This afternoon, 12:00 noon, on PBS take a break from Google Classroom and enjoy Plants Behaving Badly, Murder & Mayhem!  Below is an excerpt from the show!

Dodder Vine Sniffs Out Its Prey

PBS Home Learning Schedule Week of 4/6

Wow, it’s been a week that has lasted four thousand years (hyperbole).

I can’t get over how stressed I feel, but you know, what I feel isn’t anything compared to those who are really battling this pandemic.  I am trying to teach you online.  I am not fighting for someone’s life.  I am trying to learn new online forums.  I am not trying to save someone.  So, in spite of my worries & stress, I loudly proclaim, “My worries are nothing compared to most!”

But I’d still appreciate something heartwarming!  I found this video and adored it!  I mean, really, who can dislike baby animals?  I watched the entire thing and couldn’t decide who was cutest!  Baby crocs?  (Such cute little chirps!). Baby polar bears?  (Ohmylanta!). Baby sloths?  (I thought I’d quit teaching on the spot!).  It’s SO hard to choose!

Yet this is your take-a-way.  ALL OF THESE ARE JOBS!  If you are interested in how cute baby hippos are and how they function in their environments – it’s a job!  Are you looking at baby koalas and wanting to spend time with them – it’s a job!  Baby giraffes?  It’s a job!

Any of these cuties could be your life’s work!  If you focus on your science.  If you reach out to zoos, aquariums, safaris, this could be your life!  Dive into life sciences!  Apprentice with veterinarians!  These dream jobs are not out of your reach!  Start now, Bunch, if this is your passion, start now!  Meanwhile, enjoy!  I still can’t choose who is cutest!

I love you guys, but while I’m happy to share the creative energy & joy that is Mr. Jacobs – you can not expect me to do this for you!  Old lady knees, old lady energy, and old lady taste in music!  😉

Mr. Jacobs

If you run into trouble with Google Classroom, check out this compilation of helpful tutorials!

tutorials

Hello, Bunch!

Seeing you today was my world!  I loved it!

I had some questions after our Zoom meeting about where we should be on our learning plan.  Let me give a bit o’ guidance … these are optional!  Everything changed when the Governor closed the building.  He didn’t close our learning, nor our bunch, we rock!  But, when he changed our calendar, we needed to adapt to it.  And we did!  Why?  Cuz’ we’re the Bunch!  The Official, YOU MUST FOLLOW, plan begins next Monday!  So, I would say, until next Monday, this is your penultimate assignment:  JOURNAL!

1.  You are living in a moment of history.  Journal it!
2.  It could be on paper, online, or in the cloud!
3.  Make it meaningful!  Do not write, “Today I did math, then I did reading, then I went outside.”
4. Journal what exactly you did, who was with you, how did you feel?

Here’s an example:

3/30/2020

Monday, the first full day after Vermont Governor Scott closed our schools.  I am so sad, but this morning I got a chance to see most of my Bunch on a Zoom meeting!  It was so awesome!  I met so many pets and they met the pooses and rabbits!  (Poose = Cinder, Rabbits/Maine Coon Kittens = Natasha (Tasha) & Nikkita (Nikki))  It was great!  I also spent hours learning how to manage Google Classrooms.  Bunch, remember how I would often say you were my guinea pigs?  OH HECK YEAH, you are the ULTIMATE guinea pigs!  I’m so glad it’s you!  I couldn’t think of a better group to learn, adapt, and be flexible than you!  We can do this, Bunch, we can!    Anyway, I spent the day attempting to learn Google Classroom, caught up with a couple of our missing Bunch members, and did laundry, cooked dinner, and made sure the twins practiced cello and bass!  Mr. Buswell worked from home.  He’d chime in when I had a tech problem, I’d chime in when I thought he needed help with a professional attribute problem!  For example, “Do not call something stupid, just describe the issue!”  Anyway, I miss being in Room 182 with you, and my own twins hate their new teacher.  “She’s MEAN.”

“So, there’s that,” to quote Adrianna!

I really liked reading this article!  We were just about ready to begin a science unit on ecosystems and how energy is transferred within the ecosystem.  This is a perfect example of how each member of the ecosystem plays a critical role in keeping it balanced and healthy!

Here’s an example of the energy flow ….

sun, kelp, urchins, otters, decaying matter, enriched substrate (soil), kelp, urchins, otters  …..   🙂

https://superscience.scholastic.com/issues/2017-18/050118/were-still-here.html#860L

It was fabulous seeing you this morning, despite our glitches!

Our next meeting will be Monday morning, remember we’re going to try to show our pets!  (Make sure they’ve had their coffee before the meeting!  🙂 )

Dawn Buswell is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Bunch Meeting #2
Time: Mar 30, 2020 08:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/249176078

Meeting ID: 249 176 078

Check this out … just for fun!

I especially loved the embroidered book and George Washington’s tent!  What about you?

*******     http://www.scholastic.com/beyondthebattlefield/

Virtual Visit

I really loved this New England Aquarium visit!  You know how much I loved having an octopus grab onto my finger and slowly pull my hand towards her den!  Top 10 scuba experience ever!   This is super cool to watch in full screen!

Common Lit is an online reading/assessment site that offers lots of fun texts and questions.  It’s a pretty great site and Summit Fifth had already considered using it prior to our new distance learning.

I’ll be sending out more information, but if you’d like to explore it, just for fun …. our class code is NDDLYL.  As of right now, this is just for fun!

Love ya,

Mrs. B