RAMbler Blog

Each year about this time, I look back to evaluate if I’ve help to make Math relevant to my students. Can they see where Math ties into their daily lives? Have I been able to relate as many topics as possible to what they will do as adults? Have I recognized the challenges that Math brings? What changes can I make for next year? 

To keep students engaged, I use sayings (KeepAddOpposite), show motions (rise over run), and do projects that relate to the Math concepts we have been learning. We don't shy away from those "real world" word problems. We tackle them head on because at the end of the day, Math is a puzzle. It has to be taken step by step. What is the first step? What is the next step? And so on. What pieces fit together? Why are there steps?  There are steps so that we get the same result as anyone else that might work through that same problem. A baker wouldn't throw all the ingredients for a cake into a pan and bake it. He or she has to follow the recipe and measure the right ingredients. Does the recipe need to be doubled? So many questions. That is why we follow a process. There might be a step or two we can interchange, but in the end, we end up with the same final product.

Below are just some of the ways we tie in Math to the "real world."

If I could make a holiday, it would be called The Best Day Ever. We would play soccer, watch movies and eat watermelon. ~ Sam

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Stuffed Animal Day. You and your family take one of your stuffed animals and show it to each other. You sleep with that stuffed animal all night. ~ Caroline

My holiday would be called Blue Day. On Blue Day, we would wear blue. We would eat blue cake, and we would eat blue cupcakes and, in the morning, we would eat blue pancakes. ~ Auggie

My holiday would be called Colored Pencil Day. On Colored Pencil Day we can only write with colored pencils. ~ Isabella

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Donut Holiday. I will invite my friends, and we will eat donuts. After that we will go outside and play games. Then we will go inside to make crafts. ~ Leah

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Football Sunday. You would go to a football game. You would pick a team, if they win, you go to the next game. You keep going until the finals. Who do you think is going to win? ~ Fitz

My holiday would be called Toy Day. On Toy Day, we would bring a toy to school, and we would take it everywhere! ~ Rosemary

My holiday would be called Ice Cream Day. On this day, we would eat ice cream, and we would play with a lot of toys and have a lot of fun. ~ Cooper

My holiday would be called Pupintins Day. On Pupintins Day we would rescue puppies. ~ Adelyn

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Flower Day. You will buy flowers and decorate your house with flowers. ~ Tatiana

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Winter Snowy Day. On Winter Snowy Day our family would go outside and have fun in the snow. There would be baby animals everywhere. ~ Olivia

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Rainbow Day. We will celebrate it by making rainbows and unicorns and bunnies. We will dance and listen to music. My friends and my family would celebrate with me. ~ Georgia

My holiday would be called Donut Day. ~ Jeremiah

My holiday would be called Ice Cream Day. On Ice Cream Day, we would eat ice cream. ~ Giovanni G.

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Swim Day. You would swim all day. Also, you can not swim without a lifeguard. ~ Vayda

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Antsmas. It’s when you go looking for queen ants. The dates would be from March 27th-June 29th. ~ Thomas

My holiday would be National My Singing Monsters (MSM) Day. On National MSM Day, every currency pack on MSM would be Free! The prism gate would be open for 30 days! You would bake a monster cake. Ingredients: flour, sugar, green frosting and butter. 1. Put flour in a bowl (add water). 2. Add sugar. 3. Bake for 30 minutes. 4. Put on one slice of butter after one minute. 5. Add frosting around. ~ Jackson

My holiday would be called Rainbow Holiday. On Rainbow Holiday, we would wear rainbow clothes. ~ Collins

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Footballsaurus. On Footballsaurus, dinosaurs play football for 50,000 hours. ~ James

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Swinter. On Swinter, we would get on a snowy hill and slide down and go into a pit of leaves. We would get hot chocolate and watch a movie. Then we would go to bed. Good night. ~ Faith

My holiday would be Candy Fun Day. On Candy Fun Day we would get lots of candy even more than Halloween. We would sing Christmas songs because all the candy is like all the presents from Santa. ~ Wyatt

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Lunchable Holiday. On that day, everyone eats Lunchables. ~ Drew

My holiday would be Free Ice Cream Day! It would be on April 16th. ~ Hunter

My holiday would be Tiger Day. ~ Celia

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Candy Friday. You would go to your friend’s house until you pass out. ~ Gus

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Flowers. I can make flowers grow. I love flowers. ~ Liz

My holiday would be called Four Day. We would put up balloons and fours on Four Day. ~ Millie

My holiday would be Art Day where you make lots of crafts. Then they all go on display for everyone to look at. ~ Davis

My holiday would be called iPad Day. ~ Giovanni B.

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Video Game Day. You get to play video games and the date would be the 3rd of March. This holiday started in 2014. ~ Wren

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Infinite Loop Day. You get to do whatever you want to do. It lasts the entire winter. You would get to say whatever you want. You could eat whatever you want. ~ Ben

My holiday would be called Happy Love Day. On Happy Love Day we would be kind to each other. ~ Ella

My holiday would be called Fun Day. On Fun Day we would play all day. ~ Finn

If I could make a holiday, it would be called No Sock Day. To celebrate No Sock Day, you do not wear socks or shoes. Next, you have hot cocoa and cookies. ~ Bronwyn

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Longnight Movienight. You will watch movies all night.  Whoever can watch movies for 24 hours is the winner! ~ Henry

My holiday would be a day where parents say yes to kids for 24 hours. Kids choose the food and decorations. ~ Hewitt

My holiday would be Buy a Pet Day! My holiday would be on January 20th. We would buy pets, and we would eat meat for dinner. Breakfast would be pancakes. That is all to make sure you are a good owner. ~ Lena

If I could make a holiday, it would be called Backwards Christmas Day. We would give Santa presents. He gives us a one-dollar bill. Backwards Christmas Day is fun! ~ Charlie

Not a day will go by this year without celebrating something. In the cafeteria we love celebrating national food days.

We've all heard of them from social media feeds, radio or even the Today Show. Where do all these random food holidays originate? Sometimes "National Food Days" are created by a presidential proclamation or a resolution in the House or Senate. On July 9,1984, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation declaring National Ice Cream Day, praising it as a "nutritious and wholesome food". Every Friday is an Ice Cream Day holiday at Holy Rosary!

Other days have been proclaimed on a state, city or county level. Some are local traditions or history related. National Doughnut Day is a massively popular day. Who doesn't love a trip to Gibson's for a free donut? It was originally a day that the Salvation Army served donuts to soldiers on the front line during the first World War.

Some of our more recent National Food Holidays were started to drum up business. Days like National Burger Day and National Guacamole Day give us a reason to celebrate and visit our favorite restaurant.  We love to celebrate, especially with food and friends.

Next month at Holy Rosary we will be celebrating a national food day everyday on our school menu. This gives us some new menu ideas and will be fun for the students and staff. The first week of March we will vote for our own favorite item for March 8th - Holy Rosary Food Day. This day is designated as National Peanut Cluster Day. This doesn't work for our peanut free lunch calendar. I will have the students vote in their homerooms and the winner will be announced the Friday before. I hope the students will enjoy next month's menu and all the fun days of celebrating food at Holy Rosary.

If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that mental health is equally as important as physical health. Throughout this pandemic, we have seen many changes in ours and our children’s world. While children have shown a great deal of resilience and adaptability, it has also opened up the opportunity for some hard and much needed conversations about mental health and the challenges we have faced.

According to the American Psychological Association, one in five children in America have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Even if your child does not have a diagnosable disorder, many children have experienced an uptick in anxiety as routines have continually changed throughout the last two years. It is important to be able to have conversations around mental health with our children. So how do we go about this?

In beginning conversations about mental health, especially with young children, it can be very helpful to relate it to something concrete that they can understand. Thus, it may be helpful to equate it to a medical analogy. For example, if you have a hard time seeing you go talk to the eye doctor to get glasses. Mental health is no different. If you have big feelings that you are struggling with, it is important to talk to someone about it, either mom or dad, or maybe a doctor or counselor. This analogy helps children understand that mental health is just like physical health, and there is nothing wrong with asking for or needing help to deal with it.

It is also important to have frequent conversations about mental health and validate your child’s feelings, thoughts, and concerns. Let them know that it is not their fault and that they are not alone. Then you can work with them to come up with some healthy ways to cope with their feelings such as; music, exercise, set routines, journaling, or drawing. Those tools, validation, and a safe space to discuss how they are feeling may be enough to help them work through any anxiety, fears or sadness they may be facing. However, some children will need more support than mom or dad can provide. In this case, it is useful to reach out to a counselor, either at school or through an outside agency. If you feel that your child would benefit from talking to a professional, a list of some referrals can be found at https://sites.google.com/ holyrosarymemphis.org/counseling-corner/parent/referrals.

If you are unsure whether your child would benefit from counseling here are some things to watch out for according to the National Institute For Mental Health that might indicate that your child is currently experiencing some mental health issues.

Young children may benefit from an evaluation and treatment if they:

• Have frequent tantrums or are intensely irritable much of the time

• Often talk about fears or worries

• Complain about frequent stomach aches or headaches with no known medical cause

• Are in constant motion and cannot sit quietly (except when they are watching videos or playing video games)

• Sleep too much or too little, have frequent nightmares, or seem sleepy during the day

• Are not interested in playing with other children or have difficulty making friends

• Struggle academically or have experienced a recent decline in grades

• Repeat actions or check things many times out of fear that something bad may happen

Older children and adolescents may benefit from an evaluation and treatment if they:

• Have lost interest in things that they used to enjoy

• Have low energy

• Sleep too much or too little or seem sleepy throughout the day

• Are spending more and more time alone and avoid social activities with friends or family

• Diet or exercise excessively, or fear gaining weight

• Engage in self-harm behaviors (such as cutting or burning their skin)

• Smoke, drink, or use drugs

• Engage in risky or destructive behavior alone or with friends

• Have thoughts of suicide

• Have periods of highly elevated energy and activity and require much less sleep than usual

• Say that they think someone is trying to control their mind or that they hear things that other people cannot hear