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 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

Field Trip Video

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!

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. 

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 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. 

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 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

www.discoverymuseums.org

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 :) 

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.

Wednesday 11/27

Short but fun reward day! 

Movie with stuffed animals and choice with toys and games from home! 

The kids also worked on a counting by 2s turkey project! 

I'm grateful to be able to say I love my job. I look forward to spending each day with your children- I'm amazed at their love of learning and care for others.  Thank you for all of your support at home.  I'm one lucky teacher! 

I hope you all get to spend time with family and friends.  I'm on my way to NJ and then CT.  Enjoy the long weekend. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Tuesday 11/26

*Permission slips for our first field trip went home today... We're going to the Discovery Museum on Wed. Dec 4th.  Please send back the slip ASAP. Thanks!

The kids worked really hard today (multiple times!!) to try to finish their thankful books.  Be on the lookout for a printed copy in your child's folder tomorrow.

Fundations- practiced words with the glued sounds all, practiced writing some sentences with question marks and exclamation marks.  When should you use a question mark? An exclamation mark?

During Reader's Workshop, the kids read a new book with a buddy or small group.

Africa- Retold Anansi and the Tug o' War and added a page into their Africa book explaining the lesson.

Scratch Jr.-  Ask about the speech button.

Tomorrow will be a fun day!

Reward Day on Wednesday!

Tomorrow is our reward day!

You may wear…..

1.                 wear comfy clothes or pajamas.

2.                 bring a stuffed animal to hold during our movie.

3.                 bring a toy or game or book to use during choice.

12:00 Dismissal- No lunch at school.

Monday 11/25

Brr!! What a cold day!  The kids wanted to stay in for morning recess-I don't blame them!  Remember to make sure your child comes in appropriate outside gear as they will go outside for lunch/recess and often morning recess.

Started our morning with Weekend Writing.

For Reader's Workshop, the children worked with one or two other buddies to read a book and stop during it to ask questions/notice things about the pictures.  Last week we worked on using our "Eagle Eyes"- Ask your child to show this to you during their reading at home.

Math- The kids danced to some math songs about counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s.  I'm putting together a playlist and I'll get that out to you soon... Mostly focused on the 100s chart: 100 chart puzzles and 100 chart tile fill-ins.

Social Studies-Anansi and the Sky Kingdom: Ask your child about the lesson they learned.  Added a page into their Africa book on Book Creator.
Centers: finish-up and a few centers about Thanksgiving.
Read-Aloud: What did the turkey eat for Thanksgiving?  Luckily not a human like many of the kids predicted!!

Reminder- 12:00 dismissal on Wednesday.  No lunch at school.  Please send in a bigger snack!

Wed. 11/20

Our morning started by thinking about what we are thankful for.   The kids created a thankful book on Book Creator. 

We attended a powerful assembly today!!  Ask your child to tell you about the masks... 

Website for more information 

The kids assembled the covers of their published books.

The kids voted on watching this Anansi story today: Anansi and the Tug O' War

Our day ended with Reader's Workshop & Centers.  Many kids choose to scan the new QR Code to watch A Story, A Story again. 

Thanksgiving food donation!

I'm here at the PTO meeting.. Just a reminder: Please send in canned goods or produce for the Thanksgiving drive both Wed. and Thurs of this week!! Thanks for your donation :) 

Tuesday 11/19

**Please send in empty toilet paper rolls for a project!**
Kidblog posts are now up from this week.

The kids were so busy this morning organizing and putting finishing touches on their books.  They can't wait to share them with you on Friday :)

The children watched: 

http://youtu.be/3a7U08B7TY8
Ask your child where stories used to be kept.. What did Anansi do to get the stories?  Where are the stories now?

Monday 11/18

Started our morning with Weekend Writing on Kidblog. The kids were encouraged to write about one small moment from the weekend. Be on the lookout for them to be published hopefully tomorrow... 

Fundations check-in.  Check your child's folder for a corrected copy in the next few days.. 

Math- focus on the 100s chart.  Started by watched part of a Brain Pop and turned and talked about what we noticed.  Ask your child to count by 5s and to tell you about the patterns they see. 

Centers will now focus mostly on reading, responding to reading, and spelling practice. Ask your child to tell you about their new spelling ring. 

We made a list of all of the question words we could think of. The kids then got to pick their own spelling words for this week.  They were really excited for this responsibility!

Early release tomorrow!! 

Thursday/Friday

I'm thrilled at the reports I heard from both Ms. DeMarco and Ms. Donovan!  What a lucky teacher I am to have such a wonderful group of kids :)  Can't wait to see them all on Monday!

My experience at the iPad Summit was amazing... I am so inspired to enhance my teaching.  I look forward to trying many new things out in the classroom. As always, I appreciate any feedback you have. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!



Scholastic Book Orders Due: Friday, December 6th 
If you'd like to order anything for the holidays and have it be a surprise, let me know... I won't send them home in your child's backpack :) 

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: J73DP

Ordering online is fast and easy:

•  REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub
•  ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
•  CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
•  SUBMIT the order to me by the due date at the top of this letter
•  EARN FREE Books for our classroom too!

Wednesday, 11/13

Brr!! It was cold out at morning recess today.  Please help your child remember to bring hats and gloves to school everyday.  If you have an extra set, you could send them in a labelled baggie and your child can keep them in their cubby.  I have a bin of extra gloves that children can always borrow as well.
Please have your child practice putting on this winter gear at home... Maybe with a timer!? :)

If you have anything at home from Africa to share, please send it in next week.

Thanks to Oscar (Anacamila's Dad) for sharing a picture slideshow today from when their family lived in Africa... More next week!

Check out this great share:

Math Stations: New game- Bump!  Ask your child how you bump and freeze a number.

Working hard to finish our small moments.. We can't wait to share them with you at our first Author Celebration next Friday!!

I'll be spending the next two days at the iPad Summit.. I'm really excited for this opportunity! Ms. DeMarco will be the sub for both Thursday and Friday.

Tuesday, 11/12

I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

We started our morning with word games.  A favorite was create your own game.  What are the 3 bonus letters? 

During weekend writing on Kidblog, we had some visitors from Hawaii.  They were visiting many classrooms at Thompson to see how the iPad is integrated into our day.

Math- Snap it!  Ask your child how to play. 

Ended the day with cooperative games... Check out our new tricky puzzle!  What compliment did your child give to a classmate at the end of the day? 

Folders were filled with completed work. Please take some time to look through your child's work with your child.. Have them show you what they did and why! 

Class pictures and individual pictures were sent home today as well.. 

Conferences Sign up for Parent Conferences here

Registration will open at 10:00am, Wednesday, November 13th.
• Evenings: December 4th and 12th
• Afternoons: December 6th and 10th
Look forward to meeting with you :)

Food Drive

Thompson School students  and families will be joining the Board of Youth Services in our annual campaign to provide Thanksgiving dinner to Arlington families.  

Please send in canned food or grocery store gift cards by November 21st. 

Fresh food donations will be accepted on November 20th and 21st.   

Thank your for your donations :) 

Parent Conference Info

Hello all, 

Here are some links for parent conference. 

Sign up for Parent Conferences here

Conference Information

Let me know if you have any questions or need any help.
I'm flexible with days/times to meet... Just send me an email. 

Thanks,

Nicole 

Memo To: Parents of Elementary School Students

From: Kathleen Bodie, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Re: Parent-Teacher Conferences

In order to streamline the process of scheduling elementary parent-teacher conferences (conference dates are evenings: December 4^th and 12^th afternoons are December 6^th and 10^th), the Arlington Public Schools will utilize our online registration system.    

This process allows parents to register for conferences with their child’s teacher.  Once registered, parents may view, print, or email the conference schedule.  In addition, this process will provide teachers with listings of all parents who have requested a conference.

Registration for all elementary school conferences will open on Wednesday November 13^th, at 10:00 a.m.  To access the registration system, parents may visit www.arlington.k12.ma.us and click on Parent-Teacher Conference Online Registration located under News.  Parents may visit this link at any time to view registration instructions.  

If assistance is needed, please contact your child’s elementary school secretary.  Thank you.

Video: Weeks of 10/28 & 11/4

Enjoy our video of the last two weeks...We've been busy!

Or click here

Friday 11/8

The kids can't get enough reading!!! Buddy reading, RAZ-Kids, independent reading, and Read-Alouds.... All they want to do is read and listen to stories :)
I'm so thrilled at the reading assessments that so far have been done.. SO many kids are soaring through the reading levels!  Keep up the great reading at home too!
Please remember to send back the lending library bag to switch for a new just-right reading book.

The children listened to 2 Anansi stories today.
What was the trick in each story?
Was there a lesson?  Did something come to be?

Thanks for sharing this book, Aki!









Day 2 of Scratch Jr.: Program the teacher-testing out a few instructions at once and then making changes & working together to make a program of 8 instructions.  The kids are exploring the program and wowing me!!

The kids worked on their Small Moments.  We can't wait to finish them up next week and share them with you on the 22nd.

Of course we had Friday Fun time!  Ask your child who they played with.  Continue to send in recyclables for Creation Station.

We also had a very successful lockdown practice.  The kids were so patient and quiet in a very tight space.

Wednesday 11/6

I read our first Anansi story today. The kids are hooked already!

I even read a second one- Anansi and the moss covered .... Ask your child to say the magical words!!!

The kids continued to write wondering questions about Africa.  They are moving everything over to Book Creator- learning to crop pictures. 

We spent some time looking at the world map and noticing things about the 7 continents. 

Tuesday 11/5

Our Read-Aloud today was Zoom!  It's a small moment based on a roller coaster ride.  The students then started writing their own small moment- everyone has a great start!

Check out our online bookshelf to see some other small moments books I've read. 

Online Bookshelf or go to the top of our classroom blog.

Our first day of Scratch Jr!  Working together to see what all of the buttons do!

We ended our day with cooperative games.

I will be out on Thursday at a reading conference.

Scratch Jr. Pilot

***Please send back the permission slips ASAP!***

I had a meeting with some of the researchers and students from Tufts this afternoon.  Here's some information that might be helpful to you:

All kids get to participate by using the app.  The researchers would of course love to get to interview the students and record their work as that is why they are piloting the app in our classroom.  I understand that some families would prefer for their children just to use the app.  Please decide what you feel comfortable allowing and send the permission slips back ASAP.  If your child is at least 7 years old, they should be filling out the last page. 

Our first session is tomorrow but there will be no recording.

If you need another copy of the permission slip, send me an email.   

Monday 11/4

Just realized I put the wrong date on homework.. Oops! Guess that extra hour of sleep wasn't enough :)

Our morning started at an assembly put on by the fifth graders. We learned what it's like at science camp! 

I read The Snowy Day and we thought about how this story was a 'bed to bed' story. Most students so far have written stories about a whole day.. Our new focus is on small moments. I picked one small moment from the story and we noticed how Ezra Jack Keats stretched it out- a small moment. Each child picked one small moment that happened to them and planned out the beginning, middle, and end. Tomorrow they will start to write and illustrate this small moment. 

Please join us on Friday, November 22nd from 8:10-8:45 for our first Author Celebration!  Be on the look out for an invitation in your child's folder this week.  

First day of our Social Studies unit on Africa. While looking through books about Africa, the children wrote I wonder statements and questions. 

The children got a laugh out of this video clip... What should they do to be proactive? 

Thursday 10/31

Sorry for the delay in posting... For some reason there was an error in publishing! 

We had fun doing many Halloween stations today. 

Creepy combinations, spooky poem, monster math, ghost patterns, monster I have who has, pumpkin math and more!!