We started our day with some creativity by making Word Clouds using Tagxedo.  Check it out in your child's Target Folder.  Please make sure you sign your child's Assignment Sheet each week.  

Unit Study:
We continued our study of mysteries with an introduction to our Mystery Story Topic Illustrations from The Mystery of Harris Burrdick.  The kids chose their favorite illustration to use as a basis for the mystery story they will write.

We also played the Observation Game to practice our detective skills.  The kids formed 2 teams.  One team stood in the hall, while the other team changed a few small details of their appearances.  The Hall Team came back in and tried to observe what had changed.  Then, we switched roles.  The kids had a blast with this activity!

Algebraic Thinking:
We continued our math work with a mixed problem solving activity.  The kids worked on comparing Celsius to Fahrenheit and calculating the conversion using a simple chart we created.  This was a good lesson on how making a chart can save time and trouble in solving math problems.

Vocabulary:
We continued our study of Weighty Word. Today's word was Bifurcate.  Check to see if your child remembers the meaning.  The kids did a good job finding pictures that matched the meaning and creating their own Visual Vocabulary Mini-Posters.  

Divergent Thinking:
We combined creativity with critical thinking and making connections by completing a Synectic: "How is Broccoli like Perfection?"  The kids thought of some AMAZING ways the concepts are related.  Excellent job!

Affective Skills:
We continued our book, Be a Perfect Person in Three Days.  The kids are waiting to see why Dr. Silverfish wants Milo to wear a stalk of broccoli around his neck for a whole day.  

We continued our Mindfulness Practice with Owl Breathing.  They did a great job of focusing and breathing along with the video.  We discussed how this strategy could be helpful in stressful or frustrating situations at school or at home.

HW:  Play the Observation Game with a family member or friend

Until next time,
​Dr. Kraeger

We got our day off to a good start with a divergent thinking activity.  The kids described what school would be like without Target.  The answers were funny, creative, and definitely 100% kid!  Check them out by our classroom!

Unit Study:
We continued our study of mysteries with a video of the 7 elements of Mysteries.  Hmm...do you know what a Red Herring is?  Ask your child to see if he or she knows.  If not, there will certainly be some Red Herrings coming up soon!

Algebraic Thinking:
We began our math work with a mixed problem solving activity.  The kids learned a lot about symmetry and also how to determine what the relationship of their "Wingspan" to their height is.  We're definitely getting our math thinking back in gear!

Vocabulary:
We started a new book, called Weighty Word. It's a book filled with cute animal stories that describe the meaning of 26 VERY challenging words.  I called them "College Words", which made the kids eager to learn even more of them!  Our first word was Abasement.  Check to see if your child remembers the meaning.  Each week, the kids will create a visual representation of the new word using images from our Cobb Digital Library- Image Quest.  

Divergent Thinking:
We stretched our brains in creative ways with our first F2OE of the year.  We reviewed what Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration are.  The kids liked the variety of tasks and rated which they found easiest and hardest.  We'll do variations of this task throughout the year to help us grow our creativity.

Affective Skills:
We started a new book, Be a Perfect Person in Three Days.  The kids are interested to find out what Milo has to do to become perfect.  This led right into a good goal setting activity of our own.  The kids listed goals for the year, including some for school and some outside of school.  We'll check back on our progress later in the year.  

We continued our Mindfulness Practice with a breathing exercise, 4-7-8 Breathing.  Most of the kids found this pretty challenging, but did much better after the second try.  This is a good way to relax or help quiet the mind at bedtime.

A Quick Note about Edmodo:
I only assign one question for Homework each time.  The kids will see it at the top of their posts.  Edmodo sends out an optional Question of the Day.  The kids don't have to answer that,--it's just for fun.  I'll be sending home Parent Sign-Up forms for Edmodo next week.

HW:  Edmodo Question

Until Next Time,
Dr. Kraeger

We had a blast getting our day started making a Chatterpix of our Target Wishes.  The kids LOVE this app--so much fun!  We created our own Name Cards and had a few minutes to play Chess or Checkers.

Next, we worked on our evaluative thinking, Creative Problem Solving, and collaboration with the Marshmallow Challenge.  Check out the Ted Talk to see some of what we experienced and why.  The kids learned a lot about what works and what doesn't.  It will be interesting to see how they do when we repeat this activity with new teams in January!

We learned about a new strategy called "Sketchnoting".  Here's a video for your information about what's behind this method and why I think it may helpful for the kids to learn.  Their preview video was a short clip showing the how/why of sketchnoting.  We learned how to draw different types of people today: i people, h people, bean people, and star people.  And YES, I drew too--even though I am NOT an artist!  We practiced our sketchnoting skills by creating a Rules & Procedures for the Target Classroom page in our Notebooks.  The kids are enjoying getting started with this idea.

After lunch, we focused our attention with some Mindfulness Practice.  We'll do this each week to find ways to relax our minds.

We also watched an introduction to our Mystery Unit.  The Chronicles of Harris Burdick is creepy and mysterious and a perfect kick-off to our unit.  Stay tuned for more news of mysteries, detectives, and all things unknown!

Finally, we signed up for Edmodo accounts.  A few of the kids were having trouble with their passwords.  They've written their username and passwords on a card to take home.  If they try to type it as written and they still have trouble, please have them stop by the Target room for me to reset the password.  

HW:  Edmodo Question

Until next time,
Dr. Kraeger