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The Importance of Sports (and extracurricular activities) Undeniably, sport is an important part of elementary school life. There have been many studies that outline the importance of sport. Sports helps children to develop physically, socially and mentally, enabling them to better cope with the demands of school life, by: developing co-ordination and gross motor skills building self-confidence and self-esteem developing positive attitude  encouraging teamwork  supporting discipline promoting healthy bone and muscle development. Studies have also found that sport can enhance the learning potential of children. Students that participate in sport while studying have greater expectation of results and can achieve higher grades. We always tell our kiddos that preparing for sports in high school means not only preparing physically but more importantly academically. In all our feeder high schools, GPAs matter.  By preparing them now academically we are getting them ready to be the best over
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MY power of BEing ( kind of a part 2)

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To BE positive is ALWAYS  the way  to BE Affirmations and mantras are terrific tools that children can use to support themselves. They help them develop a healthy sense of self as well as a positive mental-social-emotional mindsets. Affirmations are short; positive “BE” statements that call you into an intentional way of being.   They should be accompanied by an image in your mind and inspire. With any  affirmation, you should experience yourself as you are declaring. In class this week, we created our own mini “BE” mantras. The kiddos were told to think of a quick saying that brings peace and happiness but at the same time empowers them to be a better version of their already awesome self. After they chose their word, they published it onto SeeSaw. ( if you are a parent of mine , make sure to check your child’s private SeeSaw account) For more mindfulness activities and ideas : https://www.amazon.com/Sitting-Still-Like-Frog-Mindfulness/dp/1611800587
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The Power of BE

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BE-lieve it or not YOU and your inner thoughts can make or break you AND others. This summer I was randomly passing by a sign in Bisbee,Arizona and spotted this sign . I took a moment to go down the sign reading it slowly and by the end ( a mere 30 seconds) I found I had a smile on my face, had taken a nice deep breath and lowered my blood pressure. Seriously, in 30 seconds. Your mindset is so much more powerful than you know. Whether you recognize it or not, you shape the outcome of the majority of your day. You are the single most important motivational factor in your everyday activities and choices. I find I have to constantly remind myself of that, because, well, " I'm just me. " You look at the greatest leaders (dead or alive) and it's easy to forget that every great leader started just as you have today. Greatness is not something that just happens; it's incredibly intentional. Now think of a happy thought, take a deep breath, smile and go concur the rest o
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Olympics lesson through GOOGLE CLASSROOM

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Today the kiddos had a teacher-free lesson on their google classroom. We prepared a google slide about the history of the Olympics and an interactive worksheet. As they went through the slideshow (on their own) they filled out the answers to the worksheet. It was a great way for us to teach about the Olympics but not worry about how to squeeze it into our jam packed day.  Loving our GOOGLE classroom and all it offers!
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September Research Project

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PBL   (PROJECT BASED LEARNING) The old-school model of learning facts and reciting them out of context is no longer helpful to prepare the kiddos to survive in today's world. Solving highly complex problems requires that they have both fundamental skills (reading, writing, and math) and 21st century skills (teamwork, problem solving, research gathering, time management, information synthesizing, utilizing high tech tools).  With this combination of skills, our kiddos have become directors and managers of their learning process, guided and mentored by us ( teachers and parents). This month the kiddos used their PBL techniques to research and favorite sport or extra curricular activity . We love doing this research project at the start of the school year to better understand our kiddos interests outside of school. We could not of asked for better presentations. They were amazing!!! We had some google slides presentations, cartoon shows, posters, trifold poster boards, and so many mor
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SeeSaw In the Class

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Seesaws aren't just for the playground anymore!!! This week we introduced our new digital portfolios . We will once again be using SeeSaw but we are now working with the district to implement more activities at a higher thinking level. We are very excited to be involved with this special cohort. For the students' first entry they learned how to use the app, picCollage. They took a selfie, added adjectives that describe them, and then finished by adding colorful stickers. When this was completed they could download it into their new SeeSaw account. Once the entry was approved by us, the parents could see the fabulous work their child had done.  We love technology , we love home/school connection, and we love making lesson fun!
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New stories, new vocab, new fun!

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The year is officially up and rolling . We have been busy ( a good busy) introducing so many ways for our kiddos to be more independent. This week, we introduced a new vocabulary activity. At the start of the week the new book has new vocab to be learned prior to reading the story. The kiddos have a trifold with all the words ( and some definitions). They must use their chromebooks and look up the word in the ConnectED folder ( accessed through  " single sign on") This is an awesome way to learn because there are definitions, sentences, pictures, videos, and more. It makes learning so easy and more importantly FUN. After a word has been looked up, the kiddos get to decide if they want to write a definition, copy a sentence, write a new sentence , create an inference example or challenge themselves with an "ask" question that is on the WONDERS website. We love all the ways to challenge our higher thinking students. 
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