The Rookery

Data analysis and understanding is a crucial skill for being a modern citizen.  People misuse statistics all of the time, and without a fluent and deep understanding of data collection, design and analysis, it can be easy to be deceived.  Being able to read graphs and understand the data they…

We have gotten to the sweet spot in the year when getting the skis on and hitting the slopes (well…slope) can happen during our regular PE time.  The Herons are experts at getting into their skis by themselves and they are capable enough to get a fair amount of skiing…

I know that you've been hearing a lot about the auction.  Deadlines for this, envelopes for that…it's easy to get bogged down and fatigued by the details.  (Donations are due now and RSVPs are due by the 14th) But I wanted to take a moment to take a broader view…

  image from radioadelaidebreakfast This past week, in conjunction with the work of the Flying Foot Forum, we did a mini-theme on the puzzles and mathematics of Lewis Carroll.  Carroll was a mathematician at Oxford and loved puzzles.  He had insomnia and would often spend his sleepless nights thinking about…

Sometimes, when people find out I teach in a school without grades, they wonder aloud how students know how they're doing.  It's a fair question.  Most of us had school experiences in which grades were used to rate our performance.  Even in elementary school, I was given a star or…

Silk cocoons ready to go. Add soap. And washing soda. Simmer for 20 minutes (or less!) Make mawata frames while you wait. And wait.                          Remove giant glob that was supposed to be separate cocoons. Stretch on a frame…

All of the 4/5s are embarking on a new math unit. We are a few days in to examining the concepts of area, perimeter and volume. Below are some of the concepts that we will be covering. Each child will begin exploring the concepts in lessons adapted to their current level…

Many of the Herons have really been enjoying our recent foray into geography.  Every week, we are memorizing 9-12 countries on one of the continents (we began by learning the continents and oceans).  The work is important for several reasons. First, knowing how to memorize information is a helpful skill.…

  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…