HonorsGradU

May 26, 2023May 22, 2023

No Funding For Field Trips? Try These Ideas

Is May field trip season for other schools too, not just ours? It’s such a busy time of the school year!

I know we’re not alone with the struggle of under-funding for the school in general, but especially with field trips. However, it’s still important for our students to get out into our communities to learn and grow! Here are some ideas on how to hold field trips when funding isn’t available or is limited.

Fundraise: I knooooow, I can hear the groans through the screen of your preferred device. Fundraising can be so daunting and exhausting, but it doesn’t have to be. Put the kids in charge! Let them brainstorm and help out as much as possible. And involve parents, too. This way you have help and everything doesn’t have to fall on you. The 1st graders in our school did a year-long fundraiser where they sold smelly pencils and erasers after school. One student was in charge each day and they worked together to raise money, enough to fund a field trip to the local bowling alley!

Reach out to businesses/ field trip locations: Some zoos, aquariums, arcades, playlands, etc. are willing to offer grant applications or extremely reduced pricing for school field trips, especially if you qualify under Title I. It never hurts to ask what they are willing to do for you when funding is limited!

Find free locations: If your school is close to a local park, library, college, grocery store, restaurant, business, etc. utilize these free locations to cut down on costs greatly!

Walk, if possible: And if any of these locations are within a reasonable distance of your school, walk there! It’s like two field trips in one when you not only have the main activity, but the walk to and from as well!

Ask for donations: I knooooow it’s almost worse than fundraising! Because it feels very vulnerable. But when your heart is in the right place trying to raise funds to bring your students on a field trip, it’s a worthwhile cause to ask others for help with funds. A simple letter home to parents about their plans for a field trip and what the cost will be while asking for help funding it, (and mentioning that even $1 helps!), can help raise you to your goal quickly. I know at least for me I’d rather just simply give my kid’s school money rather than jump through the hoops of fundraising.

Look into virtual field trips/ Zooming with specialists: This became extremely popular in 2020 with the outbreak of COVID but has also been a practice for several years now. Virtual field trips can happen over Google, or you can find different specialists to schedule a Zoom call with for your class to chat with a zoologist or astronaut, or business owner, right from the comfort of your own classroom.

There are so many benefits of field trips for any aged student, but that’s a post for another day! Needless to say, it’s worth it to put in the extra work and watch these students learn in a new environment. Field trips can be some of the most beneficial moments of their student careers! But they don’t have to be extravagant to be amazing.

Cover photo by Kayla Wright

May 24, 2023May 22, 2023

Scholarship Reminder! The Scholarship is DUE

Scholarship reminder! The scholarship is DUE! There are four more days (from the time this was posted) until all applications need to be finished and submitted. Our application closes May 28, 2023, 11:59 pm MST.

Our submission form is closed down and does not take submissions after the deadline has passed, so get your application in before this time. Each year we have one or two individuals that send us an email letting us know that they were working on their final submission but didn’t get it in on time, and ask if they can still submit. Sadly, the answer is always no. To be fair to everyone, we set a deadline and hold true to this deadline.

So gather all of your work and get everything submitted!

Our email is also always open to any questions you may have or guidance needed during the process, even after your project has been submitted.

You can see more about the scholarship requirements by downloading our checklist here.

For more information on the scholarship, head here.

For our 2023 final submission link, head here.

“I’m So Proud of Myself”

I try really hard not to tell my kids I’m proud of them.

I know that sentence was really harsh, but I have your attention now, right?

I try not to tell my kids I’m proud of them, but instead rephrase it by saying, “Are you proud of yourself?” or, “You should be very proud of yourself!”

I am proud of them, I really am! But their own pride in themselves will carry them much further than my being proud of them ever will.

It’s not something I do 100% of the time, I still find myself exclaiming, “I am so proud of you!” often. But I throw in enough “You should be proud of yourself” to balance it.

At school this week, my kindergartener was awarded as a “red cape runner” for having the most improved testing scores for the class that month. She, along with others from the school, was given a red cape and they all ran through the hallways with We Are the Champions blasting over the speakers. It was a way to celebrate their hard work and dedication, and it was amazing as a parent to have the chance to watch these children, just beaming with pride, run through the hallways.

Afterward, when I had the chance to talk to my daughter, I told her that she did amazing and we were so happy we could come to watch her. She responded with,

“Mom, I am SO proud of myself right now!”

My eyes instantly filled with tears. It was the first time she had told me she was proud of herself without any prompting from me. And for that, I was extremely proud of her.

Her own self-pride will carry her further in school than any praise I can give her. It will also drive an intrinsic motivation in her school work, to see that if and when she puts in the time and dedication, she can and will achieve great things, and she can do it to be proud of herself, not just to make me proud.

Featured Image by Kayla Wright

May 20, 2023May 16, 2023

Child-Led Learning is Beautiful. And It Works.

Did you know that crocodiles don’t sweat? This is why you can oftentimes see pictures and videos of them with their mouths wide open, to cool them down.

Did you also know that they can hold their breath for over an hour while they are underwater?!

Another fun fact: crocodiles and hippos do not get along and will fight to the death if they come upon each other.

Why the random crocodile facts? Because these are all things I’ve learned about crocodiles over the last several weeks while my son has taken a particular interest in them. It started with the National Geographic Croc vs. Hippo documentary on TV and has since escalated into YouTube videos, Googling random questions he throws my way, and many checked-out books from the library on crocodiles.

It has reminded me that child-led learning is beautiful, and it works. I could have thrown together a crocodile unit for our at-home preschool at any point this school year, but his interest level would have never been as high had I brought forward the information. He saw something he was interested in and ready to learn about, so I followed his lead.

A small handful of learning that I’ve witnessed from these last few weeks of crocodile learning:

His ability to spout off random crocodile facts for anyone that will listen.
His recognition of the letter C has solidified. Because… C is for Crocodile!
He learned about different habitats and the difference between salt vs. fresh water.
His geographic knowledge of the globe has expanded.
His awareness of different cultures has grown.
His knowledge of technology and how it can be used for learning has been practiced.

Child-led learning is beautiful, and it works. I can’t say how his learning would compare had I chosen a week to focus on the letter C and Cookie, but I’m fairly certain it wouldn’t have sparked as much excitement in him as learning about crocs did.

Oh, and did you know? There are 14 different species of crocodiles on our Earth! How cool!

Photo by Rene Ferrer

May 19, 2023May 16, 2023

Picture Books We Are Currently Reading on Repeat

Here are a handful of books we are currently loving:

Roy’s Pancake Problem by Hailey Hall

A fun book about a little boy that loved creating new pancakes every day, but had to problem-solve when his mom said enough!

You Are a Beautiful Beginning by Nina Laden

This is one of those books that make you tear up when you read it because you know the words are so very true and you can only hope your students are internalizing them.

underGROUND by Denise Fleming

It’s not springtime without digging in the dirt and finding bugs! This book is great for those dirt-digging, bug-loving kids!

Which picture books do you have on repeat in your classroom right now?

May 17, 2023May 16, 2023

Scholarship Reminder! We Really Do Check Your References

Scholarship reminder! We really do check your references. Yes, we really do! I know oftentimes on job, school, and scholarship applications they ask for names and phone numbers to use as a point of reference, and oftentimes you fill this in but disregard the possibility of them ever being called.

Well, for our scholarship application, we call each of your references and verify before you can even be considered for the scholarship application! This is an extra step to help us verify your project, and hear a little more about you as a student, even if your references don’t know about said project or scholarship.

But don’t stress, we have yet to receive a bad report from a reference phone call. Most teachers and mentors have only glowing reviews of you!

However, when you’re putting down this information on your scholarship application, keep in mind that there is a really good chance they’ll be receiving a phone call and will be asked more about you as a student and about your project. Choose your references wisely!

Our email is also always open to any questions you may have or guidance needed during the process.

You can see more about the scholarship requirements by downloading our checklist here.

For more information on the scholarship, head here.

For our 2023 final submission link, head here.

May 16, 2023May 16, 2023

Tips For Planting Seeds With Students of All Ages

It’s that time of the year when springtime hits and teachers everywhere decide to take on the endeavor of planting seeds with their students of all ages. In theory, it sounds educational and fun, but when applied, it can be… maybe not as fun as you initially thought.

Don’t let that deter you! Here are some tips for planting seeds with your students so they can grow flowers and vegetables!

Make a list of the supplies you need and get as much donated as possible. If you walk into a local greenhouse and tell the owner about your plans to let your students grow seeds in the classroom, there is a great chance you’ll walk out of the store with free or discounted items to get you started. You can also reach out to parents and other community members to find donations of seeds, soil, and containers for planting. Cardboard egg cartons make great plant starters!
Prep the students ahead of time as much as possible. This could last for a full week if you need it to! Give them bits of information about planting seeds during class time before you even step foot in front of the planting material. Smaller bits of information is easier for them to take in, plus splitting up the days between instruction and actual planting can be helpful for them in retaining information as well. If you wait to give instruction until right before the planting begins, excitement will take over and they may not be as good of listeners.
On planting day, take the kids outside if possible. Planting is messy! If weather and other constraints allow, take them outside to plant. If this is not a possibility for you, laying down a plastic sheet for protection over your carpet can also be helpful. Plastic tablecloths from the dollar store work great, or plastic painting drop cloths from a hardware store can be a little more heavy-duty.
Split into small groups if possible.
Have a cleanup plan, and communicate this to your class. All ages of students are capable of helping clean up in some capacity. If you divide up the responsibilities before planting even begins and everyone knows how they’ll contribute, cleanup can go much faster and smoother.
Know beforehand where the seeds will stay in your classroom. If you have a classroom of 25-30 students, their plants are going to take up a lot of real estate! Have a game plan before you even plant on where they will go if you’re not sending them home immediately.
Set a watering schedule if students will be helping out so that it’s never in question whose turn it is for the day. If the responsibility falls on you, set reminders and alarms in your phone to help remind you to water. The last thing you want are plants that cannot thrive!
Don’t expect perfection. It’ll be time-consuming and dirty and not everything will go as planned. But roll with the punches and it’ll pay off when those little seedlings start poking through the soil!

Teachers that have gone through this endeavor of planting seeds with their students- what other tips would you add to this list?