Birthday Parties, Frozen Rivers, and the Classroom

The boardwalk from our house to school is now always frosty (and slippery).  This kid either fell or was playing leap frog.

One afternoon we attended a birthday party for a special little man turning two-years-old.

His mom decorated the cakes.

The candles fit perfectly in the nostrils ;)

Make a wish...

 Nathaniel and I ran out of bread and eggs, so we walked two miles to Dave's Store.  We took the path that runs along the edge of the slough.

The water flows around the bend.  Chunks of ice are building up around the curves.  Freeze up is coming soon.  A week after this photo, people were able to walk across to the other side (very risky this early).

Too much ice to boat.

Ice chunks flowing with the water.

Hood ornament.

That's how my face feels some days.

The trail along the slough.

I made my first yeast rolls this week.  Easy recipe and made 12 large rolls.  Click here for recipe. 

Bubble-wrapped fruit survived in the mail from a special sister :)

This week some of the girl teachers started doing yoga together.  This is my make shift mat.

Our "instructor" was a voice on a podcast.

A scary masked little trick-or-treater.

Most kids wore their backpacks on backwards and unzipped the pocket to collect candy, very resourceful.

Nathaniel holding a teacher's sweet little girl.

Little one-year-old "B" handing out candy with her momma.

Welcome to my classroom!  (Where I spend most of my time during the week).

I am constantly changing things in my classroom to find out "what works."  Well, who knew setting up the desks in just the right spot would make the classroom function 100% better?  I used to sit the desks in pods of 4...

Problems: Students backs turned, side conversations, off task, the room is long and skinny, so it's hard for all to see board.  

I recently changed them into 2 long rows facing the board. 

Results: focused students, less distracted by their neighbors, all facing the front, and better traffic flow.  

Since my average class size is 10 students, I have them sit in the first two long rows.  It takes me about 5 seconds to walk in front of both rows answering questions and checking work. 

 As a first year teacher, I am learning that if something is not working, CHANGE it.  You never know until you try to make a change.  The simplest solution could make the biggest difference.

Last week we learned about "Cause & Effect."  We spent one day doing cause and effect experiments: mixing baking soda with vinegar, mixing paint colors, and reacting to different smells.  We spent the next day listening to a wide range of samples of music, writing down how it effects our mood.  Another day we read news articles about natural disasters, and their causes and effects.  The last two days I had the middle schoolers pick a topic and create a poster about it.  The high school worked on a cause and effect paper. 

 It has really helped the students if I show an example of what I want them to create.  Since I don't have work from prior years, I've been creating the work examples myself.  Here was my example:

At our teacher in-service meetings, we have been training with a concept called "Constructing Meaning."  I'm trying to put it into action in my classroom.  

Basically, with CM, the students need help putting their ideas down on paper.  We talk to our friends casually, but when it comes to school, we use an "academic language."  I provide a structure (shown below) for them to write with this "academic language."  Eventually, I will give them less and less structure, so they will be able to form these well-written sentences all on their own.  This can be used in any grade and with any subject.  The older the students are, the more complex sentences you can use.

We filled in the blanks together:

  

Some 7th and 8th grade finished work.  I was impressed with the effort and seriousness of their topics.

To finish off the week, I got a random letter in my mailbox from Syracuse, NY.  An 8th grade class from Syracuse randomly picked us for a "Friendly Letter Project" to write as pen pals.  We will teach each other about our cultures and towns.  I read the letter to my class and they are excited to start writing letters next week.

Nathaniel is in Bethel this weekend coaching two wrestlers who were invited to the Bethel Wrestling Invitational.  The plane ride took about an hour.  Bethel has about 6,000 people and runs along the Kuskokwim River.  Bethel has paved roads, but can only be accessed by river or plane.  They have a Subway, a Radioshack, and a hospital.  Their airport is a hub to 56 native villages.  

Point "A" is Alakanuk and point "B" is Bethel.  I think it's funny they start with that letter.