It's Easy Being Green at Owatin Creek

Morpheus' visit at Owatin Creek Elementary in Exeter Township, Pennsylvania coincided with Earth Day.  Morpheus noticed that Owatin Creek was a green school, but he didn't know what that meant.  We set out to learn all we could about the environmentally-friendly features of our school to share with our guest.  The video shown above is the result of our week of research and study.  Not only did Morpheus learn a lot, but we also came away with a much better understanding of why Owatin Creek is a green facility!

Discovering Covered Bridges

Amelia's family adopted Morpheus for an evening.  Amelia tells about what they learned:

Morpheus visited two covered bridges.  The two bridges he visited were the Pleasantville Bridge and Griesmer's Mill Bridge.  These bridges were located outside of Oley.  Here are some facts that Morpheus learned.  Covered bridges were covered with a roof to protect the structure of the bridge.  In winter the bridgekeeper would shovel the snow onto the bridge so that the horse-drawn sleigh could go over the bridge after a snowfall.  These types of bridges are not built anymore because they require a lot of fixing.  Pleasantville Bridge was built in 1852.  This bridge was built with no roof because they didn't have enough lumber to build it.  It wasn't until 4 years later until they got enough lumber to put a roof on.  The bridge is 126 feet long.  Greismer's Mill Bridge is thought to be the oldest covered bridge in Berks County.  This bridge is 124 feet long.  Both of these bridges cross over the Manatawny Creek.  Morpheus encountered some local farm animals.  The animals seemed to take a liking to Morpheus as you will see in my pictures.  Those are the things Morpheus learned on his adventure.

Rambling in Reading

Molly's family accompanied Morpheus on a tour of Reading.  Molly sums up his adventure:

Morpheus learned about places to visit in the city of Reading (pronounced RED-ing).  He visited the Reading Eagle newspaper, Goggle Works, Reading Public Museum, and the Historical Society of Berks County.

First, at the Reading Eagle, he learned how a newspaper is made.  First the story is typed on the computer.  Then it is edited.  Soon it goes to a special printing press which contains cyan, yellow, magenta, and black inks which create the rest of the colors they use.  Next, they dry off and are sorted and delivered.  Morpheus also learned the Reading Eagle started in 1796.  It was a German language newspaper called Reading Alder.

Second, Morpheus went to the Goggle Works.  He learned that it started in 2005.  It also used to be a goggle factory.  Now it's a place for all kinds of arts including dancing, singing, musical instruments, pottery, painting, sketches, and sculpture.  It also has a totem pole that was made in the wood shop.  There are lots of different things on it, including a turtle, more faces, ravens, and other pictures.

Third, we went to the Reading Public Museum.  We didn't go inside.  We just stayed in the arboretum and looked in the Wyomissing Creek for turtles like Morpheus. He learned that an arboretum is a place where the trees have their names on them.  He also learned that Wyomissing is an Indian name that means "place of long fish," so we didn't see any turtles.

Last, we went to the Historical Society of Berks County.  He learned that the Historical Society is a museum that contains transportation and other items used a long time ago.  Morpheus sat in a street car.  It was pulled by a horse.  There is a great place called the Hands-On Room.  It contains a kitchen, a long house, a post office, a store, a sled, cleaning supplies, toys, and a bed.  The Historical Society was established in 1869.  That's what Morpheus learned about places to visit in the city of Reading.

Election Day in Pennsylvania

Morpheus visited with Leolina's family last night.  Here is her summary of their adventures together:


Today is the Primary Election day in Pennsylvania.  Morpheus and I went to vote with my parents.  We could only watch because you must be 18 years or older and registered to vote.

Next we went to Stokesay Castle.  Morpheus and I were treated as VIP's as we toured the castle.  It was built in 1931 by George Hiester.  He visited England where he saw the original Stokesay Castle was built.  He later sold it to a group of people who turned it into a restaurant.

We stopped by Albright College where Morpheus took a quick swim.

Afterward, we grabbed a snack at Sweet Streets.  Morpheus really enjoyed his chocolate cookie.  That "swim" made him hungry.

Morpheus really wanted to watch a Reading Phillies game, but it was too cold!  Instead, he met an R-Phils Ambassador who told us the stadium is the oldest in baseball's Eastern League.

All this traveling made us hungry.  My family and I took Morpheus to the famous Jimmy Kramer's Peanut Bar restaurant.  It was opened in 1924 and is known for its peanuts.  I like to eat here because you can throw all the shells of the peanuts that you eat on the floor.

That's what Morpheus learned.  I enjoyed having Morpheus over.

Visiting the Hospital

Morpheus had another adventure last night.  While visiting with Ben's family, Morpheus was able to tour St. Joseph's Hospital.

Ben summarizes his adventure:

Today Morpheus went to St. Joseph's Medical Hospital.  When he got there, he saw some ambulances lined up.  Then we went to the E.R., but that was really busy so we had to leave. Then we went to the main hallway which had a history of St. Joseph's, and we learned that it started in 1872!  Then we went to the x-ray room and saw some very big machines.  Then we had to leave, but before we left we saw a hospital on wheels which can carry 40 people!  Then we went to the Reading Hospital which was designed by the person who made Central Park in New York.  Bye!

Visiting the Pagoda

Morpheus is spending the week at Owatin Creek Elementary in the Exeter Township School District near Reading, Pennsylvania.  Morpheus' first adventure was with Olivia to the Pagoda.

Olivia summarized Morpheus' trip as follows:

Morpheus learned that part of The Last Airbender was filmed at the Pagoda.  The height of the Pagoda is seven stories.  It is 886 feet above the city of Reading and 1,200 feet above sea level.  It cost $50,000!  That was a lot back then!  The Pagoda was built in 1949.  The Pagoda is really tall and it's on a mountain.  That's what Morpheus learned.

Movin' on the 3rd Grade

Hello Turtle Friends! I am so excited because today I get to move on to the 3rd grade here at New Market Elementary! I am sad to leave Mrs. Cozart's class...I made some wonderful friends! But I can't wait to meet new friends in Mrs. LaRue's class, Mrs. Allred's class, Mrs. Sweatt's class and Mrs. Pratt's class! I've been told we are going to be learning about bones soon! Yay!!! Here are some pictures of my second grade activities! I made an All About Me Booklet, researched on the computer, met the principal, Mrs. Savage and assistant principal, Mr. Voncannon, and even let the kids help me update my Twitter account!

Doing My BEST at New Market!

I am so excited to be at New Market Elementary in North Carolina! I am visiting a few different classes while I am here. Right now I am in Mrs. Cozart's 2nd grade. The students and I have been very busy! We have watched a story on Bookflix and we have visited reading groups! Right now we are in the middle of literacy centers where we travel around the room working on fun activities! I am so excited for the rest of the day! I will post pictures as soon as possible and keep you updated on my travels at New Market! Until next time....

Morpheus

May 9, 2011

Well, another is starting. It sounds like it's going to be a busy week here in Everett. Mrs. Boyd has to go somewhere tomorrow, so we decided that it would be best for me to spend a day with Mrs. Beal in sixth grade. I wasn't sure that I was going to like that, but...




Mrs. Beal's class turned out to be awesome. I went over this afternoon to get aquainted with everyone. The first thing we did was go to recess!!!




One of the sixth graders also took me to meet all the sixth grade teachers. Mrs. Beal was hanging out with Mrs. Kalinauskas and Mrs. Miller on the playground. Mr. Smith was inside entering grades into his computer. He was showing me how the program worked.

After recess, I joined the Toxic Xpress group for reading and language arts. (I think that is a cool name for a group!) We learned about ancient Egyptian heiroglyphics. We had to decipher a message written in heiroglyphics. I had trouble with that, but the students were really helpful. After we finished that, we all got to make a cartouche. That is an oval with your name written in it. Of course, we had to use heiroglyphics! Mine turned out way cool! Mrs. Beal said that I could take it with me. She said tomorrow is going to be a REALLY special day. The school is rewarding the students. They collected LOTS of food for a local food bank. They also did their very best on the PSSA test. Sooo... tomorrow, I am going to get to go to a carnival with Mrs. Beal's class. I can't wait! I'll be sure to post pictures later!

May 6, 2011

Everett Elementary
Everett, PA

I finally arrived at my next school, Everett Elementary. Everett is a really small town in south central Pennsylvania. I am here to visit Mrs. Sheila Boyd's first grade class.

The first grade students welcomed me with open arms. I got SOOOO many hugs. After I introduced myself, the first graders wisked me out the door. They couldn't wait for their reading buddies (sixth graders in Mrs. Melissa Beal's class) to meet me. I sat with a sixth grader and listened to the first graders read a story. It was really fun. Those sixth graders were really big though. I'm glad that I am visiting with the first graders!