The Daily Platypus

So many good things are happening in Room 15!  It speaks volumes about  the great group of kids we have this year that they’re able to accomplish so much despite our four-day schedule.
The students concluded our Nepal Project by generating $86 in contributions this month, for a grand total of $161. Thanks to their help [...]

That math exam everyone has been dreading has finally arrived . . . this Thursday, February 4th, our Room 15 Math students will be demonstrating their fractional knowledge, which admittedly isn’t yet much (but it’s growing every day!). Up until then we’ll be doing review activities, and afterward we’ll return to preparing for the State [...]

My list of favorite things includes olives!  All those Thanksgivings when I was a kid in which my sisters and I stuck big black olives on our fingers has left me with a wonderfully good feeling toward them. I also spent four of my high school years working at Abby’s Pizza in south Medford, where [...]

Here’s another of my favorite things: My shark jaws. During that childhood trip to Baja (see below), we motored our panga to a barren island where shark-fishermen had set up camp. Here I acquired a set of shark jaws, which I still have today. I remember climbing out of the boat and having to step [...]

As part of the Checkbook Project, Room 15 students complete a Friday Tax Report in which they calculate their “classroom income” for the week and then deduct 10% for income taxes and 5% for Social Security taxes. “Oh my gosh,” muttered a student last Friday. “I have to pay $38.50 in income tax!”  Of course, [...]

Ah, blessed fractions!  My fellow 4th grade teachers concur that fractions is a tough subject, so don’t be dismayed by your child’s struggles.  With patience, support from home, and frequent practice and review, these kids will eventually have a firm grasp on the host of fraction-related concepts, so take heart!  Until then, here is the [...]

Here’s another of my 100 favorite things: Baja–When I was thirteen years old, my brother-in-law took me on a camping and diving adventure to Baja California, Mexico. We camped on beaches, swam with rays and turtles, and visited a shark-fisherman’s island. I am forever thankful to my brother-in-law, Don, for the experience. To this day it [...]

Each Room 15 student is building a 100 Favorite Things list on his or her web site. To see them, click on the link entitled Student Web Pages. In the meantime, here’s another on my list of 100 (in no particular order).
2. Chocolate Milk — I’ve always loved chocolate milk. I suspect my mom must [...]

1. Kids — I know they’re really just human larvae, but for some reason I like ‘em. I’ve had about 500 kids come through my classroom over the last 18 years, and I’ve coached another 200 or so at Scenic and Crater. I’m fortunate enough to stay in touch with many of them. The little [...]

Squeezed by the four-day school, week we’re inundated with a backlog of activities in Room 15.  Students are continuing their Book Clubs and have a reading and writing assignment each evening, which appears in their Vocabulary Journals. Parents are asked to sign-off on this page each night, indicating they’re aware of their child’s completion of [...]