Wednesday, September 27, 2006

We made mobiles again today in science, but these were bigger. They were twice as big as the ones we made yesterday. They were kind of hard to make because you had to get so much stuff and do so much stuff. We had a choice of making them by ourselves or having a partner to help us.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

We got our pictures taken. Everybody got all dressed up and looked nice. Brandon and Jesse matched—they both wore the same shirt and pants. Except Jesse had a mohawk.

We made mobiles in science. We made them out of rubber bands, paper clips, index cards that we decorated, and a straw cut in half. They turned out perfect. We hung them from the lights in our room. They balanced, and they look beautiful.

Friday, September 22, 2006

It was Ashley’s birthday. She turned eight years old. Her mom brought delicious chocolate chip cookies, Wonka’s Laffy Taffy, and green apple fruit punch. She brought chips, too, and we had those on Monday. It was a half day. Ashley’s mom stayed the whole time and even ate lunch with her.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Jesse lost his tooth. It was in front, and now it feels like it’s still in, but it’s not.

Today at science we balanced things. We taped a popsicle stick onto our tables. Then we took two clothespins and hooked them to an arch or a triangle, and put them on the popsicle stick and tried to make them balance. Some ways worked and some ways didn’t.

Newsletter 2

2006-2007 Room 302—Newsletter 2 http://room302.blogspot.com

September 20, 2006

Dear Families,

I hope everyone is settling into the school routine okay. It’s something that has to happen at home, as well as at school, and it can be tricky. All the kids seem to be enjoying it here so far, which is to be expected. If you hear otherwise, please let me know.

Thanks so much to everyone who was able to attend our Open House/Curriculum Night. I wish we could all get together like that more often. I think there is power in being in the same room, and if we did it more often, maybe someone else could even get a word in edgewise now and then. But for now, this is the next best thing.

That first newsletter was a long one, so I intentionally included some of the same information on this one. Remember, too, that these are always posted on the blog (address above) if you need to reread one at any point.

Reading

Taking a page from Judy’s (my wife) book, we have been doing Read it; Act it; Make it! during some of our reading times. As you might guess, we read a book, act it out, and make some sort of project that ties in. Everything I do with reading is meant to make it purposeful and enjoyable for the readers, and this has been a big hit.

Writing

Wow! Our writing to this point has included daily writing books, names, and a class book. Our class book (based on Yikes!!! by Robert Florczak) used interjections like he did, and then extended them. We next talked about how to add interjections into our daily writing. This week I’ll be sharing the Interjections song from Schoolhouse Rock. You might ask your child about interjections. Hurray!

Math

Our district uses the Investigations program. These are grade specific, so most of the time we’ll be split into grade levels for math. If you want more information about Investigations, one place to look is their web site: http://investigations.terc.edu/.

Science

The science we’re using this year is called FOSS. This is our first year with it. We started using it this week, and it’s really fun. Both grades are starting with the first FOSS unit, called Balance and Motion. Later in the year, the second graders will do the three second grade units, which the first graders will do next year. For more information on FOSS, here is a web link: http://www.fossweb.com/modulesK-2/index.html.

Snacks

We’ll have time for snack each day. If everyone takes turns sending in a snack about once a month for the whole class to share, that will work great. If you and your child would rather bring an individual snack each day, that’s fine, too. I only ask that the children know if they’re bringing their own or sharing.

Volunteers

I welcome volunteers in the classroom. There are no special skills required—you’re qualified to help. Every volunteer needs to fill out the appropriate forms. If you don’t know what these are, contact me or the office. The completed forms are returned to the office, and they let me know when people are clear to work in the classroom. There was a signup sheet for volunteers at Open House. If you missed it but still want to come in and help, please let me know.

Birthdays

We’ll plan to celebrate the birthdays of all the students (unless otherwise requested). Let me know if you’d like to bring something like treats or a classroom book for the celebration.

Counselor / Library

Our class works with our new counselor from 2:35-3:05 every Tuesday. Our library time this year is 2:30-3:00 on Fridays. Since we miss so many Fridays, and since library is too important to miss, we have an alternate day for weeks when we don’t have our Friday time. Our alternate day is Wednesday, and our first one was today, September 20.

Physical Education / Musical Education

These important classes will happen for us this year on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please help the students make sure to dress appropriately for moving around on those days.

Email List

In an effort to help with communication, I’d like to put together a mailing list so that I’ve got another way to get you information like this. If you’d like to be on it, please send me an email requesting that I put you on the list. Include your name and your child’s name so I can identify you.

Classroom Visits

Any time you’d like to visit, you’re welcome to do so. Just make sure to stop in at the office to sign in and get a Visitor sticker.

Calendar

Friday, September 22—Ashley’s birthday Thursday, September 28—Katie’s birthday

Friday, September 22—early release day, 12:15 Friday, October 13—no school

Tuesday, September 26—picture day

Sincerely,

Jeff

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Levi read Obadiah to our class. He read it good, and it was fun. It was a rhyming book. We filmed it for our class video.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Connor came back today. Hooray!! Yippee!! He had his tonsils removed. It was at the Children’s Hospital. He was gone for a week. At the hospital he got to ride in a wheelchair.

It was our first day with the counselor today. We saw pictures about feelings and we colored them. We colored the ones that showed how we felt today. After that, she read us a book called How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers. It was about fruit and vegetables and their moods, like shouting, mad, sad, glad, and happy.

Monday, September 18, 2006

We balanced paper crayfish on our fingers for science. They wobbled a lot. We used clothespins on the crayfish to help them balance. It was really fun.

Friday, September 15, 2006

We have a new student. She’s in second grade. She can read books. We were nice to her. She’s a good friend to us. Her name is Aubrey. She has blond hair and blue eyes. She is from Illinois.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

We played cards. The first graders played Double Compare. Each player has a pile of cards. You flip over two cards at a time and add them. The player with the highest number wins. The second graders played 10’s Go Fish and 10’s Concentration. They’re kind of like regular Go Fish and regular Concentration except you have to make 10 instead a match.