GUESS WHAT'S COOKING AT MILLERSVILLE SECOND GRADE

What's cooking in Linda Sandlin's second-grade classroom? Well, it depends on what day you visit.

Students at the Millersville Attendance Center of Jackson Public Schools have cooked cherry tarts, apple butter, lettuce roll-ups, dirt pudding and an assortment of other snacks.

Monthly birthday parties are held and students celebrating a birthday during that month serve as cooks.

There is educational method to Sandlin's culinary creations.

"The cooking activities reinforce math objectives such as measuring and fractional parts, and reading objectives such as following directions and sequencing."

When the youngsters are not stirring up a lesson, Sandlin has students create their own literary works -- poems, chants, songs, books, even videos. Students use video cameras to tap plays, skits and a variety of other activities.

"One of the most successful video productions occurred when the students developed their own news broadcast," Sandlin said. "The students selected two anchor people. Next, they brainstormed topics they could report on about our school. Then each student wrote a script about their topic. Finally, the students decided the order of the news stories and the broadcast was taped."

Sandlin also links up each year with her counterpart, Geri Beussink at the Gordonville Attendance Center. "We have a journal that travels between our classrooms in which students write about our daily activities," Sandlin explained. "We also plan activities around special events, such as the Winter Olympics."

Sandlin is in her ninth year of teaching. "My parents always placed importance on education," she said. "Because of my parents' respect for education, the teaching profession appealed to me as the best way to make a difference in children's lives. I stress to my students and their parents the importance of education and to make the most of their educational opportunities to guarantee success later in life.

"I want my students' parents to understand the crucial role they play in their child's future," she said. "Realizing the importance of education and stressing that importance to your child is the key to ensuring for your child the chance for a successful future."