Bay View Heights Elementary School, Proctor, MN (11/03/09)

Sitting in the front row were the 10 students who were out with the flu at last week’s presentation. Their class mates had told them about the presentation and they were excited. They came 15 min. early so they could sit in the front row to pet Magic first.

Again we had 2 new groups of first graders. Polly made the comment, “I forgot what 1^st graders were like—and how full of energy this age group was.” Most of the children were 6 going on 7. There was high energy but the students used it in a good way, asking questions, talking to us, and giving Magic tons of hugs. The students were very polite and respectful. They stayed in their chairs. They all said thank you as they got pens, pencils, magnets, and stickers. They kept their voices down with Magic. I sure do give the teachers lots of credit. The teachers never had to intervene.

I really loved the spirit and energy of the children. I respect them for it. They are excited to learn if you can channel it. WindChill’s story does that. Each of these classes had 5-7 special students mainstreamed into the class. They too handled the presentation very well.

Just before we had started, an intern teacher said that in Science class, she had covered what the basic needs were of living things. This fit right in to her lesson plans.

After my WindChill presentation, one boy told me, “Thanks for ever.”

I was amazed at some of the students who had horses. They gave such great answers on how to respect Magic when she came in the room. Also during her petting, they piped up a bit to keep the others voices in line.

Again there was 1 student who could not pet Magic due to allergies. She stood in back when Magic came in. She watched all the other students petting Magic and came up to Gramma Carole asking, “Is it ok to just pet Magic once—maybe just a little bit?” Sensible Gramma Carole said she couldn’t take the chance. Earlier I asked what happened if she pet Magic and she said she would break out in hives. She will be getting a Molly the Pony book too with a special message written by Magic.

As Polly led Magic around, a boy said, “Magic smells like a horse.” Polly replied, “Well that’s a good thing because she is a horse.”

There were 37 loud EWS when Kathi showed Magic’s teeth

After the first presentation, one of the teachers came back to tell us that she had discussed the presentation with her students. Of course they loved Magic she said, but they were very interested in WindChill and got the message loud and clear.

Students from our last week’s presentations also came in to say hi. Even the boy who was so scared of Magic came in to say hi and give Magic a pat. Last week’s teacher said her kids are still talking about our presentation. She said the kids really liked me and I was very good with them.

The teachers took a lot of pictures which they are putting on CD’s to be shown at parent conferences.

As the first class of 1^st graders left, each child gave me a big hug and a thank you. 27 hugs from 27 smiling 1^st graders. I just beamed the rest of the day.