Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Storynory Free Audio Stories For Kids
Storynory Free Audio Stories For Kids
Here are some stories that can be heard on the computer, or downloaded for mp3 players.
Newsletter 6
Newsletter 6 12/15/2010
Dear Families,
Only 2 days left, but busy ones…
Holiday Concert
We'll be performing on Thursday evening, December 16th, at 7:00. Plan to drop the kids in the classroom with me at 6:50. Note: This is a change from last year, which was 6:45.
Read In
We'll spend Friday before break curled up with books and things to read. Students may bring favorite reading materials, blankets and pillows, etc. Pajamas are okay too, but students will need shoes to be out of the room. If anyone would like to send in snacks for us, that would be great.
Rocking Chairs
I have two rocking chairs the kids use every day, and which are starting to come apart. If anyone has the time and talent to repair them, we'd appreciate it. Just let me know.
Gift Ideas
If you or someone is wondering what to get your child for gifts, I'd suggest games, art supplies, fancy writing books, magazine subscriptions, and books. Magazines keep coming long after the holiday is over; and it can be a blast to walk into a book store with a gift certificate, knowing that there are so many books to choose from.
Washington Children's Choice Award
We've been reading and rating the nominees for the Washington Children's Choice Award. The Washington Children's Choice Award is selected annually by Washington State's K-3 students, who may vote for this award through their local teacher-librarian. More information can be found at http://childrenschoiceaward.wikispaces.com/.
Chapter Book
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Sincerely,
Jeff
Monday, December 13, 2010
childrenschoiceaward - home
childrenschoiceaward - home
We are reading these books at school, and will be voting on our favorite.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Enumclaw Schools Foundation | Welcome
Enumclaw Schools Foundation | Welcome
The Mission of the Enumclaw Schools Foundation is to enhance educational opportunities for students of the Enumclaw School District.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Newsletter 6
Newsletter 6 11/30/2010
Dear Families,
December starts tomorrow. The month is always a bit of a roller coaster. Should be fun. Here's a quick one:
Conferences
It was great to see those of you who made it so far. I'll contact the rest of you with some options.
Supplies Needed
We'll be doing a project that requires small puzzle pieces, green spray paint and waxed paper. If you have old puzzles you'd like to donate, or paint or paper, please let me know. If not I'll go buy some. I just wanted to check first. Thanks.
Holiday Concert
We'll be performing on Thursday evening, December 16th, at 7:00. Plan to drop the kids in the classroom with me at 6:45.
Chapter Book
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Sasquatch by Roland Smith
Questions?
Please let me know right away if you have questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jeff
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Houghton Mifflin Math Expressions for Families
Houghton Mifflin Math Expressions for Families
This is our district math program.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Newsletter 4
Newsletter 4 10/28/2010
Dear Families,
Halloween Party
We'll be doing some games and activities on Friday:
We'll start about 10:50 with decorating cupcakes.
Recess from 11:20-11:35
Art and snacks from 11:35-12:30
Recess and lunch from 12:35-1:25
Costumes and game from 1:30-2:00
Dismissal at 2:15.
Costumes are optional—not required—but no weapons allowed.
I think we're set for food and activities.
THANKS to all who helped get things set up. Feel free to join us for any or all of this if you'd like.
Email List
I'll use email to send information throughout the year. If you have not done so, please email me at so I can add you to the list. So far I've got 17 out of 24. Thank you.
Author Visit
It was amazing having Roland Smith here. The whole day revolved around him. Check out Twitter and the Room 302 blog for more info.
Chapter Book
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
Sasquatch by Roland Smith
Questions?
Please let me know right away if you have questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jeff
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Roland Smith tweets...
Today at assembly Roland Smith was there. HE showed us a slideshow about animals and how sea otters can't get out of oil spills. It was cool. C.P.H.
Today we had an assembly and Roland Smith came. He told us about the secret about writing: It is "revising". It was cool to see Roland Smith live because he is a famous book writer. He loves animals and elephants. C.B.
We had an assembly. Roland Smith came. It was so cool. He wrote over 35 books. The trick of writing is "revising". He said that he started when he was 8. C.J.
Today we had an assembly at 10:30. It was about Roland Smith. He shared a slideshow and his books. M.R.M.
Roland Smith came to our school! It was only different because the first, second, and kindergarten went at 9:15, and third, fourth, and fifth went at 10:30. He showed pictures of him, his books, and more. Oh yeah, guess what else? He signed books! A.W.
I like the slideshow, Mr. Smith. I also like "the secret". H.S.
Today Roland Smith came to school. He told us the secret of writing: The secret was "revision". It means redo what you see. And he put on a slideshow. J.B.
Roland got a typewriter for his 5th birthday when he really wanted a bike. When an oil spill happened, Roland saved a lot of birds and otters, like 400 otters. One of Roland's favorite animals is elephants. He has an awesome life because he got to be a zookeeper and take care of wolves. There were only 17 red wolves left in the world and he saved them. K.M.W.
We had an assembly and Roland Smith was there. His first book was "Otter Rescue". It was cool because he showed us a slideshow about his childhood. B.K.
Roland Smith was coming on October 22, 2010. One of his favorite animals are elephants. He worked at the zoo. One of his books of the zoo is "Z is for Zookeeper". It is an alphabet things you need to know about the zoo. K.M.D.
Roland Smith came to our school today. He showed a slideshow. He likes elephants. I.A.T.T.
When we were at assembly Roland Smith told us that he saved a lot of otters and wolves. It was pretty amazing. Z.L.
Roland Smith is a famous writer and he told us the secret of writing: It was "revision". And he said that he was a zookeeper for 10 years. B.P.
Roland Smith saved 17 red foxes in Texas and Louisiana. The put them in cages and helped them. He is nice. M.H.
Today we had an assembly at 10:30. It was about Roland Smith. He showed us a slideshow when he was little. One of his favorite animals is elephant. S.J.A.
Today at the school assembly Roland Smith came. He is a famous writer and he showed us a slideshow. And he said he got a typewriter when he was 5 years old. S.L.B.
Roland Smith wanted a bike when he was 5 years old but he got a typewriter. He likes animals. He likes elephants the most. There was an oil spill. Lots of sea otters got killed, but some he saved, and red wolves, too. It was fun. It took so long. I didn't know what time it was because it was funny. He told us the secret of writing: It's "revising". O.A.
We had assembly. It was all about Roland Smith. He had a slideshow about himself. He told a story about he saved 400 sea otters. But 100 otters died. He told another story about red wolves. There were 17 left in the world, but he made a big difference. He got all the wolves and put them in cages. So the wolves had pups, and the pups had pups, until there were over 100 wolves. So they let them free. And at the end, he signed books. K.D.R.
We had an assembly at 10:30. A famous author, Roland Smith, came. He writes nonfiction and fiction books for kids. Some are chapter books. Roland Smith showed us a slideshow about his life and pictures where he gets the ideas of his books. S.L.
Today Roland Smith came to our school. He showed us a slideshow of when he was little and he wanted a bike for Christmas, but he got a typewriter instead, and when he worked at a zoo. He showed us when there was an oil spill and they saved sea otters and they were all clean. He showed us baby sea otters too. He also showed us a lot of his books, like "Elephant Run" and "Jaguar". He was signing books in the gym that people ordered. It was funny when he made this big noise because he dug a big hole and filled it with newspaper. His mom fell into it and he got in big trouble. His mom grounded him forever. When he was little he would use his typewriter but it would be just some letters. I think he has like 4 typewriters. It was fun. K.E.
We had an assembly. Roland Smith was very funny. He did a slideshow. It was so funny. His favorite book is "all". There were 300 red wolves. A.C.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Newsletter 3, 2010-2011
Newsletter 3 10/20/2010
Dear Families,
Here's the latest…
Parent Meeting/Open House
Thanks to all who came to the Parent Meeting. I hope it helped you get a feel for what we'll be doing. I'm always here for questions if you have some.
Classroom Visits and Volunteering
We have three regular volunteers at this point. It's great! If anyone else is interested, please let me know.
Math
I'll save some math for conference time and send some home. Yesterday I copied our most recent math test and sent that home. It was our second. I'll do the same with the first when I can. My hope is that you'll have some time to go over them with your child. First, talk about what they did well. That's not always where people go first, but learners need to think about and know what they're doing well, since those are the things we want them to repeat.
Email List
I'll use email to send information throughout the year. If you have not done so, please email me so I can add you to the list. So far I've got 17 out of 24. Thank you.
Halloween Party
I'd like to have some sort of Halloween Party, and I'm wondering if anyone out there would like to be in charge of it? Please let me know.
Author Visit
Here is an update from Mrs. Davis: There is an excited buzz in the air as we are all looking forward to Roland Smith's visit Friday! Our assembly will be at 10:30, with a power point presentation from Mr. Smith. There will be time for autographs after the assembly. If you child ordered a book through the school, they will pick it up then to be autographed. If your child owns a Roland Smith book, they are more than welcome to bring it to the assembly and can have it autographed as well. Everyone will receive an autographed bookmark next week. We hope you can join us for part of this super fun day!
Chapter Book
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
Sasquatch by Roland Smith
Questions?
Please let me know right away if you have questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jeff
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Tweets from 10-4-10
10-4
Today at writing Hayden wrote "Hero Factory". Sydney wrote "Candy Land". Melissa wrote "Scary Land" and I wrote "The Ugly Squirrel Carnival at Dawn". J.B.
Today a few people from Mrs. Laurnen's class came to our class and Mr. Kurtz's had some of his kids go to Mrs. Laurnen's class and then the kids came to their class. All the kids did math. S.B.
Today at recess people played kickball. The first inning Austin's team kicked. I kicked the ball but it wasn't far so it was kinda near the pitcher's mound. Blaine was the pitcher. It was three to two. But it was a close game and that when the bell rang. It was fun. C.B.
At 2nd recess I played box hockey. I won 2 rounds then Kylie got me out. After that I played with my plastic. S.G.C.
Friday, October 01, 2010
O.A. tweet
I went to recess. I did box hockey. I won 4 people because somebody said it was still my turn. So I did it. Then I went to another box hockey. Then I quit. Then I went with Austin. Then the bell rang. O.A.
A.W. tweet
Today at writing we went to the library. Mr. Kurtz used a thing called "SMART Board" to give us an example of a like/hate list and story. The SMART Board is connected to a laptop, and the Elmo, (kind of like a projection screen) reflects the screen from the laptop to the SMART Board. I don't know how the SMART Board works because if he makes a sentence, picture, anything!—it's like his finger is like a pencil! A.A.W.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Newsletter 2, 2010-2011
Newsletter 2 9/28/2010
Dear Families,
Things are going great, and I hope you're hearing good things at home. I expect some of the students are coming home tired, as they're working hard all day, every day.
Parent Meeting/Open House
Tuesday, September 28, from 6:30-7:30, will be your chance to come and visit our school. Plan to meet first in the gym. From there, adults will be sent to classrooms to meet with teachers while kids stay and listen to Jim Valley (http://www.rainbowplanet.com/), who is a regular favorite here at Black Diamond. The meetings will last about 30 minutes, after which you can collect your kids from the gym and spend some time looking around. We hope to see you here.
Classroom Visits and Volunteering
I welcome visits and volunteers, any time, no need to call first if you want to drop by. If you want to help on a regular basis, that would be great. There will be a volunteer sign-up sheet at parent night, on September 28, or just send me an email if you have a specific day or time and we'll make it work. If you think you'd like to be in the classroom—or in any way be with the students here or on a field trip—please make sure you have all the volunteer forms and paperwork filled out. Those are available in the office, and I'll have some at parent night, too. If you filled out forms last year, we still need you to do it again (although I think we need fewer the second time).
Snack and Birthdays
Thanks to those who have sent snack so far. We will always celebrate birthdays (unless asked not to do so) and sending in treats for the class is always an option. Please be aware that we have a mild peanut allergy in class, so if there are options that don't include peanuts, we'd appreciate it.
Email List
I'll use email to send information throughout the year. If you have not done so, please email me so I can add you to the list.
Music and P.E. and Library
We have library on Thursdays this year. We have physical education on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and music on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please help the students remember library books, and appropriate footwear for physical education.
Questions?
Please let me know right away if you have questions or concerns. The parent meeting will be more for general questions, and I'm happy to take questions about your child any time.
Sincerely,
Jeff
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Newsletter 1 2010-2011
Newsletter 1 8/29/2010
Dear Families,
Welcome to 3rd grade! It was a great first day. The children are wonderful. We spent some time reading, writing, doing art and math, and getting to know each other. Here is a brief rundown on some items of interest.
Classroom Information
The internet makes communication quick and easy. I'll use email and web sites to let you know what is going on (along with hard copies coming home). Please email me with an email address where I can reach you.
There are 3 ways for you to access information about us on the internet. One is the district web site at http://swift.enumclaw.wednet.edu/bde/jkurtz/index.php. A second is our Twitter site at http://twitter.com/room302. The third is our blog at http://room302.blogspot.com/. The blog is the best "one stop" right now, as it's set up to handle pictures, audio, and text.
We'll use the Twitter and Blogspot sites throughout the day, throughout the year, to document what we're doing in class. If you go there, you can also read our "tweets" and access audio and video that we posted last year.
Per district policy, I need a permission slip for each student, in order to use their pictures and work on the internet. Those forms will come home today. Please send them back ASAP.
Classroom Visits and Volunteering
I welcome visits and volunteers, any time, no need to call first if you want to drop by. If you want to help on a regular basis, that would be great. There will be a volunteer sign-up sheet at parent night, on September 28, or just send me an email if you have a specific day or time and we'll make it work. If you think you'd like to be in the classroom—or in any way be with the students here or on a field trip—please make sure you have all the volunteer forms and paperwork filled out. Those are available in the office, and I'll have some at parent night, too. If you filled out forms last year, we still need you to do it again (although I think we need fewer the second time).
Snack
We'll have snack every day, for those who want it. You can either send a separate snack for your child, or you can send in a big bag or box for everyone to share. The kids who bring their own will eat that. The ones who share will take turns eating what people send. Do what it easy for you and your child: either remember every day or just once in awhile.
Music and P.E.
We have physical education on Tuesdays and Wednesdays this year, and music on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please help the students remember to have appropriate footwear for physical education.
Questions?
Starting in a new classroom can be confusing, so please let me know right away if you have questions or concerns. The parent meeting will be more for general questions, and I'm happy to take questions about your child any time.
Here's to a great year!
Sincerely,
Jeff
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Fitness May Boost Kids' Grades - BusinessWeek
Fitness May Boost Kids' Grades - BusinessWeek
Another good reason to stay active this summer.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tweets from 6/9: A.L.B. and J.R.L., J.A., A.D.B.
In class we had readers. And they read "Arthur's Pet Business". And it was very long. We sat for a long time. It felt like it was 40 minutes. Then we did "Happy People" to stretch. After that we did the "Friendship Train" has come to town and "Rainbow Planet" and "Hand Jive". A.L.B. and J.R.L.
This morning we did "Happy People" and one looked like a bridge. You put your feet on the floor and lean back and put your hands on the floor. J.A.
At recess I played "Vicious Rabbit Monkey". Tristen and me were the good guys. Zane was the bad vicious rabbit monkey. Then we played "Dragon vs. Human". Then the bell rang. Next recess me and Tristen are going to be the dragon. A.D.B.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
W.L.M.L tweet
At math Mr. Kurtz told us what to do. We had to do time, money, and a calendar. I finished time and money, but I didn't finish it all. But I will finish it next math. I'm sure I will finish my calendar next math. I will. And I will finish it today in math. I only need to do the top. Yes, I will finish it today in math. I like math so much. Math is cool. The calendar has a skunk, a butterfly, and a sun, and some flowers. It is cool—really, really cool. And it is also awesome. I really like math. W.L.M.L. (from 6-7-10)
A.L.B., A.D.B., Z.E. tweets (from 6/2/10)
In music we did "Miss Mary Mack". And Grace sang a different version of "Miss Mary Mack". Then P.M. sang it but he messed up. Then he tried again. Then we lined up and got stickers. And some kids didn't get stickers. Then we went back to class and we shared with our partners. My partner was Jenna. A.L.B.
In the class me and Joe read a book. It was called "Spider's Web". It was written by Jill Eggleton and illustrated by Jim Storey. It was about a man and a spider. The man said, "No, no, no spider!" two times. At the end the man said, "Yes, yes, yes spider. Yes, yes, yes spider." At the last page it said "A map". A.D.B.
At recess I went to library and a book fell apart. I had to help her fix the book. And it was about animals. There was a snake and a great white shark and a cheetah. Z.E.
BBQ Follow Up
Here is an update about Friday:
Hello 1st Grade Parents!
Friday is the kids' BBQ picnic and Poetry reading. Please bring a blanket or chairs for your family. Any food should be brought in by 11:30 and the picnic begins at 12:30. Since food will be provided, the kids will not need to order hot lunch or bring a sack lunch from home. The picnic will take place outside the double doors at the end of the hall by Mr. Kurtz and Mr. Bryant's classrooms. Make sure to check in at the front desk so the office knows who is in the building as well.
We still need a few things to make our event successful. If you would please email me the number of people who are coming besides your student, that would be great. This way we have enough time to make sure there is enough food.
It would be helpful if you could sign up for one or more of the following. Email is the best way to contact me. I will confirm back to you once I have gotten your email.
Veggie Platters - 2 more
Potato Salad & Serving Spoon - 1 more
Big table for food to be on - 2 or 3 more
Pasta or Macaroni Salad & Serving Spoon- 1 more
Ketsup, Mustard and Relish in squeeze bottles - 1 complete Set (Costco has a picnic pack that includes all three)
Cooler with Ice - 2 more
Cases of bottled water for the adults - 2 more
Chips - 3-5 more large bags
Cookies or other easy type dessert - 3-4 more
Silverware (one set from Costco would be more than enough)
Lastly, if it does rain, is there anybody who would be willing to bring their pop up tent for outdoor shelters?
I have asked one family to be responsible for bringing their BBQ and grilling the dogs for us just this morning. If they are not able to, is there someone who would be willing to do that as a back up or even in addition to?
Thanks everyone. Hope for sunny weather Friday,
Jen
Monday, June 07, 2010
Friends....a poem
Here is a poem we wrote today with Ms. Willard's class:
Friends
I like friends.
Playing friends.
Sharing friends.
Helping friends,
Caring friends,
Any kind of friend.
A friend on the monkey bars,
A friend on a rug,
A friend in the spider web,
A friend in a swing,
I like friends.
Nice friends,
Small friends,
Friendly friends,
Tall friends,
Awesome friends,
Everybody's friends,
I like friends!
by Black Diamond First Graders
based on a poem by Margaret Wise Brown
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Haim G. Ginott quotes
Haim G. Ginott quotes
Haim Ginott is one of my all time favorites. I've read and reread his books. I recommend them highly.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
A.L.B. tweet
In music we did "Miss Mary Mack". And Grace sang a different version of "Miss Mary Mack". Then P.M. sang it but he messed up. Then he tried again. Then we lined up and got stickers. And some kids didn't get stickers. Then we went back to class and we shared with our partners. My partner was Jenna. A.L.B. (from 6-2-10)
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
H.S. Tweet
At last writer's workshop we did poems about a ourselves. Mr. Kurtz showed us on the document camera. We looked at Ashley's brother's poem and it was about a cat. We listened to other poems. H.S.
I.B. tweet
At library Mrs. Yonkers read some of a poem book and some of a book about elephants. I checked out "Alice the Fairy" and I checked out "Twister on Tuesday". I.B.
E.C.W. tweet
In class Hailey read a book called, "Mr. Brown Can Moo. Can You?" by Dr. Seuss. It sounded cool. There were different noises like "eek" and "knock, knock". E.C.W.
Lyrics to Jim Valley and Rainbow Planet Songs and children's music
Lyrics to Jim Valley and Rainbow Planet Songs and children's music
Jim Valley will visit our school for 4 days at the end of the year. Here is a link to his web site, featuring the lyrics to his songs.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Class poem
Here is poem we wrote together the other day. Each student contributed one line:
Black and White
~~a poem by Room 302~~
Black is my favorite color.
White is the new color.
Black is the night sky.
White is a tadpole.
Black is a color that most people wear.
White is a t-shirt.
Black is a guitar.
White is paper.
Black is the road you drive on.
White is the snowman smiling at me.
Black is the fur on a cat.
White is my kitten.
Black is dark.
White is dandelions.
Black is the end of a wand.
White is like a polar bear.
Black is the color of my nightmares; black is the color of monsters.
White is not scary and bright.
Black is the shade of my shadow.
Newsletter 9
Newsletter 9 5/28/2010
Dear Families,
We have 14 days left of first grade. That's not many. We're making the most of each one. I was just thinking today how great the class was working together, and nice it is to see a year's worth of work paying off—for all of us, including families.
1st Grade Picnic
We traditionally end the year with a first grade cookout. We have a barbeque outside instead of going to the lunch room. We'll do it this year on June 11, from 12:30 to 1:00. It works well if everyone brings something, and we all share. Some ideas include plates, utensils, hot dogs, chips, drinks, etc. I also need someone willing to coordinate it all with Ms. Willard's class (to make sure we have some of everything, but not too much of any one thing). I'll send another letter home next week with more information, including the name of the person you can contact. We hope all can make it. Extended families are welcome.
Writing
We're ending the year with a poetry unit. We'd like to invite you to stay for a bit following the cookout, to hear each of the students share a poem they've written.
CD
I'd love to share the photos and recordings I've taken this year. I need two things to make that happen: One is for each of you (who wants a copy) to send in a blank CD. The other is someone who is willing to help me burn the CD's. Please let me know if you fall into either of those categories.
Summer Birthdays
We want to make sure and honor those kids with birthdays in the summer. If that's you, please let me know if/when you'd like to bring treats. If not, let me know that, too, and we'll just pick a day to make cards and acknowledge the day.
Chapter Book
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.
Calendar
Friday, May 28—No school
Monday, May 31—No school
Thursday, June 3—Alex's birthday
Thursday, June 10—PTA carnival
Friday, June 11—Cookout
Friday, June 18—Last day, half day
Sincerely,
Jeff