Hello!
Mentoring Monday and Tutoring Tuesday went well. Great conversations were had with my mentors about winter break coming up and successes/challenges they are having with their mentees. Tutoring Tuesday competition is still rolling and students are trying to complete as many worksheets as possible!
On Wednesday and Thursday I had mentor/mentee pairs research different stages of the brain, along with the history of the brain and how it's been studied over the years. There were guided topics for them to search, but they had to do a lot of the heavy lifting. It's always great seeing them work together to complete these tasks and what roles they take on.
No Fun Friday was just a couple team building games to keep their energy high and to stay on track for finishing the semester on a good note.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Monday, December 18, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
The Weekly Ranum: Edition #16
Hello!
Last week flew by with students learning more information on the brain.
On Mentor Monday I have the mentors doing a quick research project on any hobby or interest that they have. They will use this research to teach the class more about their self interests.
Tutoring Tuesday is still paired up competition. Mentors and Mentees are working together to complete as much homework and worksheets as possible to earn as many points as possible before Winter Break. Winning pair will get a wicked awesome high five from me, or candy.
On Wednesday and Thursday we watched a PBS documentary that talked about the teenage brain. We had great conversations and students in most classes could relate to how the teens were acting in the film.
We closed out the week by watching Brain Games. That was definitely a more fun way for students to learn why our brains act certain ways at different times.
Thanks for reading!
Last week flew by with students learning more information on the brain.
On Mentor Monday I have the mentors doing a quick research project on any hobby or interest that they have. They will use this research to teach the class more about their self interests.
Tutoring Tuesday is still paired up competition. Mentors and Mentees are working together to complete as much homework and worksheets as possible to earn as many points as possible before Winter Break. Winning pair will get a wicked awesome high five from me, or candy.
On Wednesday and Thursday we watched a PBS documentary that talked about the teenage brain. We had great conversations and students in most classes could relate to how the teens were acting in the film.
We closed out the week by watching Brain Games. That was definitely a more fun way for students to learn why our brains act certain ways at different times.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, December 4, 2017
The Weekly Ranum: Edition #15
Hello and welcome back to the Weekly Ranum!
Mentoring Monday and Tutoring Tuesday went great last week. Students came back from Thanksgiving break excited and with a little extra energy.
On Wednesday we learned more about the brain, we went over a lot of definitions and the students did a wonderful job of asking questions and trying to understand what each part of the brain actually does.
On Thursday and Friday students worked on their brain projects. Each mentor and mentee pair was assigned a different vocab word and they had to create a super hero based off of it. Their super heroes super powers were based off of what that function of the brain excelled at. For example, the hippocampus' main function is memory so a super power could be the ability to remember everything that's ever happened. Here's a couple student examples:
It was a great week learning about the brain. Tune in next week! Thanks!
Mentoring Monday and Tutoring Tuesday went great last week. Students came back from Thanksgiving break excited and with a little extra energy.
On Wednesday we learned more about the brain, we went over a lot of definitions and the students did a wonderful job of asking questions and trying to understand what each part of the brain actually does.
On Thursday and Friday students worked on their brain projects. Each mentor and mentee pair was assigned a different vocab word and they had to create a super hero based off of it. Their super heroes super powers were based off of what that function of the brain excelled at. For example, the hippocampus' main function is memory so a super power could be the ability to remember everything that's ever happened. Here's a couple student examples:
It was a great week learning about the brain. Tune in next week! Thanks!
Monday, November 20, 2017
The Weekly Ranum: Edition #14
Hello!
Our motto this past week was Attitude of Gratitude. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I knew giving thanks and being grateful was much needed and an excellent addition to the YESS curriculum.
Mentoring Monday and Tutoring Tuesday went well. We're still talking about leaders on Monday and students were focused on catching up on missing work on Tuesday.
On Wednesday we created huge lists of everything that we are thankful for. Ranging from friends and family, all the way to the roof over our heads and being able to have possessions. On Thursday we used this list to create giant THANKSgiving Turkey's. Students picked the top 3 things they were most thankful for and those were the feathers. Inside the turkey, students explained WHY they were thankful for these things in their lives. These students did an excellent job of self-reflection and being grateful for the things they have.
On Friday we finished up the Turkey's and watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving to cap off a great week of Attitude of Gratitude!
Have a great Thanksgiving break and enjoy this time with family and friends!
Our motto this past week was Attitude of Gratitude. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I knew giving thanks and being grateful was much needed and an excellent addition to the YESS curriculum.
Mentoring Monday and Tutoring Tuesday went well. We're still talking about leaders on Monday and students were focused on catching up on missing work on Tuesday.
On Wednesday we created huge lists of everything that we are thankful for. Ranging from friends and family, all the way to the roof over our heads and being able to have possessions. On Thursday we used this list to create giant THANKSgiving Turkey's. Students picked the top 3 things they were most thankful for and those were the feathers. Inside the turkey, students explained WHY they were thankful for these things in their lives. These students did an excellent job of self-reflection and being grateful for the things they have.
On Friday we finished up the Turkey's and watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving to cap off a great week of Attitude of Gratitude!
Have a great Thanksgiving break and enjoy this time with family and friends!
Monday, November 13, 2017
The Weekly Ranum: Edition #13
Hello!
I first want to thank all of the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our rights and freedoms. Thank you Veteran's and current military personnel!
On Mentor Monday we started researching potential leaders in history that you don't really hear too much about. Mentors are gathering information on these leaders and we're going to dive in and see the impact these people had on history.
Tutoring Tuesday went well. The mentees and mentors did an excellent job of staying on task and catching up in other classes.
On Wednesday the 8th grade mentors took their PSAT's at Westminster High School. It was a long exam but I heard awesome reports about Ranum students especially. I let the 6th graders and 7th grade mentors get a head start on t-shirt designs. They were super excited and came up with some great designs.
On Thursday we had everyone working on t-shirt designs. This may be the most creative year yet!
On Friday I had all students work on Veteran's Day cards. Giving thanks to those who defend this country is a small way we can give back and make them feel appreciated. One of my mentors' grandfather is a part of a VFW so I gave her a lot of the cards to deliver to them.
Overall, another great week and this is the last week before Turkey break! Thanks for reading!
I first want to thank all of the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our rights and freedoms. Thank you Veteran's and current military personnel!
On Mentor Monday we started researching potential leaders in history that you don't really hear too much about. Mentors are gathering information on these leaders and we're going to dive in and see the impact these people had on history.
Tutoring Tuesday went well. The mentees and mentors did an excellent job of staying on task and catching up in other classes.
On Wednesday the 8th grade mentors took their PSAT's at Westminster High School. It was a long exam but I heard awesome reports about Ranum students especially. I let the 6th graders and 7th grade mentors get a head start on t-shirt designs. They were super excited and came up with some great designs.
On Thursday we had everyone working on t-shirt designs. This may be the most creative year yet!
On Friday I had all students work on Veteran's Day cards. Giving thanks to those who defend this country is a small way we can give back and make them feel appreciated. One of my mentors' grandfather is a part of a VFW so I gave her a lot of the cards to deliver to them.
Overall, another great week and this is the last week before Turkey break! Thanks for reading!
Monday, November 6, 2017
The Weekly Ranum: Edition #12
Hello! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Here's an update from Ranum:
Mentoring Monday was more laid back this past week. We discussed how mentees reacted to the Trust Bridge and if we have seen any changes in their behavior and actions. Mentors saw some small improvements but realize this will take time.
Tutoring Tuesday was a little thrown off because of an anti-bullying assembly. It sounded like a great assembly, but I had to stay back with my classes because they were called out by grade.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was all about fear and how it effects us all differently. We created lists of our deepest fears, read articles on how to deal with fear and even watched a short (20 min) and spooky film that definitely gave everyone at least a little scare. We had many great discussions of how fear can be good or bad depending on the situation.
Overall it was another great week! Thanks for reading!
Mentoring Monday was more laid back this past week. We discussed how mentees reacted to the Trust Bridge and if we have seen any changes in their behavior and actions. Mentors saw some small improvements but realize this will take time.
Tutoring Tuesday was a little thrown off because of an anti-bullying assembly. It sounded like a great assembly, but I had to stay back with my classes because they were called out by grade.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was all about fear and how it effects us all differently. We created lists of our deepest fears, read articles on how to deal with fear and even watched a short (20 min) and spooky film that definitely gave everyone at least a little scare. We had many great discussions of how fear can be good or bad depending on the situation.
Overall it was another great week! Thanks for reading!
Monday, October 30, 2017
The Weekly Ranum: Edition #11
Hello and welcome back to the Weekly Ranum!
On mentor Monday I had the mentors create a TRUST acronym for them and their mentees. They were also in charge of rating on a scale of 1-10 how much they trust their mentee and how much they believe their mentee trusts them. They had to explain why and give examples of why they chose their respective rating number.
Tutoring Tuesday focused on getting students caught up in all their classes. We just had conferences so students were pretty aware of what they were missing and what they needed to work on.
On Wednesday, students finished up their trust bridges. It was fun to see all their creative projects and their hard work paying off. They were all very proud of their bridges.
Thursday, we talked about the difference between a ritual and a routine. Most students were aware of their routines but rituals was harder to conceptualize and apply to their current lives. They enjoyed putting a why to their routines and how it made them feel. Some students were honest about zoning out being on their phones or watching TV and put in some action steps towards not wasting so much time doing those activities.
No Fun Friday was Halloween Charades. Some funny examples were Frankenstein mowing the lawn, a witch getting her hair done and a zombie going through a McDonald's drive thru. Students loved it and everyone ended up participating.
On mentor Monday I had the mentors create a TRUST acronym for them and their mentees. They were also in charge of rating on a scale of 1-10 how much they trust their mentee and how much they believe their mentee trusts them. They had to explain why and give examples of why they chose their respective rating number.
Tutoring Tuesday focused on getting students caught up in all their classes. We just had conferences so students were pretty aware of what they were missing and what they needed to work on.
On Wednesday, students finished up their trust bridges. It was fun to see all their creative projects and their hard work paying off. They were all very proud of their bridges.
Thursday, we talked about the difference between a ritual and a routine. Most students were aware of their routines but rituals was harder to conceptualize and apply to their current lives. They enjoyed putting a why to their routines and how it made them feel. Some students were honest about zoning out being on their phones or watching TV and put in some action steps towards not wasting so much time doing those activities.
No Fun Friday was Halloween Charades. Some funny examples were Frankenstein mowing the lawn, a witch getting her hair done and a zombie going through a McDonald's drive thru. Students loved it and everyone ended up participating.
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