The Rookery

Rachel and I know better than to trust the internet.  That's why we both tried to make lemon juice batteries this weekend.  When they didn't work, we compared notes did some more research and thought we'd gotten the wrinkles ironed out.  Time for the big leagues – a lesson with…

The Big Birds had a wonderful day on Tuesday celebrating pi.  Yes, we were a day late (March 14 is officially Pi day because the date is 3/14 or 3.14) but it gave everyone time to memorize a few extra digits.  Students either measured the circles to discover the ratio…

Right now the Big Birds are studying fractions in math and I've been working with my group to multiply and divide with fractions.  For multiplication, I had the students reflect on what multiplication meant before we began.  We then applied those definitions to make sense of multiplying by fractions and…

Every morning, the Herons get together for a 15 minute "reunion" (spanish for "meeting.")  It's lead by a different student each day but follows the same format – students welcome each other, share announcements, make short shares (5 words, no questions), long shares (questions allowed) and then play a game…

The snow was perfect, the rivalry was simmering, there really was not choice but to abandon the P.E. lesson plan and head out to the big field for a giant snow ball fight (which I recently learned is Japanese team sport called yukigassen)  It was an epic battle against the…

Caroline just shared with us the final report from the evaluation team that visited our school in late February, the culmination of our self-study process.  The report will be shared with our authorizer, Northfield School District.  The introduction was written by Rob Hardy, after he and his team observed classes,…

I just read an article on Northfield Patch about the very significant cuts that the Northfield Public Schools will be facing next year.  The first paragraph mentions cutting elementary band, a program which has been a favorite of Prairie Creek fifth graders for years.  (There's a public hearing at 7pm…

It's Electric (If I knew how to insert the music to the " Electricslide" here, I would) Hopefully by now you've heard about some of the initial adventures of our first theme.  Yesterday, students were very sure they could easily make light with a battery, a paperclip and a flashlight bulb.…

It's personal project season — a great time of year at Prairie Creek when kids regularly come bounding up to you, eager to share the latest fact they've learned about their passion.  The lunchtime conversations one overhears are full of tidbits from research:  "Oh, you probably had that dream during…

Some of you may have heard the recent fund drive for National Public Radio.  One of their recurring themes is, "How much is this news coverage worth to you?  A quarter a day?  A dollar?"  They then go on to talk about how much people pay for cable or for…