Pudgies

For several years now, the elementary students have been given stuffed animals. Each child gets to choose their own animal from a line of particularly soft, chubby animals called "Plumpies" . We, however, have always called them "Pudgies", because the first year we had them, Terry made a mistake about what they were called and the name stuck.















The children leave their pudgies at school until they graduate into middle school. Being presented with their pudgy to take home, has become part of our 5th grade graduation ceremony.

In the meantime, though, the pudgies can be cuddled during movie times, played with during free time, and even dressed up.







Karate belts on pudgies were very popular this past week.

Friday Science Class

Every Friday, the elementary students have science class with Pat. Today's subject was calcium and bones.



I think the most fun the children had today, was when Pat had them each put two Tums in the bottom of a film container. They then poured vinegar over the Tums and put the lid on the container. A chemical reaction caused the pressure to build up inside the container, until the lid shot up into the air.

The First Day for Elementary

Today was the first day of school for the elementary students at Trilogy. We spent the day getting to know each other, since we have several new children this year. We also talked about being good friends. The characters from Winnie the Pooh were used as examples of how people who have very different personalities can still be friends.

The First Day of the 2011-2012 School Year

My favorite quote of the day:

"It's like homeschooling with friends."
-Brinson Harris

Howdy Pardners!

We've been rustlin' up some mighty fine cowboy and American History classroom decorations.

Just a week ago I was describing the elementary classrooms as being "organized chaos", but with only 6 days left until our first day of school, it's really starting to look good.

The outside of our wild west play area is complete.



The Sheriff's office, with the math games displayed in the cubbies below the jail (after all, if you're going to pay your dues to society, you better know how to count).





We've just started working on the interior:



Aren't the cowboy boot shaped hooks cute?!



A few other improvements around the elementary:





A map in the works:



The new word wall for beginning readers:



The work continues...

Time Change for Elementary

Just a little reminder:

School begins for the Middle School and High School students on Thursday, Aug. 25 at 8:00 a.m.

The first day of school for elementary students is Monday, Aug. 29. Elementary classes will begin at 8:30 a.m. (this is 15 minutes earlier than last year).

How the West Was Built

Carpenter and handyman extraordinaire (and recent Trilogy graduate), Austin, has been building a wonderful "Wild West" themed play area in the back of the largest elementary classroom. It's not finished yet, but he accomplished everything in this slide show in a single day.