The things you learn in second grade!

I think I learn as much in our classroom as my kids do.   Did you know that an aquarium snail will escape the tank at an opportunity he (or she - no idea) gets?  Did you know that they can survive for hours outside of the tank,  even if it looks like a little dried up worm inside the shell?

We have a Mystery snail in our tank.   Sometimes I have trouble finding it.   It moves about surprisingly quickly.   There have been times when I have just not been able to find him(or her).  But later that day,  he (or she) always shows up.  Monday morning,  one of my kiddos was INSISTENT that the snail was not in the tank.  I was INSISTENT that the kid get back to work so I assured him that he was in there.   He kept running back to the tank and checking,  each time bringing along more of the other kids. I was annoyed.  I was getting through reading groups, so I stayed put.  HOURS passed,  specials and lunch and recess and science... and the same child came up to me and said there was "something like a shell" on the counter.  I was thinking that this kid was just imagining things,  but I went back to look (and prove him wrong).  And there was our snail shell.   The snail inside (usually a very pale yellow) was dark brown,  shriveled up and nasty looking.   I felt AWFUL.  I told the class that he had died,  but they BEGGED me to give him a chance and throw him back in the tank.  I did (after all,  I had been a royal bitty about the whole thing all day).   He sank to the bottom of the tank and just sat there looking dead.  Soon it was time to go home and I had to run to a meeting off campus.   I never got back to the tank.

Yesterday I walked into my room,  completely expecting to smell the funk of dead snail (and my own guilt) and was surprised to walk in and smell nothing but the slight smell of spoiled milk from our milk carton community.   I walked over to the tank and that little stinker was on the other side of the tank, completely hanging of the wall, doing what snails do - ALIVE.  Crazy.  A few of my children were convinced that it was a reincarnation and the others were sure it was a miracle.  I think I side with the second group.  Never a dull moment.

We worked on our milk carton community today,  starting to add in some skyscrapers in our urban area.  We have built it up from a rural community.   We have been talking about how communities change over time.   It was been very fun.  The town/city doesn't look quite like I was envisioning,  but the kids think it is awesome.   They have started to add in shopping areas and even a planetarium.  My favorite add so far has been from my rodeo obsessed little buddy.   He asked told me he was adding a store - when he was finished we had a Cavender's Boot City right between our suburban and rural areas.   He explained that mostly cowboys would be buying boots!  I love that!  Here are a couple of pictures of our city in progress.

 

 

We also worked on my TpT magnet mini-unit today.   We had a great time with it.   I did realize that some of the pictures that I had added were too light or too busy to copy well,  so when I got home I went in and edited the unit some.   Here are a couple pix of my buddies working on it.

 

 

Have a fantastic Thursday friends!