Lake Adventure from 7.29

Going to the lake is one of my all time favorite things. I wish I could own a boat, but the cost and care needed is too much for me. Fortunately, I have some great friends who invited me out this week! I grabbed 4 of my girl friends and we headed to the lake.

We went on the boat, swam a little, and hung out together. I went tubing but passed on wake boarding this time. Now, I am not exactly an expert wake boarding... or even a beginner for that matter. I have tried around 30 times to get up on the board but it never happens :(. However, I refuse to fail and continue to try at almost every opportunity I get. My body was just not feeling it that day. Besides, I was there to socialize with my friends, not spend an hour on the water by myself trying to get up on the board.

Lesson learned: Last week when we went out I got super dehydrated and spent the entire next day throwing up and feeling like crap. This time, I drank 2 bottles of water beforehand and brought 2 with me. Keeping hydrated is key when being out on the lake. I woke up this morning feeling just fine.

Except for the sun burn that crept up on me even after I used sunscreen! Crossing my fingers it doesn't peel.

Kagan Adventure

My Kagan journey began in the fall of 2009 when I began working at my current school. Our entire staff was trained in Kagan's cooperative learning and throughout the past 3 years we have completed Days 1, 2, and 3. Today we were trained on Day 4. I love having the days so spread out because it gives us time to implement new structures and ideas one semester at a time. I feel like Kagan has made my teaching so much better and I am very thankful for the opportunity my district has given me. Today, during Day 4 training, I learned even more.

Have you ever played 2 truths and a lie? It is a common game played when getting to know people at church camp, holiday parties, etc. Loads of fun! Well, today I learned how to apply it in my classroom. For example, you can have 3 math problems solved, and the students decide which two are correct and which one is incorrect. Genius. I am super excited to use this structure in my classroom this fall.

We also learned about Match Mine, talking chips, and numbered heads together. I think talking chips will work great when we begin to work on our group projects. Basically everyone gets two chips and you put your chip in the middle when you want to talk. This gives everyone an equal opportunity to talk, and limits the conversation to the important stuff. Some ideas I thought of were coming up with a team name, deciding on the theme of your project, or deciding the best presentation method. Talking chips is similar to Spend a Buck, so I will need to look back in my notes to see which one fits best in each situation.

Time flew by today, and I had a lot of fun. Days like today make me excited about teaching :)

First Entry- PBL Adventure

This is my very first entry as a blogger! Wahoo! Right now I am on a lunch break but can't seem to stop working. Facilitators from the Buck Institute of Education have been working with us (Wylie educators) for 3 days now to develop a project for our students. Working with other 6th grade math teachers in the district has been a lot of fun. We have come up with some really great ideas, and it is nice to have some people to talk to who will be doing the same thing in their classrooms this fall. After completing our Let's Party project, I will post more details!