Just About 3/4 Done!

Wow! We are just about 3/4 done with the school year! It’s hard to believe, and even harder to believe since it is going to feel like it’s below 0 all day. What an awful winter! As a side note, there has been a higher prevalence of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) due to our extended winter weather, and you may want to talk with your primary care provider if you are feeling more depressive symptoms than normal.

On Friday, I finished up that last career lesson. I had a BLAST teaching these lessons to all grade levels in February. In kindergarten, the students loved being detectives and guessing the careers people had based upon the clothes on their clotheslines. In first grade, we read Weird Al’s silly book about different jobs, and then students were able to pick what they’d like to be. In second grade, we used Chromebooks to navigate the Paws in Jobland website and students were able to read about careers that fit with their interests. Third grade used a paper and pencil career interest inventory, but then used the O’Net website to explore careers in their “career color.” Fourth and fifth graders used the online career interest inventory on pacareerzone.org to explore careers which fit with their interests. It was a blast for all students and for me!

This month, we’re tackling different skills. These “classroom survival skills” range from ignoring distractions and making corrections to asking for help and being prepared. Be sure to ask your student what skills Mrs. Harris talked about this month!

We also added another mindful breathing technique to our repertoire. Each month, students learn a different breathing technique and this month it’s all about the bumblebee breathing. Ask your student which breathing technique is his or her favorite, and have them demonstrate!