Monday, December 18, 2017

The Week of December 11



Upcoming Events


Winter Concert 
December  20, 2017 @ 6:00

Students are invited to come down to the classroom at 5:30 to hang up their coats and play until the concert begins.  We will walk down to the gymnasium together at 6:00.

Holiday Party and Pajama Day 
We are looking for elves to help out at the party. Please contact me if you are able to help out. Thank you! 

 Friday, December 22, 2017
9:00-11:00   
A notice will be in children's folders on Monday. Each child is being asked to bring  something to share at the party. Please make sure you check to see what your family has been assigned, and as always please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. 

Classroom News 


                                                    
This week was sure a busy week! Students were excited about the snow day and have been really getting excited for the upcoming holidays. We talked a lot about using our Habits of Mind in the coming weeks to maintain our classroom expectations during this time of year. We set some specific goals which include: managing our impulses, thinking flexibly when solving problems with friends, being responsible for doing our classroom jobs and striving for accuracy during our work here at school. We posted our goals above Wise Bear's path. We revisit our goals throughout the day and this has been very helpful.
There will be spelling and reading homework for the week of December 18th, but no homework on Wednesday night due to the concert. I can't wait to see the awesome performances at the concert! 

Science/Social Studies Mini- Unit
Winter Solstice
Here is our classroom tree and what it looks like now! 
On Friday we visited our classroom tree... and boy has it changed!  We had a discussion about the changes we noticed and then did a science notebook jot. Students commented that the only green trees left were evergreen trees. We talked about the changes in the weather and how it gets darker earlier these days. On Friday we visited Chandler's Tree farm and cut down our own Christmas tree! We began making some awesome ornaments to hang on the tree. A HUGE thank you goes out to Wade Chivington for helping on Friday and for cutting all of our birch wood which we are using to make our ornaments! 
Here we are at the tree farm! It was cold, but it turned out to be a
beautiful trip! I was so proud of the children, they were very well behaved
and really used their PAWS!!




Enjoying some warm cider!




The gift shop is such a wonderful place!!

          Reading and Writing Workshop 
 In readers' workshop we continued our work with fiction books. We read the book A Winter's Day by M. Christina Butler. We worked on retelling the story from beginning to end, making sure to include details about the characters, setting, problem and solution. Students wrote and drew pictures to retell the story. We have also been reading some poetry! We have explored shape poems, sensory poems and acrostic poems. The first and second graders wrote their own poems about the beautiful snow outside! Each child has their own poetry anthology and have been reading and practicing their favorites in class. In writer's workshop, we have also been working on an inquiry into punctuation. We read the book Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee. We marked and identified periods, question marks and ellipses in different books. Then we practiced using these different punctuation marks by writing sentences of our own. The kids' final drafts of their small moments books are finally completed and are ready for our Publishing Celebration on Thursday. They will be sent home on Friday in your child's home-folder. 

Fundations/Spelling
We continue to practice our different spelling patterns ( bonus letters and long i) throughout the week and continue to work on our trick words as well. We are also learning about proper nouns, nouns and adjectives. This week we took a mentor sentence from the book A Winter's Day and spent time reading and noticing everything we could about that one sentence. Students identified nouns, proper nouns and adjectives, but also noticed action words too! On Friday we will have our post assessment, and will begin a new unit of study when we return from winter break! 














Working on our mentor sentence!


Math Workshop

In math we have been working on addition and subtraction strategies. We have also been working on solving addition and subtraction word problems. We used our SMARTboard to read, and solve word problems about students in our class! This made the problems fun and engaging. We worked on solving subtraction stories by identifying the difference between two quantities, which is new this year. We also played some really fun games that helped us identify odd and even numbers. We learned some fun addition card games that helped us become more fluent with our facts of 7, 8, 9 and 10. We continue to use our number racks in class to help anchor on 5 and 10 while solving addition problems. Students are working on solving equations up to 17 on their number racks! It is amazing to hear how clear and precise they explain their thinking. This class engages in some great discussions. 





















Buddy Time
We met with our Big Buddies from Ms. Vargo's room on Friday and finished up our giant snowflakes! We began the project last week and spent time taping, stapling and hanging them up in our room on Friday! I just love how beautiful the snowflakes turned out. Here are some  photos from our project time. Please make sure you get a chance to come and check out the snowflakes at some point...they are so pretty!






















    

Monday, December 4, 2017

The Week of November 27




Upcoming Events
Please remember to help your child pack their library books for Tuesday!

Early Release Day 11:30 Teacher In-Service
December 5, 2017

First Trimester Report Cards 
December 8, 2017
Students will have a yellow manila envelope that contains their first trimester report card. Please read over your child's report card together with your child. If you have any questions or comments regarding your child's report card, please contact me here at school. The report card is yours to keep. Please sign and return the first trimester comment form and envelope to school. 

Winter Concert 
December  20, 2017 @ 6:00
Students are invited to come down to the classroom at 5:30 to hang up their coats and play until the concert begins.  We will walk down to the gymnasium together at 6:00.



Classroom News
We had a great week here in first and second grade!  We were busy finishing up lots of work as we ended our first trimester. I finished up some last minute assessments with many children which helped me to see all of the AMAZING progress these students have made. Next week, we will put the finishing touches on our final draft small moment stories. The first and second graders did an amazing job on these books. In the month of December, we will explore poetry writing, and will do an inquiry into punctuation. 
We did have a school wide "lock-down" drill on Tuesday. These drills are becoming more frequent as we continue to plan and think of ways to keep our children safe each day. The kids did a great job. They were quiet, safe and ready. Ms. Epstien came to talk with our group after the drill and processed through many different feelings students had. Please remember that our goal in having these drills is to be ready for any emergency that could happen. It is hard for us all to see this shift in our society, but our number one goal is always the safety of our children and staff.  
We are in week 3 of our Farm to School grant! On Wednesdays, Ms. Stephanie makes a healthy snack from fruits or veggies. Students are learning to take responsible risks by trying out these different snacks. We have tried kale chips, grapes, and sweet potatoes! I can't wait to see what's up for this week! 






Trying out some sweet potatoes!! Whether students liked or disliked the snack, it was great to see them try new foods that are healthy! 

Scholastic Book Orders 



All orders will be due by December 8th. You can access our account online and enter the user code below. Books make great gifts for the holidays… so if you are ordering books for your children as gifts, please let me know and I’ll keep them a secret! 

CLASS CODE
LDRGD

New Sharing Topic
I have really learned a lot about the first and second graders by listening and observing the special things they have brought to share. In the month of December we will move on to another topic for morning meeting shares… special family traditions. Please help your child to bring items that have to do with special family traditions you celebrate. Traditions could be special vacations, birthday rituals, Christmas celebrations etc.  Thanks! 




Gift Making Workshops

We will be doing a secret Santa gift making workshop again this year.  Students will be drawing names from the students in our class and making a special gift for that friend. On Wednesday, December 20th, students will be working at one of several different workshops. Teachers and para-educators will be leading a craft activity. Students will wrap their gift, and make a card for the friend they selected. We will exchange gifts at our holiday party on Friday, December 22nd (I am not sure about the time of our party yet, but I will pass that along as soon as I can!) The students love working together in multi-age groups, and they also learn to appreciate the time spent making gifts for others! 

Monday, November 27, 2017

The Week of November 20th



Upcoming Events

Early Release Day 11:30 Teacher In-Service
December 5, 2017

First Trimester Report Cards 
December 8, 2017
Students will have a yellow manila envelope that contains their first trimester report card. Please read over your child's report card together with your child. If you have any questions or comments regarding your child's report card, please contact me here at school. The report card is yours to keep. Please sign and return the first trimester comment form and envelope to school. 

Winter Concert 
December  20, 2017 @ 6:00
Students are invited to come down to the classroom at 5:30 to hang up their coats and play until the concert begins.  We will walk down to the gymnasium together at 6:00.

Waterville and Belvidere Long ago and Today

On Monday, Mrs. Baker came to talk with our students! She shared Dr. Roger Mann's doctor's bag, his tools and much more with our students. She also shared many stories of growing up in Waterville.  Our students gained valuable information about Dr. Mann, his hospital and how he helped many of people! 
Here is the pram which Mrs. Baker
was placed in soon after she was
born at Mann's Hospital in Jeffersonville! 



Mrs. Baker sharing all of her wonderful artifacts with our students! 











Sue Wisehart from the Waterville Historical society also visited our school. She shared a collection of knives made at the Mann Knife Shop, a model of the As you Like it Inn, and some really interesting artifacts from Waterville in the 1800s! 

 Carlos Martin shared his knowledge of blacksmithing and his tools with our class.  Our students loved the hands of experience of trying to work with the hammers! 
A BIG thank you goes out to all of the people who helped to make this project amazing for our students! 


  


Pictured here is the model of the As you Like it Inn, and the collection of knives owned by the Waterville Historical Society.

Our old fashioned village was a HUGE success! The first, second and third graders were knowledgeable, helpful and focused during our museum tours. Our visitors learned a lot about Waterville and Belvidere.  Here are some of the photos from the students' exhibits.  Next week, I will work on gathering more photos... I will send a collection of photos home for you to see! Thank you to all the families and community members who came to visit our village.






































Monday, November 20, 2017

The week of November 13th




Upcoming Events


Happy Thanksgiving
Our turkeys came out beautifully! We've had fun singing some fun Thanksgiving songs. This week we sang Over the River and Though the Woods.

Waterville and Belvidere Long Ago and Today Workshop Days

November 20 9:00-1:00 Final Finish up Day and Village set up

November 21 Old Fashioned Village Tours 9:00-11:00

Please come and tour our old fashioned village museum! We have worked to research, plan, create and share our knowledge. We will also have some amazing artifacts on display from the Waterville Historical Society.  We will have knives made at the Mann Knife shop, a replica of the As You Like it Inn, and oars from the Locke Brothers Oar Shop.


Thanksgiving Break/No School
November 22-24

Early Release Day 11:30 Teacher In-Service
December 5, 2017

First Trimester Report Cards 
December 8, 2017

Classroom News
The weather has definitely been cold, but the kiddos are really loving the snow on the playground. It was hard for everyone to get their gear on and put away after recess. We are working on our new routine as we get into the snowy weather. I encourage students to keep their mittens and hats in their sleeves when they arrive, and to dry them on our heater after recess. This is always a hard transition for students! Hang in there! Thank you to all the families who packed warm weather gear. It is really fun to play in the snow. We can't wait to unveil our Old Fashioned Museum on Tuesday! Please come and see the amazing village we have created. I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving Break. I am so grateful to get to be your child's teacher!  

Homework
There will be no spelling homework this week because of the two day school week! Please continue to read at home and fill up those reading logs! I love to see the pride students have as they complete them! 

Habits of Mind

Image result for habits of mind

In the first trimester of school we have reviewed and practiced many Habits of Mind. We have focused on thinking flexibly, managing our impulsivity and being persistent. Mrs. Miller did such a great job introducing the Habits to her students.  We needed a short review on what each habit looked like, but we have mainly worked on identifying the habits in our day to day activities. In November, we focused on working interdependently, thinking flexibly, and creating, innovating and imagining. We have worked hard during our Old Fashioned Village project to learn how to work in small groups and the process of imagining and creating models. This week, we also pulled these habits out of A House for Hermit Crab. Students identified the Habits of Mind as they shared the way Hermit Crab solved his problems. 

Big Buddies

This week we met with our Big Buddies on Friday. We did a scavenger hunt activity that helped us to come up with things we are grateful for.  We used our scavenger hunt to help us create a beautiful leave which was added to our  Gratefulness Tree which is displayed in the hallway between our classrooms.  
 

Math Workshop 

Math has been a busy but fun time of our day! We are finishing up our second unit of study on addition and subtraction strategies. The first graders love our new stations and are very engaged as they play the fun math games we have. We are working hard to develop strategies that can help us when adding and subtracting. This week we worked more with fact families. Students used their flip books to quickly think of the parts and whole. We acted out and told our own math stories to go with our favorite fact from our fact family. We identified important vocabulary that goes with addition stories- how many in all, all together, the total. We also worked with subtraction stories and identified vocabulary that goes along with those stories- how many are left, what is the difference. Students are also working hard at using their flip books to  help them solve missing number equations.  Our number corner has been fun this month! Students have done a great job working with digital and analog clocks. We have also loved creating stories to go along with our calendar pattern which contains whole, half and fourths this month. 


 


Readers' and Writers' Workshop



This week in readers' workshop we worked more on fiction story elements. We read the book A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. We identified the characters, setting, problem and solution in the book .  It was amazing to see and hear the students engage in character analysis as we discussed the text. They identified multiple problems and solutions in this complex text. Students created beautiful character/setting art projects in Eric Carle's style. We cut different scraps of paper to create hermit crab, his friends and the ocean. Later in the week, we created a story map. Students again, identified important fiction story elements and wrote about them. We continue to love our new read aloud The Adventures of Jack and Laura by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We are really working on visualizing the setting of the story. We hear lots of describing words that help us to imagine what life in the big woods was like... what it looked and felt like! Students continue to work in small groups throughout the week and are learning some reading strategies that can help them as they come across words in their books that they  don't know. Students have a bookmark which they will keep in their reading bag. It has some fun pictures and gives helpful hints for students. Please feel free to use this at home while you are reading with your child.


Here are the final setting and character paper projects completed by your creative students!
 In Writers' Workshop we are almost done with our publishing project! It has been really hard work and we have had to use lots of our Habits of Mind. Students have had to be really persistent. We have also worked on striving for accuracy in our handwriting, spelling and illustrations! The kids are really enjoying creating some beautiful illustrations to add detail to their books. Over vacation, I will work on laminating and binding their books. Next week, we will work on our dedication and About the Author page. 

Monday, November 13, 2017

The week of November 6th




Upcoming Events

Tuesday is our Library day with Ms. Bryce! Please remember to pack your child's library book!!

Waterville and Belvidere Long Ago and Today Workshop Days
November 15-16 9:00-10:00
November 17 10:00-11:00
November 20 9:00-11:00 Final Finish up Day and Village set up
November 21 Old Fashioned Village Tours 9:00-11:00

Thanksgiving Luncheon 
November 16th 11:00-12:00
Please contact Debbie in the office to reserve your seat! 

Thanksgiving Break/No School
November 22-24


Classroom News

What a great week! The cold weather has finally arrived, and I love the cold mornings! The sun shines brightly into our classroom and we all enjoy the view! Please make sure your child is prepared for outdoor recess. You are welcome to pack snow pants, warm jackets, hats, mittens and snow boots. Please try and label your child's clothing- things often get dropped in the hallway or outside, and I know how expensive these things are!  We are really enjoying our special share days this month. It is great getting to know each other and each other's special interests!  I know children love to bring toys to school, but it is now becoming a distraction during our school day. Please only allow your child to bring items to school on their special share days. 




Morning Meeting Share Time!!  


We welcomed Ms. Marie into our classroom. She will be our classroom para-educator. She will work with small groups of students as well as with students one on one. Ms. Kylee is now working in a few other rooms. We miss her greatly, but know how helpful and kind she is... it makes us happy to know that she will be able to help others in our school. 


Reading and Spelling Homework 

Thank you to all of the families who made our first week of spelling and reading homework a huge SUCCESS! Most of the feedback I got from students was positive and they really liked it. This week we will continue with reading and spelling homework. I will be working with students on selecting some more "just right books" to take home in their reading bags. All spelling homework should be returned on Friday this week. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 


Waterville and Belvidere Long Ago and Today
This was another exciting week for students! Ms. Caswell's class came to our room for a gallery walk of village choices. Students walked around the room looking at a variety of photographs and village ideas. Children selected their top three choices and wrote them down. After school on Wednesday, Ms. Caswell and I grouped students based on their interests. This week we will begin working in our small groups to research our part of the village and construction will begin! We are still looking for parent volunteers, if you are available, please let me know! 


Students looked closely at their choices and couldn't wait to sign up! 

Readers' and Writers' Workshop
Students are doing a great job with our character study unit. Students developed their partnership skills as they worked on retelling their series books. We used our character traits anchor chart to recognize external and internal character traits. Students worked in their small reading groups to practice decoding strategies, sight word recognition and application of our comprehension work ( connections and fiction story elements). Students have also begun writing in their reader response journals. Last week, we finished up our chapter book Mouse and Mole and noticed how the characters changed over time. This week, we will begin a new read aloud Little House in the Big Woods by Lauren Ingalls Wilder.  When students aren't working with me in small groups, they are working at different literacy stations and LOVE their BINGO boards! I introduced some new word work stations for kids to practice their spelling skills. Students continue to love Raz-Kids here at school.  We learned how to spend our reading stars on Raz rockets. 
In writing we learned about picture prompts! We have some really fun pictures to look at, and students love to  create stories to go along with them! This is a fun and creative part of our writers' workshop as we continue the hard work of editing and revising our small moments stories! 

Students trying out Raz Rockets on Raz-Kids! 

Fundations/Spelling
Last week we began a new part of word study and spelling. Each week we have a mentor sentence which we examine, work with, and make better. Our focus has been on recognizing nouns and proper nouns, as well as adjectives. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we spend time working with our spelling words and our mentor sentence. 

Math/Number Corner 
In math, we have begun working on an addition and subtraction strategies unit. Students are working on developing efficient  solving strategies. We are playing a lot of domino games and have worked hard at identifying the parts and whole amount. Students have continued to work with the greater than, less than and equal symbol to compare sums. We have worked with special flip books that have helped us to write fact families for different amounts. This week we will write math stories to go along with our fact families.  In Number Corner we are working with the fractions half and fourth. We are also working with analog and digital clocks this month. We are working on counting forwards and backwards from 0-50 by ones and forwards and backwards by tens. We love playing Hot Potato for fun counting practice! 

Here's the Potato Gallery! 



Veteran's Day Project
On Thursday we spent time learning about Veteran's Day and making thank you cards for our local veterans! Students spent so much time, added great detail and really had heart felt feelings for our veterans! Our poem and cards will be sent to the National Guard in Jericho VT.