Sunday, October 20, 2019

Week of October 14, 2019

Fall is definitely upon us now! The weather has turned, and we were so fortunate to have another burst of warm weather on Tuesday afternoon. We had so much fun navigating through our "river of leaves" as well as building a large leaf pile with our own natural rakes. We noticed how much louder everything sounded in the woods this week too!

Unity Day on Thursday was one highlight of our week. We just finished reading "The Hundred Dresses"  by Eleanor Estes, which is about a girl named Wanda Petronski, who is an immigrant child living with her father and brother. They are not welcomed into a new town and eventually leave because of this. The story is told from the perspective of one of the bystanders, Maddie. Maddie witnesses the "having fun" going on but does nothing about it. After Wanda leaves, Maddie is ridden with guilt and pledges to never stand by and do nothing again. This story lent itself well to our Unity Day celebration and students created their own Wanda-inspired dress or shirt.

To end our week, we hosted our very first Writers' Celebration of the year, and boy did they rock it! I was incredibly impressed by the students' ability to host this celebration with minimal help from any adults. They worked tirelessly on their pieces, making finishing touches and practicing what it would need to look like in order to present their material well. They did a great job and it was beautiful to see the pride shine from within them all. A special shout-out to all of our families in attendance. Thank you for supporting all of our learners on this journey. 

Here are some questions you could ask  your kiddo to spark conversation:
-What changes have you seen in the woods lately?
-If I were sitting in your sit spot, what would I see? hear? smell? feel?
-Tell me about your two writing pieces, your informational and narrative piece. Which one did you enjoy writing more? why? Which one was more difficult for you? Why?
-After the Writers' Celebration, how did you feel?
-What are you most proud of about the Writers' Celebration? What do you hope to build on before the next celebration?




We love our time in the woods!











Week of October 7, 2018

This week was full of building sit spots, science fruits, and cider pressing! With the weather turning wet and cold, students began the week creating sit spot seats to use when in the woods on Tuesdays. Each student decorated their own mat before placing them inside an XL-ziplock bag. These will come in handy over the next couple of months. 

While in the woods, students had a wonderful time noticing all of the signs of fall all around them. The leaves were at their peak and the brook was flowing. 

In Science, students sorted various science fruit based on their traits. Students determined whether certain fruits were the same or of a different variety from one another. 

In Writing, students have wrapped up their Touch-A-Truck narratives and are beginning to work with their Writing partners to begin the editing process. 

A special shout out to any family who donated a bag of apples to our classroom. Mr. Patton was able to bring in a cider press and we had a wonderful time pressing apples on Wednesday afternoon. The cider was delicious!
















Friday, October 4, 2019

Week of September 30, 2019

This week was another great week for all! In science this week, students completed their first STEM activity of the year. During Science, students had to solve the problem, "how can you trap the most apples?" using only paper, a little bit of tape, and a lot of engineering. Students studied various natural adaptations animals have for collecting apples and used some of those ideas as inspirations. It was amazing to witness the camaraderie and supportive environment these students provide for one another. Each student who encountered a failure or difficulty used that as a learning lesson on what to improve and make their model stronger! 

In Math, we have continued working on our understanding of numbers. Students have been reviewing how to use a number line for both addition and subtraction. We discuss how to be efficient in our methods of solving word problems. Students have been playing many math games as well during our Math Workshops. This unit will finish up within the next week or so and then we will begin our multiplication unit!

In writing, students used their Touch-A-Truck experience from last Friday as inspiration to create their first personal narratives. Together, we took notes, organized our ideas and learned how to enhance these ideas into structured sentences in sequential order. These pieces should be polished by the end of next week. Stay tuned to hear about when our first Writers' Celebration will take place!

Questions to spark conversation:
-What living things did you or your class find in the woods this week?
-What challenges did you have to overcome when building your apple trapper?
-What was your favorite Touch-A-Truck vehicle and why?
-Explain what a "Make Ten" Fact is and how would that be helpful in solving 7+5?
-What book have you been reading during your WIN time? Who is the main character and how have they changed throughout the book?















Week of September 16, 2019

We began our week with a wonderful celebration! Our students have continued to show CSR behavior across all school settings, earning our classroom over $4,000 Otter Bucks! That's remarkable for this time of year and it was time to celebrate. Everyone enjoyed a day with their favorite stuffed animals as well as getting to wear their PJs to school! We have been finishing writing our first informational piece this week as well. We have continued our science unit about plants and heredity. In math, students have been building on their understanding of addition and subtraction to work with more complex number sentences.