You know it’s been a good day in the classroom when nobody has to go to the bathroom. That’s not to say that students didn’t need to go–or even that they didn’t go, just that the asking and the going doesn’t interfere with the learning and learning activities that are going on.

I notice that those are days filled with lots of doing.  Today started with students going online to vote for anti-hate messaging from a contest we entered.  The google form made it easy for each to independently watch the short videos and make decisions about the images and poems and posters and more.  After Cardio Club and an abbreviated morning routine, we dove headfirst into another weaving project.  (You can find a mini post about last week’s weaving here.)  A novel tool is always a plus…who knew there were 18 inch rulers?  Using a ruler to measure effectively and to draw straight lines is challenging for third graders, but with a little help from their friends all were able to manage the task.  (I wish I had remembered to take photos!)  Finishing our 4-triangle inquiry set the stage for a study of two-voice poems through the poem Squares by Theoni Pappas.  (And that was all before recess!)

Add some bubble blowing and birthday cookies along with a couple of chapters of Save Me a Seat before we dove into writing claims about the “right” age for kids to be able to stay home alone.  We were sharing our claims when the principal and superintendent stopped by.  (While the claims were more similar than I would have liked, students did a great job composing defensible claims based on some articles we read…a great early effort!)

We returned to the weaving project, tracing geometric shapes that would be woven into the monochromatic art piece that features design, math, and writing.

After some last detailed directions before lunch, students returned to the classroom after lunch to weave their geometric shapes into striking pieces of art.  We were so engaged, we almost forgot to get our things packed up to go home!  (And the photo included above is the only photo I took today!  I’ll have to take some of the finished products once we get our two-voice poetry completed.)

This was definitely a doing day!