October 17 in Room 11

• First the serious stuff: Precipitated by a report that students were talking about burning the playground, we had a discussion about what kinds of things are O.K. to joke or pretend about in school, and what are not. Just like it is not appropriate to yell "fire!" as a joke in a crowded room, at school we don't even pretend we have bombs, play like we are shooting people, or kid about burning down the school. We are not burying our heads in the sand. On one hand, we acknowledge recent national tragedies as we take these matters seriously. On the other, at school we really try to keep our sights on what is positive, good and worthwhile.
• We worked on and finished our bellwork packs.
• The teachers are very happy to note that many students are fixing the mistakes on their papers and handing them in again for a recheck. This shows a real seriousness about the business of learning.
• Reading Our Weekly Reader sparked some heated discussions about who should be our next president and why. The teacher was impressed at what kinds of discussions are obviously occurring at home.
• Mrs. Craig keeps raving about what good writers our second graders are. (In spite of being made the favorite screaming and running character in our Silly Story projects.)
• Music today. Always fun.
• The most fun, though, was playing with the "Splat Chart" on the Smart Board. We used a chart of 100 squares to count by 2's and 5's. We played game with it and everybody wanted to have a turn!