Students will be excited this week. Many will have Halloween on their minds. I'll not fight this, but instead give into the imaginative and creative energy that exists. In math we'll focus on pumpkins rather than Halloween. Students will make an imaginary giant pumpkin patch as they study the connection between meters, decimeters, centimeters, and millimeters. They'll work together with a focus on measurement and collaboration to make giant paper pumpkins that are one meter high and one meter wide. The pumpkins will have eyes one decimeter high, noses one decimeter wide, and mouths between 50-80 centimeters wide. After they meet those measurements, they can have fun decorating their pumpkins. For other classes, students will practice using coordinates to draw a pumpkin and then to create their own coordinate grid pictures for friends to create. After Halloween, I'll increase our independent reading and online practice time since children will likely be a bit tired and potentially out-of-sorts. In years past I've fought the energy that matches big holidays like Halloween, but this year I'll teach with complimentary activities instead.
Note: We don't directly celebrate or teach with a Halloween theme since some children do not celebrate this holiday.
