The Rookery

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…

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…