As I write this we’ve only had two days of school, but they have been full and busy. We are looking forward to more fun creating, researching, and discovering new ideas and abilities.

We are in need to some volunteers to help with journal making. If you think you have some time at either the beginning or adding of our school day, let me know. Thank you.

The Global Kind Project – S.E.L.

We are participating in the Education Collaborative’s Global Kind Project.  There are children from nearly 25 different countries participating.  We hope to connect with some of them during this 4-week(+ or -) project. It began on Martin Luther King Day and continues through to Valentine’s Day.  This week we defined kindness Check out the blog to see a picture of the list. This class clearly knows how kindness is expressed. We also began a plan for sharing joy and smiles throughout the school.  This week we were able to share with the 2^nd and the 7^th grade. We shared kind message ornaments with 2nd grade and made monster pencils for 7th.  It’s fun to share with others!  Next week we’ll consider ways to inspire good. We will explore the idea of gratitude and continue on finding ways to share smiles with other grades.

Elaboration Strategies When Writing

This week we looked more closely at dialogue. We looked at how it is punctuated and explored the choices authors make to help their readers understand what they are reading. We discovered that when a new person speaks it is written on a new line. We learned about indenting and using the quotation marks to surround the speech. When we work together we are easily able to notice when we need capitals, end punctuation and commas to divide the speaker from the quote. We’ll continue to practice so each of the children can work with this more independently.

So far we’ve practiced adding detail and description to our narrative. We’ve added sound and action to liven our words up. Dialogue we’ve discovered moves our stories along faster. The last strategy we are going to explore at this point in the year is capturing inner thoughts. When we can connect with our reader’s feelings we think they are more like to remember our story.

If you’ve not had a chance to connect with your child’s blog in a while, I hope you’ll have a chance. They’ve been writing lots and having fun sharing with each other. You can see signs of growth and change in them. And I know they would love to read your comment.

Global Geography and New Book Clubs

This week we finally finished reading about each of the seven continents. At the beginning of our study the children found it challenging to name the outlined shapes of the continents and to place them on a paper to create a map. Now we hope we all can name each continent and place it in its approximate location to create a world map. The world it full of interesting and wonderful places. It is exciting to explore.

We’ve got four new book clubs. They are Flat Stanley – Worldwide Adventures, Race The Wild, Recipe for Adventure and Secret Agent, Jack Stalwart. Most of the groups have been able to read the first four chapters. We know the characters. We have some idea about their traits and a few hints about what the upcoming problem might be as we follow the plot line of the books. Since each of us is reading a different volume in the series we are looking for similarities and differences.

We’ll be mapping our book adventures in the classroom and highlight some of the things we’ve learned about Global Cultures as we read.

Bits and Pieces –

• We have a bit of work remaining on our map of Sassafras Springs. We should have that all finished on Monday.
• We’ve been exploring larger amounts and strengthening our understanding of place value. You’ll see some confusions begin to show on the place value riddle sheets that will be coming home over the course of the next few weeks. This confusion is normal. It will clear. If your child feels concerned help them see the patterns. We’ll be doing that in the classroom too.
• We’re having fun with Secrets According to Humphrey. We think we’ll have Humphrey books clubs next.
• The Good Deed Club met with Dr. Anderson and shared their plan for an event modeled after Harvest Fest that will raise money to benefit endangered animals. The children made a fabulous presentation of the goals and their plan. He granted the club permission and because we need the gym and that is always used in the winter for basketball set the date as Friday, April 6. It will be afterschool in the early evening. More details will follow after the group has met with Student Government. They asked the older kids to help them. I know there is conversation about costumes, etc. … please hold off on those plans. I am hopeful as we get planning ideas can become a bit more realistic. Please save the date. We plan to send a flier home about it next week.