Our go-to for burning off energy once the morning's lessons are done — open fields, a playground, and enough shade to sit and grade math while they run.
By eleven most days the kids are done sitting still, and this is close enough that 'let's go to the park' doesn't eat the whole afternoon.
We turned spelling practice into a shouting-across-the-field game here, mostly out of desperation, and it stuck.
Nobody complains about spelling anymore. We just go outside.
We started doing spelling words as a running game across the field here. Nobody complains about spelling anymore.
A storefront spot on Main Street with a corner table that's become our regular Tuesday read-aloud-and-coffee stop.