Critter Carnival

On days like today, I marvel at my good fortune of becoming a 2/3 MAP teacher here at Manor. Today was a testament to the creativity, silliness, and fun that I am privy to on a daily basis.  Today was the tenth or eleventh annual Critter Carnival, a celebration of the first thematic study of the year.  This year, the MAP classes studied a wide variety of critters found in our Manor environment.  Ms. Rebecca's class investigated earthworms; Mr. Tim's class, crows; Ms. Erika's class, silkworms; Ms. Nina's class, ants; Ms. Chris's class, geckos; and of course, Ms. Emily's class, rodents!

Room 5, adorned in adorable, handmade rodent masks, marched to the outdoor amphitheater to present their “Rodent Family” song, proudly displaying life-sized rodents on sticks for the crowd of MAP students, teachers, and families.  They sang loudly and clearly of the amazing attributes of the 1,800+ members of the rodent order.  The catchy tune, borrowed from the classic T.V. Show, “The Addams Family”, had the crowd snapping along while they learned all about the “super, awesome creatures” we have come to know and love—rodents!

After the presentations, the class met with their older Buddies from Ms. Chris's class to learn about their critter, the gecko.  Then they brought their buddies to room 5 to share their rodent wisdom with the big kids. 

Each member of room 5 studied a rodent of their choice, some on their own, some with partners.  Here are the rodents we now know a lot about.  Go ahead... ask us anything you ever wanted to know about them!

The naked mole rat—Alexander
The mouse—Orion and Aidan
The rat—Ruby and Tori
The lemming—Kaden and Skylar
The Guinea pig—Maya and Meleah
The flying squirrel—Anya and Connor
The prairie dog—Sophia, Nancy, Pema, and Liza
The beaver—Jeremy
The porcupine—Miles and Sacha
The capybara—Brad and Diego

A special thank you goes out to Mr. Gideon (my husband) who happily joined in the critter madness and captured the fun in photographs.  Thanks also to Katherine C. for a few fantastic photos.