Second, learning is messy. All children truly do grow and learn at different paces and this is perfectly normal. We humans decided (made up?) what "grade level" means and what things students should learn at what ages. Then we began to worry if each child wasn't meeting these "grade level" standards (that we created) right away. I know that I can get myself all worked up about these kinds of things sometimes, too. Really we just need to step back, take a deep breath and let our children grow. I am not saying that we don't teach them or that we don't have high expectations for them but I am saying that we need to balance learning content skills with learning social and emotional skills with learning to be a self-directed learner. Our whole crew is growing in leaps and bounds and that is just exactly what should be happening. We shouldn't get overly focused on the tiny details because those will take care of themselves over time if we just keep teaching and learning. I know I won't ever give up on any child and I know you won't either. These are just a few of my thoughts about ranking and grading and scoring children. Please don't feel like I am writing this because your children aren't doing well - it is quite the opposite. They are doing great - I just wanted to share my thoughts about ranking and sorting them. I prefer to teach them wherever they are ("above grade level", "below grade level", "on grade level", high, low, struggling, advanced, whatever labels might fit) and just make sure that they keep growing and growing.
Home Learning ~ Read a good book or two or try an online book. Check out a Bedtime Math story or play a math game.
We also had several guest speakers and presentations today. Here are a few photos and a video for you.
Video Clip of Ms. Dana's Crew's Readers' Theater
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