Week One

 

01.17.12          Day 1

First day of school today; I am nervous but ready to get started. There are only 22 students in the class, 2 with limited inclusion. Went around the school and met the other teachers, staff, and principle. I would like to have more time to talk to Mr. Burtrum in the future. No lack of time this semester. I like the school; it is warm and welcoming, with large classrooms and big windows, and the best playground in Kalispell.

Today I observed Mary Lloyd for half the day. She had an appointment in the afternoon. It’s interesting to watch her management strategies. There seems to be a lot of student-centered reflection and responsibility, which I like, but there also seems to be more ‘free time’ on the students part. I was struck by how much freedom they were given. Maybe this is because there was a sub today.

01.18.12         Day 2

Second day I felt more comfortable in our classroom, am learning the personalities of students, and finding my voice in this class. In the morning I observed our small reading group have a discussion about paragraphs they have been working on. Mary did a great job leading the discussion and giving prompts when the students needed it. Also, the students gave insightful feedback to their peers. During math I gave individual support while Mrs. Lloyd instructed the whole class. For math we spilt the students between two teachers, in our class there are 23 students who are near proficient or above and the novice students go to a different classroom. This type of differentiated learning is great, so much easier to teach one level rather than three.

It has been a different transition to Mary’s class from my experience at Lolo. I went from a classroom that needed repeated management because of amount of students and their personalities to a school where there is little need for teacher management. The students self-manage and there are not many in the class. It’s a strange transition from managing students to pushing them to their full potential. Don’t get me wrong, I always try to push students but theses kids can be pushed further. It is exciting to start thinking of all the lessons we can do!

Kathy Dunnehoff came in this afternoon and did a wonderful presentation on writing and what it means to be a writer. We all practiced working on creating a story plot line. Reading the student ideas was fun. Getting some creativity in the classroom breaks up the monotony of the math-reading-math-reading cycle. Bring on more!! Kathy left a lemonhead writing prompt for the students to do at a later date.

Another aspect of Mary’s class that is different is the schedule. We teach all the subjects so cross curriculum lessons happen often. It’s fun to create a lesson or unit that touches on all our content areas.

01.19.12         Day 3

Things were a little overwhelming for me today. I experienced the students self-monitoring and freedom to the max this afternoon. There were about four different activities happening varying from cleaning out and organizing desks (yikes!), self-grading, using a rubric, a large social studies/writing project, and catching up on other work. I am glad to experience this type of organized chaos because it shows me that students can bring it back, sometimes. Our class is really good at being able to regroup after a chaotic activity and move to a group activity.

Math zips by each day, which is nice. I like being able to assist students while Mary is teaching the whole group. I can monitor the progress of individuals as she moves forward. It is great having two teachers; I am learning how to present difficult concepts in ways I would never have thought of and the students get two different examples. It is exciting to think about how much we can cover working together. My experience with co-teaching has only been positive. This semester will be a good one!

01.20.12         Day 4

In the mornings we have a short motivational clip from Rusty about overcoming bullying and keeping it out of our schools. The students seem to really take to his message and tools. I’ll have to remember Rusty for my classroom.

More assisting during division today but I had three students ‘get it’ while I was working with them. That was an awesome feeling; knowing that I helped make sense of the world for a student makes the hard days worth it (never forget that).

This afternoon I observed IXL math on the computers. It seems a bit of a waste of valuable technology time, but some students really need all the practice and time they can get working on math facts. It doesn’t seem to be happening at home.

We did the lemonhead writing prompt this morning. Students were to describe a lemonhead with as much detail as possible. I head a lot of giggles and whispers between students and saw wide smiles. In the afternoon the students read their stories to the class. It was so fun and creative. I love using prompts that make students really observe the world around them. We do need to work on varying sentence beginnings and transitions, but that’s for a later day.

Week Two

 

01.23.12         Day 5

My first week done and first PIR day wrapped up. It was a little overwhelming this morning but I learned so much from listening to all the other fourth grade teachers. It is great that the district schedules time for everyone to come together and talk about what is working and what needs improvement.

There were a lot of terms I heard at UM but never really understood. Today’s meeting helped clarify some of those questions I had and bring up others. I have a great list of things to ask Mary this week. After our group meeting the Hedges fourth grade gang (as we now call ourselves) had lunch together and fine-tuned our schedule for the week, printed and copied anything we needed, and planned for the CRT’s.

01.24.12         Day 6

Administered the MAP test. It was interesting to see what types of questions were asked and how the students responded. Hedges school gives the short version during the fall and winter and the long version in the spring. I’ve heard from Mary and at the PIR day that the short version gives an inaccurately score; the students are projected higher than they really are. And it seemed true. A few students rushed through the test and scored the average when I knew the test should have taken then a lot longer. It goes back to knowing your students and knowing the test.

The rest of the day was similar to the previous. I stepped in for math strips and explaining a different math strategy for finding factors.

01.25.12         Day 7

Today I think I’ve identified why I feel uncomfortable in this classroom. At Lolo the students understood and respected me as a teacher within the first few days. In Mary’s class I do not feel I have the respect a teacher would yet. This realization came when I was collecting the students from the library. I was waiting for the line to quite down. All of a sudden the students shaped up, but not because of me, Mary had come up behind me. This is the hardest part for myself. I do not like feeling uncomfortable in the classroom. Right now I feel like a helper, not a teacher or facilitator and it sucks. I dread standing around or having the class reject me. Our class does not have a day-to-day discipline strategy, like cards or marbles; instead it is a personal responsibility to do what is right. I agree with this method and feel students benefit from it. But on without having some way to manage the students and show them that I deserve the same respect as any other teacher is hard. What am I supposed to do, use I messages and wait to move on to the next lesson? Granted, it is still my first two weeks but I want to feel comfortable in front of the kids. I’ll give it through Friday and then bring it up with Mary and maybe with more time and release the students will give me respect. In Lolo I liked having an instant management strategy, like cards, to give to students when behavior was inappropriate at that time. It seemed to show the students that I meant business and expected the classroom to withhold rules that were established. The cards also gave the students a chance to reflect on their behavior and discuss it with the teacher or myself at a more appropriate time. Right now, I do not feel like a have a tool to use in this way.

01.26.12       Day 8

          Things got better today. I think yesterday was just an off day for myself as well as the students. Morning math went smooth; I am getting more comfortable with the morning routine and being in front of the class and using a Smartboard. I like to explain the math using a concept that Mary has already taught and then have a student come up and explain a different strategy. They really like using the board and teaching their peers. Also, I feel students benefit from hearing student answers to problems and if you can teach a concept you are ‘advance’ according to our standards. Mary took over for the bulk of the math lesson because they are gearing up for CRT. I think I will be taking over more once the tests are over and I feel much better about this.

        In the afternoon I taught an impromptu mini lesson on plants and graphing. As a class gift I brought paper whites in for the students to chart. This is when things finally felt good to me. I love teaching science and working with the kids on something engaging. An eight minute time frame turned into thirty or so and it was AWESOME! We tied in estimation, measurement, graphing, and hopefully a creative writing activity. Love it! During my lesson Mary circulated through the room and added questions for the students to think of and helped co-teach the lesson. I think she and I make a good teaching team. It rarely feels awkward or ‘rough’, there is a good flow between the two teachers and the students.

        This afternoon we did a read through of Scott Foresman. Not the biggest fan of this type of short reader book but I can see how they can be nice. All the components of the lesson are given to you and there are some really great online resources and tools to enhance the lessons. However, students need to read novels to help instill a lifelong love of reading, these textbooks do not do that.

        Today was overall a better experience. I realized how much I love teaching science and how much can be incorporated into a lesson. Things are getting better each day.

01.27.12       Day 9

       Two good thing started today; waking up before the sun is getting easier and it is Friday! There is something special about Fridays and today was a good one. Again I lead morning math review, helped students one-on-one during the main math lesson and lead a small reading group from Scott Foresman, and gave a spelling test. This was fun. It was the first time I was with the students alone and leading a lesson or quiz. Mary was helping a student with a hearing impairment in the hall. It was nice for the students and myself to test each others limits. We were able to joke about some of the words by making a story out of them. When things got a little too crazy and I paused the test and told the kids if they couldn’t pull it back together and give and their classmates the respect of no talking during a test then we couldn’t joke together. They pulled it together quick and we moved forward. There were a few more laughs which was good but no huge outbursts. That was a big step for my management in this class.

       During prep Mary and I looked over the MAP results and talked about what was being tested and what the data showed. It was interesting to see how certain students preformed, especially over a period of time. The long version of the test seems to be an alright way to monitor progress while the short test seems to project higher than true scores. I’ll have to keep watching, there is one more test in the spring.

        It was our turn to monitor ‘great behavior’ or the bonus recess for fourth graders on Friday afternoons. If all work is turned in on time, students are eligible for the extra play time. It was so much fun. I am glad to get to watch and help with recess. So much social development happens on the playground. Hedges has a great anti-bullying program but things have been happening outside. Observing students interacting in a non-classroom setting was interesting. I gained a better insight on some students personalities.

        At the end of the day a few students gave me a hug goodbye. This was the highlight of my week. Things started out a little rough and I was nervous the kids wouldn’t buy into me as a teacher. I really think teaching my plant lesson, spelling test, and helping one-on-on is winning them over. They are realizing I care about them. It feels good and Monday should me a great day.

        Also, I have the opportunity to go to an OPI class on wilderness investigations workshop in Seeley Lake this weekend. I heard about it at MEA this fall and was hoping my schedule would work out. Should be a good one.

Week Three

 

01.30.12       Day 10

       Monday, oh Monday, today was a case of the Monday’s for myself and a few students. We had CRT prep for most of the day. It’s great experience to see what the test will be like, but my goodness it is draining. I felt so bad for the students. Today there was about three hours of math practice, but it was needed. I am still doing morning math and a few other small activities. Mary and I decided on a fun math/art project for me to teach next week. I am excited for that and a chance to do something fun with the kids. After school I attended a meeting on test prep strategies to use in the classroom. It was mostly review of what Mary has already been doing (I really do have a master teacher to work with). There were a few good strategies I took away, such as, covering the answers on the math section and working through the whole problem before looking at the answers. Students tend to estimate and guess. Long day but tomorrow is a new day.

01.31.12       Day 11

        I fell off the wagon and forgot to journal today. Oops. I needed a night to turn my brain off and watch a movie.

02.01.12       Day 12

Things were good today. It’s funny, we do so much during the day, nonstop, that when I sit down to write about it my I can’t remember as much as I had wanted. The big accomplishment for today was teaching/reviewing ‘right there’ answers in a text. In the beginning there was some fumbling with trying to work the Smartboard, deciding how to word my question, pick a student to answer, and manage/engage the others. Whew, it’s a lot to do at once and it will take some fumbling and practice until I get it right. That is what I need to remember and not beat myself up about. Each time is a new and different experience that I can gain something from. Be it ‘yeah, that was a great lesson. Love it, the kids love it, keep that one in my pocket’ or ‘it was awful and should be burned as soon as possible’. Transitions between activities are getting easier as well. Today, Mary was out of the room longer than expected and I had to decide whether to continue our activity or move on to the next lesson. We moved on and started the next subject. Things moved fairly smooth, it’s ok to get some jitters and wiggles/noise out, and started up quickly. Yay! I need to make a running list of good ideas so I can type them up when I get home. By 7 pm things are getting foggy.

02.02.12       Day 13

Let’s see, things are going well leading morning math. The students are struggling with common factors and knowing what to look for. We’ve been modeling tree diagrams and number lines. During small reading groups the students are still writing constructed responses. Today we scanned their writings in and graded them. It was great to talk about each others writing and discuss strengths and weaknesses. I feel like they are really starting to get what we are looking for for CRT writing. For math we used a great website called that quiz, to practice measuring angles. The students had to get 90% proficient before moving on. Most were able to get the concept quickly. There were a few students who needed a little extra help. We came up with questions to ask ourselves before measuring. These were; is the angle greater than, less than, or equal to 90 degrees. For others I used scaffolding by saying acute, obtuse, and right angles. We then put our protractors over the angles and looked at our two numbers and decided if we used the bigger or smaller number based on whether or angles was acute or obtuse. After math Mary had to leave for an appointment, so I had the class for about thirty minutes. We did a CPS clicker quiz on the story we read the day before. It was good for me to work with the kids one-on-one and it went better than I had anticipated. Things got a little hectic right before lunch. I learned it’s sometimes better to end earlier and be organized than to rush it and have frantic students. In the afternoon we build geodesic domes for the 100^th day of school. It was a really cool activity. It took the whole afternoon, which surprised me. 4^th graders still are working on motor skills like rolling and taping. All our domes turned out great! 

02.03.12       Day 14

Nothing out of the ordinary today. Mary lead most of the lessons while I assisted students. We had our weekly class meeting before lunch because I had to leave early today. It was interesting to hear what is concerning the kids. Mostly we have problems with fairness during games at recess and curse words being said.

Week Four

 

02.06.12

Today was my first formal observation so Mary and I planned a really

great math/art lesson. I was a little nervous before hand but once I started things were fine. It’s good to have that feeling sometimes to remind ourselves what it is like for the students. In the lesson we talked about polygons, measuring, and rotations or turns. About five minutes into the lesson I was thinking, “crap, this is way too hard for these kids. I did a terrible job explaining how to measure,”. So we stepped back and tried re-explaining how to measure using a Smartboard ruler. This time a few more kids got it, but not enough. Again I paused the activity, for those who were struggling, and tried a different explanation. After that it was one-on-one. Our first few rectangles were rough and wonky. By the second set of rectangles the kids were mostly getting the concept and some were making connections to symmetry, and creating their own strategies for estimating whether scrap paper would work or if it was too small. In the end our banners turned out AWESOME! I loved this project, the kids were excited and saying how much better it was than math. HA, little did they realize we had been doing math for and hour and half! Things I learned include: 1. do not assume anything. Have kids repeat the directions a million times in their own words. 2. Read ALL the directions with the students before you start the activity. They will not do this on their own because the project is SOOO cool and they will not want to wait. 3. Simplify unnecessary details, like making a triangle with a base of 3.5 and cutting it in half. Work on only a few concepts, do not overload the lesson.

The rest of the day went smooth. I mostly observed and helped

students individually during reading. More CRT practice and math fact drills.

02.07.12

Co-taught today. Mary and I are getting so efficient that we are becoming unorganized. Did I grade those papers, did she, where did we put them, or were they passed back. It’s great that I can help her so much, however, I am still tentative on how much takeover to do. And it’s on my part. I know Mary is more than ok with any amount I do, but it still feels a little strange. It is her classroom. But it’s not uncomfortable in the least. We both laugh it off. Could have been all the midterm paperwork we passed back today as well. Ugh, so many letters and reminders for the kids to bring home. Math and reading CRT prep went well today. We co-taught the CPS clicker review and I assisted individuals during the math practice. This week is going well.

02.08.12

I got my Praxis results back today and ended up kicking butt! 194!! That’s a big weight lifted. In school this morning I did the usual morning math and picked our small group reading lesson. We only have eight students so Mary and I each took four. It was great to start taking over another subject. The kids were a little wild this afternoon. Something is in the air I guess. We helped the first graders with a power point project in the afternoon. My class really were good mentors and teachers with the little ones. I heard a lot of positive feedback and enjoyment from the activity.

02.09.12

This morning we split our reading group and each taught a four students. There was not a lot of direct instruction but more guided help with editing their constructed responses. There is one girl who plays up a helpless act during our reading group. When I first got to Hedges I fell for it. I did not know our groups were based on ability and ours was above level. Hmmmm, someone did not want to do the work. This girl was in my small group today and her helplessness was so bad I had to walk away for a while. Once I was not at their table anymore she waited a few minutes and then started writing. I know she is capable but it seems like laziness. This trait will be a frustrating one but something to work with and overcome.

02.10.12

We had to head to Havre right after class today for an impromptu visit to my grandparents. Grandpa is getting sick and it was time to check up with them. I did not get a chance to write but it was a pretty standard day. We administered a spelling test, had our class meeting/share time, and worked a few CRT questions.

Week Five

 

02.13.12

I lead more of our lessons today. Mary sort of threw me into our math lesson on making fractions from a whole. It was great! I had an idea of my objectives and why we were teaching this concept. Good flow and questions for the students. It is great that in real teaching you do not have to have a strict lesson format for everything. LOVE IT!! Today Mary and I really clicked. We have been becoming more and more efficient, to the point we stumble over each other a bit, but not in a bad way. More like we both grade something or are overly organized. Today, however, we clicked and were able to flow really well. It was co-teaching at its greatest and it felt really good. I am also understanding how the planning works and feel confident, finally, to contribute to the planning process. This took longer than I had expected. It was all the small time frames we have and how the schedule can change on a daily basis. I am excite for the coming weeks.

02.14.12

Mass chaos today with all the sugar and excitement of Valentines day. Whew, I survived. It was a lot of fun. The students were all very kind and loving to each other. One student who has it fairly rough is coming around to me and the other students. Today was a big deal for her, to have friends and her peers acknowledge her in a positive way was so special. And we seem to have bonded. She wrote me a complement/thank you note today. It’s these moments and impacts that make it worth it, and all the sticky hugs. Mary had to head to the dentist for a quick check so I covered our reading/writing lesson in the afternoon. The lesson went well. It is still my transitions into the lesson that are shaky. The students take a while to realize that I am serious about the activity. But it went well. My flow and timing are getting worked out.

02.15.12

Early out this afternoon so our schedule was all mixed up. On top of that we had to cram in class pictures. I’m not really sure what we even did today, it seemed so scattered. Mostly it was make-up work or finishing small projects that were started a while back. Once the students left we had a staff meeting. It’s always nice to see everyone together. We talked about the levy, class size and potential new school, and planning for CRT weeks. That was a tedious process. I felt lost because I do not have as much history with the students and their ability level/who they work well/not well with. After two and a half hours we did get our groups hashed out and a classroom schedule in place. Bring it on CRT, we are ready.

02.16.12

Another miscellaneous day, this time we went ice fishing. The weather was perfect, all the kids packed warm clothing, and we had a surplus of parent helpers so each group of four or five kids had an adult. Things went really smooth for the most part, only two legs fell through holes and a lot of kids caught fish. But, a few girls got bored and wandered where they shouldn’t be. Mary went on bathroom patrol and found the girls playing basketball in the common area and one little guy had an accident in the washroom. So things on the ice were fine on my watch but I learned to predict the danger/trouble areas and patrol those often. When we got back to school everyone was pooped, including Mary and I so we read aloud and had an easy last hour. It’s great having two of us to grade or prep and read aloud during these mellow times.

02.17.12

Friday was an easy one for us. We played catch up and review in reading and math. It seemed a little pointless to start anything new right before a long weekend and after having such a busy week. We had our spelling test and CRT constructed response writing. I took over the CRT lesson for the first time today. It went really well. Things are flowing well and comfortable. The students give me much more respect than a few weeks ago. Our lunch picnic with one student has really taken off. In the month I’ve been at Hedges she has made huge social strides. She still doesn’t have any close friends but she is getting closer with most of her classmates. It’s been amazing to watch and help her grow. Next week I’ll film one or two of my lessons and review them. Mary and I are still trying to plan what my next observation lesson will be. Prep and planning was lost this week. It was great to see how to wing it and go with the flow. I did not feel lost or confused with all the changes which was good but darn tired after this week. Ready for a long weekend.

Week Six

 

02.20.12

          No school, President’s Day.

02.21.12

          I took one of my absent days for travel.

02.22.12

          Back at it after a long weekend. The students were excited to see me again and I was glad to see them. Pretty mellow day; CRT practice, reading core in Scott Foresman, and fractions math. It took about half the day to get back in the swing of things for Mary and myself. We were scheduled to help the first grade work on power point again in the afternoon. Oops. We were a bit late, but made things work. One fourth grader had a serious meltdown. I attempted to help him at first and get back on track when he was arguing and being down right mean to his first grade partner. The mood didn’t change and by the afternoon I was teaching our reading core so Mary could talk with this kiddo. It’s really great to have both of us so we can give students this one-on-one time. Mary lets me practice handling some situations but there are so cases where it’s better for her to handle it. After school we talked about how it was a bit of a scrambled day, and what made it especially hard was this kid got to her, and me. Most days we can brush it off, but sometimes there is a kid that really gets under you skin for the day. Take it in, help them the best you can, but in the end you sometimes need to walk away.

02.23.12

       Things were looking up for Mary and I today, back on track with our schedule. Mr. B came by this morning and asked to borrow me for thirty minutes to sub in the second grade. This made me feel fantastic and useful. The regular sub had an interview in the building for a fulltime sub position (fingers crossed for her) so he asked me to step in for a few. I loved having the chance to see what another class was like. The kids were so sweet. We came in and got right to work. They were accommodating to me being there. It will be fun at the end of this experience to observe other classes and teachers! The rest of the day went smooth. Small reading group we read about wolves and practiced CRT responses. Math fractions and Scott Foresman in the afternoon. And, we finally started our science CRT. We did this as a class and used it as a study guide not a test. The kids really dug it! I’ll be leading this next week as well.

02.24.12

      Friday came so quick this week, I had way more energy than most weeks. We attended a concert at FHS and the morning flew by. Our class walked to the high school and it was fun to see the kids in a social setting. I really enjoyed listening, talking, and joking with them. The concert was great. We were nervous that the students would get bored and noisy but they kept interest through the whole set. We got back just in time for lunch. A few boys stayed in for our weekly picnic.

      Mary took off after lunch to head to Havre and I took over the rest of the day. We had a sub come in and help with busy work/grading homework. It was awesome to get the class to myself for the afternoon. Things went really well and I felt like I had a good flow, finally. Yes, there were a few parts that I would change looking back, like asking what exactly are the expectations during Great Behavior, but nothing major. The students and I worked well together. I posted the afternoon schedule on the board and that really tends to help me get through the day, especially when we have so many things to do! Our class meeting was nice and we seemed to bond as a class. Yay for Fridays!!!!

      I’m excited for next week. It will be busy, like usual, but we start a unit on the Iditarod and it is Dr. Seuss Day. Fun times in fourth grade.

Week Nine

 

03.12.12

Monday went well. There were a lot of sleepy kids and some frustration. Thank goodness CRT is almost over and spring break is in sight. Mondays are a little scattered; Mary and I usually follow a general guideline or the day, figure out where we stand,  and then work out the rest of the weekly schedule. She tends to lead Mondays more than I do. But whatever is best for the kids. I’ll be taking over tomorrow afternoon when Mary goes to the dentist. Should be exciting. We are wrapping up the Iditarod with a writing project. Also this week I am administering small group CRT’s. It’s been good experience but draining. I never knew how hard it would be to let kids get answers wrong or be confused with a question. It works you mentally. Well, here’s to tomorrow. Wish me luck.

03.13.12

Skipping out on reflecting tonight. Dan and I are going out to dinner.

03.14.12

More of the same today. Small group testing in the morning and Iditarod in the afternoon. I am ready for this to be over. Next week I’ll do more take over, which I am excited for. Hopefully I can kick this cold or it could be a long week.

03.15.12

□ Write a description of how you might use ideas/concepts/strategies learned to address a situation you are currently facing.

□ Compare and contrast how the information presented is similar to or different from the classroom management approaches used in your current classroom.

My classroom management philosophy was confirmed from the readings, especially the Best Practices article. Good management starts with your relationship with the students and the climate of the group. After being in the classroom for about two months now I finally feel confident with my management strategies and uses. I had an ‘ah ha’ moment about a week ago; things were just clicking between the kids and I. We had connected and they were buying into me and what I had to offer. Things that have helped build my strength have been trust and friendship or the classroom climate. From the first day I met my cooperating teacher our philosophies about teaching have meshed. We both believe that a strong classroom community from the get go is what sets the tone for the rest of the year. Everton and Neal in there Best Practices article say, “Building community begins on day one and continues throughout the year.”

However, I am still in turmoil with some aspects of classroom management. When reflecting after a frustrating day I long to have my own classroom and to have established my own procedures and rules. Again, I was just able to identify this frustration a week or so ago but then I realized that it was because I feel ready for my own class and that was a fantastic realization. There are some things that I strongly feel a classroom should have in terms of procedures. There is nothing wrong with the procedures that we have and I will take plenty of good ones with me. However, the way I envision the beginning of the day starting is not the procedure that our students use. It was hard coming in at the midpoint of the school year when all of the management was in place and has been rehearsed. Like the Wong article we rehearse and practice the procedures in our classroom throughout the year and students have the responsibility to remember and follow the class rules. 

Strategies that I plan to use in my class include more group centered and lead activities. Right now we have a lot of individual work and worksheets where the students can discuss the learning at a shallow level. With small, student lead lessons there is a deeper connection being made to the information; prior knowledge is activated, connections are made, and students learn how to work in a social setting at a higher level. “If students mostly work alone, they do not develop socially. Classrooms organized as learning communities take advantage of the social context to give students experience in working collaboratively and developing a sense of responsibility,” (Evertson, Neal). They also have more pride in the work and their learning because there is a greater sense of ownership in the process.

03.16.12

I have today off. My boyfriend and I are going skiing together. Happy Friday!