We have had a really great start to the year in UE! Highlights of the week included hearing and writing about summer experiences, playing many inside and outside group team building games, and getting to know Elvis the snake, again. We survived the record-breaking heat on Wednesday without melting into puddles…much.
Some initial assessments in spelling, reading, math, and writing helped the teachers to see what the students know, and what they might need to know. This will help us to make our smaller teaching groups for next week.
Students have had thorough introductions (or reviews, for past students) of the Plan-Prioritize approach we use every morning to set work goals and accomplish them. We set specific goals in subject areas (chunking assignments), think about how soon the deadline is for that work in order to set priorities, and mark tasks as ‘done’ as we go through the day. This is all part of the critical planning and organizing tools we explicitly teach children in order to help them become more efficient, effective independent workers. A possible connection to our parenting lives? Written plans are pretty effective! I think we can all agree that we usually shop better (we don’t miss anything, we don’t shop impulsively, we get what we came for) at the grocery store, if we have a plan and a list…
Sticky note, anyone?