This week we began problem solving during math. The children were given problems that involved counting and asked to solve them. Most children could find the correct answer, but the hardest part for students is always documenting their thinking. We went over several strategies for doing this, including drawing a picture (diagram) and labeling it, something all of the children can do. Mrs. Hale's class visited us again today and partners worked together solving a pumpkin problem.

We have now talked about the three different kinds of rocks, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. This morning three students happened to bring in three very different rocks. This led to a great discussion and comparison during morning meeting. One was rough and gray with some sparkles if you looked closely. One was small, crystal shaped, and greenish. The third was tannish, smooth and egg shaped, with lots of little holes. We will do some more work around rocks next week.

I have had lunch with two small groups thus far. The children are all pretty excited about the opportunity to eat in the library, and we will continue this over the next several weeks, and through the year as long as it remains successful.

Happy Halloween! Have a great weekend.

Today we started our exploration of rocks. We learned that rocks are the oldest things we could collect, some rocks are millions of years old. Ask your child how some rocks are made. We also discussed the fact that rocks are non-living things and contrasted this to living things. Ask you child five things all living things need. We decided rocks don't need any of these. We have a fairly extensive collection of rocks already, but if children have rocks they would like to bring in that would be great.

In math we have been doing lots of comparisons. Today the children began comparing the length of their names to those of their classmates by making name trains with linking cubes. We are also working on counting and sequencing numbers.

Several students are on the verge of "publishing" work from writer's workshop. They have created books filled with illustrations and words. We will publish these by adding laminated covers with titles.

After nine weeks of school I feel like I know the class as a whole pretty well, but would love to really get to know each child a little better as individuals. This is challenging in a setting with fifteen children so I am planning to start having lunch with small groups once or twice a week. We will eat together in the library with the intended purpose of getting to know each other better. I will invite 3 children to come each time. I would like everyone to participate at least once. My experience has been that children really enjoy this and I would love to continue it long enough to give each child a chance to be part of a few different groups. I will begin this next week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

We had a great trip to the fire station today. Students had a chance to get inside two trucks, try on a mask, and ask lots of questions of Chief Palmer. The children were very respectful.

This morning while we were brain storming questions for our trip someone noticed three words in a row that started with h-- how, and someone else noticed the word you three times on the paper. I told the class that this makes me so happy because it shows me they are paying attention to the print and really starting to be readers. We also had a fantastic session of writer's workshop with lots of good writing, and almost everyone wanting to share what they were writing about, which is so important for internalizing their own writing, and also for spreading ideas. When we first began only two or three children were interested in sharing, so this was very exciting!

I introduced the letters g and o today and sent home letter formation information in your child's red folder.

While trying to unlock the schedule posted on this blog I accidentally emailed it to everyone on my contact list. If you received it, it was not for any reason.

This week during work station time I worked with small reading groups. We used a short, predictable book with one sentence per page. Some students are still definitely dependent on pictures and predictability to "read" the books while some are using sounds they know to decode the words. I am trying to be very conscious of meeting your child where ever he or she is at. I don't want to hold back those who are ready for more of a challenge and I know it is important not to overwhelm those who are still in the emergent stages. Keeping this in mind, the groups will be very fluid, changing with the needs of the children. The most important thing is for all children to feel good about whatever reading they are doing and to continue to enjoy reading. Right now it seems that every one in the class loves books.

Today our class did a leaf exploration with Mrs. Hale's class. Each pair had two leaves to describe. Then they used linking cubes to find the length of the leaves, tiles to find the area, and finally they found how many pennies it took to sink their leaves. Some bar graphs showing the data we collected from this are on the bulletin board near the gym. Take a look as you are walking down to the room.

We will be visiting the fire station on Monday at 10:00 to hear about fire safety.

This morning we talked about things we learned and saw on our field trip. We didn't have a chance to process the trip on Friday and I was a little worried about what the kids would retain after the long weekend. They retained a lot and seemed to have a great trip!

This morning during Fundations I introduced the letters i and r. With two vowels and 7 consonants now we spent a lot of time writing words and changing them into new words. It is great to hear students using the sounds to read the words we make. The letters we have done so far are t, b, f, m, n, a, c, i, and r. I had to leave at 9:00 because my daughter is sick so I will include the letter formation sheets for r and i in red folders tomorrow.

Many children in the class have been choosing to work on puzzles during their choice time in work stations. I am thrilled to see this interest in puzzles as they have many benefits including the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and spatial reasoning. This has also generally been a group effort, encouraging team work and cooperation. We have six floor puzzles in the room and two smaller puzzles. If this interest continues I will try to track down some more. If anyone has any at home that they would like to lend for a week or two we definitely have eager puzzle doers right now!

We had a great field trip to the Green Mountain Club. Ask your child about the trip, signs of autumn we saw, creatures we found on the trail, if they caught that the guy taking pictures in the beginning was my husband (who works at the Green Mountain Club)! Thank you, thank you to all of our parent chaperones. The trip would not have been nearly as successful without your help.

I am working out a schedule for volunteers based on the feedback I received from interested parents and times that work best. If you expressed interest I will contact you soon.

Have a great long weekend!

We are continuing to work on counting during math. Along with lots of counting during morning meeting, students have been rolling dice with 6-30 sides and drawing sets to match their number. We also began measuring today, comparing objects to a stack of 10 cubes and deciding whether each object was shorter or longer.

During work stations children have been working on letter formation for the letters we have covered so far as well as writing numbers correctly. It is very important that they learn the correct formation for all of these. I have also been working with small groups on concepts of print. We have talked about sounds making words, the concept of rhyming, and what makes a sentence.

We have been working on sorting and classifying during morning meeting, and this week there is a sorting and classifying work station. So far we have been looking at the different ways we can organize a set of objects into two groups. The children really enjoy doing this and I am always surprised by the categories that I didn't think of. Soon we will apply this to rocks. (Time sensitive subjects like caterpillars, leaves, and autumn have pushed this back!) If your child happened to collect rocks this summer send them in any time. If not I have a large collection so we will have plenty to sort.

Today during Fundations I introduced the letters c and a. Finally we have a vowel which allowed us to start creating words. I sent home the letter formation directions and also a blank Fundations writing page in your child's red folder. I know some students have enjoyed practicing writing at home.

We have also spent some time talking about sentences and how they are made up of groups of words with some kind of end punctuation. Some children have begun to try sentences during writer's workshop, using the beginning sound for each word.

As of now the weather looks good for our field trip on Friday. We will be leaving at 8:30 and taking a bus to the Green Mountain Club. We will be back for lunch.

It was a bit of a crazy day with all the rain and the distraction of the rapidly rising river out our windows!

I sent home a copy of our class book Who Do You See? with each child today. This can stay at home as we have copies in the room also. Children had a chance to share these with their third grade partners today.

We have completed six weeks of school (hard to believe) and I feel like we are settling into our schedule and students are becoming comfortable with the routines of the day. I will be sending home a form next week for those of you who may be interested in volunteering in the classroom. I am looking for volunteers during my work stations time which is Monday -Thursday from 10:00-10:45ish. I am open to having people come once a week, every other week, or even once a month depending on what works. If you are interested watch for the form next week, or just let me know.

Have a great weekend.