I first demonstrated how they were to mummify their specimens.  First, I drained all of the "blood" from Cleo, the chicken.  By the way, water paint comes out of the carpet!!  Just saying!!  Then, I washed and dried the chicken.  Next, I filled the cavity of the chicken with salt.  Then, I rubbed the sweet smelling spices all over Cleo.  She was placed in a zip-lock bag and stored in the container.  Finally, it was time for the students to get their hands into the fun!!  Each small group received a chicken, weighed it, and began the mummification process!  Only one student was a big squeamish.  Otherwise, I saw a variety of smiles, squished up noses, and looks of curiosity!!  Once each group was finished with preparing their chickens, and named them, we stored them in a container.  See the amazing pictures!!!  Tomorrow marks the end of week 1 so we will bring out the chickens to re-season them!!  Today, the aroma wasn't so pleasant.  Definitely time for re-seasoning!!!  Oh, the chicken neck and liver in the canopic jars don't look too appetizing, yet soooo cool!!

To be cont'd...

So much to do, so Little Time

Gosh, seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day!!  Days certainly never drag on!!  But trying to keep that time exciting is often challenging!!  Trying to keep lessons energetic and engaging will surely help the students learn and retain information.  Guess that's why I love reading stories out loud and portraying characters!  I think my students find me a bit crazy sometimes, but I know they remember craziness!!  In Social Studies tomorrow, we will be "re-seasoning" our chicken mummies!!  Yup, last week we mummified chickens!!  What a more hands-on way to study Ancient Egypt than to bring a little of the culture to the classroom!!  Ummm....don't ask about the lovely aroma that loomed about the classroom today!! 

Well, guess I could keep writing, but I really need to think about adding some excitement to my plans for tomorrow!!!

My Students Have Blogs!!!!

Today was the first step of creating student blogs!!  Ya!!!  So far, everyone has their own blog page.  I'm hoping tomorrow everyone can get sign-ed in and start playing with their page.  CREATIONS!!!  Their first posting is going to be writing how they feel about creating a blog.  Wish them luck!!!

School Year Well Underway!

Wow!!  What a way to start a great school year!!  Mrs. Meyers S.E.A. (Students Enjoying Academics) is off to a super first quarter!  Hard to believe report cards are just around the corner.  Seems like we just started school.  My S.E.A. is made up of a plethora of personalities which makes a myriad class!!  Some Dolphins are quiet and shy.  Some Sea Horses are raring to run.  Some sharks live up to their name sake!!  Now that we all know each other and have established routines, we are getting into the nitty gritty of academics.  Reading and language arts centers are in full swing.  Math is becoming a bit easier.  Science projects are beginning.  And Social Studies is heading toward Egypt!!  We've got a Kids College October Contest starting tomorrow and a Reading Counts Challenge winding down!  Some students have become rich with our classroom economy system, while others recently had to take out loans!  Finally, the most enjoyed area of the classroom is "The Beach"!!  Grab a good book, sit with the dolphins and whales, and drift out to sea!!!!!

2011-2012 Here We Come!!

Hi everyone!!  Welcome to a brand new school year!  I hope you visit my blog often to see the awesome things we are doing in 6th grade!!  So many things are planned and waiting to get started!  Let's go!!!!!