’Twas Holiday Vacation

(Or: How to Keep Your Kids’ Minds Occupied and Your Home Intact Over the Holidays)

~Stacey Greene Wicksall

‘Twas holiday vacation for two whole weeks long,
And mommy and daddy wanted nothing to go wrong
The presents had been chosen by relatives with care,
In hopes it would save them from losing their hair!
But children were zipping and zooming about
“We’re bored, we’re bored!” they exclaimed in a shout,
So mommy looked at Daddy with a twinkle in her eye,
“I have a solution that money can’t buy!”
And bundling their children they decided to go
To the public library (in spite of the snow).
They pulled in the lot and opened the door
Creative Corner had begun with room for two more!
They heard a grand story about a mean, ugly Grinch
And created a craft; it was all such a cinch!
They beamed with pride over the things they had made,
Then dashed to the wall with the book shelves to raid.
“Look, here’s Junie B. and Artemis Fowl
These titles will keep us busy for a while!”
The parents let out great sighs of relief
Children reading books meant an end to their grief!
And back to their home they soon did travel
With a stack full of mysteries to soon unravel
So when this vacation at once came to an end,
They brought back the books they’d had out on lend.
When back at the school the kids they did chatter,
Of books they had read all about matter!
And the teacher exclaimed with the utmost delight,
“Joy over reading is a wonderful sight!
It will bring your learning to a commendable height,
So tell me the tales that you read before bed,
Or share that adventure still swirling in your head.
Reading is the best gift you gave to yourself,
Lasts longer and better than one from an elf.
I wish happy holidays to each one of you
And may you read many-a-book all the year through!”

We're Crazy about Clickers!

I am very excited to announce that our school now has a set of "clickers"! These electronic devices allow students to respond to a question by pressing a button. Their answers are recorded by the teacher's computer, and a special program keeps track of each student's response. Rather than calling on students to provide a verbal response to a question, the clickers allow every single student to respond (even the shy ones!). Plus, the clickers eliminate the problem of students answering a question based on a cue received from another student. Best of all, the computer program gives the teacher and the students immediate feedback. With one click, the correct answer is revealed along with information about how many students selected each possible response. This allows the teacher to review the answers with the class and re-teach as necessary. (And of course the students love them because they feel like they're on a game show!)

This is the very first week I've used them. These pictures are from Mrs. Breault's first grade class, but I have lots of ideas on how I can use them in the other grades, too! :)

Evaluating resources!

This week our fourth graders began learning about animal adaptations (physical or behavioral traits that help them to survive). Each student selected an animal to research, and in the library we discussed resources we might use to learn about them. We spent a lot of time talking about websites and how important it is to consider where the information is coming from. Wikipedia, for example, is a site that has many contributors who may or may not be posting accurate information. It's a place to go to get an overview of a topic, but not the best source for taking notes.

We visited a couple different websites that are terrific for research: Enchanted Learning and World Book Online. The students had time to visit each site and print any useful information that they found. We have a special project in mind for the students to share what they learned, but it's a surprise! (Thank you, Mrs. Steever, for sharing this idea with us!) I'll post some examples as soon as they're ready!