Monday, November 27, 2017

Hand drums

The drum is a powerful instrument. Indigenous people refer to it as the heartbeat of Mother Earth. It is used in many spiritual and sacred ceremonial practices. Some say the beat of the drum has the power to change natural elements, including the weather. It is believed to have the power to heal sickness, and some believe it has the power to send messages both to the animal world and to the spirit world.

The drum is broadly considered to be the first musical instrument used by humans. Historians and music ethnologists alike point out that the drum has been utilized by virtually every culture known to mankind for a multitude of purposes. In ancient times, the earliest drums were used for religious rituals, social dances, sporting events, feasts, special ceremonies, in preparation for hunting, and as a prelude to war. However, it is virtually a universally held belief that the original purpose of the drum was to communicate, many times over long distances as a warning or signal.


Students loved making their own drum to share a little bit about Native American culture with their families and friends.  They created designs that were important to them and their family to honor the importance of those things.























Thankful Pumpkin

The month of November we have been talking about
gratitude:  the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful 
in our classroom.  Every opportunity we had to reflect on our day, we recorded our ideas on our thankful pumpkin.  Students loved adding their ideas and hearing of all of the ideas.  We giggled lots as we added items and beamed with pride as we added others.  This pumpkin evolved over time and here are a few photos from along the way!










Thankful Turkeys










Students brainstormed what they were thankful for and recorded their thinking on the feathers of their turkey.  They were proud to share their ideas and writing with their peers.  I hope you enjoyed this decor over the holidays and chuckle as you take it out to decorate each year.  

Small Problems in our Peace Lesson

Peace lessons are a hit in the classroom.  Students practice listening to their peers, making eye contact, self regulation, using non verbal cues to read another person's feelings, giving non verbal cues to support their feelings and today we talked about problems.  There are 3 types of problems:  big, medium and small.  Ask your child what a small size problem is, who is in charge of solving it, and which is their favorite strategy when they are frustrated.  Next week we will learn about medium size problems and how to address those!

Examples of small problems:

  • You forgot your snack
  • Your mom packed a snack you don't like
  • Your friend did not want to play the same game as you at recess
  • You wanted to be star student but it wasn't your turn 
  • Your friend gets mad at you and tells you they don't want to play with you
  • Your teacher doesn't call on you when you raise your hand









Sunday, November 19, 2017

Halloween Obstacle Course









Mrs. Ray keeps fitness exciting in gym with her spooky obstacle course.  

Math Workshop







Mathmeticians in our classroom are exploring math workshop materials.  Students are working on a variety of skills at their level, both independently or with a partner.  These activities help strengthen their number sense and keep them engaged while I teach small groups of learners on what they need next to be successful. 

Literacy Centers

Students love reading group time and having time to make choices in their literacy development.  Each day the students get to choose from:

  • Read to Self
  • Read to Someone
  • Listening Station 
  • Word Work
  • Writing
They usually get to choose twice during a typical day in Language Arts unless I have them in a group at my teacher table.  

The listening station is either with a CD player or on the computer using Scholastic Book Flix.  This is a free website that is AWESOME.  Students get a fiction and nonfiction text option.  Be sure to bookmark this page, it is amazing!

Word Work has options of rhyming puzzle cards, object sorting by beginning sounds, and sound detective games.  

Writing options include:  make a book, write the room, label the room, handwriting, write sight words in rice and write holiday words around the room!











Thursday, November 16, 2017

Abstract turkeys

A white sheet of paper, strips of brown, tan, light brown, beige and yellow strips of paper, an orange square, a pink square and a white rectangle = Abstract Turkey fun