The Rookery

I've enjoyed watching how the Prairie Creek traditions have carried on during this year of transition in our school. I especially enjoy watching as the returning students excitedly share the traditions with our new friends. One favorite tradition is the all-school gathering. It's held each Friday morning, and the teachers…

"Wonder is not puzzlement, bewilderment or confusion. But it is also not satisfaction, completion or understanding. It is more open-ended, even a little unsettling. There is an element of calm, poised detachment in wonder but also a restless amazement. In the wake of wonder, we are literally moved. We cannot…

Eizabethan Era  A good site for a variety of different kinds of information. Elizabethan Theater   Shakespeare for Kids  Folger Library’s great site Elizabethan Spying Game BBC Tudor History

We did a very brief lesson on how to learn manuscript, cursive, and touch typing on Thursday.  It will become a part of our Mastery menu options starting on Monday.  A few years ago, prompted by a parent question, I did some research on handwriting best practices.  I'll be honest,…

Today we went to the Starling's Body Fair to see their recent science work and learn some things, too.  (Did you know that babies have 300 bones but, by the time you're an adult, you have just over 200?)  Fairs like this are common at Prairie Creek.  Our tour guides…

Today in math I introduced an algorithm for multiplication that I had invented called, "Michelle's Crazy Algorithm." The exact procedure was not important — but I asked the students to decide if my method was valid or not.  I was surprised (and delighted) to find that they were confused by…

Today in my math class (which was a combination of Kestrels, Herons and Robins) we explored a new way of looking at multiplication.  Many of the students in the class had done multi-digit multiplication before but I wondered if they knew why their algorithm of choice (some know several) "worked".…

Today, my first official day back, was all about math.  During my leave, I've been reading a lot of books about math teaching, especially how to support children developing their sense of number.  At our workshop today I shared with the other teachers some of what I have learned and…

When Elizabeth and I were talking last night, she shared all of her careful plans for the Heron's day today.  I went in to the classroom with every intention of following her instructions.  But then… L.B. grabbed the copy of the Robin's Prairie_Creek_News which came off the presses on Friday.  At morning…

His legs flailed, his eyes got big, "Ohhhh!!!"  He dangled, two inches above the ground, holding on to the edge of a rock on the Caron Park waterfall, his big toe in danger of getting damp.  His grin made it plain, he was taking a page out of the Buster…