Authors

Today we practiced being authors to a photographer’s pictures.  Each day we do activities to support each child’s development in writing, sometimes on paper with pencil, with markers in a card or on whiteboards on the rug.  As writers we have been working on stretching out all the sounds we hear in words and recording them, as well as adding detail to our sentences to give the reader more information. 

The students loved the three silly pictures for our quick practice.  

• A black lab running in the grass
• An orange kitten laying in balls of yarn
• A skunk and a puppy head to head inside a house

It is awesome to see how far these sweet kids have come in such a short time. Using white boards as authors gave every child an opportunity to write their idea and share where ever they are at in their writing development without the pressure of an end product.  

Where is your child in their development?  Where did they start the year?  Look back through the blog and see if you can find the post on writing develop stages, prepare to be amazed at how many your children have already moved through in this complex process.  

P.S.  white boards are an amazing Christmas gift that all of the children love, magnetic ones are a bonus too!

A bug and a wish

Our peace lesson focused on “a bug and a wish.”  Students practiced takin care of medium size problems by using the statement “it bugs me when you ________, I wish you would _______.   Mrs.  Sulecki helped students brainstorm medium size problems that they could try using this strategy on.  The students practiced many examples of items that “bug”them.  

Here are a few great examples:

It bugs me when you talk when I am talking, I wish I could listen to my words.  

It bugs me when you say mean things, I wish you would say nice things to people. 

It bugs me when you talk during rug time, I wish you would tell me at recess. 

Shared drawings

Today we reread the book David’s Drawing, Davis share his drawing with his classmates and it becomes their drawing.  Students tried this idea with a partner today.  What a great way to work on: negotiating, flexibility, patience, problem solving and many other fabulous life skills.  The dialogue was awesome among partners, filled with specific compliments.  

Sight word fun

Today we add a little pizazz to our sight word practice.  

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

Halloween Obstacle Course

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