Fun Non-academic Learning Opportunity

My family is using our time away from school and other activities to rest and enjoy the slower pace. One thing I’ve enjoyed is having time to cook and bake with Willem. He is learning some important life skills! Perhaps your kids are eating c-o-n-s-t-a-n-t-l-y while you’re home, so maybe you have some opportunities to practice these skills.  At the very least, they will know how to prepare a few simple meals beyond ramen, Easy Mac, or PB&J.  At best, they may be able to start preparing a few of those meals or snacks on their own!

Mrs. Ball shared these with me as she has seen a few free online cooking classes for kids that look like fun, so I thought I’d share them here in case you’re looking for something new or interesting to try during your time at home.

$5 Dinners School Cancellation & Kids Cooking Lessons

  • They post videos on the $5 Dinners Facebook and 1:oo PM EST Monday through Friday.
  • You can also access weekly ingredient/shopping lists and each of their videos at any time using the link above.
  • These are mostly main dish options.

Delish Free Digital Cooking Classes for Kids

  • They post live on the Delish Instagram page at 1:00 PM EST Monday through Friday.
  • Videos remain on Instagram for 24 hours, but if you miss the videos, you can still access the recipes and ingredient lists using the link above.
  • These include main dishes, appetizers, snacks, sweets…a little bit of everything!

Baking Loaves with Little Ones

  • This website is from a baker that follow on social media
  • Includes a recipe for “Kindergarten Wheat” bread- a very easy and approachable bread recipe for families and kids!

Happy cooking!

Students, if you try something, send me an email to let me know what you made and how it turned out. Below are a few pictures of us in the kitchen cooking and baking away! One could say we are stress eating our way through this pandemic but I’d rather call intermittent feasting!  🙂

Mr. Cooley

Willem waiting patiently for Chocolate Chip Cookies to cool!

Cast iron deep dish pizza! Think: homemade Jets!

One of my favorite hobbies is sourdough bread baking! I’ve been practicing and perfecting the process!

Willem was very excited about the pizza!

Homemade chicken noodle soup-with homemade sourdough bread!

Links to some videos!

IMG_6855 IMG_7063 IMG_7021 IMG_6833

Happy Cooking!

FlipGrid Fun!

Hi friends,

I already miss your sweet faces, and I am so excited to tell you that Mrs. Wysocki & Mrs. Ball shared an idea that I love! It is called FlipGrid, and it’s a private spot where I can post short videos, or grids, on topics, and you can respond with your own short videos. I’m looking forward to posting some fun ideas for keeping busy and entertained while we’re not in school, and maybe even learning a little at the same time.

Check out our class FlipGrid! You will need to log in to access our grids.

**When logging into FlipGrid, be sure to use your child’s school account. The grids are private to protect privacy so only accounts using @hpsstudents.net will work**

From the app, scan this QR code to access our grids.

What’s Coming Up – Week of March 16-20

What’s coming up?  That is a great question! Like many of you, I would have never expected that our week would have ended the way it did.  We are in uncharted territory, and our district leaders are working tirelessly to determine the best course of action in an unusual situation.  It is my understanding that the district will be communicating with families soon about guidelines for at-home learning.

For now, I am putting together some resources and will be sharing these via GOOGLE CLASSROOM. Your child should have an email in their inbox from me inviting them to access my digital classroom.  Here, I will try to encourage some sense of community.  We’ll start slow as we learn the ropes this week.  I’ve already posted a digital journal and a link to an inspiring TED talk about creativity and innovation during extreme times…sound familiar? 🙂 View it as a family when you get a chance and have some conversation about how and why amazing and beautiful things can happen from struggle.

I am waiting to hear more from the district on plans, and have some ideas of my own. Currently, starting Monday, March 16, at 9:00 AM, I’ll post a DAILY SHEET for each day with a few “to-dos” that will help give a little guidance towards academics.  Everything posted will be encouraged, however, only optional.  All activities are meant to be worked on at your child’s pace and wherever fits into your day.  I will try to keep things as simple as possible, but if you need clarification on anything, PLEASE reach out.

The whole idea is to start establishing and learning a framework from which to function.  I want to have a link to our class community for when you/your child need it.

Mrs. Reagan shared a some ideas on the Georgetown Elementary blog. If you’re on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen similar ideas. You could adapt sample schedules/routines according to the number and ages of children in your family. In the meantime, keep watching our blog for updates.

Be safe and healthy.

Mr. Cooley

What’s Coming Up – Week of March 9-13, 2020

Miscellaneous

  • Parent-Teacher Conferences (Monday, March 9 & Wednesday, March 11)
      • Please see the link with the Spring parent-teacher conference schedule HERE
  • Scholastic Book Fair March 9-13 Our class’s preview day is Tuesday, March 10 and our shopping day is Thursday, March 12.
  • Show off your 5th grade spirit! Join us in wearing our 5th grade shirts every Friday
  • Important Dates for Fifth Grade Document

March 6 – Early release

March 9 – Baldwin Street Middle School Visit 10:30-2:10 (Mrs. Walenta’s class only)

March 10 – Baldwin Street Middle School Visit 10:30-2:10 (Mrs. Wysocki’s class only)

March 11 – Baldwin Street Middle School Visit 10:30-2:10 (Mrs. Ball and Mr. Cooley’s classes only)

Math:

  • We are beginning unit 6, Operations and Word problems.
  • Students should be completing MobyMax Fact Fluency practice at home for five minutes per day unless they have mastered all math facts.

ELA:

  • We’re beginning a test prep unit, which is a review of topics covered in 5th grade.
  • Students should be reading for 20 minutes each night and filling out the reading log.

Science: 

  • We’re continuing our unit: Go With the Flow which investigates invasive species and their impact on our waterways.

Social Studies:

  • We are continuing our fifth unit, Road to Revolution. We will be examining the events that led to the colonists declaring independence from Britain.

Check this out!

We went to see the Grand Rapids Symphony perform in Holland! We had a great time listening to beautiful music!