The kids had a wonderful day in Target!

Algebraic Thinking:
We jumped back into Hands on Equations again. After a long break, the kids did a fantastic job with these algebraic concepts!

Unit Study:
We watched an update of Caine Monroy. The kids were so surprised that he is 19 years old now and still pursuing his game creations!
The kids are working hard to build their cardboard games. It's going great! They might ask for some old wrapping paper to decorate their games. We are set on cardboard, but could still use some paper towel and/or toilet paper rolls. We will be working at least 5 more classes before we share our games.

Novel Study:
We read a bit more about Ellie, her family and her friends. The kids learned about idioms and why authors use them. We also examined why things are funny. The kids used critical thinking and text evidence to draw and describe the cast of characters in our book.

Affective Skills:
We learned the differences between helpful feedback and criticism.The kids had a great discussion about how to offer kind, helpful feedback. They gave really good ideas! 
We continued our mindfulness practice with "2 Minute MIndfulness".

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

It was great start to our Target Day!

Affective Skills:
The kids did a marvelous job creating wonderful things with their "Perfect Squares". Love their imaginations!

Algebraic Thinking:
We jumped back into our Word Problems by solving them with our Hands On Equations concepts. The kids did a great job, once they reviewed their word problem notes.

Unit Study:
The kids watched "Caine's Arcade 2" to see what happened after Caine built his arcade. They were thrilled with the amazing outcomes from one boy's imagination and creativity! 
The kids had a blast beginning to build their cardboard games! They did a thorough job sketching designs and making lists of needed materials. So far, we have some fun game ideas! Please remember to send in any other needed materials for class next week.

Stations:
We used our convergent thinking to transform jellyfish. Check out their incredible ideas below! The kids also played a variety of convergent thinking games: Qwirkle, Chess, and Jumanji.

Novel Study:
We learned about the Nobel Prize, unique jellyfish, and SanFranciso. After that, we read a couple more chapters in our book. The kids found out that Ellie's grandpa is now a 13 old boy because of a crazy jellyfish!

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

These kids started the semester strong!

Algebraic Skills:
They used their math and critical thinking skills to help them solve a variety of problems. 

Affective Skills:
We continued our work on "The Perfect Square" with a discussion of Perfection vs. Excellence and the possible outcomes of each. Later, we used one of Mona's videos to help with our Mindfulness practice.

Unit Study:
We kicked off our new unit, Cardboard Challenge, with "Caine's Arcade". The kids are beyond excited to get started designing and building their Cardboard Creations. Kids should be able to use recycled cardboard and other materials to build their creations. 

Novel Study:
We kicked off our new novel, The Fourteenth Goldfish. The kids love the novel already!

Stations:
We stretched our convergent thinking with chess, Rubik's Race, and Q-Bitz. The kids challenged their divergent thinking with a January F2OE. Take a look at their creative ideas below!

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger