Having Fun with Median!

On Friday the 2nd graders learned about how to find the median in a set of numbers.  This concept is so fun because we can do a variety of things to collect numbers!  What we did is a beanbag toss.  The students were placed into a few small groups.  Each student tossed 10 beanbags into a crate, we recorded the number made into the crate, and found the the median for each small group.  We discussed that our purpose was just to collect numbers; it doesn't matter if you get all 10 in the crate or none in the crate!  A variety of numbers will be great to work with!  The students learned the steps of putting the collected numbers in order from least to greatest and then work to find the middle number.  They had a blast!

Cookbook Money Update

In the last few weeks the students have made some decisions about spending the money they earned from the cookbook sales.

The first thing we needed to do was pay back the school for printing supplies.  Mr. Semmen came to our classroom so we could update him on our sales and the class's plan for the money.  The class payed him $72.24.  He told the class he would be taking it to the business secretary in the office.

The class had chosen the Cords Family from Rushford to donate money to.  We had decided on donating $100.  This is the most we've ever been able to donate to a family, and I'm so grateful for all of our customers and additional donations so we could do this!  We were able to have an aunt to the family come to our classroom to pick up a card and the donation to bring to the family.  We continue to think of them and send out prayers as they recover.

With the remaining money the students ultimately voted on purchasing a stapler with staples for the writing center, individual pencil sharpeners for everyone, and glue sticks for the writing center.  This order was placed with Amazon for $23.98.  They also picked out a beanbag from Target and a new book basket to replace one that had broken.  This total from Target was $43.05.  They have$31.73 left to spend, and I think they're leaning in the direction of buying a few new books after we finish reading the Top 20 Books of 2019.

What I love about this part of the process is that the students are involved each step of the way.  They had brainstormed possible needs and wants for the classroom.  Then they voted on their top choices.  I looked up the prices of the items they wanted and reported back on how much it would all cost.  The beanbag definitely was a split vote.  Half the class thought it was too expensive and the other half felt it was worth it.  I told them to continue to think it over, and we could either come up with a new idea or still purchase it at any time.  We took a new vote the next day, and the majority voted in favor of it.  They are loving it! 

If anybody tries a recipe from the cookbook, and would like to be on the blog as a taste tester just email me a picture, and I'll get it on the blog! 

Letters from a Soldier!

On Veteran's Day the students wrote letters to soldiers to say thank your for their service.  Some students took home their letters for family members and the rest of our letters were sent to one our student's aunt, Autumn Johnson, who is currently deployed in Afghanistan.  Were were so excited to receive letters back last week!  Thank you so much Autumn!  They were such beautiful cards!

Final Cookbook Sales

We had a super successful year of cookbook sales!  We started this economics unit by learning about how people can earn money and how people spend it.  We learned about the difference between selling a good or providing a service.  The students brainstormed ways as children they can earn money.  Some of their ideas were dong chores at their house or for neighbors, having a garage sale, setting up a lemonade stand, or saving money they get as a gift.  We had two eighth grade students visit our classroom to talk about the different ways they have earned money.  Isaac shared with the class about the details of his egg business, and Mason talked with the class about designing and selling sweatshirts.

We learned about what we can do with the money we earn; specifically the difference between buying items we need and items we want.  We discussed the importance of saving our money and using money to help others.  This lead into putting together our cookbook to earn money as a class.  The students made posters advertising our cookbooks.  We hung them up around the school.  We also made a commercial that played in the commons area.

The students were so excited whenever a customer came to our door.  Below is one of our students selling to a customer from next door.  It was fantastic to have so much support from students of all ages, staff members, our families, and people in the community.

It was also exciting for our students to be interviewed about our economics unit and cookbook project.  We were able to read our article in the newspaper.

Now that our sales have come to a close, we have our final numbers!  We sold 172 cookbooks and we made $271!  This is a record for the amount of money we have made from this project.  This is due to many generous customers who wanted to donate additional money for us to put towards helping the family in Rushford.  Thank you to all of our customers!  Our first order of business is to pay back the school $72.24 for printing supplies.  This will leave us with $198.76.  As a class we will pick out items we need for our classroom, a few items we would like, and donate money to help the family in Rushford who is recovering from a house fire.  We will be able to make the largest donation we've ever made from our cookbook sales.  I love that this unit teaches the students not only about making money, but also about helping others.  We will keep you updated on our purchases that are decided upon by the class!