It was all about Maine potatoes at Houlton Elementary School just before students enjoyed Columbus Day weekend. Students prepared for the event by bringing in a potato they had decorated at home. Hundreds of potatoes were displayed throughout the school for everyone to see. Some were rather ordinary, while others were painted with a variety of colors with beads, eyes, glitter, sequins, ribbons, buttons, pipe cleaners or feathers to complete the transformation.
On Spudtacular Day, Principal Candace Crane baked potatoes for the staff at lunchtime with a variety of toppings, while students enjoyed a variety of games and activities with potatoes as the theme.
These activities included: barrel rolling, potato sack races, balancing the potato on a wooden spoon, print making with a variety of potato designs, computer games, hot potato with music, experiments, Mr. Potato Journal activity, potato bingo and learning about potato recipes. Pre-K students made graphs using their favorite kind of potato to eat including: potato chips, french fries or baked potatoes.
Students learned about the history of the potato harvest and the importance of the local farmers. Although the students thought the day was mostly fun and games, there was lots of learning involved in following directions, sharing, listening, math strategies and reading.
