Four Star Work

The kids came back from vacation ready to learn.  Mrs. Keach had set up a store for them to buy little snacks with pennies.  They made "an" words and started reading books by one of my favorite authors, Frank Asch.  We also started talking about the effort we put into work.  The kids will be getting from one to four stars on the work they pass into me.  One star reflects little to no effort being put into the work.  Two stars mean that more could have been done.  Three stars mean the work was acceptable and four stars mean the work is super and well done.  The kids will be able to mount four star work on the "Work that Shines" bulletin board.  The purpose of rating the work is to help students develop a sense of pride in what they do and to encourage them to try their best each day.  With that said, four star work will look different from student to student because everyone is at different levels of ability.

When the children had independent work time today I was impressed to see some students making words, others reading charts, and still more writing lists.  They were quite industrious today.  It was fun to observe such great learning.

Vacation Eve

We had a nice day before vacation.  The kids started off with some amazing work in their journals.  Then we had a great morning meeting where we created a list of sound words (onomatopoeia).  THe kids had a great time coming up with words like "slam," "whoosh," and "buzz."  We talked about how those words can be used to spice up our writing.

The kids also had a super time when I brought out some huge sheets of white paper.  They worked with partners to create wonderful pictures while Mrs. Keach and I completed our kindness project started yesterday.  Each child was given a heart with their name on it.  Then all the other children said something nice about that child to be recorded on the heart.  We laminated them and sent them home as keepsakes.  Some of the comments were very specific and sweet.  I was proud of how kind this group can be to one another.

Our fourth grade buddies came in to play math games with us in the afternoon.  We had a great time with Monster Squeeze, Splat, and Greedy Guy.  It was a wonderful day.  Be looking for an invitation for a Family Engineering Night at Wiscasset Primary School on February 28 from 6:00-7:15.  Also, seed sales are due back to school on Monday, February 25.  Have a super vacation.

Valentine's Day

We had so much fun meting Common Core standards while celebrating Valentine's Day.

We started with morning meeting and everyone practiced a team yoga pose.  The cooperative tree pose led to several giggles.

We made mystery pictures while coloring in two digit numbers on the number grid.  We graphed conversation hearts after sorting by color, and the kids were excited to discover they could read the messages.

Then FARM ABBY came in and we made beet and goat cheese salad.  The kids talked about the root of the plant being what we eat.  We learned that putting beets in boiling water changes the beet and makes it easy to peel.  The stem was cut off, as it is a part of the plant we weren't going to eat.  Then we sliced the beets, spread on goat cheese, sprinkled sea salt and drizzled olive oil for a yummy treat.  We asked some survey questions about the project and used tally marks to record our answers.

Then we read some wonderful Valentine stories, talked about the nice things we can say to each other, and then started a project of compliments.

Adreanna graphing conversation hearts.

 Mystery picture on the number grid

 Peeling the grapes!

 Leanna learned beets can be used as paint!

 The whole group ready for a fun, fun day.

 Mallory is having fun using her new dry erase board.

 Mason loves beet and goat cheese!

 Nevaeh is ready to be a party planner.

 Team tree pose

Tucker under the table

After lunch we read a story about a bear couple waking from hibernation for a special Valentine day.  The kids loved predicting with each other what would happen in the story.  Then it was time to hand out Valentines and enjoy a special time.  We thank all the parents who brought in wonderful treats like popcorn with dried fruit, fruit kebobs, cake with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries,  cookies and apples with caramel.  The whole class loved the dry erase boards Mrs. Keach made from recycled DVD containers.  Then they all went home with some bubbles reminding them that each of them blow me away in their own special way.  It was a lovely day.

100 Day Fun

 It's hard to believe that we have been in school for 100 days.  Our class decided to celebrate.  First we brought in collections of 100 objects from home.  CJ's bag was the heaviest, we used a balance to figure out the lightest to the heaviest collections.

 Then we had a great time doing 100 seconds of yoga.    First we did the frog jump, and everyone was exhausted after 100 seconds.  Then we did a mouse pose for a hundred seconds and that was easier.  We finished with a log pose, which calmed everybody down.

 After all that yoga it was time for a snack.  The kids first used base ten blocks to understand what 100 was.  Then we used a cheese stick, a Breton cracker, and a molasses cookie to represent the hundred, ten and one's place. We looked at the nutritional information on each package of food.  The kids discovered cheese sticks have protein to help us build muscle, crackers have carbohydrates for energy, and the cookies, though a once in a while treat, actually had 2 grams of protein for muscle.

 As we  used the balance to determine which collection was the heaviest, the kids each took a turn comparing the weights of two collections (a common core standard).  They tested their body predictions against the balance.

 We determined that CJ's collection was the heaviest, and Mason's collection of stickers was the lightest.

After a surprise FIRE DRILL interrupted our festivities we came back for an impromptu indoor recess. I was delighted to see the kids take up comparing the collections.  They recorded their observations spontaneously to remember the lightest to heaviest collection.

We also made a bulletin board in the hallway of 100 things we love about school.
This class is most definitely 100 days smarter.  I'm so proud to be their teacher.

Practicing Symmetry

Today we worked on symmetry as we made Valentine's bags.  The kids learned how to fold paper over and trace a shape that would turn into a heart.  Then we talked about how you can take a heart and turn it into something else.  This fun activity was actually meeting common core standards as we discussed symmetry and used shapes to make other objects.

At recess the kids had some FUN in the snow!!! They practiced problem solving how to get up the snowbank, taking turns as they sled down the bank, and then cooperation as they worked together to roll a big snowball around the playground.

Seed Math

Today Farm Abby came in with seed catalogs.  We enjoyed looking at all the seeds that can grow in our state.  Then the class looked at our school seed selling fundraiser.  We noticed that different seeds take different amounts of time to mature.  Everyone was given the name of a seed and the number of days it would take to mature.  Then the students counted out that number of unifix cubes, making towers of ten for ease in counting.  When each number was created the student brought the cubes to the front of the room where we compared that number to the others.  All the cube representations of numbers were then put in order from smallest to largest.  We discovered spinach would grow the quickest and pumpkins would take the longest.  Then we counted back 102 days from August 25 to see when we should plant a pumpkin seed if we want it ready for the Windsor Fair.

When all was said and down the class discussed how many math standards they had covered.  They had counted to one by ones, counted by tens, made models to represent a number, and they had compared both unifix cube amounts as well as the written number.  We decided that farmers use math all the time!

Journal Pride and Winter Fun Day

We started this morning picking out the journal entry we were most proud of.  Every child had to explain to me why they picked a particular entry.  The reasons were wonderful:  I liked the picture, I wrote the word "and", I used spaces and a period.  Kindergarten writing is making great progress!

Winter Fun Day took place next.  The kids had a blast first outside and then inside.  Winter Fun Day is put on by PIE, and they put together amazing activities for the kids.  So many parents were here hosting sled races up and down the hill, throwing noodles through hoops, digging for treasure, painting snow, having sack races, etc... Then inside the kids could make art from recycled boxes, pinecone bird feeders, bracelets, bookmarks, play hopscotch and musical hoops.  It might be a "fun day," but I saw so much social learning taking place today.  Kids were listening to and following directions, taking turns, picking up, using their creativity, and practicing manners with the adults.  Many thanks to PIE for creating such a wonderful experience for the entire school.

Groundhog Day

We wanted to talk a little bit about Groundhog Day today.  The kids learned a song.
"Here's a little groundhog,
Who comes out every year.
When he sees his shadow,
He knows spring is not here."

We made a pop up groundhog to go with our song.

The kids also listened to the story, "Groundhog Gets a Say."  It was a wonderful book telling us loads of information about groundhogs.  We are now "marmotologists," or people who learn about groundhogs.  We know that groundhogs have a special way to dig their burrows to keep there underground homes from flooding.  We also learned that groundhogs teeth keep growing and growing except in the winter when they hibernate and everything slows down.
Then we acted like groundhogs, eating grass and grains in the summer, digging a burrow, hibernating and using our eyes and noses to poke out of our burrows to look for predators.
It was a fun afternoon activity, capped off by a graph predicting if the groundhog would see his shadow.  Most of the class predicted no, as they are hoping for an early spring.
Keep your fingers crossed!