2005-2006 Room 302—Newsletter 19 http://room302.blogspot.com
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Dear Families,
I have report cards on the brain. Everything I look at these days seems to go through that filter somehow. These kids are growing in all kinds of great ways, and it’s fun to watch and be a part of. I try to keep all of those things in mind when I’m doing report cards, and I try to remember that it’s not a race, but just a journey. And while we do have things we’re aiming for, I hope they’re enjoying themselves along the way. And I hope they will choose to continue that journey both in and out of school. My goal, as always, will be to use the report cards to show you my best estimate of your child in a few areas at this time: what is going well, and what some next steps might be.
In reading….
Thursday was Dr. Seuss’ birthday, so we read some books and made some certificates. We also started spending some concentrated time on beginning/middle/end. It’s on the report card for writing, and we’ve discussed it on and off, but now we’ve started breaking down the work of our published authors. One thing I find in sharing with kids and adults is that these are general terms. It can be difficult to pinpoint where one leaves off and another begins. It might be fun to have this discussion after one of your read alouds at home: do you and your child agree about what the beginning, middle and end were? And if you’re reading nonfiction, is there even a beginning, middle and end?
In writing….
I am trying to model beginning, middle, end in my work in front of the students, and we’re trying to notice it when we conference with them about their own work. It seems to help a lot, especially when they’re writing personal narratives about their own lives, to talk through the story before getting it on paper. If they know where they’re going, it’s easier to tell where they’ve arrived.
In math….
It was a lot of fun sharing our 100th Day collections. And thanks to those people who brought things in to share with others. We’ll keep talking about 100 throughout the year. If some of you have the game Chutes and Ladders, it can be a great on to work on those higher two digit numbers, including recognizing them and adding on to them. Our game at home came with a spinner, but for extra practice for my boys, we use two dice instead. First they have to add the dice, which is great fact practice. Then they have to add that amount to the number on the board.
For report cards we’re assessing if they can identify the name of the four main coins and tell the worth of each, and we’re asking them to use an analog clock to identify a few times on the hour and make a few (show me 9:00), so there are more ideas for extra practice at home.
Current Chapter Book Read Aloud…
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Magic Strings
On Thursday we were visited by a group of musicians from the Magic Strings program. They played some songs on their violins and cellos, and the teacher told how kids in that group practice music as a regular part of their day. The Magic Strings classroom is composed of kids from all over the district, and the purpose of the trip was recruitment: they looking for kids to fill next year’s second grade class. Some interested students took applications to be a part of it next year, and we have more if needed. Just let me know. It seems like it could be a fantastic opportunity.
Calendar…
Sunday, March 5—Savannah’s Birthday Friday, March 17—Jasen’s Birthday
Thursday, March 16—Early Release Friday, March 17—Snow Make-up Day
Friday, March 17—Report Cards Home
Sincerely,
Jeff
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Week of Monday, January 27
Monday, February 27, 2006
This is the first day back from our mid-winter break. Aubree, Kayla, and Lukas all had birthdays while we were gone, but not all on the same day. They used to be six, but now they’re seven.
Our day was busy.
We all got new jobs.
In music today we did Cobbler, Cobbler Mend My Shoe. It goes like this:
Cobbler, cobbler mend my shoe
Let it done by half past two.
Half past two is at the door
Let it done by half past four.
While we sing it we sit in a circle and pass around a tiny shoe that used to belong to Mrs. Couch’s son. When we get to the last word of the song, the person who ends up holding the shoe gets to think of any kind of shoe they want to buy.
After that we went back to our seats to hear the next song: The Swans. It has motions. The first thing you do is put your arms up with your hands by your ears. And then move your hands down low like you’re flapping your wings.
Next we had a substitute teacher for P.E. We did 15 push-ups, 15 sit-ups, and 15 jumping jacks. And we ran around the gymnasium for 5 laps. And we jumped rope.
In the afternoon, Mckayla’s mom and brother came in to help in math. In math we had to make 27 cents. We did calendar and found out that Aubree, Savannah, and Kayla lost teeth over the break. We don’t know if they ever found them. Donna brought money for her 100th Day collection and she shared 4 cents with each kid.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Kids from Magic Strings came to visit us. They were second, third, and fourth graders. In the morning we looked at the board and we were kind of amazed. We saw that we would be going to the library and it wasn’t our usual library day; we wondered why.
When we came into the library and sat down to watch them, they played beautiful music. Some people had violins, and some people had cellos. Then the teacher called two musicians up from the group to lead the music. One of the songs they played was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. We liked their music because that was the only time we got the hear them, and they sounded great!
It was Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Rien made a Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss out of paper. Some people colored and cut out a Do Not Disturb sign for their door handle.
We celebrated Savannah’s birthday today because it will happen on the weekend. Savannah’s mom and dad brought in Krispy Kreme donuts for us. It was fun.
This is the first day back from our mid-winter break. Aubree, Kayla, and Lukas all had birthdays while we were gone, but not all on the same day. They used to be six, but now they’re seven.
Our day was busy.
We all got new jobs.
In music today we did Cobbler, Cobbler Mend My Shoe. It goes like this:
Cobbler, cobbler mend my shoe
Let it done by half past two.
Half past two is at the door
Let it done by half past four.
While we sing it we sit in a circle and pass around a tiny shoe that used to belong to Mrs. Couch’s son. When we get to the last word of the song, the person who ends up holding the shoe gets to think of any kind of shoe they want to buy.
After that we went back to our seats to hear the next song: The Swans. It has motions. The first thing you do is put your arms up with your hands by your ears. And then move your hands down low like you’re flapping your wings.
Next we had a substitute teacher for P.E. We did 15 push-ups, 15 sit-ups, and 15 jumping jacks. And we ran around the gymnasium for 5 laps. And we jumped rope.
In the afternoon, Mckayla’s mom and brother came in to help in math. In math we had to make 27 cents. We did calendar and found out that Aubree, Savannah, and Kayla lost teeth over the break. We don’t know if they ever found them. Donna brought money for her 100th Day collection and she shared 4 cents with each kid.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Kids from Magic Strings came to visit us. They were second, third, and fourth graders. In the morning we looked at the board and we were kind of amazed. We saw that we would be going to the library and it wasn’t our usual library day; we wondered why.
When we came into the library and sat down to watch them, they played beautiful music. Some people had violins, and some people had cellos. Then the teacher called two musicians up from the group to lead the music. One of the songs they played was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. We liked their music because that was the only time we got the hear them, and they sounded great!
It was Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Rien made a Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss out of paper. Some people colored and cut out a Do Not Disturb sign for their door handle.
We celebrated Savannah’s birthday today because it will happen on the weekend. Savannah’s mom and dad brought in Krispy Kreme donuts for us. It was fun.