It was a busy busy week in fourth grade…from having our field trip cancelled due to 90% chance of severe storms (ummm…not a single drop of rain fell!).  Students handled it like champs so I gave them 45 minutes of math “choice” time.  It was fun to see them playing games, doing team problem solving, and more.  They had a great time–and the extra time let me get my final two running records finished!  My literacy data is all collected and entered now–4 days early!

Biz World is in high gear!  The companies made their “pitch” to me (I mean, the venture capitalist) after watching a little Shark Tank to get the feel for it.  Some companies were definitely better prepared and got better deals!  We shall see how that all pans out!  A few companies signed up for “Bracelet University” to refine their skills.  They will see on Monday just how much that additional training pays off when they see that investing a little money in “staff development” leads to unexpected rewards!

As we begin to talk more about marketing, I asked students to think about logos and slogans they are familiar with or could find around their house.  A Biz Buck went to any company who was willing to spend some time to bring them in.

At the end of our failed field trip day, I decided to break out good old fashioned bingo.  What was my learning target, you say?  Well let me tell you…I’m pretty sure that the highlight of my week was one one of my special needs friends got the first bingo and the class spontaneously erupted into cheers and a standing ovation for her.  No learning target.  No academic rigor.  I needed no summative assessment to tell me how much my students have learned this year about the human spirit and doing the right thing.  I could barely keep the tears back.  What we do is important, people. Stop watching the news stories about everything that is wrong with education and savor the moments that you know in your heart to be RIGHT.

FINALLY…a new “Thinker Task” is ready!  If you haven’t tried one, I’d love for you to check it out.  If you own my Thinker Task Bundle, go download the update!  My students enjoyed the challenge–but claimed it made them hungry while working!  I brought them doughnuts on Friday to help with that!

(I put it on sale through tonight if you want to grab it at a discount!)