Wise Words

"When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think about the view from the top." This was a quote that we began our day with. Students read the quote and wrote their interpretation. Most figured out to not give up but I reminded them that the 'view from the top' part was just important because it is our motivation to keep on going.

So many more students read our morning message...almost everyone came out and gave me a little wink! ;) In our morning meeting, I wanted to see if yesterday's discovery was a fluke so my question was, again, what did you have for dinner? This time, we were all over the place! However, a large handful had some type of pasta-spaghetti, lasagna, beefaroni or goulash. We then, revisited our rock gardens that we created the first week of school and made it a true garden by adding embellishments with signs and encouragement. (I already tweeted pics but I'll put more up on Facebook tonight.) Math Workshop had good intentions but was kind of a bust-it happens! We started off with a pretty solid Number Talk/Number String but then, I think I may have zoomed a little too far ahead. I tried to get them to model-using arrays-what we've been doing with our vending machine problems. They weren't quite there yet. So, they made arrays and practiced the math-they just didn't make the connections that I had wanted them to make. I'm sure in a few days, it'll finally click and they'll say, "OH! That's what we were doing/supposed to do the other day!" In gym today, they did pacers and Mr. B was happy that no one vomited!! (I guess it's happened before.) In Pax, we learned some more about Vola and how she lost her leg and inferred why we think she has such a connection to Peter. She also gave us some wise words to think about with a couple more quotes: "...I am exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing. That is peace." and in talking about her "companion" raccoon, Francois, Peter asked if he was wild or tame and after their discussion, Peter decided to sit out on the porch so Vola said, "You staying out here on the porch? What do you suppose that makes you? Wild or tame?" This quote also made us think. We read independently and then continued working on research, main idea and supporting details with our Infographic creations. Instead of Writer's Workshop, since some were feeling a little overwhelmed with the Infographic, I extended our Reader's Workshop time and then we ended our day playing with/discovering/investigating Ozobots from our MakerSpace! Fun!! (Pictures were tweeted and I'll put those on Facebook too!)