The Rookery

Here are a few pictures of our day of exploration. Thanks again for all of your help!

              We're just wrapping up making topographical maps by buidling a land out of playdough in a tupperware container and then mapping its contours as we add incremental amounts of water.  The students did a wonderful job with a complex project and their finished…

For many years, "This We Believe" was a running segment on NPR in which people shared their beliefs about what is essential.  We've borrowed the idea to help define our classroom "rules."  I've put "rules" in quotation marks because we don't have formal rules in the Herons — instead we…

The Big Birds have started our first rotation for math workshop. As a review, our math time has three main components: a "two minute math" routine that checks in on math facts daily; "foundation math", where kids work to build and extend foundational skills such as algorithms; and "math workshop",…

Every day in morning meeting, the Herons play a "juego" or game for four to five minutes.  Often, we play theater games like "Smile if You Love Me," "Alibi" and "Your Grandma's Big Fat Toe."  Sometimes we play camp games like "Frogger," "Name Tag," or "Ten." At first glance having…

After sharing a great variety of maps from our summer, the Herons have begun a more formal geography study.  Yesterday, we made linear maps in the manner of the ancient Romans who often had scrolls that described the path one took from one place to antoher (but portrayed every journey…

As you know, the first six weeks at Prairie Creek are crucial to developing the school community.  As teachers, we talk a lot about how best to connect kids and help them learn the skills they'll need to play and learn together successfully.  We pay special attention to recess —…

Today the Big Birds received their Blue Books.  Through the years, receiving the Blue Books has become a bit of a ceremony signifying we are now ready to learn.  These books hold everything we work on throughout the year and we use it to share our work at conferences. This…

        O.K. so independent reading doesn't make for the most exciting photographs.  Reading in the Herons is such a natural part of our day that I sometimes forget to write about it.  We read all of the time, not just the fifty minutes designated for it on…

We had a great first day today.  It was a whirlwind, to be sure, but it was wonderful.  One of my favorite things about teaching at Prairie Creek is the mixed age classroom.  Today, the fifth grade Herons immediately guided the fourth graders through our morning routine.  They encouraged our…