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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Tuesday & Wednesday

A major change has happened in our classroom... We don't turn the lights on!!   There are lamps around the classroom for children to work in brighter light and many dark quiet places to work alone.  I learned of this technique at the workshop I went to last week to help build a calmer classroom.  I am amazed at how this one simple change is making such a big difference!  Ask your child if they prefer to work in bright or dim places.  The kids know what they need for different activities-Another way they are in charge of their learning.  
I'll have to take some pictures of small groups of kids working together on the floor around a lamp-They seem so comfortable and cozy. 

We've been talking, reading and working on activities about snow.  Ask your child to tell you about the snowman poem.. What happened to the carrot!?
Finishing up our snowman art project... 
For Writing and Social Studies, the kids worked on writing "I notice" sentences about three different maps-a map of the world and two maps of Africa.  Today the kids added some pages about things they have learned about Africa so far regarding music, food and the marketplace. 

During Math, the kids have been reviewing some partner math games.
Practicing how to find a missing addend.

Last two days of Scratch Jr! Sharing our game programs!! 

Readers' Workshop could go on ALL day in our classroom.... Today the kids wouldn't put their books away! 

Making invitations to our Winter Celebration.. See you on Friday!! :)



Monday, December 16, 2013

Monday 12/16

Make sure you stop by our interactive bulletin board- bring a QR Reader or borrow one of our iPads.

Helping each other on a tricky new type of story problem.. Figuring out the missing addend! 
A new math game:



2 iMovies

Spent a snowy morning at home...making some iMovies for all of you!
Enjoy!

End of November Video

Saturday, December 14, 2013

From my family to yours....



Photo Card
View the entire collection of cards.

Friday 12/13

This morning the kids started with Finish Up & Practice Time.  Everyone was so busy and independent.  Ask your child what they worked on.

A new end of the week writing activity- writing about your favorite memory of school that week.  The kids are so excited it will be posted on Kidblog so they can receive comments.  We were short on time so most children didn't get to publish a picture.  Check them out!!  Unfortunately the internet wasn't cooperating so quite a few didn't get published yet...

I was very sad to see that some kids were not including others during Friday Fun time.  We had some silent time together to think about what we should do in this situation--remembering back to Open Circle earlier this week.  I stressed how important it is to Be Kind in our classroom.  Please have a discussion at home with your child to remind them of this most important classroom rule.  
I read part of How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods.  We'll finish the rest of it next week.
How would you feel if you were left out?

Check out this important and catchy Pause and Think Online Song.  We shared it with our fifth grade buddies and then did a fun and messy winter craft.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Proud of our work at word time.

This is our letter train.  We worked together. It goes from A all the way to Z.  

John Rand Aki and Andrew helped make all of these words.  Wow! 

These girls worked together to practice glued sounds.  Check- you're right!! 

Gianna worked hard to make these words. 





Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Weekend Writing posts are up!

The *challenge* this week was to write 5 sentences..... AND try to add capital letters at the beginning of sentences and punctuation at the end.

Check out this week's posts and don't forget to leave comments.  The kids LOVE reading them!

Have a great day :)

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Tuesday 12/10

Another short day.. I'm looking forward to a regular full week!

The kids started their morning with Finish Up... Wow! Everyone was so busy for a whole hour!
Ask your child to tell you one thing they did to follow our classroom rule of Work Hard.

Most kids now have XtraMath on their home screens of their iPads.. Great way to practice math facts.

Scratch Jr today focused on a new block-bumping one character into another to make it begin doing something... It sure is getting trickier :)

I'll be at a workshop tomorrow in Rhode Island. The focus is maintaining a calm classroom.. I'm looking forward to learning some new techniques.  See you all on Thursday!

**We'll be visiting the Book Fair on Thursday... If you would like your child to purchase any books, please send money ($5-$10 per book) in a labelled baggie.
Visiting Times:
Wednesday: Family Book Night, 6-8pm
Thursday: 6-8pm during teacher conferences

Friday: 8:15-8:45am & 2:15-3:00pm

Open Circle- Including Others/Cooperating

Dear Family:
The topic of one of our recent Open Circle lessons was including one another. We talked about how it feels to be left out and why it is good to include others at recess, during free play time at school, and in the classroom. We did some role plays about finding ways to include others. Perhaps you could share with your child a time when you were left out and how it made you feel. Ask your child if he/she has ever been excluded or noticed that other children were left out. Encourage your child to find
ways to include children who want to join in an activity or a group at play.
In another Open Circle, we talked about cooperating, or working together to get something done. We discussed what we can do to cooperate in the classroom, on the playground, in the lunchroom, and at other times during the day at school. We also talked about why it is important to cooperate and what can be hard about cooperating. Ask your child what he/she does to cooperate with his/her classmates at school. Find opportunities at home for your child to cooperate to get something done, and compliment him/her on good cooperation. Encourage your child to cooperate with other children in activities and groups outside of school.

Literature Connections
Here are some books that relate to the topics we discussed in Open Circle. You might want to check out one or two at the library and read with your child:
Hills, Tad. Duck and Goose. Schwartz and Wade Books, 2006.
A duck and a goose squabble over the ownership of what they think is an egg. They work together to care for their “egg” until they discover that they are taking care of a soccer ball!
Howe, James. Horace and Morris, but Mostly Dolores. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1999. 
Three friends try to decide which club to join. One club is “boys only,” the other “girls only.” Horace, Morris, and Dolores don’t like the idea of leaving anyone out, so they form their own club which includes boys and girls. 
Keller, Holly. Help! A Story of Friendship. Greenwillow, 2007.
Mouse’s friends cooperate to find a way to rescue Mouse when he falls into a hole. 
Lionni, Leo. It’s Mine! Dragonfly, 1996.
Three frogs bicker and squabble about many things until heavy rain and the resulting threat to the frogs’ safety force them to cooperate.

Monday 12/9

Reminder: 11:15 Dismissal on Tuesday 

Reader's Workshop- reading strategies

Math: measurement 
How many paper clips long?
Is it longer or shorter than your pencil?
Using a ruler, how many inches long is it? Snap a picture on your iPad. 


Sunday, December 8, 2013

Friday 12/6

Sorry for the late post... I'm still feeling under the weather.  Hoping my voice is back tomorrow morning!

Friday was a very short day!
Reader's Workshop, Great Body Shop, Fundations (glued sounds: am, an, all), Friday Fun, and Scratch Jr.
Hope everyone had a nice weekend :)

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Thursday 12/5

The kids learned about an exciting project we are doing with another class---virtually!!!   We are going to create a math book all about 10 and share it with the other class.  They will send a book to us!  Finally we'll get to Skype and talk about math strategies and get to know each other.  We are REALLY excited!!! :)

Reader's Workshop went so smoothly today.  The kids had time to read with a buddy from their reading bag.

We watched Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears  Video
Ask your child to complete these phrases which they wrote and draw about today:
In the beginning...
Then...
From that day on...

Great Body Shop: Focus on medicine.  We'll finish up tomorrow and then send home the magazine.

Wed 12/4

***REMINDER: 11:15 DISMISSAL ON FRIDAY!!***

We had a blast at the Discovery Museum yesterday!  Please see the note below with a link for a FREE pass to visit the museum as a family.  Video coming soon :)

Dear Parent,

Today your child made an important discovery while exploring The Discovery Museums in Acton,Massachusetts. She or he LOVES science! We want to build on this enthusiasm for learning by giving your child the opportunity to be a personal Discovery Museums guide for your family and friends.

We have created a short student survey that will help your child process and share today’s experience with you while providing the Museums with valuable feedback. As our thanks for participating, we will send you a free admission pass to The Museums. A repeat visit with family members is an empowering opportunity for your child. Learning is fun and sharing new knowledge leads to even greater understanding.

Please click here http://tinyurl.com/GroupVisitSurvey to complete the survey and receive your free pass. We look forward to welcoming you soon!

Warmly,
The Staff of the Discovery Museums

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Tuesday 12/3

Quick post as I forgot to write yesterday.... 

Started the morning with some word games, spelling word practice, RAZ-Kids and just-right reading.
Read Aloud: I Fly- A small moment all about flying on an airplane 
Writer's Workshop: Starting writing a new small moment- this time the book will be published on the iPad.  Students have the option of drawing and writing on the iPad and/or paper and taking a picture of their work. 
Math- continued to work on their checklist 
Scratch Jr- made a book  
Centers-finished up book projects 
Open Circle- I'm Special, I'm Me read aloud... Ask your child why they are special :) 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Important Information

Some important reminders/updates:
  • 11:15 Dismissal on Friday
  • The first two days of conferences are this week. I look forward to meeting with many of you on Wednesday night or Friday afternoon.   
  • Field Trip on Wednesday 12/4.  We will be going to the Discovery Museum in Acton, a great hands-on museum.  We'll be leaving school around 9am.  The kids will bring their fully disposable snack with them to eat before we go into the museum.  We'll be at the museum from 10-12, one hour on each floor of the museum.  When we get back to school, the cafeteria will be closing.  If possible, please send in a home lunch.  We are not having parent chaperones for this trip.  I'm waiting for just a few more permission slips to come back :) 
The kids worked really hard on a project for our interactive bulletin board in the hallway.. If you have a smart phone or iPad, please download a free QR scanner/reader and bring it to your conference so you can scan the kids QR codes.  I like QR Reader for iPad.  You can always borrow one of the classroom iPads. 

Thanks!

Monday 12/2


From Weekend Writing, it sounds like everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Two new glued sounds were introduced: am like in ham, an like in fan
What other words does your child know with these glued sound?


Math: Ask your child about their new checklist.
The kids will now be using XtraMath Student Intro Video As of now, the students will just be using it during math time in the classroom.
There will be a math app of the week that the students will get to use at least twice during the week. This week's app : Find Sums by Math Tappers (it's an iPhone app but you can put it on an iPad as well) The focus is on the tens frame and mastering the combinations to make 10.