The Rookery

The Herons rehearsing "Our Wonderful King/Our Horrible King" in preparation for our culminating event. The pandemic affected our teaching in myriad ways – but I think the one I most lamented was the loss of culminating events. There's a T.S. Eliot line "not with a bang but a whimper" and…

The re-enactment of the Boston trial. One of the most exciting things about teaching fourth and fifth graders is their new found ability to understand perspectives other than their own. Young children cannot understand that another person may have an experience different from their own. But for fourth and fifth…

John visiting with the Herons back in 2017 In the fall of 2016, the Herons started sharing their nature observations on KAXE radio.  That summer, I had gone to a workshop hosted by John Latimer, the KAXE phenologist. When I walked through the door, I had no idea what phenology…

The Herons standing on the data points they put on our junco graph. In my elevator pitch for progressive education, I often explain that, ideally, students should feel a need for what they are learning.  That need can come from a variety of places.  Sometimes it springs from curiosity and…

On Wednesday, the Herons created sundials. We began with a lesson on how to use the scroll saw.  Ryan, Amy and I are trying to introduce more tool use into the curriculum before the students use the tools in Village.  Needless to say, the opportunity to use a power tool…

The Herons Being Herons The first six weeks at Prairie Creek are special.  We develop routines and establish classroom norms.  We learn how to navigate our schedule and we work to become leaders in the school.  But I think the most essential work is getting to know and trust each…

The Herons heading in for our first day. Coming upstairs.  When we built onto Prairie Creek in 2009, we didn't mean to create a metaphor for growing "up" when we put the 4/5 classes on the second floor but it was evident that was how kids felt as they came…

On Monday morning as the bus pulls away from Prairie Creek's curb on its way to Wolf Ridge, I always feel elated.  Behind us are the meetings and the forms and the e-mails and the checklists and the fundraising.  In front of us, Wolf Ridge.  Five whole days to live…

A letter to Charlemagne sharing newly learned information One of the things I most love about teaching fourth and fifth graders is that they are just becoming aware of a world beyond themselves.  They are just able to conceive that someone may have a different experience that is equally real…

Culminating events are a longstanding tradition at Prairie Creek.  Over the years, we've transformed the gym into a rain forest, built a scale model of the Great Wall of China and built a 25 foot tall mushroom (in a steady 30 mph wind).  Culminating events are a lot of fun. …