He's been lurking around the class all week, this rascally Unthinkable. Hiding in dark corners, behind bookshelves, under tables. We're calmly going about our day until *BAM* he leaps out into someone's brain! Often, we can quickly contain this nefarious creature, but sometimes he is contagious. Like an out of control wildfire, he leaps from brain to brain, controlling our thoughts and keeping us from doing what we are suppose to be doing in the class. Who is this vile villain?

ROCK BRAIN, that's who.

Yeah, he looks mighty cute, doesn't he? Don't let his chiseled features fool you.

Rock Brain is the dude that causes us to get stuck on things. He's been known to go by the aliases "Sticky Thought" and "Obsession". Here are some moments this week when we knew that Rock Brain had infiltrated our class:

1. Kid A wants to take an engine break, but there is already a student in the engine room. Teacher asks Kid A to wait, but Rock Brain tells Kid A to repeatedly leave the room and stand in front of the engine room door.

2. Kid B loves to repeat a made-up word. Over and over. Teacher reminds Kid B that the word causes other students to get silly, and can only be repeated outside. Rock Brain tells Kid B to continue to say the word over and over and over (and over and over...)

3. Kid C wants a book. Kid D has the book that C wants. Rock Brain tells Kid C that he MUST have that book. Right. Now. Kid C to attempts to grab the book several times without using his words.

Oh, Rock Brain! How can we ever defeat you????

 Thankfully, there were several times this week that we were able to be Superflex-ible superheros and we crumbled Rock Brain to bits!

Unfortunately, along with Rock Brain comes a whole cast of nasties: Igor Ignorer (ignores the teacher when she tries to help), Nosy McMeddleman (wants to know what everyone else is doing), Brain Eater (distracts us) and Body Snatcher (moves our bodies from the group).  We love to remind the students when an "Unthinkable" shows up, because it gives us a chance to work on behaviors and flexible thinking without making the students feel as if they are bad. It's much easier to say, "Oh, no! I think Rock Brain has invaded your brain!" to say, "You are being bad. You are doing something wrong." The behavior is still being addressed ("Boy, Rock Brain is really making it hard for you to focus on your work right now because he REALLY wants to have that book!"), but the students don't feel as if they are being judged. We help  them  find strategies to defeat the character and allow them to practice these strategies throughout the day. A couple of examples we have discussed:

Self talk: do I really need this right now? What will happen if I don't have this book/engine break? Is this a really big problem? A small problem? How does this make my classmates/friends feel?
Deep breathing/relaxation: Quick! Inhale and squeeze all of your muscles really, really tight! Hold them, hold them...count to 10 s-l-o-w-l-y. Exhale and release!

Do the strategies work immediately? Of course not. It takes practice, practice, practice (I'm still practicing). Do we make a lot of mistakes when we are learning? Of course! We like to tell the students that they can have a "redo" on their behavior, as in, "Hey, I noticed that you grabbed that book without asking. Do you want a redo? Try it again, using your words!"

Want more info? Visit Michelle Garcia Winner's Social Thinking site:
http://www.socialthinking.com/

Thankfully, this week hasn't been all  about conquering the Unthinkables. Being a Superhero is awesome, but we still need time to learn, play and experiment!

We've trip-trapped over a bridge:



 We kicked off our Fairy Tale time this week with "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". Always a favorite thanks to that nasty, ugly old troll! We've acted it out several times already, taking turns in the coveted role of the Biggest Billy Goat Gruff (though I personally adore a bridge-dwelling troll). We certainly have some talent in here. And not just acting talent...see above for some colorful, creative goat masks. And singing? Like a chorus of angels...well, except when I chime in. I was told several times by one grumpy young troll to "not sing so loud." Harrumph. But how can you not want to sing at the top of your lungs to this???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=083031sByf8


We've played some math games:



  
Much more on math games later. You'll soon find out I am a huge, huge fan of game playing as a way to make learning basic skills fun. Stay tunes for some you can play at home!

We've written stories:


Journal topics this week included goats,trolls, explosions, Pokemon, Mario, and, well, underwear. Because underwear is just plain funny.

and we finished the week off with

QUICKSAND!!!
 Yep, we actually made our own version today. Here are some shots of our scientists in the laboratory


:
     
   
 Have a great weekend!!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Hi, Folks,

Pssssst. I have a secret. Don't you dare tell any of the other Hirsch parents this... but I am pretty certain that I lucked out with the cutest class this year. Yes, I know this building is overflowing with absolute adorable-ness, but have you seen my class???? Extraordinary.

In order, from top to bottom:

Aidan, Annabella, Bo, Jakob, Tani, Oliver, and Paul

See what I'm saying?

 But as my Dad always says, "Beauty don't pay the bills".

Fortunately, this crew lucked out in the smarts department, too! Getting used to new people and routines can be tricky at first, but these kids seem to be catching on quickly. From new rules (What??? I can chew gum in class?) to new language, your child has had a lot to swallow this week. What do I mean by new language? We use some terms  around here to help the students become more aware of their thinking and behavior. You may or may not already be familiar with these:

high, low, just right engines, engine helpers
body mistakes
Glassman
comfortable/uncomfortable thoughts
expected/unexpected behaviors
sticky thought/Rock Brain
Superflex and the Unthinkables

See how many of these your child can explain to you. Ask them to give examples of what a "body mistake" might look like and what we should do instead. Ask them what they can do in and out of class to help them keep a "just right engine". Who is Superflex and what does he help us do?

Oh, Superflex, you are positively dreamy!


From the first day it was obvious that read aloud was regulating (just right engines!) and engaging for almost all of this crew. This thrills me to no end. Read aloud is my absolute favorite time of the day, and has been since I was a child. We kicked of the week with "The Teacher from the Black Lagoon" by Mike Thaler. Note the striking resemblance between Mrs. Green, the teacher from the story, and myself.         
The hair color is a bit off, but I'd say the illustrator captured my beauty fairly well.


 
 "Portside Pirates" by Oscar Seaworthy (really??) has also been a much requested read aloud. Or should I say sing aloud. Surely your l'il swashbuckler been coming home singing this song?

http://www.schooltube.com/video/6ba0951bba0630db0451/





Thanks to the brown bag activity, we quickly realized that we have more in common than just a love of fiction and sing-alongs. We are already seeing new connections and friendships being formed. Some of my favorite bonding moments this week:

*Aidan and Jakob bonding over the periodic table of elements
*Paul and I learning of a shared adoration of Bill Murray (!) and Ghostbusters
*Annabella and Tani playing grocery store
*Oliver and Bo working together to build a Lego pirate ship


A little housekeeping before I go...

1. I would love to do some cooking in class. I already know some students have very specific diets. If there is anything you would prefer that your child not eat, let me know. Once we get started, I will ask for some (small) donations to our cooking fund. Also--any tried and true recipes are welcome, as are any parent chefs. We'd love to have any of you come by to help prepare a snack!

2. I like to get messy. Kids like to get messy. Messy is good...when you have a change of clothes. If you have not done so already, please send in some clothes to keep at school.

3. Speaking of messy...I'd like to do some paper mache next week. Any extra newspaper is appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda and Erin

2-10-12

Friday, February 10, 2012

Hi, Folks,

Still the most popular place to be, the Water Center (AKA the “Sink and Float, Experimental Mess Making, What the Heck is That Nasty Thing Floating in the Tank? Don’t Open That Test Tube!”  center) was full of new discoveries this week.

Here are some observations from the Center’s Experiment Log, along with some questions we came up with to investigate next week:

“How many squeezes of the turkey baster does it take to fill up a plastic cup? 15. To fill the baster you suck up the water by squeezing it a lot and that way you can get it all up. Also, a bowl sank when I filled it with water from the baster.” Bo

“27 squeezes of the turkey baster to fill up a plastic cup.” Gabriel



Q: Wait...I’m confused. Gabriel says it takes 27 squeezes, Bo says only 15. I wonder why?
How many squeezes did it take to fill the bowl? Did it have to be completely full to sink?



“When I put my spider in the water it opens up and floats because it absorbs water and the legs are heavier and fall.” Oliver

We talked about how paper is made up of a lot of tiny fibers. In between the fibers are tiny holes. Water slowly soaks into the holes; the paper absorbs water. The students decorated and then cut paper spiders and flowers. Legs and petals were folded into the middle and the crafts were put in the water. The petals and legs opened as the paper absorbs water.


Gabriel and Aidan H. took this investigation further

“It takes 15 seconds for the sponge to absorb water so it is all wet.” Aidan H.

Q: The whole sponge? Did you touch it, or just let it sit in the water? Did it soak through to the top? How long would that take? What if we used a bigger sponge? How long does it take other objects to absorb water?

When a paper towel absorbs water, it still floats.” Gabriel

Q: For how long did you observe the towel? What if you left it in for an hour? 2 hours? What about different kinds of towels? How about toilet paper?



The Water Center is also home to our Mystery Potion.

What IS that crazy stuff? It looks like water, but has an odd blue blobs floating on the bottom.
Shake it and the blob splits into more blobs.  

Shake it REALLY hard and the whole thing turns blue.

Leave it alone for the day (not an easy task for these curious kids) and the liquid is clear again!

What is in there? All will be revealed when the kids get to experiment with making their own mysterious concoctions next week.

Help us with our water experiments: Please send in any clear glass jars with lids or clear plastic water bottles. We’ll also take contributions of funnels/containers/measuring cups/2 liter soda bottles.





Other highlights from our week:


*Greek myths: Pegasus, Medusa and a surprise Hercules movie. Ask your child to teach you the “Snakes Asleep/MEDUSA!!!” game.


*Little Red Riding Hood told from the Wolf’s point of view. What really happened?


*Math Graphs:


*Tricky weight challenges:



*Story cubes:

*A rousing discussion about the word conflict and where we see it in our stories and in our class.Talk about it at home--watch this video with your child to get the conversation started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl3e-OUnavQ





And, last but not least, an awesome hike with your children today!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda and Erin

4-27-12

Friday, April 27, 2012

Hi, Folks,

Woke up,
fell outta bed,
dragged a comb across my head.
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup...

Well, 3 cups. Usually more on Monday.

That’s from the Beatles “A Day in the Life” , of course.

Inspired by that tune, here is a “Day in the Life” of our class!

MONDAY, APRIL 23

8:45-9:15
Students hang backpacks, put folder in the folder bin, greet each other, and check yellow “Contract Work” folders.

Check the schedule for pullouts:


and we’re off!
Aidan H. and Gabriel are pulled out with Sarah, Max with Jess.

Oliver and Bo play “Go to the Dump”, a card game that practices different ways to make the number 10: while Aidan R.  reads a graphic novel version of  “Orpheus and Euridyce”  
and describes the characters:







9:30

Max, Gabriel and Aidan H. return.
Max gets to work on a division activity:




Gabriel shows off his matrix skills:
                                
and Aidan H. works with me on a math lesson.

Meanwhile, it’s time for a little brain and body work for Bo and Oliver!


10:00

Snack time-
The conversation is all about the “hungriest fish” contest. A couple of weeks ago the kids started a tally chart to see which fish made it to the food first at each feeding.  So far, Zeus is in the lead, but Aphrodite is catching up!

10:15

Gabriel, Aidan H. and Oliver are pulled out with Ms. Sarah

Bo goes to work with some number line addition:




Max finishes some work from last week:


and it’s Aidan R’s turn for “Go to the Dump”!



10:30

Max is pulled out with Christina for “Cooking Club”.
Aidan H., Gabriel and Oliver return. Together, Aidan and Gabriel read “Orpheus and Euridyce” and complete character comparisons:

while Oliver practices addition to 18 and number writing:


Bo finishes his contract and takes an engine break in the beanbags (snuggling with our stuffed dolphin, Max Mekong). Then he is pulled out with Christina.oh, Bo...where are you???










11:15
Clean up your work, wash your hands and get out your

LUNCH!!The conversation? Greek Gods, of course. Always.

11:45

Jobs (here is the job chart, which changes monthly),


then bathroom, and read silently until

12:00
RECESS!
Unfortunately, I have no recess footage. The teachers are too busy dodging balls and running for freeze tag to snap photos. You’ll have to put on your running shoes and join them to see the action!!!







12:30
The kids assume the position for read aloud/Greek myth time. Today we read a familiar myth, Pandora. This is a very different version, however, as it is told from Pandora’s point of view. We talk about the difference between a “first person” and “third person” narrative and a couple of students volunteer to retell a myth from the “first person” point of view.

1:15

S-T-R-E-T-C-H...and get ready for SCIENCE!

Today’s experiment...Erin has a plastic bag filled with water. Watch as she sticks a pencil through the bag and out the other side! See how brave Aidan and Max are? Unbelievable...not a drop spills!



We talk about why this happens (you’ll have to ask your children!)
and then...
Ms. Erin pulls a pencil out!

2:15

Time for Reflections journals, afternoon jobs, and then..
CHOICE!
A little Lego time

a little Greek drama (hey, fellas, those swords were meant to be the Argo’s oars!)







and a lot of silliness!

Whew. I don’t know about you, but I am beat. What’s that I hear? The clean up song?
Really? How can it be time to go home already?

See ya tomorrow, kiddos!

And now, for a refill on that coffee. After all,  I’ve got my own kids at home to entertain! Sigh.

Have a great weekend!

Amanda and Erin (who is bachlorette-ing it in Nashville with her beautiful bridesmaids and David Lee Roth. Yeah, you read that right. Ask her about it on Monday...)

Friday, April 20, 2012

Hi, Folks,

Wonderful hike today with your boys. A perfect day for it; overcast and cool, geese honking on the river, big fat worms wiggling around in the mud. With Bo’s dog, Doobie, leading the way, a good time was had by all. I do so love those hikes. However, I am always a bit pressed for planning time on hike days, so please excuse my brief note.

First, a slight modification to the conference schedule:

9:00-9:30-Aidan R.

9:45-10:15-Oliver

10:30-11:00-Max

11:15-11:45-Bo

12:15-12:45-Gabriel

1:00-1:30-Aidan H.




Next, here’s a little taste of some  dramatic tales of heroes, gods, goddesses, and monsters. Not your traditional Greek myths, no, these are Hirsch Academy myths...written by your own junior Sophocles (Sophocleses? Sophocli?) and Homers! The students and I are hoping to get some of these stories typed up soon for a class literary magazine.


…[a thousand monsters] were hiding underground.Then they killed everybody on Earth! Except one person because he was hiding underground with Hades and Hercules and Hera. They made this chemical that can bring people who are dead back alive...

...The Underworld is a scary place because of ghosts and zombies and monsters. I visited Hades the god of the underworld. I talked to Hades and asked if I could be his son...

...One day Ares, Artemis and Athena were visiting Hades in the underworld. Zeus came running. He shouted the titans are coming!Titans? said Hades. Yes said Zeus. They have got Hermes and Apollo!...

...Once I got to the island, I found the golden fleece. I tried to grab it but the Hydra came out!...

...Aidalese asked the king if he could slay the Button. The thing about the Button was it had three necks. But instead of heads, it had bottoms on its necks!...

Here’s our latest cool science experiment -- The Seven Layer Density Column
Ask your child how this works. And what happened when we dropped objects into the jar. Did they float? Sink?


Do this project at home! Let the awesome Steve Spangler show you how:

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/seven-layer-density-column





One independent reading assignment this week was for the students to fill Pandora’s Box with their own “evils”. I asked them, “What do you think are bad or scary things in the world?” Here’s Gabriel spelling out some “evil” words:


Such a smart boy, our Gabriel. Let me look a little closer. Yep, envy, war, despair. Great vocabulary words, Gabriel!

Hold on...What does that say?
OLD AGE? Yes, my friends, to a 9 year old, old age is definitely one of the world’s greatest evils. I’m afraid to ask what he considers “old age”...



Have a great weekend, you youngsters, you!

Amanda and Erin