Unit Study:
We watched a video reading of the book, The Water Princess.

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "2 Minute Mindfulness" and "Calm Down Your Amygdala".  The kids enjoyed learning how to turn negative perspectives into positive perspectives.

We continued that idea with more on Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets.  We watched "The Power of Yet!".  The kids added the things that they can't do well, YET!  

Our Target Day was short again this week due to IOWA testing for other grade levels.  We started our day with recess to get the kids moving and fill their brains with fresh oxygen, ready for learning!

Unit Study:
We started some research on our U.N. Country of choice using CultureGram from Cobb Digital Library.  The kids are beginning to find relevant information to learn about the strengths and weakness of their countries.  The conversations generated through this research were insightful and filled with curiosity!

We also did an interesting simulation of the impact of poverty.  It was called, "Stack the Deck" and involved two volunteers each with a deck of cards.  One volunteer had a variety of obstacles to experience as the experience progressed, while the other experienced a variety of good fortune as we went on.  For each situation, one volunteer gave up higher cards and received lower cards in return.  The other volunteer gave up lower cards and received higher cards in return.  At the end, each shuffled their decks and drew the top 4 cards.  The points were added to get a total.  This total was multiplied by 1,000 to determine each volunteer's annual salary.  There was much outrage and discussion around how unfair this situation was.  The kids definitely got the message about how deep the impact of poverty is and the importance of working toward it's elimination.

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "Mindfulness Bells" and "Fear vs. Anxiety".  The kids enjoyed both!

No HW this week

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We got a LATE start today because Ms. Rhone and I were helping with CogAT testing today.  Once we were able to pick up the kids, we went out for recess and then got right to work!

Unit Study:
We had a Research Lesson with our Media Specialist, Mrs. Phillips.  She shared some helpful resources on Cobb Digital Library, including Brittanica Online and CultureGrams.  Both are easy to use and filled with excellent information!

Stations:
We used our divergent thinking to independently list as many countries from the United Nations as we could in 5 minutes, then we collaborated for another 5 minutes.  They did a fantastic job!  You should have heard their conversations!  Wow!  After that, we stretched our convergent thinking skills with a different type of Logic Puzzle-"Perplexors".  These puzzles don't have a grid, like our usual puzzles.  They still involve searching for and eliminating wrong answers to lead to correct answers, but have a different format.  The kids thought it was easy, so they are definitely ready for more of a challenge next week.

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "Mindfulness Bell" and "Why Humans Experience Anxiety".  The first is great for finding calm and quieting the mind.  The second shares helpful information about self-regulation.

We will be starting our novel after September Break, so there's still time to purchase a copy for your child if you'd like.  

No HW this week.

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger