Happy Valentine's Day

Hello,

I saw some impressive President's Day homework.  It did shed some light on an area that I need to spend some time on.  Calendar knowledge seems to be a class weakness.  The statement that President's Day falls on the third Monday of February really meant nothing to many students.  I asked what was the earliest day in February that the holiday could fall on.  It didn't take long to understand how lost they were.  I asked how early in the month the first Monday in February could fall.  I couldn't find a access point in their prior knowledge to build on, so I handed out calendars, about two students per calendar.  I asked them to flip through and tell me what day the first Monday of February fell on.  I got many answers, many impossible, including Sunday.  (No, the first Monday in February can't be on a Sunday.)  It was surprising, but also nice to find these gaps in their knowledge.  We'll be doing some calendar work these next few weeks. 

Valentine's Day was nice.  The class exchanged valentines at 2:40.  I allowed them to eat two pieces of their candy.  90% of the valentines given out included something sweet.  At 2:55 I played a few songs and said that they were welcome to dance.  They had a little conga line going and then a kick line started.  The amount of energy that seemed to surge into their bodies was a little scary.  At 3:05, we got out our assignment books.  Tonight's topic that I want them to learn something about: sugar.

Tomorrow is walk / bike to school day.  Hopefully they will not have a breakfast of more sugar, but if so, I think the walk to school and the early morning school assembly that will focus on exercise will do them good.

I hope everyone has a great February vacation.  This year is whipping by.  I know I see a lot of you picking up your kids from Lego club or Homework club, but please don't hesitate to catch my ear if you have any concern or questions about your child's education.  Today's calendar discovery came out of left field for me.  I have to be more of a detective than ever before to uncover some of the holes in their education.  Please speak up if you see an area that needs some reinforcement. 

Thanks for reading.

Mr. Shea