The Rookery

There are many steps to saying goodbye to our fifth graders.  It's no easy task, for them or for us… The transition begins in the first days of school when the fifth graders shepherd the fourth graders into their new communities and teach them about being a "big bird."  One of the…

For many years, the Herons (and before them, the Elms) thanked people who had helped us with a simple "Thank you song."  The song is so simple it can sometimes seem a little silly (its only words are "la" and "thanks") and yet every person we've sung it to has smiled…

The Herons said goodbye today to Alex Pepel who has been learning with us since January.  She was taking a class on progressive education and was working and observing in our classroom for the semester.  Her warm humor quickly endeared her to the Herons and we will miss her a lot.  …

Just in time for Village, the Herons had a fascinating conversation about laws on Thursday.  We have a class guideline:  If the predicted high for the day is 70 or greater, you may wear shorts.  On Thursday, the predicted high was sixty degrees…so no one was wearing shorts.  But we…

Another number talk, showing great flexibility…sadly, I did not record our negative number work. For several years, I have been interested in "The Mathematical Habits of Mind"  What can I help students do as math thinkers to become more successful in math and to best prepare them for using math and learning…

"Oh!  I have a skull!  Come quick."  "What is this?!?"  "COOL!"  "Ewww…"  "MICHELLE!  COME HERE NOW!"  "Intact vertebrae…I have intact vertebrae!"  "Dude!"  An audio feed from our owl pellet dissection yesterday would have been a hoot. (Sorry.)  There was a lot of enthusiasm as students' owl pellets revealed treasure after…

Last week, right after the honoring fair wrapped up, the Herons went down to our Dove bird buddies to help with their initial personal project research.  The Herons helped their Dove buddy record questions of wonder and then they read information books together. Their work had come full circle.  The…

This is one of my favorite weeks at Prairie Creek.  The students would probably say, "That's because you're not doing anything!"  And there is some truth in this.  I'm not the teacher this week…they are.  And what a joy it is to see them take on the role of "expert"…

Testing season is almost upon us – and, as always, it is ironically juxtaposed with Honoring Week where our children truly demonstrate their learning.  I feel very grateful that I'm at a school in which test prep is put in what I consider its proper perspective.  We don't ignore the tests…

Today's New York Times had an essay  by Angela Duckworth about character education.  She, along with Carol Dweck, a major proponent of the "growth mindset," have been leading voices in the recent conversation about developing "grit," resilience and character in schools. At Prairie Creek character education is nothing new.  The focus…