Elementary School

What an exceptional Eagle Town celebration we had this week! We began our day on Tuesday in chapel where each grade level presented their solution to one of the problems in Eagle Town. The celebration continued with a fourth grade parade consisting of fife and drum players and 13 floats depicting historical events or symbols of the United States. We took an all-school photo before we enjoyed our picnic lunch with parents and guests.

Throughout the PBL process, students worked together to solve their town problem using higher-level thinking skills. Each grade levels problem was connected to their curriculum and presented a different way to learn the same material. Kindergarten students recognized their responsibility in taking care of God's world. Their lessons about caring for the earth, gardening and composting led to the creation of an ECES garden, which the kindergarten students will continue to work in during their year in first grade. First grade students learned about flowers and gardening. They made and sold flowers in the R & S Blossom Shop and practiced making change from a quarter. You may have received a beautiful hand-made flower from the R & S Blossom Shop for Mother's Day. Proceeds from the flower sale went to the ECHS Missions class. Second grade students learned about bullying and invited some of our pastors to help answer the essential question, "How should Christians respond to bullying?" They created stepping stones for the playground with Bible verses engraved in the stones to remind students how to treat others. Third graders learned how artifacts can teach us about history and how people lived in the past. They researched their own family history and created family trees. They set up an Eagle Town Museum and invited students and guests to visit the museum to learn about American history. Fourth grade students researched patriotism and discovered many ways in which citizens can show loyalty to their country. They decided to show us what they learned by creating floats for the Eagle Town parade.

We recognized the joy in learning throughout this process and thanked God for giving us the ability to use our minds for His glory. Thank you to Holly Turner and Brenda Leentjes for coming up with the creative ideas and decorations, to the teachers for their hard work and dedication to the PBL process and to Sal and Dawn Poliandro, the unofficial realtors of Eagle Town, for donating the great Eagle Town T-shirts!