Week 30 (April 6-10)

April 6 – 10 (Week 30)

This past week was very busy with 2 days of Map testing and 2 field trips! The kids really enjoyed themselves this week and I do believe that they tried their hardest on their Map Tests.

Enjoying some outside time!

MAP

As a child who despised testing, I can understand the frustrations of the kids as they sit for an hour plus to take a test they may not know all the answers to. Before taking the test I had a little chat with the kids and explained to them that MAP will test them on things that they know and things that they do not know. All that I ask is that they read each question and do their very best. I do believe that almost every child took their time and did their very best. Some became restless, but overall they were able to power through it! I am still looking through scores, but I do know that every child increased their scores and for that we should be proud!!!

Maya Gonzalez

What a fantastic experience! Our trip to Horrell Hill Elementary was a breath of fresh air for the kids and for myself! They were able to step outside of Windsor and experience the environment of another elementary school. They quickly formed bonds with Mrs. Cobb’s second graders (who we were working with)! We began by having the kids share their favorite book with a kid from the other class. Then we at lunch together and afterwards Mrs. Cobb read Maya Gonzalez’s book My Colors, My World! Then kids then created their own “I am” poems and decorated them using watercolor paint! Finally we were able to meet Maya Gonzalez! She came in and shared a few of her books with the kids, told them of her life story, and encouraged them to find the hidden secrets of her books! She was absolutely fantastic with the kids and they were hanging on to her every word! It was such an amazing and unforgettable experience!

Video from Maya Gonzalez Visit...

Maya Gonzalez Video <----Click here for link!

Bus ride to see the Sleeping Beauty ballet!

REMINDERS:

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remember to check your child’s binder each and every night! Inside are very important reminders, permissions slips, notices and assignments that are vital to your child’s daily routine, and path to success! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me! Also remember that our door is always open and we accept our visitors with open arms!!! =)

Week 29 (March 23 -27)

March 23 – 27 (Week 29)

Our last week before launching into spring break was a great one!  Although it was a fairly short week we still managed to get lots done! As always the kids were amazing and ready to engage in our many learning experiences.

Inventions

 As you all know with our unit on supply and demand, we decided to create our own inventions and go through the process of advertising and selling them to the community. So in our final week we were so busy finalizing our inventions that the week zoomed by! The kids did such an amazing job thinking of an invention, coming up with a reasonable price, creating and advertisement, and creating a model of their invention.

Reading and Writing

As always we are constantly working on growing as readers and writers. Our kids have grown tremendously as both. We will soon be taking a look at a recent piece of writing and a piece of writing from the beginning o the year. I’m excited to have the students witness their growth.

The abilities and techniques that the students have gained over the past few months have been amazing. I remember at the beginning of the year when some of our kids were afraid to read with me or felt uncomfortable reading altogether. Now they have grown so much as readers that they are confident enough to read to our entire class.

Upcoming Events

As you all know we have many field studies and events coming up so please be sure to check your child’s calendar and binder daily! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact me!

Week 28 (March 16-20)

March 16 – 20 (week 28)

“Acceptance of others, their looks, their behaviors, their beliefs, brings you an inner peace and tranquility instead of anger and resentment. “

I thought that this was the perfect quote to share with our families, especially with Acceptance Week approaching. Within our classroom we always discuss and practice the fair treatment of those alike and different from ourselves. I hope that you all had a chance to watch the video from Fox News with your child.  If you weren’t able to, I’m attaching the link to the video. It is such a powerful video and sparks many needed conversation that the students need and want to have. This week will we will be focusing more on what acceptance means to us and also to the world.

 http://www.myfoxla.com/story/28265583/video

After watching the video these are the thought that the students had...

During the morning while students are waiting for the day to start, they are given free time to explore on their chromebooks, play games, or choose any other activity that interest their inquiry. The kids typically want to go on their chromebooks or do some other independent activity, but on Wednesday I noticed that the majority of the kids were all crowded on the carpet socializing and enjoying each other’s company. It was such a beautiful sight!!

 Isabel's creation...

Math

We’re still working on subtraction of 2 and 3 digit numbers. We’ve also been working on solving word problems. The students are amazing at creating their own word problems and they are getting pretty good at solving them as well. We’ve created a game called math race. We love this game because it helps with out fluency in addition and subtraction, but also because it gives us a chance got outside and be active.  The game is simple, there are two teams, a math equation is called and the students race to solve it. They love, probably because they are extremely competitive.

 Zaria, Anthony, and Summer presenting their word problem to the class.

 Math Race

Reading and Writing

Our favorite time of the day is reading and writing. The students love to write stories, illustrate, and share those stories. As I mentioned in the previous blog, each day a student is responsible for sharing a read aloud with the class and another student will be responsible for sharing a piece of writing from his or her writer’s notebook. The students love it and so do I! With the nice weather, we’ve taken advantage and found some cozy spots outside to read and write!  We would love to share some of our writing and read alouds with you all. So please feel free to drop in and have a listen.  

 Jordan's read aloud...