Looking for a Challenge?

Cup Challenge

Our class this year is made up of new and established students, almost 50 -50.

This can be a challenge in that the students want to form two groups: those that are new & those who have been here.  To shake things up during the first week of school the students were given a challenge:  Stack 6 plastic cups into a pyramid using only a rubber band and 4 strings; no hands can touch the cups and everyone must participate.

(What a delight to see them thinking and working together)

The groups were quick to figure out that the rubber band is very important, but how to get it off the cups?

Some groups were quick to realize that the string can do incredible things, cup flipping anyone!

Others figured out how to create a tool to build the pyramid.

No matter how they accomplished the task, they learned how to communicate with each other.  After everyone was finished, each group shared how they accomplished the task.  They discovered that all the groups had similar ideas but completed the task in a slightly different way.

It was a fun way to get to know each other.

 Our classroom is not the only place where we have new students.  There are several new students in the whole Middle School so we have spent time getting to know each other.

The whole Middle School enjoyed a day in Portland on a scavenger hunt of sorts.  The teams were a combination of 6th, 7th & 8th graders and a mix of new and established students.  Everyone had a great time and made new friends.

It has been a privilege and an honor to be apart of a great group of students!!

Buddy Time!

During the first week of school we met some very special friends, our Multiage K-2 Buddies.  We spent some time getting to know them and for them to meet us.  They all are an amazing group of students.  Last week in chapel we were able to sit with them.  We enjoyed singing and hearing God's Word together.

This week we did an exciting activity.  The Multiage class is learning about the solar system and the planets.

 They were divided into groups and given the task of placing out the planets away from the sun using toilet paper.  It took a lot of team work to count and layout each line.

After a few torn sheets and recounting the squares they started to see how far the planets are from the sun.

Once they were done they talked about which planets were the warmest and the coldest.  Some groups even tried to make their planets revolve around the sun.  This took even more team work.  It was a wonderful and educational time.

Stay tuned to see what our next adventure will be!

Subject Update: Geography

Tomorrow, we are wrapping up our first chapter in geography with a test.  This chapter, we have been studying the importance of maps, how maps are made, and different types of maps and projections.  We have done several fun activities in class throughout this chapter.

We turned our classroom into a Siberian wilderness as the students made maps to hunt for gold.

We explored different maps to learn about things like compass rose, scale, and a map key.

We learned about different ways our round globe is projected on a flat map and how they distort.

We also learned about different features on our globe like latitude, longitude, Equator, Prime Meridian, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, and the International Date Line.

We will start Chapter 2 next week which covers different features a map can show like elevation, climate, vegetation, and population density.

Beginning a New Year!

Welcome to a new Adventure

Welcome to a brand new year!  This past week we have had a great adventure getting to know new students and reacquainting with out friends.  I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you.

I grew up on our family farm just outside the Twin Cities area raising crops, pigs, and Black Angus (cows).  After graduating from high school I went to Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Neb. (now known as Concordia University, Nebraska).  I loved the small town feel and the fact that my great Uncle and great Aunt lived close to the college.  They were both teachers and my great Uncle was principal and professor at the college.  I graduated with a major in Elementary Education with a concentration in Special Education and a minor in School Music.  My first call was to a small Lutheran school in Seattle, WA - a big change for a farm girl.  I then took a call to Pilgrim Lutheran in Beaverton where I began an exciting adventure that lead to the opening of Forest Hills.  I was the original third / fourth grade teacher for a number of years before "retiring" to raise our children.  While I was a stay-at-home-mom I taught piano lessons, served on the school board here, and substituted before returning to teaching full time.

The summer before the opening of Forest Hills I married the most wonderful man, a gift from God.  Louis and I have three wonderful children - Ruth (a recent graduate of Forest Hills); Katherine - in fourth grade; and Timothy in the primary multi-age.  Our children are involved in many activities which keep us moving and enjoying life with them.

I am very excited to be back at Forest Hills and look forward to having a wonderful year with your amazing children.