As a teacher I have some days where everything is carefully planned and goes according to schedule. I have other days when things are somewhat, well, improvised. Today was supposed to be the first kind of day. I was so well-prepared I was bursting with pride. And then we had a surprise and everything was juggled after that.
But it was a most pleasant surprise. About 9:25 a young woman came in and told me that we were ten minutes late. "For what?" I replied. She told me that she was from the California Dance Institute and that they were starting their residency with the fourth grade classes this week. I was more than surprised. The last any of the fourth grade teachers knew this program had been canceled as part of the current round of budget cuts. But who am I to question such good fortune. So we stopped reading the Open Court story and trotted over to the auditorium.
What a great program this is going to be! The California Dance Institute is part of a nationwide program called the National Dance Institute. You can read more about it on their website. We had two young energetic teachers. Best of all, they had a pianist to work with them. Having a real musician improvising accompaniment is way better for dance instruction than dealing with a boom box and CD's.
The rest of the day was a little out of order, but it was fine. We went to Tech Center where Ms. Richards and Mrs. Koneff battled faulty internet connections to teach the students about the digital library and the on-line card catalog. We skipped PE, but did finish reading "Medicine: Past and Present". We also correct homework, read another chapter of Island of the Blue Dolphins, finished our first read-though of Gold Dust or Bust, and learned about using scale on a map to determine distance.
Homework: (1) Do the spelling crossword. (2) Complete the study questions on story. (3) Do the map distances exercise. (4) Do "Zero," Math, pp 266-267, #13-59, odd only.
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