Sickness going around

Hello,

We had our highest number of absences today.  Four students were out.  Please make sure your kids are washing their hands before they eat and getting a good night's sleep.  It is tough to quantify what is missed during a school day, and since I am not a worksheet driven teacher, it is very hard for me to replicate something that can be done at home. 

We had a very busy day.  We got into the computer lab to finish our CREA letters.  I'll send them off later this week when I can get the last few to get done.  I was happy that the class was able to follow directions a lot better in the lab.  It is not a place to freelance.

I've started a new read aloud.  Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins is about a young boy who falls into a world of giant cockroaches, rats and bats.  Suzanne Collins is best known for her Hunger Games Trilogy, but her Overlander series is much more age appropriate. 

It looked like phys. ed. was quite exhausting today.  Many red faces came back to the classroom after their gym class.  They are playing a sort of hockey using giant Q-tip looking things.  It looked like fun.

Harry Potter club voted to meet after school on Friday, December 16 for our last meeting of the year.  We will have a Dursley gift exchange (of worthless gifts) and we will do some wand making.  One year I got a dirty sock.  Another year I got pencil shavings.  Fun stuff.

Keep asking your children about their multiplication facts.  My class is covering area as well.  Get it?  Covering area.  Okay, it must be late.  Ask them about adjectives, verbs and nouns too.  We'll be complicating things real soon on that front. 

I'm off to the school board workshop on homogeneous or heterogeneous grouping for math.  Should we group according to skill level?  I am all for it, having given both a try.  I strongly believe that you can learn the most when you are amongst others with a similar skill set.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea