Two Weeks Down, Two to Go

Third graders are crazy. Did you know that?
They run away, they do anything to get out of going to class, and they make themselves throw-up to get attention.
Luckily, we get four weeks to be with them and try to work on the 8 or so years that they have developed these behaviors.
It sure has been great though working as a rover this session. I get to know all of the kids in the classroom and teach a math group and reading group. In reading group we are reading Sammy Keyes and The Hotel Thief. The girls are always asking to read more for homework... although when it gets to the end of the day and they have a lot of other homework, they rethink it :) They are the second highest reading group at camp though, so it is fun working on different skills. We talked about Figurative Language last week and learned about Similes and Metaphors. Next week we will talk about onomatopoeias and idioms. My math group is another story. They are one of the lowest groups and are not excited about math in any sense of the word. I told them that I was going to make our math group "fun" and they had no idea how I could do it. I'm not sure how I can do it either, but I'm trying to think of anything I can. :) They are a precious group of kids though, and I just hope I can help them like math a little bit more than before. Next week we are going to work on Place Value. I have a cool NBA worksheet that I hope they will enjoy.
Speaking of next week, we get to go on a Field Trip to the Pulaski County Courthouse. It should be a lot of fun/ pretty hectic for all of us adults involved. Anyway, the kids have been doing computer research about courts during the week. Using computers at camp is a part of a grant that we received from Hole-in-the-Wall. The kids have really enjoyed it, and it is great introducing them to using a computer. Although I am much more in favor of spending time in the outdoors, it is extremely important for them to be introduced to technology because it will benefit them in the future when they need to write papers on the computer and research for school. And it's only one hour out of the whole week.
 Well, we've got some hard work ahead of us with these kids. We all recognize though that with the kids that are the tough ones, we get the chance to make the most difference. We sat in staff meeting yesterday afternoon and came up with some really cool and creative ways to help certain kids we have right now. It was inspiring and I am excited for the next couple weeks.

for.the.kids