Here is definite proof that students can use their imagination and find
satisfaction in activities that are hands-on and do not involve electronics!
These are KEVA blocks.
They are natural wood, light weight, flat blocks that the students
manipulated according to the instructions of our
presenter from Teacher's Pet, during Monday's
in-school field trip.
The students were learning how to manipulate the blocks and build
with them to create a 'marble run', which really was a ball
about the size of a ping pong ball.
They understood that there had to be elevation to get the ball
to roll, a track that the ball rolled on and a way to stop the ball once
it was at the end of the track.
They LOVED it and it was so interesting to see their thought process
and their problem solving skills.
If I was rich, I would buy a class set of these blocks because I
can imagine the excitement each time a new challenge was introduced.
In the end, the challenge was to create a track that was very high,
but the biggest challenge was the idea that for this activity,
the students had to work together as a team.
Not all the students have yet learned this concept
and to be truthful, there were tears because one
person thought they were not getting a fair deal in the
group. School is about learning in many forms,
and knowing how to deal with issues of fairness, and
emotions is still difficult for these little ones.
What's important, though, is not to step in too soon.
The way the kiddos learn is sometimes to be
frustrated and recognize that others might be feeling
that way too.
What a delightful afternoon and THANK YOU sincerely
to the dad, grandma, and moms who came to help!
Hope you had fun too!
Jane O'Connor wrote a delightful book about a family who lives inside
of a snow globe, in the house of another family just like them.
We worked with this story to see the similarities and differences between
the two families and their stories.
Gosh, I spend a lot of time getting photos developed
but the students really enjoy seeing themselves in the activities
that we do. For this activity, the students all were stuck in a
snow globe, building a snowman. All of their writing started with the
same sentence but they then were required to print two additional
sentences on their own.
Those two sentences were very telling on how their independent
writing is developing. Some are still struggling with recognizing
that the words you want to say have to match the words you print
on the paper.
It's a long process!
The students have also been working on adding long vowel sounds
to their bag of tricks for reading words. Over the course of a few
weeks, they have learned that to make a long vowel sound ,
something almost always has to help that vowel say it's name.
In this case, it was the Magic 'e' (also known as the silent 'e', the
sneaky 'e' and super 'e'). It appears at the end of a word,
jumps over one consonant, and hits the vowel on the head
so that it says it's name.
It's been a case of practice, practice, practice but
I think there is a light starting to shine!
This says /r/ /i/ /d/. (rid)
This says /r/ /I/ /d/ (ride)
Can't hear the 'e' can you?
Friday was the 90th day of school and
Zero the Hero asked the students to show him what
they thought they would look like when they were 90
years old. Not many of the boys wanted to be bald!
Heads up! It's Teacher's Convention on Thursday and Friday this week.
Enjoy your time with your family and I will be battling the parking situation
in downtown!
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