This week was full of excitement and energy.  It was also full of thoughtfulness and work. We have been focusing on the areas of self-management, working together respectfully and having empathy.  We began our week exploring choices and considering the number of choices we make in a day.  We thought of the big choices and the little choices and we began to think about them from someone else’s point of view.  We wondered, “Does something I don’t even think about and consider small feel the same way to others?”  We learned about full body listening – we talked about what it looked like and why it matters.  We connected that idea with a second exploration of what “caring” looks like.  There are two types of caring:  being kind and putting forth effort in order to be proud of ourselves.  We are in the beginning of this conversation and have a long way to go as we work to identify and build habits for success.

Celebration of Friendship

 Thank you so much for supporting friendship in 3E. Yesterday we had our “Secret Friend Celebration.”  The children had drawn their names randomly from a hat for this project and those combinations couldn’t have been better.  Children had the opportunity to think about classmates in different ways.  They got to learn about different classmates.  The work they did to write a letter, poem or story for their classmates was wonderful.  They thought about favorites and kindnesses they have seen or felt through the year. I wish you could have heard them all and seen the looks on their faces.  Many of them fairly beamed.   Along with the writing, they created a piece of art for their friend, wrapped it and brought it to share. Wednesday was so exciting – the children walked around the table hoping to find their names wishing the share was “NOW.”

The gifts once open and shared were beautiful!  The expression on the faces of the giver and the receiver were precious.  I wish I could fully capture the joy and excitement of each of the children as they discovered who their secret friend had been.  The joke in the circle was “thanks, a box…” the light in their eyes when the box was opened and the shear happiness on their faces was magical.   Each friend truly shared gratitude and appreciation for all that had been done for him or her.  Each friend was thrilled by the time and effort. The letters, sharing how important they are to each other and to the class were beautiful.  These memories and keepsakes are something to keep forever.  They are truly a wonderful class of kind and caring friends.

The expressions, comments and affirmations were wonderful gifts in and of themselves.  “Wow!  I would like that…  Oh, look she included… It’s beautiful…It’s so sweet…. thank you!”  We have an amazing group of friends. What a wonderful thing to know as we move into a new year.

Exploring Peter and the Starcatchers

Last week we began Peter and The Starcatchers.  It is the story that happens before the Peter Pan we know.  In it we’ll learn how Peter comes to fly and we’ll learn about the lost boys and mermaid lagoon.  Right now the book is taking place on three ships:  the Never Land, on its way to Rundoon, with Peter, Molly and four other orphan boys, The Sea Devil, captained by Black Stache the most feared pirate on the seas, and the Wasp, her majesty’s ship sailing the richest treasure ever put to sea from England to Rundoon.  We know something is about to happen and we are guessing that everything is soon to change.  We’ll be left hanging until we return on January 2.

Bits and Pieces:

• We are slowly but surely working our way into multiplication.  We learned to play the game Circles and Stars – it is a great game for connecting repeated addition to multiplication, learning facts and ending with the challenge of combining a long list of numbers to get a final sum.
• We are continuing our exploration of mapping and geography.  We have read an overview of each of the continents.  We have compared them and learned something about the land features, the diversity of the habitats and the people.
• Each of the children has selected a country they are interested in researching and learning about.  The outcome of this project will be exploring global cultures, geography, understanding the qualities of effective information writing, and creating a visual display to teach others about the topic.  This will likely be a five-week project.  Most of the work will be done in the classroom, but a few small pieces will be part of homework (for example: creating a flag and learning about the choices and the symbols.)
• Several of the children did make new posts on their blogs.  Some of the posts share their artwork, others writing and book reviews and some combine information with tools they are learning in technology.  (They love GarageBand!)  We hope you have a chance to read them and comment.
• I’ll be back into the Monday Reading and Wednesday Math posts over vacation if your child is saying he or she needs something to do once the holidays are through. 😉

I hope you all have a fantastic, restful and joyful time with your families during this vacation.

Happy New Year!

Thanks so much for taking time to attend conferences during the last few weeks and our readers’ theater presentation on Tuesday.  I know this is a busy time of year and the class truly appreciates the time you share with us.  Thank you.

Blogging

            As I wrote last week, each Thursday we all work to create individual posts on our blogs.  Some of the children are able to complete a post in that amount of time, while others need more time.  For some of the children there will not be something new each week on their blogs.  With practice I think posting will become second nature for us and perhaps for you as well.

While conferencing with families I heard of a few confusions that I hope I can clear up:

1.) The children only need to log in if they are actually going to create a blog post on their individual page.  Logging in allows them to go to their “dashboard” which is where they work to create the posts you see.

2.) Neither parents, nor students need to log in to leave a comment on the class blog or on a student’s blog.  In fact, if they are logged in and wanting to post a comment, they should log out so their comment is posted where they intend it to be posted.

3.) If you’d like to view a post and/or leave a comment go to 3enews@edublogs.org scroll down to the class blog section, open the student blogs, enjoy and comment.

4.) I am the moderator for the blog, so all posts and comments are approved before they actually show on the blogs.  I have been pretty good so far – checking at least once a day.  Don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a comment immediately – it will show up.

5.) The children can work on their blog from any computer but they should be checking with you as we are aware that families have individual guidelines regarding screen time.

The commenting guidelines that the children created are:

• Make a connection with the blogger.  Make sure the comment makes sense.
• Use details and be specific.
• Be nice.  Be thoughtful.
• Make a conversation.  Write a question at the end to keep the conversation going.
• Capitalize I.  Use only one exclamation point or one question mark.  Sign your comment.

Thanks for finding the time to let the children know you are noticing their work and effort.  It is pretty amazing to see each student working in the computer lab creating posts to share learning events they are excited about or finding ways to share favorite things or working to create with some of their favorite technology tools like Animationish and GarageBand.  We are working to build the quality of our posts and to add information so that what is shared explains why it was selected and what the blogger hopes you will notice as you read, look or listen to each post.

Exploring the World

            As our study of maps grows we are beginning to explore the diversity of the world.  We’ve been reading about the different continents to learn how they are similar and how each is unique.  North America has 11 countries.  South America has 12 countries.  Europe has 47 countries and Asia has 51.  We’ll be finding out about Africa, Australia and Antarctica next week.  One thing that we have noticed is that there are fewer countries then we originally thought.  The number seems small to us because the world is so big and there are so many people.

Our goal is to have each student choose a different place in the world to discover. Through research they will develop their expertise and share aspects of the country and its culture with the class and with families at an evening open house.  (Not to be confused with the Parade of the States that will be held in Spring.) It seems as though many of the children are thinking and wonder already.  You may want to talk to your child about different possibilities – several of the children have talked about cities like London and Paris.  I have learned through past experience that it can be challenging to find enough information understandable to eight and nine-year olds about a city.  It is easier and less frustrating to have the broader lens of a country for this research project.

Through this work we will talk about assumptions and stereotypes.  We will explore the ideas of traditions and the difference between native and contemporary culture is.  We are looking forward to extending our study of maps to include an exploration of geography and people as we work to uncover what is the same and what is different.

School Picture Day

            We had a fun performing for you this week.  Thank you for coming.

Bits and Pieces –

• We’re exploring multiplication by collecting things that typically come in certain amount – fingers on hands, sides on triangle, continents on a globe.
• We wrote a narrative about “a time we were playing in our yard or neighborhood.”  We’ll compare this narrative to the one we wrote about a summer memory in the second week of school.
• We began reading Peter and the Starcatchers.  Ask your child to tell you about what is happening.  It’s a pretty complex story with alternating settings – three different ships at this point – and a host of interesting characters.
• We had fun with our map reading challenge.  We had to keep the map real in order to read the maps and find the rooms marked with X.  It was a challenge where we learned map reading, cooperation, collaboration and self-control.
• Secret Friend gifts (both the art and the writing pieces) should be wrapped, labeled with the receiver’s name only and brought to school no later than Wednesday, December 18.
• The Secret Friend Pizza Party Luncheon will be held on Thursday, December 19.
• Music Share is Friday, December 20

We have had a week full of reading, writing, thinking, deciding, subtracting, tree identification and mapping.  We are working on mapping the trees beside the playground and gathering clues and evidence from the trees themselves so we are able to identify them without their leaves.  We are looking at bark, twigs with next year’s buds and any remaining evidence of seeds, stems and partial leaves in order to discover what trees surround our playground.  It is an interesting challenge.

We have discovered all maps have six things: titles, keys, symbols, labels, scales and a compass rose.  We are learning about bird’s eye views and the need for “keeping it real” when reading a map.  We’ve been looking at different kinds of maps: maps of places like the world, our country, our state and the mountains, maps of stories that outline story elements, and maps for writing like Lynn Plourde’s 3P map.

Time with an Author

Here are the things the children said about their day with Lynn Plourde:

Hajna said, “Lynn Plourde is funny and nice.  She’s a great author who makes up funny words in her books.  In the books with Mrs. Shepard’s class they are all finished in one day and there is always something that repeats.”

Lily said, “She write good children’s books.  Her stories are three piece and they rhyme.  She makes her books a big laugh.”

Juliana said, “She is a good author.  We heard about her books.  Pajama Day is my favorite.”

Arjay said, ” She writes funny books that rhyme.  She comes up with weird names like Juan Dore-Nomad who always gets lost.”

Jake said, “One of her books is Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud.  She likes animals.  They are in almost all of her books.  She writes books with missing things and problems that repeat over and over until they are solved.”

Liam said, “She writes funny books.  She plans and brainstorms.”

Jordan said, “She is a funny author with good expression.  She used and arrow to show the action of the story should go up and not go down.  Exciting ideas go near the end.”

Kaylee said, “You’re Wearing That to School is a funny book that kids in our class really like.  You should be who you are.”

Parker said, “She is a really funny author.  Her books are all funny.”

Cameron said, “Everyone likes her books.  My favorite is Pajama Day.”

Gabby said, “She’s a good author.  I like her books.  I hope you do too.  My favorite is probably School Picture Day.”

Katie said, “Lynn Plourde is a great author.  Her books inspire me.”

Lynn (she asked us to call her that) certainly did inspire the children.  She taught them how to create “take away” stories and helped them plan by following the three P’s – begin the story by defining a PROBLEM, go to the end of the story to PROMISE to solve the problem finally create a PATTERN for the middle leading to the solution.  She encouraged us to brainstorm ideas for the pattern so that we could use our very best ideas – not just the first ones we could come up with.  Many of the children came back from the assembly fired up with new ideas about writing and feeling empowered to create.  Her website is full of information about her books.  There are recordings of many of her stories for the children can listen to.  She has a blog section where she works to Make Writing Visible.  She told us that so much of writing is invisible because it happens in your head.  She has created some short video clips to help student writers think more powerfully about writing.  They are fun and helpful.

On top of all that, it was really exciting to share our readers’ theater version of School Picture Day.  It was amazing to have the author as our audience for our next to last rehearsal.  Lynn complimented the acting and the children’s effort.  She said the best part was how happy the class looked as they performed together.  At the end she autographed each of their scripts so that when the performances are all over, everyone in our class will have a special memento of the day author, Lynn Plourde came to school.

Blog Posts

 Up to know the children have been learning to post with one-on-one help.  This week after brainstorming possibilities, the children each chose something they would like to post on their personal blogs.  They worked independently to decide, compose and share.  Some of them posted their GarageBand compositions created in technology class.  Some of them wrote book reviews.  Some of them wrote autobiographical posts sharing special interests and favorite things.  Still others shared writing and art.

Each week the children will have time to post on their blogs.  With practice, the steps for posting will come more easily and I imagine the posts will become a little more descriptive and informative.  The children are excited about the work and the possibilities of making connections beyond the classroom.  This form of writing requires a different type of attention to an outside audience.  They are aware that the writing needs to be specific and clear.  They are learning to take another’s point of view to explain things to readers who may know very little about their topic.   While they know about posting with an audience in mind, right now it is a challenging demand to meet.  Currently their main focus is learning all the in’s and out’s of posting, adding media and reviewing comments.  It will come with practice.  I am looking forward to seeing how the blogs create a record of how they grow and learn.  If you have time to check out their work, please let them know by leaving a comment.

Bits and Pieces –

• December 10 -Our School Picture Day performance is at Barnes and Noble in Newington at 5:30.  Please try to be there 10 or 15 minutes earlier so the performance begins on time.  Thanks.
• December 12 – A challenge with Mr. Caron – we should be prepared to be outside
• Remember that Secret Friend Projects should be brought to school between Monday, December 16 and Wednesday, December 18.
• Secret Friend Celebration and Pizza Party is on Thursday, December 19.