Turn Off The Screen!

  Tomorrow is the kick off to my very first Brain-a-mania. I am very excited. One year ago I came to DBS for the first time to interview for the fourth grade position. On that day the school was a buzz with activity and excitement. My two student escorts told me all about this amazing event, Brain-a-mania that was to take place that very day.  So I've been waiting for this moment all year. 

  What I am most excited about is the possibility that for the next week my students and I will be making a great effort to really spend more of our free time away from a screen.  This will be just as hard for me (with my iphone, ipad, television, netflix, playstation, etc) as it will for my students.  We all will be committed to this effort.  Why you ask? Well, it is important! In fact, each year of my teaching I've seen more and more students who have less and less of an imagination. I ask them to play, to pretend, to imagine, and they are simply incapable.  That is scary.  I'd like to spend the next week making sure my class plays, uses their brains, spends time outside, moves around. 

  I'm hoping you will join me on this journey for the next seven days. Please encourage your child to limit their screen time for the next week, and help them to find other things to do.  A great way to kick off this week would be to join in on the activities tomorrow night at Brain-a-mania.  Remember it starts at 6:00!  I've heard of some pretty incredible things happening.  Another opportunity next week would be for your child to work on a cardboard arcade.  During class counsel this week, the entire school watched a video about a child who is truly using his imagination (see below, it is definitely worth the watch!). The kids were so excited when the challenge was posed for them to create their own cardboard arcade game.  They have this week to use their brains and their creativity to come up with a game made out of cardboard. They will then bring them into school and DBS will then have their very own cardboard arcade for students to play at.  Again, I highly encourage you to watch the following video. It will blow your mind, and probably make you smile as well. 

  So, I hope you will join us in turning off the screen this week. Let's hope it is an adventure for all DBS families.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U

The Home Stretch

  Believe it or not, we have just over 7 weeks left of school.  This is the final stretch of fourth grade. My first year here at Dothan Brook has gone so quickly and has been such a wonderful experience.  However, I can't feel like my job is done.  Seven weeks is a long time and a lot of learning is yet to happen.  Sometimes when the weather gets nice kids forget that we still have work to do. 

  I would like to continue to encourage you to work with your child at home on their multiplication facts.  This is a huge responsibility for our children, and one of the basic requirements of fifth grade.  I still have about five students who are really struggling and a few who just need constant review so they don't lose the progress that they have made. 

  We have one more book project this year.  Students have been asked to find a fantasy novel by the end of this week. I would like to approve all books, and students must check with me by Friday.  They should be reading at home on a nightly basis. Reading 20 minutes a night is part of their homework, and it should be done every night.  Over the next few weeks please make sure your child is reading their fantasy novel.  The project will be sent home toward the beginning of May. 

  Fourth graders will be planting the DBS Garden this spring as well. Dartmouth students are coming in weekly to teach the kids about healthy living, and part of that process will be planting the vegetables in our garden.  To start the process, students will be planting individual basil plants this week, and taking care of them in our classroom nursery.