Turkey Trottin'

A fun Thanksgiving tradition is to run in a "turkey trot" with your family and friends!  Unfortunately you only burn enough calories to equal one slice of pie, but it is a fun way to start the day.  The trot that we do is a really big one- there are bands along the way and people dressed up like turkeys and lots of people wearing turkey hats. 
What do you think about this healthy Thanksgiving tradition?

Running for the finish line!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankfulness Part 2

Each day of November, I have been writing down what I am thankful for- counting my blessings.  I said before that when you count your blessings, it helps you to focus on all the great stuff you have instead of noticing all that you do not have.  (You can read the first part of my list here).  I am happy to share the rest of my list with you!


Day 13:  I am thankful for living in Florida- where I can go to the beach up until December, and where I drive by the beautiful water on almost a daily basis.
Day 14:  I am thankful for my big bed.  I love spending an afternoon laying there reading.  I also love when my daughter sneaks in with me during a thunderstorm or after a bad dream.
Day 15:  I am thankful for the cooking lessons that my parents signed me up for before I moved out of their house.  It is thanks to those lessons that I have not starved, my daughter hasn't starved, and I have impressed the occasional date!
Day 16: I am thankful for the library.  Full access to free books, movies, CD's!  We love the library.
Day 17: I am thankful that there are still a few nice guys out there in the world- guys who will open doors, send a text with only a smiley face just to let you know they are thinking of you, and bring you flowers.
Day 18:  I am thankful for my sense of humor that helps me get through lots of tough times and awkward moments.
Day 19:  I am thankful for getting to see the Grand Canyon over the summer.  The beauty and peacefulness of that place has totally stuck with me.
Day 20- I am thankful for my scrapbooks.  I am glad that I have stuck with this scrapbooking thing for all this time and that I have these beautiful memory books to pass on to my daughter.
Day 21- I am thankful for this fabulous country we live in where we are free to worship how we wish, say what we feel and elect our leaders.
Day 22-  Beyond all this, I am thankful for enough food to eat, clothes to wear, money for the bills, and our good health.
I truly wish all my readers a blessed Thanksgiving!

The Mayflower, Corks and Boat Races

Whose Mayflower can sail the fastest?

The "SS Swag"

Sometimes I get my best teaching ideas at the last minute.  On Friday at about 4 in the morning, I woke up and was laying there staring at the ceiling, when all of a sudden the most awesome Thanksgiving lesson idea hit me- Mayflower boat races!  
My middle school science classes had been learning all about global wind patterns (such as the trade winds, horse latitudes, etc...) this week and this was the perfect tie-in.  We had talked about how the Mayflower had to use the wind (not a motor!) to sail all the way across the Atlantic ocean.  Then I gave my kids the following materials: a cork, a paperclip, 1/2 sheet of paper, string and tape.  They had 5 minutes to form their own groups and gather materials, 5 minutes to sketch out their design in their lab notebook, 10 minutes to build and then we headed outside to two large bins of water that I had set up.  One side of the water bin was "America" and one side was "England".  Their job was to get from America to England as fast as they could with only wind power!  The kids (and I!) had a blast!

Some kids only folded up the paper and put the cork underneath.

The boat to the left was the fastest one all day!

The square boat design worked pretty well!

These designs were so creative!  
And nothing gets by these kids- as one group was busily constructing their design, one girl turned to me and said, "so where did you get all these corks from, Miss?"  I looked at her without missing a beat and said "from the science room, so, no dear, I did not have to drink 7 bottles of wine to get them!"  Her group was cracking up and so was I!

Can you describe your life in just 6 words?