sutton007

In the news the other morning was an account of a serious outbreak of tornadoes. The tornado season is upon us, and mother nature is certainly keeping busy as over 800 preliminary tornadoes have touched ground (According to the NOAA's Storm Prediction Center). With the peak of the season not yet reached (May and June) one only wonders what the old girl has planned. Watching the swirling columns of air sweeping their way across our TV screen, and witnessing the destruction left behind was rather frightening to me. I imagined it would be the same for some of my students while others might be drawn to it. Naturally, children are curious, fascinated and maybe fearful of tornadoes. It might be helpful for them to have some information about this topic. Fujita Pearson Scale: This is the old scale used to rate and describe the tornado, but it gives the children an idea of what kind of damage occurs. The scale has now been enhanced to these wind speeds. Tornado Video: This 3...

Imagine 458 kids along with 30 + adults singing and dancing in an auditorium! All in sync - all in tune! Well, this past Friday, that was OUR school. Every other week our elementary school gathers together in the auditorium and is treated to a whole school assembly presented by a different class or two. Assemblies this year included a tribute to family veterans ; a choral reading about the Pilgrims; a class role playing promoting bullying prevention; a class sharing their family heritage and more. By far there are some whole school assemblies that become 'Boyden' Traditions! Two of those assemblies happened to occur in the same week! Dressed in their best cowboy attire, our annual 'Hoe Down' is held in the gymnasium and shows off the new dancing skills of the fourth grade students.  The Virginia Reel, Cotton-Eyed Joe and other dances were featured as part of the culminating unit on 'Pioneers'.  Each fourth grade class demonstrates one of the dances they learn...

Making our way back to the classroom from Phys. Ed. the other day, one of the kindergarten teachers stopped my class in the hallway and invited them into her classroom.   I'll admit I was a tad bit annoyed because it was near the end of the day, and we still had some pressing things to get accomplished.  Quickly, my annoyance turned into absolute fascination !  Staring right at us was a momma eagle sitting on her 3 eggs waiting for them to hatch!  Talk about a 'Teachable Moment'! Well, our kindergarten teacher was actually projecting a live stream video feed of a bald eagle's nest sitting high atop a tree in Decorah, Iowa.   The ' Nest Cam ' is part of the  Raptor Resource Project whose mission is to "preserve and strengthen raptor populations."  Raptors are birds of prey. The eagle's eggs which were laid in February have an estimated hatching date of April 1st!      (This video created from a PowerPoint show produced by Colorado S...

My First & Second Grade Report Cards " Why don't you just give them all A's !" shouted my daughter this afternoon!  It never fails...I hear the same request from either my sister, mother, husband, cousin, friend, neighbor, or local teen every time I sit down to spend the day to write out my students' report cards. Do they really all think that teachers just ' GIVE ' grades based on some nebulous reason?   Don't they understand that teachers work long hours finding sums and averages based on the student's assessments? Or don't they realize that hours are spent filling in checklists based on whether the student has completed the standards set by the state? The business of report cards is a touchy subject at best.   When mentioned in most any setting it brings recounts of days gone by. "Do you remember when I locked myself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out? How I shoved my report card under the door for mom and dad?" my sist...

View from NASA satellite on 3/5/11 An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter Scale shook Japan on March 11, 2011 .   The earthquake then triggered a 23 foot wave tsunami that caused massive destruction.     Watching the videos of water sweeping cars and homes away, people scrambling to take cover under desks, people running in the streets trying to avoid falling bricks and many other images were disturbing to me.  I couldn’t help but think about my students who might also be seeing this on their televisions. Naturally, children are curious, fascinated and maybe fearful of earthquakes and tsunamis.  It might be helpful for them to have some information about these topics.  Richter Scale – Learn how to read the Richter Scale by Scholastic. Tsunami – Watch this video designed for kids by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). It describes what a Tsunami is and what do to if one occurs in your area.  Or watch...

It’s a question I hear at ALL parent teacher conferences: What can I do to get my child to love to read?    Or What can I do to get my child to read?  These are also questions that educators wrestle with as well. As a teacher and parent I am still plagued by these questions as there are no definitive answers.  However, there are some steps that we as educators and parents can take to aid in the love of reading.  Be a Role Model: This is a tip from an article, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading .   Children follow their parents’ lead.  If they see their parents reading they in turn, are likely to read.  If watching TV is the preferred activity of parents, then children are likely to fall into that habit.   Likewise, children follow their teacher’s lead.  When the students are reading during DEAR time, why not read a book along with them.  Share something funny or unusual from a story you are reading.  Kid...