Message in a Bottle project

I have mentioned in previous posts that we have several children whose fathers are serving our country and currently deployed with our military. I had an awesome email from one of these mothers the other day, asking if she could come in and do a "project" with my class.

A Jacksonville man had a wonderful idea to create a blog with 5 words that represent how we feel about our military. The process is very simple- collect a water bottle, write 5 words on a slip of paper that come to mind when you think of our military, and then put the slip of paper in the water bottle and seal it. Each water bottle that is collected is added to a "wall" of water bottles being formed in downtown Jacksonville. The words are tabulated as well, and the most common words are listed on a blog of thanks to our military, so that they may see from wherever they may be.

It was such a cool experience for our students to be involved in something that let their voices be heard! If you would like more information on the Message in a Bottle project, you can find it at the following link: http://messageinabottlejax.com/

Our kids have BIG hearts!! :)

This year, our class participated in a school wide project to collect toys and personal products to fill stockings for the Salvation Army to distribute to less fortunate children. Boy, did my students make me PROUD!! We discussed the purpose of the stockings and why we should give to others. Each child in my class was very touched and many asked if they could donate their own toys. We collected enough toys and products to not only fill the 2 stockings- 1 for a boy and 1 for a girl- but 4 stockings!! My heart was SO filled with joy as they asked questions and brought in things daily! I know that the students were so proud of what they gave by the huge smiles on their faces. I am so touched and extremely proud of our kids!! Thank you to everyone who helped with this project! What a success and a great learning experience for our students!