Dissecting frogs fascinates third graders at Landmark Christian School in Diane Calsbeek's room.
PEACHTREE CITY - "Oh, see his eyeball!"
"Oh, yeah. I feel the maxillary!"
"I didn't know that it had two livers. I just think that's so interesting!"
The exclamations of third graders at Landmark Chistian Academy has hit a fever pitch.
"Get your pointer and see if you can find the tympana or the ear drums on your frog," said Diane Calsbeek, their teacher.
Their enthusiasm hits the right mark for teacher Calsbeek, whose excitement matches that of the students.
"This is Christmas. This is the highlight of my school year, because when they open that cavity and say, look, I see a fat body, I don't know, I get very excited about this," said Calsbeek."You can hear it in the room today. They'll never look at a frog again, the same. They've now been studying him, the outside, the inside. Touching him does something remarkable."
"Diane makes science come alive for children. She knows that they're interested in the workings of everything, whether it's physical or life science or whether it's around them in nature. And once they leave diane's class, they love science and they want to know more," said Gail Emanuel, assistant Principal.
"Taking something that might be ordinary to most people. I want to take that and make it spectacular. I want it to be something they'll always remember," said Calsbeek. "I'm a blessed woman. I get teach and do something I love and it's really rewarding. Working with children is extremely rewarding because they always give back to me."
It's why Calsbeek has won 11Alive's Class Act award.