Math Congress: Space for everyone to get on and off the subway

Math Congress is a structure that we use often at Opal School in which children are invited to communicate their thinking, their strategies, their solutions, “aha” moments, and proofs to their mathematical community. As teachers, even with the clearest of intentions, Math Congress requires us to embrace uncertainty as we are never completely sure what …

Pressing the Reset Button

As teachers we are continuously reflecting upon promoting healthy and productive classroom cultures.  In designing experiences for children, we consider what we know about optimal learning conditions; those that are high challenge and low risk, those that invite students to experience a state of relaxed alertness. Often times at Opal School, we find that working …

Finding mystery and surprise in familiar places

While exploring the art of letterboxing over the past couple of weeks, we began to think more deeply about riddles, clues and puzzles.  Earlier this week, we invited children to wonder what puzzles, clues and riddles might we find in the arboretum.  Would it be possible to find elements of mystery and surprise in such …