Well...it's been a while. The last few weeks have been a combination of weird, frustrating, scary, and stressful, but also eye-opening. I don't know about you, but I'm realizing now that there's a lot I took for granted before all of this. Some examples? Getting to see my students in person! Getting to teach in person! Getting to be in my classroom with my students! It's been tough navigating this whole "learning from home" model, and I'm sure that feeling is shared by both students and families alike. I'm doing my best to keep things engaging and meaningful for kids, and I'm grateful for the students who have been putting time and effort into trying them. While I wish that could be all of my students--so that we can stay connected and keep some sense of school "normalcy"--I know that it's a difficult time for everyone. And at the end of the day, it's the health and safety of all of you that is of the utmost importance.

Now, on a lighter note, let's talk Wheel of Fortune. Yes, I mean the game show that's on every night at 7:00 on CBS. I watch it just about every day, and there are times when I'll take photos of an unsolved puzzle (one that relates to a topic we've discussed in class) and challenge my students to solve it. For example, check out this one I took during the national parks themed week. With our big focus on landmarks this year, it was perfect! The reason why I'm rambling on about Wheel of Fortune is because it's a game that centers around words. It sounds silly, but simply tuning into an episode here and there is a good way for kids to remain exposed to word parts and spelling. So, watch Wheel of Fortune!

Another recommendation that I've recently discovered is a channel on Youtube called "Yoga with Adriene". Although I've always liked the idea of yoga, I never really made it a priority for myself. Plus, I felt like I lacked the flexibility and patience needed for yoga. But these views have changed since stumbling upon a "30 Days of Yoga with Adriene" playlist a few weeks ago. She has a TON of different videos of all different lengths and focus areas. They are kid-friendly, easy to follow, and a really positive way of keeping both your brain and body healthy. Click here to check them out! Also, for those students who have an iPad or iPhone, there's an app related to the book Wonder that I just downloaded on my own phone. In class, we enjoyed exploring some of the daily precepts together. Well this app (just search "Daily Wonder" in the app store) has exactly that: a new precept each day, in addition to a little background information about some of the more well-known quotations. I included a photo of today's precept, which I found to be pretty fitting for all that's going on right now...

Now, for the moment the kids have been waiting for...Bucket Filler of the week! I've decided we need to kickstart that routine again. From now on, throughout the week, I'll put the names of students who have filled my bucket into a bowl. You can fill my bucket by regularly putting effort into the daily schoolwork, or turning in an especially impressive assignment, or doing something that stands out in some way. Then at the end of the week, I'll pull out a name. The prize for the Bucket Filler of the week is still undecided, but I have some ideas that we can talk about next time we have a whole class video meeting. Last week, there were several standout students whose name I could've pulled. But the Bucket Filler of the week was....(drumroll please)....Maggie! Maggie has shared several fabulous writings with me and she consistently responds to the Google Classroom posts. I included her Word Cloud to the right as an example of her hard work. AND she even took the time to write me a thoughtful note of gratitude expressing her enjoyment of the daily tasks. Maggie, you've been filling up my bucket a lot lately, so thank you and well done!