Two math skills we have been working on throughout the year are counting forward to 100 and counting back from 20. One way we have worked on both of these skills in the past several weeks is creating number line as a team. I pass out 10-12 index cards with numbers and tell students what the starting and ending number is. There task is to silently line up in counting order, which encourages carefully studying the written numerals and contemplating how they fall in order, as well as nonverbal communication skills. Once they are lined up they say their numbers out loud in order, counting either forward or backward depending on the segment.  The children who are not part of the number line decide if it looks and sounds correct. This has been a quick and fun way to incorporate some movement while also deepening understanding of some critical math concepts.

 We took advantage of the milder temperatures and fantastic snow conditions to have a short ECO session at school on Wednesday. Our focus was on foxes in winter and we began by building fox tunnels and homes in the lower field. Once students homes were finished they were invited to come to fox school with Victoria, where they learned how to hunt for mice under the deep snow: walk very softly, listen very carefully, and when you hear a mouse, give a little wiggle and pounce. We learned that foxes can hear mice under six feet of snow. Once students had mastered the pounce we scattered colored "mice" ice cubes for them to hunt and collect.  After practicing some fox calling, we finished up with a fox story and some tea.

 Coming back from a break is always a great time to review classroom expectations and routines, including how to use classroom materials and tools. With all of the new snow, we used a snowman theme to review basic shapes and practice using scissors and glue sticks to create colorful snowmen for our bulletin board. They will come home soon, but for now they are adding winter cheer to our hallway!

This week we began weekly shares in our class. Children are welcome to bring in small objects from home to share (I said shares must be able to fit in a backpack) or they can do a telling share, which are my favorite because they require even sharper listening with no accompanying visual. Sharing is a great opportunity for children to pracitce speaking with a loud, clear voice, using details to describe what they are sharing. At the same time it gives other children a chance to practice listening thoughtfully. After each share three children are called on to ask a question or make a comment. We are working on asking thoughtful questions and making specific comments. At this point children can bring a share any day of the week, but only once in a given week. So far children have loved this opportunity.