First Snow Day of the Year

I haven't updated in weeks, so here's one in honor of an important annual holiday:

My first snow day of the year!

 It's always exciting. I was up and ready to go, putting together an outfit for the day, when the phone rang. I'm really glad that I don't have to drive to/from school in all the snow, worrying the whole time, but I'm a tiny bit disappointed because I had some good plans for the day that I've been thinking about for a while.

The 4th grade has been doing a whole unit on Native Americans: first they got divided into different tribes (ones that were native to our state) and they had to claim a territory ( a part of the library) and design their flag. The next week, they had to set up trade lines with other tribes, using stickers that represent resources like corn, fish, medicinal plants/berries, animals, and goods brought over by European settlers. They are really enjoying it. Today was supposed to be the first marriage, to create an alliance between 2 tribes. The kids have been asking about the marriage part for weeks, giggling every time. I had the whole thing worked out, using dice to determine which tribes would be united.

I was also supposed to go observe another class, because the teacher has been coding with her students.

Speaking of observations, I had my first official teacher observation last Thursday. I didn't realize what was happening at first, but when I did I started to get pretty nervous. The students in the library at that time were working on a STEM assignment. They had requested the week before to try something new, and making cardboard mazes is not costly or too complicated for a first try.

I had my post-observation conference yesterday, and it was pretty good. I know there are some things I will do differently next time, but the students were so engaged and working well together, that my supervisor and I were both satisfied. It's a huge load off my mind, and now I can use the Thanksgiving break to re-charge.