The Rookery

  An adjustment is made to a turbine blade as K.S. gets ready to read the volt meter. On a whim a few weeks ago, I went to an open house  put on by "The Science Alliance" a new group at St. Olaf.  It's the brain child of two of…

Our Valentine's celebration on Friday was a lot of fun as always.  We passed out our valentines in the morning.  We sang a song or two about love.  We filled in our Love Bingo charts with the messages from our conversation hearts.  We sent first winners of Love Bingo down…

Wolf Lake – Herons 2013 Taking responsible risks is a central theme during our time at Wolf Ridge.  For some students, taking risks begins with stepping on the bus and away from family for an extended time.  Others face a risk on the ropes course.  Still others muster courage at…

Today I had the gift of a large block of math time that was just for the Herons.  We had wrapped up our fractions unit on the Friday before Wolf Ridge and we'll begin our next unit on area and perimeter on Tuesday.  An hour and a half for a…

Reading text through a cow's eyeball's lens A closer look at the parts of a cow eyeball. This is Amy Narveson and Gabe Meerts writing to you from what, all week, has been only the 4th grade classrooms here at Prairie Creek.  We have wrapped up our week of exploring…

Every 5th grader is a mentor to a 4th grader as he or she works on the personal project.  The fifth graders take this responsibility very seriously.  The 4th graders are grateful for the help and it also helps solidify the skills that the fifth graders are using for their…

We had a wonderful day in the Herons today.  This morning started with a pileated wood pecker working for its breakfast steps from our front door.  We watched in awed silence for more than five minutes then hurried to our birds class.  The Herons put their knowledge of adaptations to…

Here's Day 2.  We're having a great time!  

We arrived in high, high spirits today.  And, while it was cold, we all had the gear we needed and the energy to keep us warm.  Here are the highlights as shared by the kids:    

A few days ago, a letter arrived at school for Charlemagne's Caravan.  It was encoded in Chinese characters and a crew of students set to work deciphering it.  Today they read it to the class: Ni Hao Visitors, I am writing to you in great secret.  From rumors in the…