Wednesday, October 19, 2016

We Could All Use a Little More Kindness

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless."  -mother teresa


Kindness.  It's such a simple act, but yet it can be hard to do.  I have seen and heard a lot of stories about kindness and how our country needs more of it these days.  The election is drawing near and as the days flip by the attacks on the campaign get more vicious.  Is this what we have become?  I don't think that our Founding Fathers were best buds, but I think they respected each others ideas and views.  I imagine that they spent their time sharing their ideas on how to make our country great, instead of focusing on issues that don't relate to the American people and how to serve our country.  I shudder to think what George and Thomas would say in today's world.  In a country that is supposed to be one of the best in the world, it's embarrassing to see a lack of kindness coming from our top political leaders.

"Do not underestimate a moment of your KINDNESS.  It has the power to change lives in ways you may never know."


Kindness.  How hard is it really to be kind?  Isn't that the golden rule...treat others as you would want to be treated.  Who wouldn't want to be treated with kindness?  So much of what we say is how we say it, or the attitude that comes with it.  For adults, our kids are watching us.  Even when you think that they are not, they are.  Actions often speak louder than words.  Think about your day for a minute.  Replay the events of the day and imagine if some of those conversations, phone calls, meetings, etc. were met with more kindness and compassion.  It's easy to get fired up or say something in the heat of the moment, but can you imagine how much better the day would go if there was more kindness in the conversation?

"Have courage and be kind."  -cinderella movie


Kindness.  Every day before I drop my kids off at daycare or preschool, I tell them, "Remember girls, what are we going to do today?"  And they respond with, "Be kind and have courage!"  That's right!  You may have heard this phrase before.  It comes from the Cinderella movie.  Not the animated one, but the one that came out about a year ago with real people or, 'humans' as my girls would say.  I am 36 years old and I still love fairy tales.  Yes, I like to live in a magical place sometimes, because it is filled with kindness and good and hope.  It's the idea that despite the odds, you can still have your dreams come true and good always overcomes evil.  In the Cinderella movie, Cinderella has a heart of gold, some may think that she is too sweet.  She works so hard to do right by her step mother and step sisters but they keep tearing her down and treating her like she doesn't matter.  She never waivers from what her mother told her all those years to have courage and be kind.  It's so easy to go the other way, but in the end, Cinderella finds the courage to stand up to her step mother and despite all the bad that has happened in her life, she has the courage to forgive.  She displays kindness.  That is what is so magical about Cinderella...that although it is fantasy, I believe it is truly possible to live with such courage and kindness.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." 

                                                                              -plato

Kindness.  Becoming a mom has been the greatest blessing, but the biggest challenge I have ever faced.  And when I became a mom, I became a better person.  I became a better teacher.  I started looking through the mom lens at students thinking, "What if this were my son or daughter?"  The conversations that I started having with students and their family's were met with more kindness.  My heart would ache for some of the things that I saw kids struggle with or challenges that family's went through.  Often times you never know what is going on with a student or what is going on at home.  All a student wants sometimes is someone to show they care, maybe give them a little hug or a smile.   To be met with kindness.

"Kindness begins with me." 

Kindness.  We are all doing the best that we can...everyday.  Life is hard.  Raising kids is hard.  Finding balance is hard.  Listening to the all the negativity in the media is hard.  Not every day can be sunshine and roses, but we can choose to be kind and act with kindness and in turn we can make an impact on others and maybe, just maybe, make the day a little bit brighter!

"Today give someone a hug. 

     Smile at a stranger.  

          Pay for someones coffee in line behind you.  

                Because when the universe strips us bare, kindness is                                   what brings us back." -bethany butzer

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

What Do You Think About Bad Kitty?

Image result for Bad Kitty and the birthday
September Book Review of Bad Kitty

I have always been intrigued by the book series Bad Kitty.  I admit, I didn't think the title looked too appealing or indicated the type of book I would want to recommend to kids to read.  However, as a 3rd grade teacher, it was one that would circulate around the classroom.  And like most teachers, when you see a lot of students in your classroom enjoying a certain type of book or series, you tend to add a few to your personal library collection.  I must confess, until this week, I had never read one.  Sure I flipped through the pages to ease my curiosity.  I could easily see why it appealed to younger readers.  Lots of pictures, cartoon like drawings, some pages had very few words.  Although books can be 100+ pages, it would read very quickly.  Plus there are several titles in the series which kids enjoy too.

So the other day, my twin daughters, who will be celebrating a birthday at the end of the month (5!), told me we should go to the book store, it didn't take much more convincing than that to get me to walk in the store.  I am a huge book lover at heart.  Barnes and Nobles is my sanctuary!  Rarely do I or any other member of the family leave the store without a book in the bag...or 2, or 3.  My love for books has spilled over to the girls and now this is a favorite activity of ours to do together.  Dad wasn't along so we had, perhaps, too much fun together.  The girls were busy looking and picking out books and I was browsing the kids section for a new book we could read together before bedtime.  We often times like to read a chapter books.  This summer we finished Appleblossom the Possum which was a big hit!  There was a gentleman who came over to ask me if I needed any help.  I told him what we were looking for.  He looked at the girls and immediately directed us to Bad Kitty.  I was very hesitant, but he did his job and convinced me that I should get Bad Kitty.  He said it is popular in his house with his own children.  Kind of a silly book, he said, but it does a great job of telling you fun or crazy facts about cats throughout the book.  

So with Happy Birthday Bad Kitty in hand, along with several other, I will not say how many, books, we went on our way excited about our new book treasurers.  Of course several of the books were birthday books.  (wink, wink).  So this week, I read the book.  It took me two days, but easily could have finished it in one or about an hour.  So what do I think?  It's not bad!  I did find myself chuckling and learning a few things about cats.  I can see why this series is appealing to students in about 2nd-4th grade.  The books says appropriate for ages 7-10.  So tonight at bedtime, the girls and I began Bad Kitty.  Kitty sleeps a lot (16 hours a day) and his owner is preparing him for his birthday.  Kitty doesn't care...he just wants to sleep and ignore the world.  However, Kitty gets intrigued by the mention of food and presents.  His cat friends come over to celebrate and a dog, which the cats try to use as a pinata for the party.  By the end Kitty has wrecked the party, chased off all his friends, and goes back to bed.  There are many other funny details to the book, but if you are like me and haven't read a Bad Kitty book, I don't want to spoil all the fun.

Would I recommend it?  Yes I would.  I might even pick up another one in the series to see how it compares.  I am confident the twins will enjoy it because for them at their age it is the complete package: pictures, big words, about animals, and easy to read.  If you have read a Bad Kitty book, let me know what you thought about it.  I would love to know!

Monday, August 29, 2016

August Book Review




Each month I plan to showcase a novel or book and do a review.  My idea is to pick out books that are great to read as a family out loud, or for elementary students to read on their own.


This month I read the book, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I have seen this book around the book stores and heard that it was a great read, so I finally picked it up to see what all the buzz was about.  It did receive the Newberry Medal so I knew it had to be a good read at the very least.

Mrs. Sieh's Rating: 4/5 stars

The story:  Ivan is a pretty easy going gorilla that lives in a shopping mall.  He was raised by humans and has spent most of his life looking through a glass window at people.  Memories of his natural habitat are vague so he is pretty content spending his days eating, painting or drawing, and watching people.  Ivan is not alone at the mall however.  There are other animals like Bob the stray dog that sneaks in at night to nap on Ivan's stomach because it's warm.  There is Stella the elephant and later a baby elephant named Ruby.  All have an interesting story about how they came to the Big Top Mall.  All yearning for something more than what is behind the enclosures.  Ivan makes a promise to Stella to help Ruby.  Help make a better life for her than what the rest of them have lived.  So Ivan starts thinking about the possibilities and tries to come up with a way that will change them all. 

The Review:  This is a fast read. Very short chapters and written all from the voice of Ivan. It took me a little while to get into the story. It seemed rather simple at first, almost basic. I started to ask myself why this was such a popular or widely talked about book. As the story went on I started to really feel empathy for the animals kept in this enclosure. This made me question zoos. However the difference between the animals in this book and zoos are that zoos are meant to have animals in their natural habitat. There are veterinarians that constantly watch over them and care for them.  Ivan, Bob, Stella, and Ruby became a family which is where the story pulls at your heartstrings. As the story went on, I discovered the love for the book that many readers have found which probably gave it The Newberry Award. There is much sadness in The One and Only Ivan, but also love, and a feeling that animals live a life very similar to humans. 

We read this story as a family for our nightly read aloud and my girls, age 4, loved it so I strongly encourage you to read this story with your family no matter what age they are. 
August Book Review

Monday, April 4, 2016

NESA Kick Off

This morning students in grades 3-6 started the morning with a NESA breakfast to kick off state assessment season.  Students had mini cinnamon rolls, fruit, and a drink while listening to some jazzy music.  To help provide some inspirational words, we solicited the help of Kid President, Robby Novak.  If you have never watched a Kid President video, you are really missing out.  He is a 12 year old boy that just wants to make the world a better place.  In fact, often times, he talks about being "AWESOME."  That was the message to students today...to be AWESOME!  The test scores don't really matter.  All that matters is that you do your best and try hard.  There will always be someone who will be faster than you, stronger than you, test better than you, and that is ok.  Test scores don't define you as a person, your actions define you as a person...so be AWESOME!  Oh and it never hurts to dance!

Check out the Twitter Feed on the right to see some pictures from our breakfast!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Read Across America!

The first week of March was Read Across America week.  We spent time each day celebrating and recognizing Dr. Seuss and other great authors.  Our school was also wrapping up our One School One Book project of Mr. Popper's Penguins.  Here are some pictures from the week!

Mrs. Andreasen's class

Ms. Niles's class

Playing penguin games in 6th grade

Mr. Floth even dressed like Mr. Popper with his 6th graders

Mr. Yates's 6th grade class

5th grade students dressed as literary characters

First grade students

Mrs. Israelson's class

Mr. Popper and his "penguins"



Students writing to correlate with "Oh the Places You'll Go!"

Students brought pictures of their pets

Mrs. Parde's 3rd graders

Mrs. Yates's class

4th grade students

Breakout EDU...Can You Crack the Code?!

At one of our last staff in-service days, Mr. D (Dalrymple) along with the help of the ESU had the teachers participate in Breakout EDU.  It is a very similar concept to the latest craze of BREAK OUT rooms.  You can find some in Lincoln and Omaha.  The goal is simple: crack the code in an hour.  How?  You are given clues to solve the puzzle.  Our set up was 4 groups with a wooden box.  The box was locked with 4 different types of locks.  Through a series of clues, we had to unlock all the different locks and open the box to get the prize.  You get two clue cards, if you are really stuck to help you keep going.

The staff had a lot of fun and learned a lot about team work and using each other's strengths to crack the code.  One of the best parts about Breakout EDU is that you can design the challenge for the appropriate grade level or audience.

Teachers have jumped into the challenge of designing the locked boxes for their students.  Below are some pictures of Mrs. Archer's 5th grade class and how they worked together to try to "breakout" of the boxes.  Students had 1 hour.  All groups solved it within the allotted time.  One group with only 30 seconds to spare!







Saturday, February 13, 2016

Elementary Falcon Buzz: Feb 8-12, 2016

It was a super busy week at Freeman.  The excitement of the snow from last week settled down, but the temperatures have been so cold that we haven't been able to be outside much.  Finally, we got some relief and have been able to be outside more.  Thanks to the PTO, we have a few new items that we added to our recess equipment.  Jump ropes have been the most popular.  The students are being introduced to double dutch and learning new jump rope games and rhymes.  I remember spending hours jump roping at recess and shouting, "Cinderella, dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss a fella, make a mistake and kissed a snake...."  Other items that we have added are a large checker board, ring toss, bean bag toss, and two new carts to hold all the goodies.  One for indoors and one for outdoors.

The week started with Parent Teacher Conferences on Monday and Tuesday evenings.  There was good attendance in the elementary and I thank all the parents that took time to visit with teachers about their student's progress.  During conferences, the PTO sponsored the Scholastic Book Fair.  It was a little bit smaller fair this spring, but students enjoyed having new books and posters to sift through.

4th grade pioneer children
Fourth grade celebrated Pioneer Day on Wednesday.  If you walked into their room, it was a step back in time.  They spent the entire day playing games that the pioneer children would have played, participated in good old fashioned spelling bee and geography bee to name a few activities.  It was fun to see the children dressed similar to students their age of years long ago.  Some even had a piece of straw to chew on.






Old fashioned spelling bee



Our busy week continued Thursday with the celebration of Valentine's Day.  There were many excited children and the school was filled with lots of energy all day in anticipation of exchanging Valentines and having parties.  It was fun to walk around and see some of the very creative Valentine boxes.

The week ended Friday with a no school day.  After such a long and jammed packed week, it was nice to have some time to relax and recoup.


Coming up next week the 5th and 6th grade band students will be headed to the Lied Center for a special symphony performance.  The elementary quiz bowl team will be going head to head in a parent verses students practice competition on Thursday.  The students will be competing at Thayer Central on February 24th.
Lego Valentine  Box in 4th grade

Creative Valentine boxes in Mr. Floth's room


LJ showing off his tank Valentine box

Monday, February 1, 2016

Mr. Popper's Penguins Comes to Freeman for the Month of February!

It's time once again to start One School One Book at Freeman Elementary.  Last year was our inaugural year for the program and we read The World According to Humphrey.  It was wildly popular with students and families.  We even had a pet hamster, Hattie, stay with us at school.  To give you an update, this year Hattie is enjoying spending some time with the kindergarten classes as they study her for Science class.  She is still enjoying running on her wheel, snacking on carrots and seeds, and talking to Mr. Rex, the janitor each night.

Mrs. Sieh dressed like a penguin to kick off this
year's One School One Book program with
Mr. Popper's Penguins.
This morning we kicked off the month of February with introducing this year's book selection.  We will be reading Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater.  Our assembly this morning was spent going over how the program works and handing out books to each class.  A huge THANK YOU! to the PTO for providing a book for EACH student this year.

So how does the program work?  Along with receiving a book, students will be coming home with a book mark and a handout.  In the handout, is a parent letter, and a reading schedule.  Each night, Monday through Friday, students are assigned to read one chapter.  They are pretty short and easy to read. It's important that you read the assignment each night because when they come to school the next day, there are trivia questions from the book that the class will answer.  Those answers are submitted to Mrs. Sieh and tallied over the course of the month.  The class with the most points will receive a prize.  There will be 3 questions each day.  Two relating to the book and 1 relating to penguin trivia.

Also in their packet is a Certificate of Completion form.  After the Friday reading assignment, students can fill out the certificate for the week with their name and a parent signature.  Cut off the certificate and bring to the elementary office the following Monday morning.  Students who return their certificate on Monday will receive a small prize.  There are 4 weeks, so there will be 4 tickets total to turn in.  Each child has a certificate that they can complete.  At the end of the month we will celebrate with penguin activities to wrap up our program.

We hope that families really embrace this program by sitting down as a family to read together each night. Books chosen for the program are age appropriate for the whole family to enjoy from preschool to adult.  One of the best gifts you can give your child is spending time together and promoting literacy.  Even if you have a busy night, have someone read the book in the car on the way to a game or activity.  If you need catch up time, that is what the weekends are for.

Mr. Popper's Penguins is a classic.  The first copyright was 1938, but it is still a favorite among kids.
Our Reading Schedule:
(One chapter a night, Monday-Friday)
Feb 1-5, Chapters 1-5
Feb 8-12, Chapters 6-10
Feb 15-19, Chapters 11-15
Feb 22-26, Chapters 16-20

Happy Reading!