We Wish You a Merry RECYCLED Christmas!

One Magic Classroom Presents: One Magic Recycled Christmas

A VINTAGE BOOK TREE!

A Mother-Earth-friendly Christmas tree made from recycled books, some vintage aprons for the skirt, and a lighted mason jar with antique baby shoes to top it off!

(Thank you, Kiera's mom, for the book tree idea).

Don't waste your money on a fake Christmas tree this year, my friends - get creative and make use of some old things that most of us probably already have lying around the house.  That's right, grab your flashlight and head down to the basement to see what you can come up with.  I ended up finding a box of vintage aprons I purchased at a garage sale several years ago and some very old baby shoes.  Be unique and make a tree that represents you this holiday season, whatever that may be!  So here's a blog post dedicated to making use of what other people consider trash, the very merry One Magic classroom way.

RECYCLED WRAPPING PAPER!

There's no need to fear, the recycled wrapping paper kids are here!  Brown paper bags, twine, and newspaper inspire me.  So before you head out in the frigid cold to buy wrapping paper, remember that you've already got plenty at home, and it probably arrived at your doorstep this morning.

In case you were wondering, the average American throws away almost 1,500 pounds of trash every single year (1,460 pounds to be exact, and you can quote me on that because I wrote it in a book).  Of that 1,500 pounds, there's definitely some unnecessary "baggage" that comes from wrapping paper.  Let's not just teach kids about recycling this season; let's actively involve them with it. (Note to reader: there may need to be a "rap" song written about "wrapping paper," and I have a feeling my 3rd graders are perfect for the assignment).

RECYCLED ORNAMENTS!

"Your mom got me a butler for Christmas.  Can I name him Poopsie?"

Who doesn't want a butler name Poopsie?  And yes, Hannah, you can name him Poopsie.  Just tell them Ms. Sprengelmeyer said you can.  Any questions, and I'll see them in after school detention.

There's always fun to be had with a box of vintage magazines.  This season's assignment only had two requirements:  It needs to be "repurposed" from a vintage magazine, and have a "thought bubble" in the spirit of Christmas, of course.  Third graders are never lacking when it comes to spontaneity or creativity (sorry adults, but they're just more fun), so have a look at these "priceless" Christmas ornaments below.

"I got a watch for Christmas and I can't read it because I'm so old."

"I baked your Christmas cookies, but I had to eat them!"

"I hate this bird." 

"No you don't."

This photo is a classic: the age-old story of being gifted something like knitted underwear and having to act as though you like it.  This time, the boy simply isn't having it, and denial is a lovely thing, my friends.

Four easy steps to making your recycled ornaments:

1.  Find the perfect picture.

2.  Write the perfect message.  Weird is good.

3.  Paste!  Add some macaroni if you're feeling festive.

4.  MOD PODGE!  

In case you're not familiar with MOD PODGE.  I use this stuff all the time.  Not only does it act as a type of glue, but it can also give your paper crafts a nice protective and glossy coat (like a brand new car).  Remember, we want your ornaments to last after all those years of loving usage.

What you learned from today's lesson:

Sponsored by Kaleb and the Magic Elf.

1.  We throw away a lot of stuff.  

2.  You should use that "egg-noggen" in your head (I know it's cheesy, but it's all in good holiday fun) more often and get creative with repurposing items.

3.  MOD PODGE will be your best friend for many craft projects.

4.  Make something for someone you love this holiday season.  They won't be around forever, but your love will :)

5.  Watch It's a Wonderful Life with your family, and tell stories afterwards.  People should do those things more often.

P.S.  Here's one more card that will make you smile...for the more sinister at heart.

"This may be my last Christmas, because I'm so old."

ALL ABOARD! THE TITANIC

ALL ABOARD!

THE TITANIC

Ms. Wilson

3rd Class passager aboard the R.M.S. Titanic

Put on your magic time machine hats my friends, and your favorite pair of knickerbockers as we travel back in time to April 10, 1912.  The R.M.S. Titanic is boarding its first passengers, and we're along for the voyage to hear the first-hand accounts of our passengers aboard this "unsinkable" luxury liner.

Ms. DeMuth

2nd Class Passenger

 

Dear Diary,

My dear friend Megan and I just found out that our rooms are across the hall from one another (how exciting!).  We both enjoyed a marvelous dinner of shrimp and scallops after walking along the deck and singing a song we've made up called "The Titanic is unsinkable!"  I can't wait to arrive in America where I will build a mansion by the ocean.

Ms. DeMuth
April 11, 1912

If there's one thing my students seem to enjoy every year, it's picking their names out of a hat to see what "class" they will be boarding on for the Titanic (yes, first, second, and third class that is).  We spend a week reading as much on the subject as we can, including first-hand accounts (primary source documents) and scouring hundreds of images of the ship and its passengers.  They all seem to be fascinated with the subject, but then again, so am I.  I really don't like to admit this, but I did see the movie eight times in the theaters when I was in junior high…

Duchess Farran

1st Class Passenger

Dear Diary,

I love being on the Titanic with such good people like Ms. Gockel and Ms. Lehnhoff (oh how they make me laugh!).  My friends and I are going to enjoy some Earl Grey tea after dinner, and later on we will be meeting Mr. McDonald by the grand staircase at 8:00p.m.  Did I mention I'm in 1st class?  The rooms are so lovely here.

Sincerely,
Duchess Farran
April 11, 1912

In case you haven't noticed yet, we researched what a typical menu would look like for different passengers aboard the Titanic along with the things they might drink (like Earl Grey tea!).  This takes me back to my tea party days in elementary school when I would fill half of my cup with sugar and mix it with red Twizzlers (yeah, my parents didn't regulate my sugar intake).

Mr. Schemmel

1st Class Passenger 

Dear Diary,

What a wonderful dinner I had this evening with my wife in the first class dining hall.  My room is very charming, and it even has a walk-in closet to keep my finest suits.  My wife and I met a very nice lady in second class named Ruth Becker.  Maybe we will invite her to join us for dinner tomorrow.  We could show her the grand staircase.

Until tomorrow,
Mr. Schemmel
April 13, 1912

Easton (excuse me, "Mr. Schemmel") even referenced a real surviving passenger who was aboard the  Titanic named Ruth Becker.  That's an extra credit point in my book for referencing a passenger from a primary source.  How authentically awesome of you!

Now let's check out some more priceless photos of our passengers below:

Chef Shireman (no relation to Chef Boyardee)

3rd Class Passenger

If you can't tell, our chef takes reading the paper very seriously.  

(Special thanks to my cousin Forest for sending me the authentic 1900's Galena Newspaper to make this photo truly vintage!)

Mr. VonAh

2nd Class Passenger

Mr. VonAh will be working as a prestigious "paperboy" when arrives in America.  I assume he will be delivering papers to the one and only Chef Shireman.

Last, but not certainly least, every passenger must have a boarding ticket to arrive on board:

Chief Officer Taylor (directly under Captain Smith)

This guy might look friendly, but he's not letting anyone board the ship without a ticket!

Ms. Gockel
First Class Passenger

Featuring the latest look in Edwardian fashion.

What you learned from today's lesson:

Note to reader:  This photo has absolutely no relevance, other than it is my favorite photo from Halloween.  So I'll let Braydon and Tatym end with three things you should have learned from today's lesson:

1.  A primary source document (such as a diary entry written from a real passenger aboard the ship) refers to a first-hand account of an actual event.  They were there to experience it!

2.  Ms. Sprengelmeyer really did see the movie Titanic eight times in junior high.

3.  Fake blood and a plastic sword make for a really sweet Halloween photo.

Oh…and one more thing…

Thanks Mike Wolfe for our KID PICKERS books!  We are currently reading them in class

(I told them to do their happy, happy, joy, joy faces…..and they did).

If I Were a TEACHER

IF I WERE A TEACHER

(from the eyes of a 3rd grader)

"If I were a teacher, there would be three hours of recess every day.  We would watch movies on massage chairs after recess and play on iPads.  There would be NO homework EVER, and we would take field trips to see the Chicago Bulls."

-Mr. Yoerger (3rd grade teacher at One Magic Classroom Inc.)

Welcome back my friends to a brand new year of AWESOME from One Magic Classroom.  This is my second time around the blog world spreading happiness with an entirely new group of creative, magical, inspirational, and totally random 3rd-graders.  We took the global blog world by storm last year for the first time ever at East Dubuque Elementary, and we're here to do it again, only ten times bigger and better (like an upgrade to heated seats in a car).

Attention!  We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming with a brief message from the very first class of One Magic Classroom:

Brody loves puppets, and puppets love Brody.
(Photo circa March 2013 from The National One Magic
Classroom Library of Congress Archive)

Last year's group wanted me to tell the new kids (yes, my new 3rd grade class) that they were the first One Magic Classroom blog ever (which I guess makes them really special or something....don't worry, you won't be forgotten).  In fact, without you, our totally new group of magical kids wouldn't have a reading fort and a sock puppet theater.  We also wouldn't have as big of an audience without the cool things you did last year.  So don't worry, we won't forget that you made East Dubuque history!!!

"If I were a teacher, I would have a HUGE candy jar, and the students would get candy every day.  We would even have class pets (five dogs, four bunnies, and sixteen hamsters!).  Robots would do your homework, and we would have a 100-inch flat screen T.V. to watch videos on."

- Ms. DuMuth (head of the Agricultural Research and Development)

"If I were a teacher, my class would have: beanbag chairs, a flat screen T.V., electric pens, a pool, a baseball field and a basketball court, iPods, iPads, a LEGO fort, electric name tags, cool car folders, five cats, and the entire classroom would be made of glass!"

Mr. Huseman (head of the Botany Department: with an emphasis on carnivorous plants)

I decided to start the year off with a writing prompt beginning with: "If I were a teacher..."  A box of vintage glasses and some adhesive beards go a long way in helping to make to this writing prompt a heck of a lot more fun.  It's easy to see from the following students that these future teachers won't be assigning any homework in the near future, nor doing much of anything besides playing with LEGOs and watching television on the largest screens imaginable.

"If I were a teacher, my classroom would have a 1,000-inch T.V. with the most comfortable chairs in the world.  There would never be any homework, and we would go to Hollywood to party for field trips.  All of the lockers would be automatic, and each student would get one million dollars.  At recess we would have paintball wars, and instead of riding the bus to school, we'd take a Ferrari.  

-Mr. Shireman (Professor of Etymology at The Don't-Ask-Questions-Unless-You-Know-What-You're-Talking-About University)

Take a look at some more of our educational staff here at One Magic Classroom INC:

Mr. McDonald (Professor of Ornithology at Unibrow University)

If you can't tell, Mr. McDonald stayed up really late writing his master's thesis on the formation of birds. The best thing about this photo is the heading under his name tag, which states "This is my life".  Brilliant, if you ask me.  So much said, in so few words.  For Tyler, it's just another day for the overworked professor of bird studies.

Ms. Turner (Professor of Latin Studies at The Don't-Give-Me-Attitude College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

Ms. Lehnhoff (Professional Horse Trainer at The Equine Institute of Higher Education)

Ms. Anger (Editorial Advisor for LEGO Industries)

Here we are!!!  All 24 bright, shining, super stars who just can't wait to share their magic with the rest of the world.  

There you have it.  Our very first blog post for Season II of One Magic Classroom.  Before you leave today, remember three very important facts from today's lesson:
1.  Kids are great because they are totally spontaneous and creative (when you let them).
2.  Ornithology is the study of birds.
3.  You can't go wrong with LEGOs and candy when you're talking with eight year-olds.

"Truly wonderful the mind of a child is."

YODA, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

All things must come to an end...

THE FINAL CHAPTER

Priceless photo #1

I've realized it's a lot harder to say goodbye than I thought, knowing that when I write my final entry for the year, it's just that...my FINAL chapter on the most monumental year of teaching I've had thus far.   I've put myself out there, and I've been honest about what I feel is truly important in this world.  In case you haven't guessed already, it's children (a close second, my banjo).  Yes those angelic, curious, spontaneous, fearless observers that remind you to create simply because that is what we are born to do.  They create art in all they do because it's within them, and that my friends is a force to be reckoned with.

Priceless photo #2:  Kids in crochet beards and sock puppets who look like they just came from an after party at Studio 54.  Thanks again to my cousin Aundrea Sprengelmeyer for making those beards (I expect to get one for Christmas, just saying).

So there you have it, It's quite hard to find closure (or the right words) when you're not exactly ready to write the final chapter.  The only only way I know how to say goodbye without writing a novel longer than that really boring text book that sits in the back of every classroom in America (from 1972), is by simply narrowing down the year to three projects that have meant the most to me:

1.  Sock Puppets

2.  Growing Up

3.  Dreaming Big

Priceless photo #3

1. SOCK PUPPETS
What happens when you watch the same Dave Eggers speech ten times (yes, another inspiring TED talk)?  You start to realize this guy has the right idea about teaching, which begins with making your learning environment a magical place to be in.  Though I wasn't able to make my classroom into a pirate supply store (YET!) like Eggers was able to do with his after school writing center; I was inspired by how he made one totally creative and engaging place.  IMAGINATION is not dead.  What kid (or adult) wouldn't want to hang out in a pirate shop?  Make a creative, eclectic space, and kids won't even notice they're LEARNING!  Imagine that?

This is 826 Valencia, home to Eggers' after school writing center, which also serves as a pirate supply store.  I first got to visit this place three years ago while on tour with my sister Laurel (a.k.a. Little Scream) in San Francisco.  They pulled a trap door on me, and I felt like a kid again.

826 Valencia inspired me to create my own dream classroom, which initiated a writing prompt given to my students beginning with three simple words: "My dream classroom...".  I brought their dreams to an organization in support of the arts: Art Gumbo.  There we won first place, parents cried (in a good way), and so began the building of our sock puppet theater/reading fort.  Let's just say we spent a lot of time after school gluing feathers and eyeballs onto used socks.  Used socks might not make you too excited, but take a look at some footage and photos of what we did, and you'll understand why this project made us a part of a real community - our One Magic Classroom tribe.

Sock Puppet Theater AND BEYOND!!!!!

You'll notice my awesome friend Julie Arensdorf who came into my classroom, played the piano, and did a writing project with my happy kids.  See happy kids below:

She read us a story as well.  Take note of the posing.  We practice that kind of stuff.

A roof made out of old books!  Recycling at its best.

Look!  There's even a light and handmade oversized pillow to sit on (thanks to Candace Eudaley!).

Our sock puppet theater also serves as a reading fort.  I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried that the kids would just mess around, but an amazing thing happened....they actually read!  I also got to use it as an incentive for good behavior.  Oh, and did I mention I'm totally working on my own fort at home?  It sort of makes everything you do a little more exciting and magical.  

2. GROWING UP
Birthdays are awesome as a kid: ice-cream cake, Beatles T-shirts, Polly Pockets, my brother water-ballooning my friends and I in the backyard (most definitely someone getting hit in the eye and crying as well), and last but not least my mom dancing in the living room.  Growing up One Magic Classroom style is a little bit like a birthday party; you get to tape fake beards on your face and wear vintage glasses.  These are some of my favorite photos from the year, mostly because the kids have tape all over their faces.  I'm thinking this might need to be a calendar at some point.  I still have a lot that I want to do as I get older...or "grow up" in kid terminology, so it's great to hear what they all want to do with their lives.  It really makes me think about my own goals, and that's a magical thing - a lifetime of working towards something bigger than yourself.

DYLAN

"Where did all the tape go?" says Grandma No-Fun.

BEN

I call this the "sophisticated beard" look.  Does this guy work at IBM?

3. DREAMING BIG
We all have dreams, in fact every night we dream.  But the kind of dreams I am talking about are the waking dreams, the dreams you might ponder while picking your nose or staring out into the horizon.  At some point growing up, you probably had to give up on your dreams because somebody said it wasn't practical, and I'm about to say that's not really a practical way to think after all.  Money may come and go, but when you follow what you love, your passion, your bliss; a magical thing happens---happiness, and that only comes from doing what you love to do.  That, my friends, no one can take away from you.  I had a dream that I would start a blog and spread happiness by simply letting my students imagine.  We did that, and because thousands of people have now read our blog, you've (that's right YOU being Mr. and Ms. Read-e-pants-McGee) really inspired my students to keep on creating and gave them a voice.  They've had not only an audience of supportive parents and teachers, but a global audience, and this is really exciting for kids.  Every time we check our readership statistics, we find another country and locate it on the map.  Who would have thought our blog has made it all the way to Muldova in just a few short months?  Don't lie to yourself.  I hadn't heard of it either.

If I had to sum up my year in one photo, it would be from a wish.  Laney made a wish and blew her dandelion into the wind, with it a magical force that reminds me to find my inner nine-year-old.  When I asked her what her wish was, she said it was for One Magic Classroom, and that if she told me it wouldn't come true.  Well, I made my own wish for O.M.C. and I'm not telling anyone either.  

"May the force be with you."

-Luke Skywalker from the movie Star Wars

ROB NYE THE SCIENCE GUY

ROB NYE THE SCIENCE GUY

We here at One Magic Classroom Inc. (that's right, Corporation of Awesomeness) really love engineers who also know how to fix bicycles and teach us about angular momentum.  We also love engineers who run community projects like the Dubuque Bike Coop.  That's why we have decided to change Rob Williams' name to Rob Nye the Science Guy (sorry, we voted while you were gone), a more fitting term for people named Rob who make the world a better place, one bicycle at a time.

I like when we can teach kids the practical side of science.  We all hopefully know how to ride a bike, but if you're like most nine-year-olds (which I'm not), you may not yet know how to fill your tire with air.  So thanks Rob for your practical hands-on approach to learning science.  Kids love any excuse to get up out of their seat, and I don't blame them.

Angular Momentum....what you say???

That's right, you heard that correctly; we're learning terminology that makes us sound really smart and important at the dinner table thanks to Rob Nye the Science Guy.  Simply put, momentum will tell you how strong a moving thing is, and the faster you move something (a.k.a. Mr. Bicycle Wheel), the more momentum the object has, and therefore the harder it will be to move Mr. Bicycle Wheel in a different direction (hence the term angular or "rotating body" in this case).    

Art Gumbo comes full circle

Art Gumbo really did come full circle (hence the bicycle wheel) in more than one way.  Rob and Sami Sue (Rogue Collections) also came home winners with a tie for second place that magical night.  As wonderful community events such as Art Gumbo would have it, it not only brought out people of the community in support of the arts, but more importantly, it brought another magical person into our classroom.  We can't say this would have happened any other way.  It seems once you are on the right path doing the right things, the right people come along your way.  Well Rob, you were one of those "right" people that came around to our classroom in a very magical way. 

"As a kid I had a dream - I wanted to own my own bicycle.  When I got the bike I must have been the happiest boy in Liverpool, maybe the world.  I lived for that bike.  Most kids left their bike in the backyard at night.  Not me.  I insisted on taking mine indoors and the first night I even kept it in my bed."

- John Lennon

Bicycles make me nostalgic.  In writing this post, I couldn't help but think about riding on the backseat of Rachel Johnson's red banana seat bicycle when I was in third grade.  I would hitch a ride behind her on the elongated banana seat on our weekly trips to get ice cream, all the while dripping our favorite Blue Moon ice cream along the path on our way back home.  

GRATITUDE

GRATITUDE

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

-Marcel Proust

Karlyn Van Gelder with two of my very appreciative students.  

Amy McNally surrounded by love.  Yeah that's right, we are pretty much one big happy rainbow of love (if that's possible).

I'm not trying to make you jealous (okay, maybe I am), but I do have the best volunteers of all time.  This is a post dedicated to two volunteers who have not only spread happiness to our classroom, but more importantly who have helped my students grow and made them feel important.  This my friends is gratitude.  Gratitude for the little things in life; for the people who do those little things each day that add up to something truly wonderful in the end.

What are you grateful for?

"I'm grateful for my cat Peter.  He plays with me.  I feed him, and I love him."

-Tim

The students all used photos of themselves, and then drew imaginary bodies and gratitude thought bubbles to show what they were truly grateful for in life.  Tim also told his dad to "keep clicking on on our blog to get more views".  That's kinda hilarious, so If you are reading Dale....KEEP CLICKING ;)

"I'm grateful for my family because my mom and dad take me to fun places and come to my events.  My brother (Tyler) for playing with me and always being nice to me.  My coaches for letting me play, and my awesome teacher for doing all these incredible things for us."

-Brandon

Besides the fact that Brandon got an "A" for mentioning his teacher (just kidding), this is a great example of being grateful, because this is really about the people (not things!) that one should be grateful for.  Nice job Brando.

"I am grateful for having nice grandparents.  They always watch me when my parents are on a date or doing something.....BORING."

-Connor

This one rocks because I think what he is trying to say here is that going on dates would be boring.  You're right Connor, going on a date with your parents is definitely not as fun as making sock puppets with your teacher after school.  I'm also not totally sure what this picture refers to, but I like it.  

"I am grateful for my family because they care for me.  I am also grateful for my teacher because she helps me learn and grow!"

Sadie, I'm grateful for you and all the wonderful pictures you draw and stories you write.  Your picture seems like a really happy place to be, so I am going to check out the real estate available for the building of One Magic Animal Kingdom based on something similar to your drawing.

In closing:

I hope you have taken the time to think about a few people in your life who you are grateful for.  I'm totally grateful for Amy and Karlyn who volunteered all year in my classroom.  Since my One Magic Classroom budget (which doesn't exist) hasn't been able to pay you a dime for all your kindness, I know you have been repaid by the countless smiles they have given you in return. 

I hope you walk with some positive "tude"in your step after reading this grati-"tude" post.  I know I will for having the 25 best students a teacher could ask for, and the two best volunteers.

One last thing Amy...

"I am grateful for my mom because she had me."

-Dylan

In case you were wondering what your son wrote, it was about you.  Imagine that?  Your son is grateful for you as well.  So nice job on having Dylan so that he could be in my class, and so that you could volunteer ;)