I suppose there will always be seasons in life when it feels as if everything is happening at warp-speed. That is how the past two months have felt for me as Captain of Room 5. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. It has been a fun, wild ride lately. But, boy, as soon as we get one project wrapped up around here, we are off to the next thing without a moment to spare. I am missing the slower pace of the fall and winter months, when it seemed we were able to sit and process our experiences in a more leisurely fashion.
Today I find myself with a spare half-hour while the kids are at art, and I am using it to sit down and write a long-overdue blog post.
Now, where to begin?
The Science Fair
I hope you all had the chance to come to the Manor School Science Fair back on April 20th. I will tell you I was not too excited about participating in the Science Fair. It just seemed like too much was going on. Alas, the science educator in me realized that this was a valuable opportunity for the kids to practice scientific inquiry using the scientific method.
I wasn’t sure what to expect the day the projects were due. Did I give the kids enough support to set them up for success? I don’t think so, but somewhere along the line, the kids seemed to get what they needed. They proved to me that they understood the PROCESS of investigation. Most even showed evidence of controlling variables in their experiments. And all proved that THEY were the masters of their projects. They knew their stuff and they displayed their findings in the way second and third graders should.
One of the greatest moments was when we set up all the projects in the classroom for our Room 5 Science Fair. The kids spent time presenting their projects to their curious classmates, each one of them beaming with pride at their big accomplishments.
Thank you all for helping to make the Science Fair a big success for the kids of Room 5, and the teacher of Room 5.
Room 5 Service Project and the Care Fair
Over the past month or so, we have been working on a service project to raise money to support Smile Train and Red Cross Earthquake Relief. The kids have been creating products out of sustainable materials. In conjunction with a study of producers and consumers, we decided to create real goods to sell (for real money) to support those in need. The kids have been making reusable shopping totes out of old t-shirts, beautiful beads out of old magazines, and other fun products.
We will be selling the goods at the Fairfax Farmers’ Market on an upcoming Wednesday afternoon. We hope to see you there!
Star Testing
We have recently finished our California state-mandated assessments, the STAR Test. I’ll let Nancy explain this one.
“The STAR Test is this week. For Manor School it’s when all the 3rd graders get together. At the same time the 2nd graders get together. They answer questions, hard and easy. At the stop sign we stop. 3rd graders and 2nd graders, 4th and 5th graders do the STAR Test once a year in the first week of May.
Rules (Kids and Grown-ups):
1. Be silent.
2. Don’t help the kids.
3. Don’t look at other people’s work.
4. Sign contract (so you don’t get fired!!)”
I think she’s summed it up pretty well, although I’m not sure where she got rule number four. I will add that the novelty of the testing is quite a thrill for many of the kids. I’ve heard many of them say, “I love STAR Testing!” I think it might have something to do with the fact that they get a Dixie cup of snacks to munch on during testing sessions.
Science with Carolyn
As most of you know, Kaden’s mom, Carolyn, has served as Room 5’s science teacher this year. She is a certified, talented science teacher, and the kids have thoroughly enjoyed the lessons she prepares for us on a weekly basis.
Lately, the kids have been learning about soil, rocks, and fossils. Take a look at some of the awesome investigations Carolyn has prepared for the class. One lesson involved excavating a real, fossilized shark tooth from a rock. Another lesson had the kids digging through strata, or layers of earth, to uncover fossils. At this moment, the kids are outside with Carolyn collecting soil samples for today’s investigation.
Today I find myself with a spare half-hour while the kids are at art, and I am using it to sit down and write a long-overdue blog post.
Now, where to begin?
The Science Fair
I hope you all had the chance to come to the Manor School Science Fair back on April 20th. I will tell you I was not too excited about participating in the Science Fair. It just seemed like too much was going on. Alas, the science educator in me realized that this was a valuable opportunity for the kids to practice scientific inquiry using the scientific method.
I wasn’t sure what to expect the day the projects were due. Did I give the kids enough support to set them up for success? I don’t think so, but somewhere along the line, the kids seemed to get what they needed. They proved to me that they understood the PROCESS of investigation. Most even showed evidence of controlling variables in their experiments. And all proved that THEY were the masters of their projects. They knew their stuff and they displayed their findings in the way second and third graders should.
One of the greatest moments was when we set up all the projects in the classroom for our Room 5 Science Fair. The kids spent time presenting their projects to their curious classmates, each one of them beaming with pride at their big accomplishments.
Thank you all for helping to make the Science Fair a big success for the kids of Room 5, and the teacher of Room 5.
Room 5 Service Project and the Care Fair
Over the past month or so, we have been working on a service project to raise money to support Smile Train and Red Cross Earthquake Relief. The kids have been creating products out of sustainable materials. In conjunction with a study of producers and consumers, we decided to create real goods to sell (for real money) to support those in need. The kids have been making reusable shopping totes out of old t-shirts, beautiful beads out of old magazines, and other fun products.
We will be selling the goods at the Fairfax Farmers’ Market on an upcoming Wednesday afternoon. We hope to see you there!
Star Testing
We have recently finished our California state-mandated assessments, the STAR Test. I’ll let Nancy explain this one.
“The STAR Test is this week. For Manor School it’s when all the 3rd graders get together. At the same time the 2nd graders get together. They answer questions, hard and easy. At the stop sign we stop. 3rd graders and 2nd graders, 4th and 5th graders do the STAR Test once a year in the first week of May.
Rules (Kids and Grown-ups):
1. Be silent.
2. Don’t help the kids.
3. Don’t look at other people’s work.
4. Sign contract (so you don’t get fired!!)”
I think she’s summed it up pretty well, although I’m not sure where she got rule number four. I will add that the novelty of the testing is quite a thrill for many of the kids. I’ve heard many of them say, “I love STAR Testing!” I think it might have something to do with the fact that they get a Dixie cup of snacks to munch on during testing sessions.
Science with Carolyn
As most of you know, Kaden’s mom, Carolyn, has served as Room 5’s science teacher this year. She is a certified, talented science teacher, and the kids have thoroughly enjoyed the lessons she prepares for us on a weekly basis.
Lately, the kids have been learning about soil, rocks, and fossils. Take a look at some of the awesome investigations Carolyn has prepared for the class. One lesson involved excavating a real, fossilized shark tooth from a rock. Another lesson had the kids digging through strata, or layers of earth, to uncover fossils. At this moment, the kids are outside with Carolyn collecting soil samples for today’s investigation.
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