The Rookery

A recent exploration of factors There is a lot out there about literacy and the importance of a literature rich classroom and home.  There is not nearly the same amount of cultural focus on numeracy – and yet number underlies every aspect of our lives — even as I type…

The Herons at work during guided recess. When students travel upstairs and become fourth graders in Prairie Creek, we call them "Big Birds." Their role in the school changes significantly and they are held to very high expectations — especially when we are with younger classes.  These first six weeks…

It is very difficult to write or speak succinctly about progressive education but, when I'm asked to, I talk about authenticity.  Teaching progressively means that the students feel that what they are learning is real and means something.  There are many ways to create authentic moments in the classroom, but one…

Friday was gross.  It was cold, it was wet.  It definitely wasn't the 70 degree day we had enjoyed on Thursday.  But Friday was our field trip – the first in two years. I was excited but I was worried the Herons might not be. But each and every one…

At the end of the week, the fourth and fifth graders will be engaging in a series of three lessons on puberty education.  Some of the kids call it "The Bad 'PE'" (as opposed to "Physical Education" which is the "good PE") and there is much giggling and groaning when…

At Prairie Creek, personal projects are authentic, real research.  We don't set out the topic for the students and tell them what they must find (although it would be infinitely easier to say that everyone had to do a biography and find the birthdate, birth place, and three significant accomplishments…

We missed you today.  I love the bustle of culminating events; the urgency of the students as they set up and teach their "customers" about what they've learned.  One of the things I most love is the students' opportunity to "wow" their parents with their professionalism and how they're able…

I love teaching math.  I was an English major in college and one of the reasons that I became an elementary teacher was because I would get to teach math (and weave all the subjects together and really get to know a single class instead of teaching English to 150…

As students get older, their social worlds become much more complex and nuanced.  Things that were once black and white – teasing, friendships, rules – begin to shade into more gray areas.  This is appropriate — developmentally they are more ready to understand context, tone, nuance and exceptions to the…