January Pep Rally

Congratulations to our January students of the month. Good job MRS and RC!

Peek at the Week of January 28-February 1

A brand new month begins this week!  We wil have our January "Pep Rally" and change seats for the new month.  The class really looks forward to these end of the month traditions.

Thank you to the parents who came in for last week's Game Day.  The class had a great time with you.

We will be reading animal nonfiction books in reading workshop and using a variety of 'reports' to share our new learning.

We continue to write How To books in Writing Workshop.  This week we will focus on adding details to each step.  For example, instead of writing, "Put on your helmet."  We will stretch out that idea to be, "You will need to put on a helmet.  A helmet protects you in case you fall down."

Homework
Monday 1/28
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 1/29
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Math Boxes

Wednesday 1/30
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Writing:  Animal Facts & Opinions

Thursday 1/31
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Mystery Reader

RS was so excited to have his mom come in to read to our class!

Highlights of the Week Januray 25

• (VS)  In Writing Workshop we are working on making How To posters.
• (LS)  We are going to have a spelling test today.
• (ES)  In gym we did relay races.
• (BT)  In computer we played Dreambox.
• (BV)  We are learning about Facts and Opinions.
• (WB)  A fact is a real thing.  An opinion is something a person thinks or believes.
• (JB)  We had indoor recess this week because it was way too COLD to go outside.
• (WC) We had Game Day yesterday.  We played Creationary, Chutes & Ladders, Risk, Darien Life, and Candyland.
• (RC)  We have Spanish today with Senora.
• (MD)  We will have a Mystery Reader today.
• (AD)  Miss Sofio's teacher came to see how great we are at math.
• (WD)  In snack we are finishing The Runaway Dolls.  Today we will read the last chapter.
• (SD)  We put out a bunch of How To books. 
• (GG)  In math we learned about the Greater Than Gator.
• (LM)  We finished our Realistic Fiction books!
• (GM)  In indoor recess we made awesome towers out of blocks and cubes.
• (CN)  In music we are practicing Folk songs.  Some of the songs have dances.
• (GP)  We did scratch art with Mrs. Morton.
• (DP)  I was absent all week so I don't know what the class did while I was sick at home.
• (MRS)  For morning work today we played card games.
• (RS)  We have a spelling test today.
• (AS)  On Monday we are going to start a new read aloud series.  Miss Dineen hasn't told us what it will be.  It is going to be a surprise!

Game Day

We had a great time at this afternoon's Game Day!  Thank you to the moms who came in to help.

Think Summer

I know today's date is Januray 22, but it's never too early to think about the summer!  The Darien Summer School catalogs are out.  You can also click here to sign up for classes. I will be teaching a class called "Fairy Tale Fun".  If you know of any interested 1-3 grade students, please let them know.

Peek at the Week January 21-25

January is flying by!  There is no school on Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

We will take the opportunity of MLK day to  learn about the genre of books called "Biographies".  We will have the chance to read and learn about Martin Luther King and other famous Americans. 

Our class has been getting into non-fiction reading!  It has been great to hear all of the new "fun facts" we are all learning from our reading.  Animal fact books have been very popular during independent reading time. 

A group of class "librarians" have been working with me to reorganize the non-fiction books in our classroom library to make it even easier to find the books we are interested in.  We came up with some subcategories. For example, we had several large bins that were Animal books.  We divided them into categories like Reptiles, Arctic, Insects, etc.  The new system is working well.

We had a great visit from the Darien Nature Center last week.

We also had the chance to read our fancy hardcover Realistic Fiction books to Kindergarten classes.  Your child should have brought their books home last Friday.  These books can be kept and home.  I hope your child enjoys sharing this book with all who visit your home!


Homework
Tuesday 1/22
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Winter Word Work

Wednesday 1/23
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  MLK Article & Comparison Chart

Thursday 1/24
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Hav e a great week!

Builders

Check out this structure made during indoor recess!

How to Eat an Oreo

There are so many ways to eat an Oreo cookie. We took a survey to see who bites them, twists them or dunks them. After our little treat we wrote a booklet called "How to Eat an Oreo".

Meet the Authors

We finished our Realistic Fiction books. We read our stories to the Kindergarteners. The K kids loved our stories!

Animals in Motion

We had a great visit with Ioa from the Darien Nature Center. She taught us that "Eyes in front, hunt. Eyes on the side, hide." We were able to observe how different animals move. We also learned how their bodies affect how they move and protect themselves and find food.

This is a rabbit.  Her back legs are like a spring which helps her to jump high and far.
This helps her escape from her enemies.  Animal enemies are called predators. 

Tortoises are different than turtles.  Tortoises live on land and turtles live in water.

Paloma is a dove.  Most birds can move in two ways:  flying and walking.

This snake is called Cornflake the Cornsnake.  He slithers to move.  He uses his tongue to smell.  He squeezes rats, mice and other little rodents.  This kind of squeezing is called constricting.

Highlights of the Week Januray 18

• (AS) In 20 minutes someone from the Darien Nature Center is going to bring some animals for us to observe.
• (VS)  Today we are having a Mystery Reader.
• (LS)  Yesterday we brought our hard-cover books home.
• (ES)  Yesterday we read our books to the Kindergarteners.  They loved our stories!
• (BT)  Today we have our spelling test.
• (BV)  We have Spanish today.
• (JB) We had a 90 minute delay this week.
• (WC)  In art we made a bed for our teddy bears. We wove a blanket out of paper strips. 
• (MD)  In gym we played 4 Corners. 
• (AD)  In Reading Workshop everyone got a pad of post-it notes.  We use the post-its to mark interesting facts and to mark new information we just learned.
• (WD)  Many people in our class made How To videos.  They are awesome!
• (SD)  In library we talked about Wants & Needs.
• (GG)  We are starting to write our own How To books.
• (LM)  In music Mr. Allen played the ukulele.  We learned a new song called "Somebody's Knocking".
• (GM)  In gym we played Pinball.
• (BO)  We put out a bunch of How To books.  These books will give us some good ideas for writing.
• (DP)  We read a Scholastic News about animals in winter.
• (MRS)  Today we have Spanish.
• (RS)  We learned that people have needs.  Needs are things that you really need to survive.  Some needs are food, water, homes, and clothes.  Wants are things that are fun or nice to have, but you can survive without them. 

Peek at the Week of 14-18

We are becoming non-fiction experts!  We will add some interesting science knowledge this week as we begin a science unit called:  Animals in Motion.  This Friday an animal expert from the Darien Nature Center will be bringing in some creatures for us to observe.  It should be a great visit.

Last week we wrote some fun How To books on topics such as How To Bubbles, How to Eat an Oreo, and How to Set a Table.  This week we will be making some How To posters which will includes the steps for completing a task. 

In Reading Workshop we will continue to learn more about Non-fiction books.  This week we will focus on sharing our new knowledge with partners. 

Homework
Monday 1/14
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 1/15
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Math Boxes

Wednesday 1/16
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Getting Ready for School (how to)

Thursday 1/17
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Mystery Reader

JB's mom was today's Mystery Reader. She read a fun story called "Perfect Soup".

Highlights of the Week January 11

• (RS) We are switching seats for the new month.
• (AS) We are reading nonfiction books.
• (VS)  This week we finished illustrating our hard cover books.
• (LS)  We are going to have a Mystery Reader today.
• (ES)  In art we wove paper into a checkerboard pattern.  It will be a blanket for a sleeping bear.
• (BT)  We have a spelling test today.
• (BV)  We have Spanish today.
• (WB)  In gym we practiced jumping over a high rope.
• (JB)  We are working on making How To videos.
• (WC) We are writing How To books in Writing Workshop.
• (RC)  In gym we played volleyball.
• (MD)  In gym we practiced how to do a  forearm pass.
• (AD)  In math we are doing a big test.
• (WD)  We book shopped for nonfiction books to go in our Reading Workshop book bins.
• (SD)  This week we did not have computers because there was a teacher meeting in the lab.
• (GG)  We read nonfiction books.
• (LM)  In the "Runaway Doll" book, Annabelle finally finds her lost little sister.
• (CN)
• (BO)  In music we watched lots of funny videos.  One was about three kittens chasing a dog.  There was funny music playing.
• (DP)  In library we learned about Wants & Needs.  Needs are things people have to have in order to live or survive. 
• (MRS)  We learned that some nonfiction books have captions with photos.  A caption is the words that tell about the picture.

Peek at the Week of January 7-11

It was great to reconnect with each other last week and get back in the swing of things here at school. 

This week we will be back to a regular 5 day schedule with our Rainbow Spelling groups meeting.  With the new year beginning we will be making some changes to the groups.  Your child may or may not be in a new color group.  There may be some repition with the lists as I try to reinforce the areas your child needs help in.

We will be starting brand new units this week in both Reading & Writing Workshops.  During the months of January and February we will be focusing on the genre of Non-fiction. 

In writing workshop we will begin How To writing.  This is a very fun unit in which we will use procedural terms of first, next, then, last/finally.  In the past years students have made short videos at home showing how to do things around the house.  I will be sending a letter home today about it.  The video is optional, so no pressure.  Some topics in the past have included:  How to Feed a Dog, How to Get Dressed for Hockey, and How to Make a Bed.  Have fun and be creative!

In Reading Workshop this week we will learn about non-fiction text features, how readers preview non-fiction books and how to read with a "teaching" voice (as opposed to a storytelling voice as in storybooks). 

Homework
Monday 1/7
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 1/8
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Math Boxes

Wednesday 1/9
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Writing:  How to Play ____________

Thursday 1/10
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Review words for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Mystery Reader

We were so happy to have ML's dad as our first Mystery Reader of the new year!