Sunday, January 31, 2021

Week of January 25, 2021

 Can you believe tomorrow will be February already? It's hard to believe just how quickly January flew by. It was really nice to have a full week with students this week. We haven't been together a full week since the first week of January. This week we enjoyed several days outside with temperatures reaching the low 30s. Monday and Friday were our coldest days. On Friday we were only able to tolerate being outside for a combined 20 minutes. Midweek the snow was in perfect condition for making snowballs. After having an honest and open conversation about snowball throwing, the group felt they could handle themselves appropriately enough to have a snowball fight. They did fantastically! I haven't laughed that much in a long time. While no "teaming" was allowed and it was every child for themselves, I clearly had a target on my back. But don't worry, I was able to hold my own 😉 I didn't tell them that I was sore for two days afterward!

Our new math groups are working really well together. The homework you saw this week was a reflection of the new concepts we are learning in class. Multi-digit addition and rounding will be our focus for a while, as well as multi-digit subtraction. I am gathering informational materials for families to support their children in math at home. If enough families were interested, I would be happy to host a virtual "math night". These have gone really well in the past. It would be a time to meet with me and review the mathematic approaches typical in third-grade. This could provide families with vocabulary and suggested support methods to use with their kiddos. 

Reading and writing continue to go smoothly within our ELA I and II times. Students have been investigating old Hartford photos within their January journals this month. They are looking for clues within the pictures to decide what is happening. When these journals make their way home, be sure to check them out. Some of you might be able to place the photos to locations within Hartford today.  

Ways to spark conversation: 

-Choose any number within 500, and ask your child to round to the nearest 10 or 100. Have them explain their thinking. 

-What adventures did you take in the woods this week? Tell me about the ice.

-How was the snowball fight? What made it successful?

-What is Kahoot and what did you do with it on Friday?


Pictures from the week:










Saturday, January 23, 2021

Week of January 11 & Week of January 19, 2021

The past two weeks have been filled with memorable learning experiences. 

Last week, we took a closer look at landforms, finished our second math unit around multiplication and division, and continued looking into Hartford's history, discussing the importance of natural resources when settling into a community. 

This week, students presented their outstanding landform dioramas. Each third-grader had a chance to share what they created, how they built their landform, and what successes and challenges they had along the way. Students did an outstanding job on their first formal presentation. They were well-prepared for public speaking, knew their topics, and asked specific questions to engage their classmates. On Friday, students took home their diorama rubrics, but we will be holding onto the physical dioramas a little longer in hopes of creating one more project with them. 

During ELA, our reading groups continued to meet each day. Just a quick PSA: Please continue to read with and/or have your child reading at home every day. This is such an important skill and every kiddo could use more time turning this skill into a lifelong habit. 

During their other ELA rotation, students spent time learning more about the indigenous people of Vermont, the Abenaki Indians. On Friday, we were fortunate enough to host a local Abenaki presenter in our forest classroom. Luckily the weather was the warmest it had been all week and the sun decided to grace us with her presence. The third-grade crew was so attentive and respectful during his presentation. I hope they were able to share some insight with you about this wonderful experience. Kudos to everyone for sending their kiddo in with a camp chair. They looked very comfy on Friday. 

Here are some questions to spark conversation:
-Tell me about the Abenaki story of how maple syrup came to be so watery? What lessons did the native people learn about hard work and life?
-Why might a forest tree have a bent arm/limb?
-When looking over your Unit 2 post-assessment, what math skills are you proficient in? What skills still need a little more practice?
-What book are you currently reading in your reading group? Tell me about it. 

Here are some pictures from the past two weeks:

Started our week with a flooded bridge first thing...

...so we problem-solved, broke up the blockage, built a higher platform, and continued on with our day. There are so many lessons the forest teaches us each day- never give up, things don't always come easy, fight for what you believe in (just to name a few)

Reaching new heights

Week 2 began with amazing presentations!




Breaking up the ice to discover frozen mud underneath

So neat!

Lunch time, mask-free time!

It snowed so much on Thursday, students had to find ways to keep their lunches snow-free.

Quick photo on the sledding hill

Spending time on Friday learning about Vermont's native people











Sunday, January 10, 2021

Week of January 4, 2020

 Happy New Year to everyone! This week was filled with highs and lows. Many students needed extra reminders about CSR expectations and COVID guidelines. After time away from school it can be harder to get back into the swing of things. We will continue to focus on the positive choices students make and use moments of difficulty as opportunities to learn and grow. As for nature highs and lows, our week started off with beautiful sunshine where many students opted-out of wearing jackets because it was surprisingly warm. We welcomed the sunshine for sure. Throughout the week, we found our bridges underwater, requiring clearing debris and breaking up ice dams. This issue will continue to cause use difficulty, but with difficulty comes ingenuity and grit, both of which we have. As the famous saying goes, if there's a will, there's a way. I know we will continue to find our way. 

Thank you to everyone who supported their child in completing the homework last week. Most students came to school with their homework completed. For those who did not, they learned quickly that their teacher would require them to complete the work before play could happen. I am a firm believer in natural consequences and I believe students are quick learners in these moments. Moving forward, there will be a fun and active project for their homework this week. More details will come home tomorrow, but in short, students will be creating a diorama of a landform. We will review the expectations tomorrow in class as well as provide students with some examples. If anyone is in need of a box to build their diorama within, please let me know and I can gather one at school to send home. This project will be due next Tuesday, January 19th. 

We continued our reading groups, math rotations, and began our Hartford History unit this week. Throughout the month, students' writing will be inspired by historic pictures of Hartford, VT. Students will take a look at a different picture each day, looking at clues within the picture, to tell a story. One of the best ways you could support your child while we begin this unit would be to take a ride around the town of Hartford and point out various landmarks, such as our three rivers, the White River, Ottauquechee River, and Connecticut River, and naming the five villages as you drive through them (Wilder, White River Junction, Hartford Village, West Hartford, Quechee). As we dive deeper into the unit I will share more landmarks with you. 

Here are some questions to spark conversation:

-What are some examples of landforms changing?

-What is erosion and how does it affect the land around us?

-What happened with mice on Monday?

-What types of tracks did you see in the snow this week?

-What was difficult about learning in the woods this week? What was fun?


Here are some pictures from the week:

Time to bring our learning gear back outside

All the way up one hill

And down the next...

One major bonus of being outside, students can talk to each other while eating lunch. 

While looking for a missing piece for our bridge we came across this frozen waterfall

We found our pallet, very far away from our classroom space. 

An abandoned nest was also found


Going fishing along the brook, collecting "ice fish"

The sliding hill is open and fun

Eating snow under the shining sun


Spanish outside