Today, we went to the library to vote for our favorite Red Clover book. The children received their own ballots and used a private booth to vote. They put their ballots inside a ballot box.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Family Newsletter
Dear Families,
We are certainly enjoying this sunny weather. It is a little cold still, but the children love the sun and the blue sky. We are excited that Spring is right around the corner!
Our Learning:
Reading: We will continue with the Iditarod and the Iditarod Reading Race until the end of the month. The children are doing a great job completing the weekly reading logs and I can tell that they are excited and feel motivated by this. Thank you for supporting them at home and encouraging them to complete extra reading logs! I am so proud of them all! I will hand out certificates later this week. Traditionally, students who complete half of the race (12 check-points) will receive a certificate. Students who complete the entire race (25 check-points) will receive a special prize and all students will receive a special Iditarod Trail Bookmark. For the month of April, the students will have a choice for their reading logs. They can return to the "old" reading log, which we used before the Iditarod Reading Logs, or they can complete a new "Rainforest Reading Log". I will send out more information about these choices in the coming weeks.
Writing; We are in the midst of doing rainforest animal research. The kids are working hard. If you have time and want to help us out, please let me know. Having an extra adult in the classroom during this research time is very valuable and makes the learning so much more meaningful for the children. Thank you.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
We are certainly enjoying this sunny weather. It is a little cold still, but the children love the sun and the blue sky. We are excited that Spring is right around the corner!
Our Learning:
Reading: We will continue with the Iditarod and the Iditarod Reading Race until the end of the month. The children are doing a great job completing the weekly reading logs and I can tell that they are excited and feel motivated by this. Thank you for supporting them at home and encouraging them to complete extra reading logs! I am so proud of them all! I will hand out certificates later this week. Traditionally, students who complete half of the race (12 check-points) will receive a certificate. Students who complete the entire race (25 check-points) will receive a special prize and all students will receive a special Iditarod Trail Bookmark. For the month of April, the students will have a choice for their reading logs. They can return to the "old" reading log, which we used before the Iditarod Reading Logs, or they can complete a new "Rainforest Reading Log". I will send out more information about these choices in the coming weeks.
Writing; We are in the midst of doing rainforest animal research. The kids are working hard. If you have time and want to help us out, please let me know. Having an extra adult in the classroom during this research time is very valuable and makes the learning so much more meaningful for the children. Thank you.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
- Jump Rope for Hearts will take place at ABS on April 1st between 8:45-11:45.
- Peace Pups will visit Team Harmony on March 29 in the afternoon. We are excited to learn more about working dogs and sled dogs.
- Red Clover will end later this week. The students will vote for their favorite book on Thursday this week. Stay tuned for information on our winning book!
- Laura Sullivan will do her "solo week" the week of March 28th. I will be at school but she will teach all the classes and take care of all the transitions between the classes. If you need to change dismissal plans or let us know about any daily changes, please know that I will still check emails and inform her of any changes.
- The students filled the Office Bee Hive again. Congratulations! We will celebrate as a school with a Super Hero Day on March 31st! Please encourage your child to dress up as his/her favorite super hero!
- Thank you all for sending in birthday treats for our students to enjoy. Please remember that we have 20 students in our class and all treats must ne nut free! Thank you!
Monday, March 21, 2016
Filling our locker sticker chart
We filled our locker sticker chart in the kiva and decided to celebrate together. We celebrated Swedish Name Day. Swedish Name Day is an old tradition which celebrates our different names. Each day has a different name associated with it. Your child was assigned a corresponding Swedish day. It is celebrated like a mini birthday with presents and treats. We had cookies and made cards to each other.
Celebrating in class
Today, we filled the buzzy jar again in our classroom. We are so proud of each other for working together to be safe, kind, and responsible. We had lunch in the classroom. Enjoy the pictures.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Family Newsletter
Dear Families,
This week certainly went by fast with teacher in-service on Monday and a snow-day later on. I was at a science class at the Montshire Museum on Friday, learning more about our new common core science standards, so the children had Ms. Sullivan as a substitute teacher. They did an amazing job. Ms. Sullivan will teach part of our Iditarod reading/writing unit this upcoming week and she will do her "Solo Week" the last week of March. During her "Solo Week", I will not be in the classroom as the idea is for her to learn how to manage a class on her own. I will be at school, of course, and available if she, or the children, need me.
Our Learning:
Reading: Our Iditarod Reading Race is off to a terrific start. We printed off Iditarod Trail maps at school so when the children hand in their reading logs on Fridays they can check off trail check-points to "race" along the trail, just like the mushers. We will keep these maps in our book boxes at school so the children can check off more places in case they choose to complete additional reading logs at school. Each child is expected to read every night and complete 4 logs each week, but if your child wishes to read and write additional logs, I have linked them on the wiki for you tp print at home. Thank you. Traditionally, Team Harmony has a cumulative learning activity at the end of the Iditarod unit, and this year, we will meet a real musher and his sled dogs. They will visit our team later this month. We are very excited.
Writing: The students started planning their upcoming animal reasearch. We discussed what we already know, or think, we know about the tropical rainforest and we started putting together our writing folders. We hope the children will choose an animal this week. We started researching different animals on the web-site pebblego and through immersion in our rainforest books in the classroom, we hope to start writing soon. Throughout this unit, the students will learn how to read for relevant information, how to take notes and how to take notes without copying somebody else's writing.
Math: First grade mathematicians are currently learning about 2 dimensional shapes and they are also exploring number sense in our Number Corner activities. Later this week, we sill start learning about 3-dimensional shapes. This unit on geometry is very interactive and hands-on. The children are so engaged in our learning! It is great to see.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
This week certainly went by fast with teacher in-service on Monday and a snow-day later on. I was at a science class at the Montshire Museum on Friday, learning more about our new common core science standards, so the children had Ms. Sullivan as a substitute teacher. They did an amazing job. Ms. Sullivan will teach part of our Iditarod reading/writing unit this upcoming week and she will do her "Solo Week" the last week of March. During her "Solo Week", I will not be in the classroom as the idea is for her to learn how to manage a class on her own. I will be at school, of course, and available if she, or the children, need me.
Our Learning:
Reading: Our Iditarod Reading Race is off to a terrific start. We printed off Iditarod Trail maps at school so when the children hand in their reading logs on Fridays they can check off trail check-points to "race" along the trail, just like the mushers. We will keep these maps in our book boxes at school so the children can check off more places in case they choose to complete additional reading logs at school. Each child is expected to read every night and complete 4 logs each week, but if your child wishes to read and write additional logs, I have linked them on the wiki for you tp print at home. Thank you. Traditionally, Team Harmony has a cumulative learning activity at the end of the Iditarod unit, and this year, we will meet a real musher and his sled dogs. They will visit our team later this month. We are very excited.
Writing: The students started planning their upcoming animal reasearch. We discussed what we already know, or think, we know about the tropical rainforest and we started putting together our writing folders. We hope the children will choose an animal this week. We started researching different animals on the web-site pebblego and through immersion in our rainforest books in the classroom, we hope to start writing soon. Throughout this unit, the students will learn how to read for relevant information, how to take notes and how to take notes without copying somebody else's writing.
Math: First grade mathematicians are currently learning about 2 dimensional shapes and they are also exploring number sense in our Number Corner activities. Later this week, we sill start learning about 3-dimensional shapes. This unit on geometry is very interactive and hands-on. The children are so engaged in our learning! It is great to see.
Upcoming Events and Reminders:
- Please consider supporting the FAP through their fund-raiser Lucy U. Tickets will be sold 3/14-3/18, with the drawing after school on 3/18. This is a very popular fund-raiser. Teachers and other staff provide different activities and the children get to choose which ones they are interested in. This year, Ms. Sullivan and I decided to provide an activity together. Other teachers have also signed up. There is something for everyone! Thank you.
- Parent teacher conferences will be scheduled for the week of 3/21, with most offered on the 25th as that is the date designated for these conferences. I will create the sign-up in the next few days and send it out to you all. Please let me know if the time-slots do not work for you.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Family News letter
Dear Families,
Brrr....it is cold out there! I hope you all had a nice weekend and feel ready to come back to school again! This is the last full week of school before our Winter Break, which starts next Monday. We are off the entire week and have teacher in-service on the 29th. Students come back to school again on Tuesday, March 1st.
Our Learning:
Writing: We are currently finishing up our "All About" writing pieces and the students will meet with their editing partners this week. We will share our stories with our Reading Buddies in Ms. Davison's Kindergarten class on Wednesday. When we return from our Winter Break, the students will start their research writing. This year, we are studying the Rainforest and the children will research a rainforest animal. More information will follow later.
Reading: The Iditarod (the dog sled race in Alaska), starts on March 5th. Once again, the students on Harmony will follow a musher and read books to earn check-points along the Iditarod trail. We will choose mushers and update our reading logs so they reflect this for when we return from break. Traditionally, Harmony reads "along" with the Iditarod dog sled race every year. The students will have help choosing a musher here at school. The musher's name will be placed inside the reading log (which is inside the red homework folder). Each night, students will still be expected to read for 10-20 minutes. However, the reading log requires a little more writing to reflect a deeper understanding of the books. If you want a sneak peek, the Iditarod reading log is linked on the wiki, or you can click here. This link also contains informational letters regarding the race and our reading logs. The official web-site for the Iditarod race and our wiki link is here too.
Technology: The students learned how to post on our KidBlog last week. They also learned how to insert a picture into the new format. I will share the passwords with you all via email so you can see your child's work and perhaps write back. We love blogging and hope you will too!
News and Upcoming Events:
Brrr....it is cold out there! I hope you all had a nice weekend and feel ready to come back to school again! This is the last full week of school before our Winter Break, which starts next Monday. We are off the entire week and have teacher in-service on the 29th. Students come back to school again on Tuesday, March 1st.
Our Learning:
Writing: We are currently finishing up our "All About" writing pieces and the students will meet with their editing partners this week. We will share our stories with our Reading Buddies in Ms. Davison's Kindergarten class on Wednesday. When we return from our Winter Break, the students will start their research writing. This year, we are studying the Rainforest and the children will research a rainforest animal. More information will follow later.
Reading: The Iditarod (the dog sled race in Alaska), starts on March 5th. Once again, the students on Harmony will follow a musher and read books to earn check-points along the Iditarod trail. We will choose mushers and update our reading logs so they reflect this for when we return from break. Traditionally, Harmony reads "along" with the Iditarod dog sled race every year. The students will have help choosing a musher here at school. The musher's name will be placed inside the reading log (which is inside the red homework folder). Each night, students will still be expected to read for 10-20 minutes. However, the reading log requires a little more writing to reflect a deeper understanding of the books. If you want a sneak peek, the Iditarod reading log is linked on the wiki, or you can click here. This link also contains informational letters regarding the race and our reading logs. The official web-site for the Iditarod race and our wiki link is here too.
Technology: The students learned how to post on our KidBlog last week. They also learned how to insert a picture into the new format. I will share the passwords with you all via email so you can see your child's work and perhaps write back. We love blogging and hope you will too!
News and Upcoming Events:
- We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Monday, February 15th. Thank you for sharing sweets and treats with our class.
- We will have our annual Movie Day at ABS on Friday the 19th. Please let us know if your child cannot participate in these movies. Thank you!
- Winter Break starts 2/22. Students return to school on 3/1.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Science presentation
We had a very special science presentation yesterday here on team Harmony. A parent visited us and shared his knowledge and expertise about light and light energy. We learned so much. Here are some pictures.
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