Pre-Vacation

In only a few days, it will be our week's vacation. I think everyone is ready for a break. One of the best reasons for the February break is to contain illness. During winter lots of illnesses strike students, and a break in February literally clears the air. Another great reason for vacation is the opportunity to rest your mind and do some prep for the weeks ahead.

In the next few days students will complete those fraction projects, begin prepping their portfolios, read, organize the classroom, and explore science topics. It's been a good week to get organized for the next leg of the year and thanks to a terrific teaching assistant, I've had some terrific help in that area.

Some specific tasks that we need to complete include:

• Readying the science supply table for tomorrow's exploration.
• Sharpening colored pencils.
• Organizing paperwork and field trip information.
• Conference paperwork

During vacation I'll prep upcoming science explorations, review students' math project work, create portfolio stats sheets, and ready for the April ATMIM Math Conference. 

Finding the right balance of work to do and time for other matters is always a quest, but with the progress reports behind us and report cards ahead, there seems to be a bit more time available to meet the goals we're reaching for.