A Full (of Fun) Wednesday!

These autumn days have been very full - full of fun, that is!  While my days are filled with many responsibilities, meetings, and events, I am truly filled with joy as I go through the day.

Yesterday's fun began with a special English lesson in 1st period.  We have been reading Number the Stars for the past week or so, and yesterday was a little break from that unit.  I did a mini-lesson on the six areas of Language Arts - reading and writing, listening and speaking, and visualizing and viewing.  The students were able to guess all of them with just a few hints!  We focused on writing, listening, and speaking during yesterday's class. The students had to do a creative writing piece on what it means to be "brave."  Some students wrote about actual people, while others created fictional heroes.  They worked so diligently!  After this writing time, I initiated a debate about the same topic.  I encouraged students to share their thoughts, respond to others, and draw in students who were on the "sidelines."  The sixth graders did a great job on their first round-table discussion, and I look forward to doing this with them again in the future.

In the middle of the day, I headed over to the elementary school to check on the Operation Christmas Child progress and eat lunch with my former class (now 5th graders).  Each elementary class has a collection box in the classroom, and the 5th graders come to collect the items regularly.  These items are then sorted into boxes by "type" (pictured below) to help the shoe box packing process go more smoothly.  It is so fun to see the 5th graders taking on responsibility and all of the students getting enthusiastic about the project!

Back at the middle school in the afternoon, we had our monthly class auction, which is part of our "classroom economy" based on the Vanguard program.  (Totally worth checking out!)  I wish I had a picture of the students raising their auction paddles to bid on fun items, such as chocolate bars, hand warmers, and coupons for one excused late homework and a free item at our next auction.

Finally, to finish off a great Wednesday, I headed to Herbstmesse for the evening.  I've written about this fall festival in Basel for the past two years, probably because it is one of the most-anticipated events of the fall.  After grabbing our wurst and Starbucks drink, we headed across the bridge to the bumper cars.  There is something unifying about the violence, the laughter, the high-energy excitement of the bumper cars at Herbstmesse!  This year was even more exciting for me, as I am now a middle school teacher.  The middle schoolers have a designated time to meet at the bumper cars to challenge their teachers and classmates.  It was a blast to ride around with students!  (Some were crazier drivers than others...!)  What a gift to be able to invest in their lives, not only in the classroom.

Roommates enjoying Starbucks!

Bumper cars with the middle schoolers!