TEN -- Playing to improve confidence and familiarity with number facts. In arithmetic, complete familiarity and accuracy with basic number facts is important, so as an early grades teacher I played number games with students whenever there was a spare moment. The children studied number relationships while they had fun with each other, and numbers appeared all day long, in so many friendly ways relevant to our activities. One of my more formal tools was the game of TEN, developed years ago when I was in Arizona and my class was in the fractious fourth grade year. I needed group activities to help develop social skills while we practiced academic skills, and I designed as many lessons as possible to include some kind of good-humored student interaction. TEN grew out of that time, a card game designed for students to practice with number facts. The game requires independent calculation, but camaraderie permeates the atmosphere because the more people there are …READ MORE >
BACK FORTY REPORT
Afternoons I wear many hats, but mornings I get to be a farmer. The job pays nothing, indeed it costs money, but the rewards are priceless. Yesterday, glimmery, gloriously light and cool, and the sun smiled on the work of many spiders. They must have been working all night, creating mystical magical receivers in…READ MORE >
The Rule of Law
Environmental Lawyers are at work in 2018 to exercise and strengthen the laws that protect earth. A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats. –Benjamin Franklin I’ve heard a lot of lawyer jokes. I’ve read some history and enjoyed conversation with friends and family who practice law, and I know…READ MORE >
The Hens
Looking back, I see that not all the data was fully in when Michael and I decided to move to Virginia. We had factored in a lot of things as we considered the move, with water and garden spot two important considerations. People, of course. What we hadn’t anticipated was the ticks, the wood ticks…READ MORE >
Environmental Action
Interesting thing about internet news – a headline can catch your attention, and then you can follow links in all directions and find that things mentioned are not always what they seem. The reports of the Water Protector actions in South Dakota caught my eye, and the arrest of Red Fawn Fallis felt particularly poignant.…READ MORE >
