During reading time, instead of reading to ourselves we sometimes have partner reading.  To ensure that children read with a variety of peers partners are chosen randomly using pictures of our nature names.    Many children have started calling this time "animal reading".  Each partner chooses several books and pairs of children look at one book at a time, making sure that each partner gets to share one of his or her chosen books.  Children really enjoy this time, when they get to spread around the room and enjoy books with a friend.  I also think they enjoy the anticipation of seeing who their random partner will be on a given day.

Some photos from our ECO adventure today, another fantastic morning in the forest!  Children worked in small groups cording, twisting fiber into rope, first with yarn and then with strands of milkweed.  We also added journal writing to our time in sit spots, an amazingly quiet and peaceful way to end our time in the woods.

For several weeks we have been working on letter sounds and formations using the Fundations program.  So far we have worked on the lower case letters t, b, f, m, n, i, u, c, and o.  Children are eager to practice what they have learned and as we are adding new letter sounds and formations they have been writing more and more of their own words during writing time.  In addition we have started learning sight words, focusing on I, the, a, and is, because these are either in our morning message each day or they are words we use a lot in our writing.  Some students have been using this new knowledge to write books with repeating patterns, for example "I see the..." or "I am..." modeling the emergent reading books that they have added to their reading bags.  Children have been practicing the strategies of pointing to words when they read, using pictures to figure out unknown words, and in some cases using the beginning sound to read a word.  They are enthusiastic about practicing the new skills they are learning and it is very exciting to watch their progression.

Thank you to everyone who was able to come to Open House!  It is always exciting for children to share their classroom and provide a glimpse of their time spent at school.

Yesterday morning our class was fortunate to have the opportunity to vote on dog tags for the town of Waitsfield.  Jen Peterson, Waitsfield town clerk, graciously came in and gave a brief explanation of the voting process.  After checking in with Jen, each child voted on shape and color for the dog tags before placing their ballots in the official ballot box.  We counted the votes immediately after so children would know the results.  The next round of dog tags will be gold shields!

We have had fabulous ECO days the last two Wednesdays.  Last week we broke into small groups and created "insect hotels".  Today, after learning about insect parts (thanks to Zach who modeled these for us), each group used items found in the forest to build different insects.   We also chose sit spots today, an individual place that each child will revisit each week through the year to write in their ECO journals and enjoy a few quiet moments before we return to school.

At the beginning of the week we read a book called Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud.   This book is about treating others with kindess and the rewards that come from doing so, from helping out a friend, to including others, and even just offering a smile.  Children loved the book and have noticed many examples of bucket filling throughout the week.

We have also been talking about using words to let classmates know when something bothers us or makes us feel bad in some way.  I am encouraging children to be very specific with their words- for example instead of saying "stop it", try saying "please stop bumping me".  Along with this we have spent a some time talking about kid size problems versus problems that require adult help.  I am encouraging children to use their own words to attempt to solve kid size problems, and then let me know if they still need help.  I have also stressed the importance of always seeking adult help if someone is getting hurt or unsafe in anyway.  For kindergarteners this distinction can be tricky and I encourage the children to err on the side of seeking adult help if they aren't sure.

We had our first butterfly this morning.  We kept it with us for several hours while its wings dried out, and then released it with special wishes just after lunch.

We had a fantastic first day of ECO yesterday.  Hopefully your child shared a little bit about our morning, which was really focused on establishing the routines we will follow all year.  When we first get off the bus we gather in the field for a quick greeting and sharing.  Then we play a game before heading into the forest.  When we arrive at our usual spot we gather around the fire circle for snack and a story.  We will not be having a fire for a few weeks, but yesterday we were entertained by several red efts roaming in the circle.  This seemed to be a highlight for many!  We then split up into three groups for a scavenger hunt to help us get acquainted with the forest and the particular spot we will spend our ECO time, before ending with a closing circle and our walk back.  Thank you for all of your help with preparation- it was a fabulous morning.

During math we have been moving away from exploration of materials and into some beginning number work.  We have been practicing writing numerals 1-6 and also matching quantities to written numerals.  The children have been very excited to use dice and highlighters for this.  Today I also taught the class a game called garbage, which involves sequencing numbers.  We began with 1-6, but will soon add numbers up to 10.  This was a partner game and emphasis was placed on helping your partner, having fun, and being a good sport.  Many chose to revisit some of these activities during choice time.

We are in the middle of a fun caterpillar project with our third and fourth grade partners.  These will be finished just in time for Open House on Tuesday, September 23rd.

REMINDER:  Picture day tomorrow!

Greeting each other with a talking stick.

Getting ready for a game.

Walking into the forest.

Singing a song just before snack.

The red eft!

Sorted items from our scavenger hunt.

Playing Roll a Tower.

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Playing Garbage.

Being good sports.