Mrs. Fix-It

My husband sometimes teases me about keeping a sewing machine in my classroom at school. It's been there since 2017 so I can make the bumpers for the high school robotics team, but every now and then it comes in handy for other jobs. 

This week I had a student rip his coat while playing at recess - we're talking a huge, ten-inch long tear right down the front of his jacket. With his permission, I was able to patch it with some ribbon we had leftover from a sewing project we did earlier this year.

To me it was far from perfect, but when my student saw his coat hanging in his locker, he smiled and said, "You can't even see where you fixed it! Thank you!" 

It was a little thing to me - took all of about 20 minutes of my planning time, but it seemed to mean the world to him. Over the years I've learned, sometimes it's those little things we do as teachers that mean the most to our students.

A Current Favorite

If you are ever in an elementary classroom, take a moment to notice the books on the shelves. You can tell this book, Alone by Megan E. Freeman, is a favorite. Just look at those corners! Some people might get frustrated by that kind of damage, but not me. Only loved books usually get that kind of wear; that book is well traveled and a current favorite of the girls in my classroom (as is book two: Away.)

In verse it tells the story of a middle school girl who fakes a sleepover and ends up having to survive, alone, after being left behind during a community-wide evacuation. If you have a tween girl on your shopping list, I highly recommend Alone. 

2025 Student Sewn Ornaments

Somehow, in the craziness of the week before break, I didn't share a picture of the Christmas trees my students made. Sadly, I didn't get a single picture of a finished ornament! Luckily, this one is close enough to finished for you to see what the kids created. 

Each day we sewed, I taught the fifth and sixth graders what to do in the morning. Then, after they completed that step on their ornaments, my students coached the third and fourth graders in the afternoon. It worked beautifully; my kids were such great teachers! Their comments amused me to no end. I heard: "Mrs. Burt, so-n-so just wouldn't listen to me. I tried to explain, but he wouldn't stop talking," and "So-n-so wouldn't pay attention to me - even after I asked him three times!" I even had one student come to the realization that now she understands how her mother feels when she doesn't follow directions. Hopefully, those were valuable life lessons that will stick with them, even if the sewing skills do not. Either way, in this highly digital world, I loved watching them create something with their own two hands to give to someone they care about.

The pattern for the ornament came from the Country Stitches quilt shop in Lansing, Michigan. It was originally a pattern for a much longer wall hanging, but I shortened it into an ornament. I had hoped to share a link for the pattern, but I couldn't find it on their website. The fabric was leftover fabric I had in my stash.

Christmas Miracle

Something miraculous happened at school recently. My students entered the classroom and discovered Camilla the Christmas Chicken was no longer a stuffed chicken - she was real!

Needless to say, they were all rather surprised, and a couple of them were a little scared. Luckily, Camilla's sweet personality and calm demeanor won them all over instantly.

Unfortunately, Camilla couldn't hold a pencil to take the spelling test so she had to leave. We called my  daughter who was willing to drive down to school,  pick her up, and take her home to our chicken coop. Thankfully, the next day Camilla was back to her old, stuffed self!

Letters to Santa

Every Christmas, Mackinac Island's Postmaster puts out this cute mailbox. Since the Post Office is only about a 10 minute walk from school, it is a fun excursion to take the week before Christmas break. Our Postmaster personally makes sure Santa receives each letter and the kids always get a lovely note back. (Plus it gives me the opportunity to teach my students how to address an envelop.) 

The kids also get the opportunity to hand cancel their letters before putting them into the box. How cool is that?

In case you are curious, the kids don't have to write to Santa. If they'd rather write to someone else, they can send that letter instead. And yes, that's all of my students this year - three fifth graders and six sixth graders.

Too Close for Comfort

Putting up the window candles for the holidays is typically a fairly dull task, but this year it brought a bit of excitement when the light* pictured above caught fire. Luckily, the fire started quickly and my daughter was still close by. After she came down from her adrenaline rush, she found it quite ironic that the object intended to mimic a flame had actually burst into flame.

She grabbed it by the as-yet-not-on-fire base and ran outside. Luckily, her fleece bore the brunt of the damage, and apart from a scorched spot on the sleeve and some melted plastic on the window, all is well. Thankfully. Had my daughter put that lamp up in a different room and then walked away, this would be a very different post. So, today I am feeling extra grateful for my quick thinking daughter who, while thoughtfully trying to lighten my holiday load, quite literally saved the day. 

*The lamp was UL listed, had the correct wattage bulb, and was plugged into a wall outlet (not an extension cord.)

Happy Stitchers

Another thing we do in my classroom during the month of December is we sew. Most of this group has been sewing with me for a few years now, so they are quite adept! I'm not sure I could do a project like this, by myself, with a classroom of 30 kids, but since I only have nine it's quite doable. 

I'll be sure to share their ornaments once they're finished.

Happy December

My students have been counting down the days until Camilla the Christmas Chicken returns to the classroom. She came back today - and brought treats! (This year my students have been bringing treats in for their classmates for no reason. One Tuesday, someone brings in donuts, then the next the next week we're getting cupcakes. We've decided to call those days "Random Treat Days," and Camilla decided she needed to celebrate, too.)

Teachable Moment

Mackinac Island kids aren't usually able to get up close and personal with semi-trucks. When a truck showed up today to drop off a load of wood chips for the play ground, I asked the driver if he'd talk to the kids about his rig. 

They learned how it was loaded, how many cubic yards of wood chips it could carry, and how much it weighed when it was full. He even let them climb up so they could peek in the cab and get a quick tutorial on all the dials and levers he had on the dashboard.

He was an absolute peach of a guy to answer all of their (and my) numerous questions. The fact the kids found the most surprising was the truck could only travel three miles on a gallon of diesel (about 1.8 km per L). 

Look No Further

Where's Waldo?

Why, he's on Mackinac Island of course.

I have absolutely no idea who this young man really is, but he was super sweet when I asked to take his picture. I'm choosing to believe that I really did meet the one and only Waldo. 

Off to a Good Start

This was our first week of school art project - Minecraft selfies. Each of the kids created a pixelated version of themselves, and was it ever a hoot! (The bulletin board at school also had the students' names by their drawing, but for privacy reasons I blurred the names here.) It was a fun way to start the year. As you can see I have nine students in my classroom:

• three fifth graders & six sixth graders
• five girls &  four boys
• two sets of twins & five singletons

They're a fun group!

Derpy?

Here's another critter we found hanging out around Mann Lake (near Sheridan, MI.) There's just something about that little snakey face, isn't there? "Derpy" was the word my daughter used to describe it, which I had to look up. I found several different meanings ranging between foolish or weird to lovingly stupid. And looking at that face, I can see how the word fits. Guess I'm going to have to add derpy to my slang vocabulary, though with my luck it's not "in" anymore.

Fun Times

I'm so glad mt front yard looks like this tonight. If you are passing a house on Mackinac Island and you see that many bikes in a yard, you know something fun is happening inside.

My kids and a bunch of friends are all gathered around my dining room table playing Dungeons and Dragons tonight; and it makes me really happy.

Are they loud? Yes. Do they make a mess? Sure, but I don't care; not in the slightest. They are socializing, in person, and only using technology to project a map and look up information about monsters, cantrips, and race abilities. (Yeah, don't ask, I'm not sure either.) 

I love that twice a week, my dining room is the place to be for fun.

Poetic Visions of Mackinac 2025

The exhibit of student Mackinac-inspired art and poetry opened today. And, I've got to say - their framed watercolor paintings look amazing! (Full disclosure, I did edit out the name from the painting above since I promised parents I would not use any student names on my blog.)

One of my students won first place for her painting "Secret Caves."

Just look at that art!

A huge thank you to the Mackinac Arts Council, the judges, and to Mission Point Resort for making this show possible. If you happen to be on the Island before the end of August, pop on down to Mission Point to check out the show. In my opinion it's well worth the walk.

Um......... No

Allen and I spent a recent weekend in Traverse City to celebrate my birthday. Since shopping is his favorite thing to do, we spent Saturday walking around the downtown area. As we wandered, we discovered Rocket Fizz: Soda Pop and Candy Company. Once inside, we both immediately noticed the bottle of ranch flavored pop, which we had to buy for my ranch-loving daughter. Since we couldn't just take one home for her, we picked up a small selection of flavors to try: ranch, peanut butter, mango, and honey. Let's just say our taste test was an adventure; one that can be summed up in a single photo:

For the record - the honey flavored pop was tasty.

The smell of the ranch soda was indistinguishable from real ranch dressing, but it tasted awful. Imagine drinking watered down, sweetened, carbonated ranch dressing - disgusting! It was horrible, mostly because it was sweet. Just thinking about it makes me want to gag all over again. The peanut butter was marginally better, and the mango slightly better than the peanut butter.

Then Allen decided to mix the peanut butter and the ranch, which just created an abomination that, of course, we all had to try. Please, take my word for it, peanut butter ranch is a flavor you can live your entire life without ever knowing exists. Trust me...

The Great Lakers

Robotics competitions are a school-wide affair on Mackinac Island. When it is time for The Great Lakers (A.K.A. team 5878) to compete, everything stops so we can cheer for the home team. This year they competed at events at Kettering University and Wayne State, and while they didn't bring home a trophy they were ranked high enough at the Wayne State event to lead an alliance in the finals. 

"Spring" Thaw

March is not spring on Mackinac Island - it is still very much winter. That said, we do often get a few warm days this time of year. Usually it lasts just long enough to melt the snow, making riding our snowmobiles a challenge. And while most of the adults are annoyed, the kids love the opportunity to play with good packing snow (which is somewhat of a rarity here since it's usually just too cold.) Several of my students were so proud of today's recess creation, that they asked me to take a picture of  it. Meet their new friend - "Fred."

Merry Christmas

This year my students sewed snowmen to give to their parents for Christmas. I promised them I wouldn't share this picture until today so I wouldn't ruin their surprise. Hopefully, the presents have all been unwrapped and it is now safe for me to share.

I hope you are impressed with their snowmen. Each of those kids hand-sewed every stitch of their project. My favorite part is the carrot button noses. I was so excited to find those on Amazon!

(Six of my eight fifth and sixth graders are in the picture above.)

Supporting Our Community

Every year my co-teacher and I work with our students to create items to sell at Mackinac Island's annual Christmas Bazaar. 

This year they created the cutest little Christmas trees made from yarn wrapped around a cone,

complete with little felt "lights."

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders made quite a few trees, which brough in almost $300, but teaching them to donate their time to important causes was priceless. (All the money raised at the Christmas Bazaar goes to support the Mackinac Island Community Foundation, the Mackinac Island Medical Center, and the Island's churches.) 

2024 Christmas Cookies

December kind of snuck up on me this year, so I have been a cookie-making machine lately. This year's varieties include: zimtsterne, zitronenherzen, caramel springerle,  Nurnberger, spritzgeback, Scottish shortbread, ginger, stamped chocolate, Oreo truffles, peanut butter blossoms, and pretzel turtles. 

I just love making Christmas cookies. OK, who am I kidding? I enjoy making Christmas cookies, but I love eating Christmas cookies!

My kids, both home for the holidays, love eating them, too. Hopefully they will read my note so I'll have enough to pack into the cookie tins I give away.

This year I had a custom cookie mold made. The maker did an amazing job - I was a little worried about those tiny spots in the top of the bridge, but the springerle mold worked beautifully with both the springerle and chocolate dough.