December - Smith

     This month has been full of activity. Not only have we done a lot with our project at Boyd, but we also are wrapping up our first semester in the Summit house. Papers and projects are all due, meetings are taking place and finals are next week. Then we get a nice break and Christmas!
    This month we have already had three events at Boyd. Two were in class presentations, and one was a Green Team meeting. Next week we are also planning on helping out at another Green Team meeting. Our presentations were about wind, and wind power. We visited two first grade classrooms and told them all about how the sun heats the air and makes wind cells. After that we explained wind turbines, and how they are used to harness energy from the wind. We then explained why this was so much better than burning fossil fuels. We brought pencils and paper and helped the kids make their own mini turbines with them. Then they could watch the pinwheel spin and see wind power in motion. They all thought this project was really cool. Both classes had at least one kid wondering if I was a boy or a girl, it was pretty funny. I explained that I was a boy, but I had long hair. Everyone in the house makes jokes about that now. We also brought organic snacks and juice to the classes, and explained that eating organic foods was not only healthy, but good for the environment.
     At the Green Team meeting we made Christmas ornaments out of old magazines and paper. First you cut a square out of the material you were using, and folded it in half. Then you make a couple of cuts and unfold it. You will then have a paper with slits in it that can be folded back on each other and make a really cool looking ornament or even just a decoration to hang around the house. We put a few of them together and made a star decoration. Boyd had a Christmas tree on their third floor, and we put a couple of the ornaments on it. Next week we will help the kids make notebooks out of cardboard boxes we have been collecting from cereal and other foods.
     I have loved my first semester in Summit and look forward to next semester. I think next semester our project will be better organized and more awesome!