Owl Pellet Dissection

We dissected owl pellets for science today.  WOW!  What an amazing experience for the kiddos.  They were completely engaged and there was that buzz in the classroom...  you know, the one where the room is humming and the kids are working and you're thinking, WOW!!  Even my most distracted student was humming!  

I have a student who has attendance issues.  She doesn't come to school on Friday for many reasons.  Today she showed up at 8:45 a.m., about one hour late.  She told me that she woke up late, mom told her she wasn't going to school, but she made mom drop her off.  All because she couldn't bear to miss this lab.  Whatever the pellets cost, it was worth it because school became relevant for this student.  For her, the learning was incredible... inferences and connections.  It was the moment that makes you realize how important school is and how thankful I am that I became a teacher!

Getting Started

Okay, I am completely new to this and feeling very uncomfortable as I write this post.  I created this blog awhile ago, stalked a lot of blogs, and waited for the inspiration to come to me!  No such luck...  So, I signed up to be part of an awesome postcard exchange and one of the rules is that I need to have a blog - there it is, my inspiration and motivation to start blogging.

This year, our school is using Habits of Mind (anyone else using this?).  One of the habits is Taking Responsible Risks.  As I teach my students to be risk takers, I need to listen to my own lesson and be a risk taker.  I will do that by writing this and opening up my classroom challenges, successes, and failures to others through this blog.

Watch Free Documentaries Online | DocumentaryZ

Watch Free Documentaries Online | DocumentaryZ

The End of Summer

The end of summer is near...  Hard to imagine that we will be back in school in just a few weeks.  Who ever thought of starting school on August 1, in Hawai'i, when it's 90 degrees outside, no wind, and no air conditioning?  Some of those higher ups, sitting in their air conditioned offices, not having to motivate those sweaty students after recess!!

I went to my classroom today to work on the classroom library.  I have lots of books but organization has always been a problem for me and I don't want to add more books, from my garage, until I have the basics down.  So, I sorted books - some by author (Roald Dahl, Jerry Spinelli, Andrew Clements, etc.), by genre (mystery, fantasy, etc.), and by level, hoping that the students will be able to find something to read.  After reading Book Whisperer and Igniting a Passion for Reading this summer, my goal for the new school year is to let my students read... read... read... read..