Wrapping Up ~ Lauren

Well on this side of spring break, time has just really been flying. I can't believe we're only four days away from the end of this experience. It seems so strange, doesn't it? I feel like we just started! I'm having a hard time just processing everything at this point. It's going to be so difficult to wrap up and leave my class.

The last few weeks have been really nice because Sarah I have transitioned back to team teaching. It just seems like the students really benefit when we're teaming because of the amount of attention and help we can provide them. We're doing a unit on the Revolution in social studies and we've started science fiction and wrapped up mystery in language arts. We had an "author's reception" when the students shared their mystery stories and that was a really fun experience. It was just a time for the students to share and celebrate all their hard work.

We also had mix it up day this week. We had a great conversation in our class before it about breaking down walls and what a difference it could make in our school. In a project the students did to go along with it, one of my students just really amazed me with some pretty wise thoughts that I can't help but share with all of you. It's amazing to see our students really thinking about the power of their actions. It's so empowering for me as a teacher. Our students really do have the power to make change. She said:

"Love is the only thing powerful enough to break down walls, to masquerade barriers, to make a peaceful world."

Week Six ~ Lauren

Like Meredith and Courtney have said, this past week was quite a fun, whirlwind of events. Having spirit week and march madness leading into spring break, made for a very unique week. It was really fun to enjoy it all with my students and seem them really having fun as a team with all of it. The spirit on Friday was just so positive and energetic! It was really fun for all of us, I think.

As far as learning went this week, I was really proud of how the students were able to focus and accomplish what we needed to. We wrapped up our slavery unit and it was really interesting to hear the students discussing some of the dilemmas and really trying to wrap their minds around the content. They were engaged and asking a lot of excellent questions in the unit. We also spent more time on our Woldumar mysteries and wrapped up their at-home mystery books with a board game project. Their games turned out really neat and they definitely enjoyed playing them all.

It's seems really strange that we have already made it to spring break. I can't believe this year is almost over.

Week 6 Courtney

This week was so much fun! Between spirit week and the Friday festivities it was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I was very worried because teachers were saying this is one of the worst weeks in school behaviorally, and it turned out to be the best. I feel like I had the opportunity to bond with the students a lot especially on Monday for my read-a-thon. The kids have never been so quiet and excited about reading.

I feel like I had a very successful lead, and I am really proud of my accomplishment. I am excited for a break, but it will be weird coming back and not doing everything all day every day anymore. Happy Spring Break everyone!

Week 6 - Meredith

Well, spring break is finally here and it came at the end of a whirlwind of a week. It was crazy because of spirit week, the talent show and march madness. And to top it all off, we had to begin going to class again on Thursday. I feel pretty confident in where I ended my math and science lessons for break. It's a little weird that we stopped at almost the end point of both units, but I think the kids will be able to pick it right back up when they get back.

The most fun thing about this week was to see how much the kids got into spirit week. There were some fabulous outfits and it really seemed to unit the whole school to see everyone dressed up similarly on the same days. I was afraid it would detract from the ability to focus, but almost everyone was able to get past the funny outfits and focus on school.

Overall, I am really happy with my units and excited to wrap them up the week we get back from break. I have a few fun things planned and have a whole week to get the details sorted out. Happy spring break everyone!

Question- Courtney

Does anybody have or can send me copies of those sheets from the beginning of the year with the charts on them, like special lessons and parent contact. I seem to have lost a big pile of my stuff. Thanks!

Week 5 - Meredith

This past week was a fairly normal week for me. I've been excited about my math lessons this week because the students really seem to be understanding the connection between decimals and fractions. I used the curriculum as a basis for what I taught and made sure to go over in my own words the concepts being taught so make sure the students really understood. The students also had many chances to work in groups to figure out the problems and I was able to observe some great group work occurring. Overall, I am feeling much more confident about teaching math than I was originally. It's been fun to see my own teaching ability grow over the past few weeks and it makes me excited to see how I'm going to continue to grow as a teacher.

Week Five ~ Lauren

Our week at Woldumar was one of the best weeks of our year. Our whole team enjoyed it so much! It was just really nice to get out of the classroom and experience some great, authentic learning in nature. We learned about everything from Native Americans and Pioneers to Forests to Turtles to Mysteries! The learning really seemed to stick with the students too. They were so engaged in the activities and really just enjoying themselves. We were concerned heading into it about behavior problems and the logistics of everything. But, things went so well! Some of our students that have the hardest times in school really worked well and loved Woldumar. It was a cool lesson to me about the different ways that students learn and about how the classroom format is definitely not always the best/most natural format for all of our learners. This week also really showed the power of our classroom community because the students were looking out for one another and learning together so well. We came back everyday so impressed by our students. The whole experience was just really wonderful. On our last day we went on a goodbye walk and talked about some of the life lessons we had learned from Woldumar and the students came up with some really poetic and beautiful ideas. "The river taught me that sometimes you need to just go where life takes you" and "The trees taught me to move with the wind".

Now our thoughts are turning to how we can continue the amazing experience that started there. How can we keep that kind of authentic, engaging learning going on at school?