Day in the Dark

Here are some photos from our visit to Mrs. Christiano's classroom for the Day in the Dark activity.  Thanks to our wonderful third grade friends for sharing books and poems with us!

Gifts for Giving and Upcoming Events

A big thank you to everyone who volunteered at Gifts for Giving on Wednesday!  We had a great time!  Check out our photos from Gifts for Giving, ECO, and playing the dreidel game in our classroom.
 
Upcoming Events:

Monday, December 22nd: Day in the Dark The 3rd and 4th grade classes are having a special event in which they will read winter books and poems to other classes. We will be visiting Mrs. Christiano's class for this event.

Tuesday, December 23rd: 

              12:40: Class Celebration Thank you to all families who are contributing     

                          food and drinks!  Families are welcome to join us for this celebration.  

               1:10:  Holiday Sing Along  Feel free to join in!

               1:45:  PBIS Celebration:  Movie (Frozen) or art and library choices

 

Wednesday, December 24th- Monday, January 5th: Winter Recess

Important Info and Upcoming Events

The PTNO needs volunteers to help with this Wednesday's Gifts for Giving.

If you are able to help, please email emesptno@gmail.com 

In the e-mail, please let them know the hours you are able to volunteer.  

Upcoming Events:

Wednesday, December 17th:  Gifts for Giving (if we get enough volunteers)  Students are encouraged to bring a small box/shoebox or bag to help them carry their gifts home safely.

Thursday, December 18th:  ECO  Please help your child come prepared with appropriate clothing for spending the morning learning outdoors. 

Friday, December 19th:  3rd/4th Grade Chex Mix Sale  The cost will be $0.75 per bag.  Money raised will go to The World newspaper's Santa Project, which buys warm outdoor clothing for Central Vermont Children.

Monday, December 22nd:  Day in the Dark  The 3rd and 4th grade classes are having a special event in which they will read winter books and poems to other classes.  We will be visiting Mrs. Christiano's class for this event.

Tuesday, December 23rd:  Class Celebration  Thank you to all families who are contributing food and drinks!  Families are welcome to join us for this celebration.  I will let you know the time of the party as soon as I can. 

Wednesday, December 24th- Monday, January 5th:  Winter Recess

Classroom News: ECO, Subtraction, and Crafts!

We had our first ECO lesson with Carrie today!  We started by discussing what animals need to survive in their habitat.  Then, we played a game called "Oh Deer" in which some students were deer and others were either shelter, food, or water.  Using hand signals, the deer had to try and find what they needed to survive in their habitat.  Carrie graphed our deer population over several "years" and we made predictions about what might happen during the next "year".

In our outdoor classroom, we had a nature sharing circle and listened to a story.  After that, we worked together to build a brush pile home for small animals in the woods.  We finished our lesson by sitting and drawing in our "sit spots" and it was interesting to see all of the changes since the last time we were in the woods.  Later in the day, we wrote short narratives and drew illustrations in our ECO journals.

In math class, we have been working on fact fluency by playing a dice subtraction game.  We have also been exploring different strategies for solving subtraction problems with two-digit numbers.  This can be challenging work and I have been impressed with students' motivation to find solutions and show their math thinking.

On Friday afternoon, we joined the kindergarten class for a fun craft activity!  

Important Information and Upcoming Events

Our next ECO lesson will be on Thursday, December 18th.  Thanks to families for helping your children come prepared for ECO lessons!

Gifts for Giving will be on Wednesday, December 17th.

The December Homework is due back on Monday, December 22nd.

The winter holiday break will be from December 24th to January 4th.

ECO on Thursday

On Thursday, we will participate in an ECO lesson with our new ECO teacher, Carrie Riker.  Please remind your child to wear warm outdoor clothing for our morning outdoors. Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the kindergarten and second grade pancake breakfast! Here are some photos of the event.  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I am excited to see everyone on Monday morning.

Classroom News: "Small Moments" Narratives and Owl Moon

We are wrapping up our "small moments" narrative writing unit.  During this unit, we continued to revisit our mentor text, Owl Moon, looking for ideas and inspiration.  We learned how the author, Jane Yolen, used repetition, comparisons, and descriptions in her writing as she stretched out her story.  After reading the story aloud, students worked in small groups to place sticky notes on sentences or phrases that they thought were examples of good writing.  Then, each student chose a few phrases and wrote about why he or she thought they were interesting.

We chose a few of these phrases to use as we created a dance that showed our ideas about what the descriptions mean.  We tried out our dance while listening to George Winston's song "December", which matched the mood of the story very well.  The phrases we chose were:

"... a train whistle blew, long and low, like a sad, sad song."

"I could feel the cold, as if someone's icy hand was palm-down on my back."

"...the owl pumped its great wings and lifted off the branch like a shadow without sound."

After our movement lesson, students wrote a short reflection about one movement that they felt connected well with the book.  We also participated in an ECO lesson that connected with Owl Moon and wrote about this lesson in our ECO journals.  Finally, we created a watercolor painting about a favorite phrase from the book.

It has been wonderful to see how well students understand the power of the writing choices Jane Yolen and other authors make.  It has also been exciting to see students trying out these "craft" moves, such as making comparisons, to lift the level of their own writing!

Important Dates and Reminders:

November Homework is due by Tuesday, November 25th.  Students can bring their packets in on Monday if they are already finished.

Scholastic Book Orders are due on Monday, November 24th.  Please let me know if you would like your order to be a surprise, so we can arrange a special pick up time.  Otherwise I will hand out the orders when they arrive.

Second grade/ Kindergarten Pancake Breakfast:  Tuesday, November 25th 9:00-10:00 am

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to bring food for this special event! 

Reading to End Racism:  Tuesday, November 25th, 2:45 pm

Thanksgiving Break:  Wednesday, November 26th to Friday, November 28th

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!  I am so thankful to work with such an amazing class and supportive families!