I just love having the group on Wednesdays! They are delightful! 

Unit Study:
The kids started by recording their Survivor Audition videos. I can't wait to share them all with the class next time. Then, they joined their Tribes to try their luck on the Oregon Trail again. Most groups had several mishaps to interfere with their journey to Oregon. We had a rich discussion about topics to research for greater success next time. They started research with the Target Glog and-LiveBinder. I loved the way they created shared Word documents to compile their research. Well done!
The kids used their divergent thinking skills to SCAMPER a Backpack. They are so creative! Check out their work in the photos!

Algebraic Thinking:
The kids solved a Math Mystery today, "Charity Cheater". They had to calculate multistep problems to find out which of the participants kept some of the money they raised. Nothing gets past these kids! Cheaters were caught!

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness practice with "Why Humans Experience Anxiety?". The kids enjoyed doing a couple moments of mindful breathing. 

Novel Study:
We read two more chapters of our novel and enjoyed hearing about Sam's success in finding his grandfather's farm.

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

Whew! It was a tough day filming our auditions and trying to survive on the Oregon Trail! We also watched a few Sketchnoting videos to help us build our skills for notetaking: "Drawing Peeps", "Typography" and "50 Titles". The kids did a great job sketchnoting during their "Smart Goals" video! Check out their ideas in the photos.

Novel Study:
We read another chapter of My Side of the Mountain. We learned how hard it was for Sam on his first day in the woods! We also responded with how we would have felt if we were in Sam's place.

Algebraic Thinking:
We finished Hands On Equations Lesson 14. It was a good review and helps me to know who is ready to move on and who might need a bit more time with these concepts.

Unit Study:
We completed another Tribal Challenge-"Don't Be the Missing Tape". The kids had to work together without talking and without tape to create a popsicle stick structure that could hold as much weight as possible. One group succeeded. On the second round, we added talking and tape in. One more group was successful. All groups learned important lessons about how important each team member is and that communication is key!
Later the kids tried their luck on the new version of "The Oregon Trail". This isn't the pixelated version from when we were kids. It's all new, realistic, and inclusive! It's going to be a huge challenge to master.  The kids are finding out what they need to research in order to survive on the Oregon Trail!

Affective Skills:
We continued our Mindfulness Practice with "4-7-8 Breathing". The kids liked this one. We'll practice this again next time.

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger

It was a marvelous Target Day! What a way to start our year!

Affective Skills:
We started off with the Cup Stack Challenge. The kids worked in pairs to stack the cups into a pyramid without touching them with their hands. Look at their successful collaborations!

We read Better than Me, by Trudy Ludwig. It was a sweet story about handling kids who are "Pufferfish" and brag or one-up others. Good discussions about why kids might feel the need to brag or "Puff Up" and about how it feels to be on the other side of that. They shared excellent insights and so much empathy for each other!

We started our Mindfulness Practice with "Still, Quiet Place" and "Center Yourself". The kids enjoyed these moments of calm in the middle of a busy and active day.

Algebraic Thinking:
We jumped back into Hands On Equations with a review of Lesson 14. The kids did pretty well and will be ready to take on new lessons.

Unit Study: 
We kicked off our Survivor Unit by setting up Tribes and creating Posters for each tribe. We watched a couple of "Survivor" Audition videos. The kids will be creating their own videos with a partner next week. Then the kids took on the Marshmallow Challenge-Survivor Edition! The tribes worked together and even earned some Power-Ups for showing excellent collaboration. The winning tower was 74cm. That might just be a Target class record! 

Novel Study:
We read the first chapter of our novel, My Side of the Mountain. The kids are already hooked to find out how Sam ended up living inside a tree. 

Be sure to send in a folder and composition notebook for next week, if you haven't already. 

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger