The Polar Express

Our last day of school in 2011 was a fantastic day for sure . . . one that I will remember and I hope the children do as well. The entire school jumped on board with us and celebrated the children's success' with a swarm party where everyone wore pajamas. At the end of the day we had a "slumber party" in the gym where we all sang songs to the beat of our own Allen Brook School Band (the same band that welcomes us in every Friday morning in the lobby). The place was hoppin'!

The most exciting part of our day began as the children entered the school after a brisk morning walk to the sound of a very loud train whistle. Everyone was given a ticket to board the Polar Express! They made their way to seats where they found hot cocoa, candy canes, and a bell from Santa's sleigh. As they settled in we viewed the actual Polar Express on the Smart board and then listened to a reading of the book by Chris VanAllsburg. Every time the children heard the word "bell" they shook their bell. Smiles were plentiful and eyes were wide open as we chugged on through the book. It was truly a magical time in the classroom!

Throughout the day the children rotated through 4 different workshops all pertaining to the book The Polar Express. They began by learning about the northern lights, which were mentioned in the book, and then created their own aurora borialis with chalk. Next they played Polar Express Bingo, created a reindeer ornament, and painted a winter scene. Everyone enjoyed the activities and spirit of the day.

It wouldn't be a celebration without something sweet! Everyone decorated cookies, it was astonishing how detailed everyone made their designs, and then consumed their work. I don't know how we will ever top this day! I left school that day exhausted and feeling totally blessed to work in such a supportive school community with amazing children that truly believe.

Lobster Legs & Whales Tails

We have moved into our 3rd unit in math and will continue to work on developing a solid understanding of basic operations and place value in the context of problem solving. Our first few sessions have introduced a collection of games and activities designed to provide practice with addition facts to 10 and counting sums of money to 25 cents. The children will also be working on sorting and graphing various ways to classify and compare pictures of sea creatures.

Children will spend a great deal of time posing and solving story problems, counting and comparing sums of money, and practicing addition facts. Behind much of the work, however, is the idea of counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's. sometimes this "skip counting" is done in the context of simple multiplication problems - "7 sea stars, how many arms?" or "4 crabs - how many legs?" or "5 dimes - how much is this collection worth?" Other times, work with multiplies is presented in the form of division problems such as "12 claws, how many lobsters?" or "50 legs, how many crabs?" The central principle that children must grasp in order to handle counting by 2's, 5's, 10's or any grouping other than 1's is that collections themselves can be counted. That is, we can talk about the number of 2's, or 5's, or 10's in a set just as we talk about the number of individual units. For example, half an hour on the clock face can be thought of as 30 individual minutes, or 6 groups of 5 minutes, as delineated by the numbers we actually see on the clock.

This is an understanding that takes quite a bit of time and experience to develop, and is not necessarily indicated by a child's ability to skip-count by rote, to recite the counting by 5's or counting by 10's sequences from memory, or to read and write double-digit numbers. The fundamental context for developing this notion is in posing simple multiplication and division story problems, such as "Ms. Rogers has 3 bags of cookies. There are 5 cookies in each bag. How any cookies does Ms. Rogers have all together?" or, conversely, "Ms. Rogers has 15 cookies. She puts 5 cookies in each bag. How many bags can she fill?"

When working with your child to enhance these math skills, or any math content, always have some sort of manipulatives on hand for them to count and compare. You'll be pleasantly surprised how engaged they will become!

Giving Thanks

Many thanks to all the parents who came in to school and shared in our Thanksgiving celebration and to those who sent in delicious finger food. We started early in the morning making woven place mats complete with Thanksgiving Wordles that the children created the previous day (check out the children's blogs for a close look at the Wordles) and place cards with very colorful horns of plenty. The children were very excited to rearrange the classroom and set up one very long table so that we could all sit together.

I am very thankful for such a wonderful group of caring, hard working, and interesting 1st graders!

Saving the world!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love first graders? Every day starts fresh with new opportunities, new friendships, and new ways of looking at what we already know to better help us learn and grow. The lens in which they view the world is clean and full of possibility. We all can learn from them.
Last week I gave the children a writing prompt asking, if you were a community helper who would you be and how would you help others? There were several doctors, vets, firefighters, police officers, a pilot and a librarian all helping others in various ways. One response stood out above the rest . . . we need to keep our eyes on this kid!

I am going
to be Rabin.
I am going
to get a lot of
musls. I am
guing to help plesmen.
I am going
to save the
wrld.

Kid Blogs

Today was the most exciting day of 1st grade by far! Everyone started their very own blogs by uploading a self portrait that they made way back in September and then commented on others self portraits. The number of clicks that this took seemed like an impossible number when we began learning how earlier in the week. At the request of several children a list of just what each click needed to be was created . . . never say young children can't follow a complicated series of steps if the end result is motivating!
1. Firefox (open to the WSD homepage)
2. Teams
3. Synergy
4. Ms. Rogers
5. class blog
6. kid blogs
7. your name
8. log in
- enter user name beginning with a capital letter
- enter password beginning with a capital letter
9. new post
- enter title: Hopes & Dreams
10. image
11. from computer
12. select file
13. drop down menu
14. H Drive
15. Houses
16. Synergy students
17. Rogers – Hopes & Dreams
18. your picture
19. O None O Left O Center O Right
20. Insert into Post
21. My Blog
Writing comments was a breeze after all these steps! Please take the time to check out your child's blog with them and let them show you how it's done. There link is located on the sidebar and will remain there throughout the school year. You may comment on posts by logging in as a parent. Once on the blog click parent from the list of names on the right and enter parent as the user name and password. As the administrator I must approve all comments prior to them posting live to the internet so you won't see them immediately. Have Fun!

11.11.11

Where were you when the clock chimed 11.11.11 / 11.11.11? All of Synergy counted up the seconds until the clocks simultaneously showed us this magical second . . .

We have been waiting for days and days for this moment in time.

Firefighters & Harvest Party

Once again our gardener Andrew out did himself with a tasty Stone Soup. Most everyone who was brave enough to try the soup really liked it. Andrew also had a fire burning in the outdoor mud oven and was roasting apples for everyone to sample. We are so very lucky to have Andrew as his passion for gardening and ingenuity are boundless and our children reap the seeds that he sows.
Thanks so much to Firefighter Tom and Firefighter Ryan for taking time out of their busy day to help us all learn how to be safe and responsible if we were ever in an emergency situation. The children had great questions about the gear that Firefighter Tom wore. There were loads of stories about when smoke detectors went off in their homes and who had inadvertently set them off! Gotta love how 6 & 7 year old children tell it like they see it!

Our Travels to Bali

Last week we all took a virtual trip to Bali via Skype. An acquaintance of mine, Jan Reynolds who is the author of a series of books about vanishing cultures across the world, has spent quite a bit of time in Bali researching the Balinese rice farmers for her latest book entitled Cycle of Rice Cycle of Life. She is currently back in Bali with the rice farmers and wanted to Skype with us to share some of her findings. Jan introduced us to a young Balinese woman who said hello to the children (this ended up being their favorite part). We saw a statue that was 1/2 man 1/2 elephant, 2 men playing a beautiful and unique piano, orchids growing on trees, and lovely offerings created from grasses and flowers. It was a very unique experience. We are looking for a classroom somewhere in the world that would like to become our Skype pals!

Many Thanks

Thank you friends and families for taking the time out of your busy day to come into school and share in your child's work. Everyone did a wonderful job talking about their work, reading stories, and showing our guests around the classroom. Thanks also for bringing in the delicious breakfast food!

We are also very thankful to Nancy who brings in Sophie the Therapy Dog every Wednesday afternoon. The children are taking turns reading their stories to Sophie who sits and listens with rapt attention. After the story Sophie usually does a trick or two, gives out some kisses, and then receives a treat. It seems that I do not have any timid readers this year as everyone is quite excited to share their stories whether it be with Sophie or during our share time after writers workshop. Lucky me!

ABS Wind Turbine

This past week we ventured outside on a misty afternoon to explore the wind turbine that sits up on the hill above the bus loop. The children were so excited to "feel" the energy surging through the tower. As if listening to a large seashell they placed their ears on the long arm that seems to hover above the ground and were sure they could hear the energy as well. Shortly after I gave them each a pinwheel and they ran around and around making their own energy and gleefully watching the blades spin around and around. Simple pleasures!

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What's the buzz?

Everyone at Allen Brook School is all a "buzz" over small black and gold glittery pom poms! As children exhibit behaviors that fall within our 3 school rules, be kind - be safe - be responsible, they receive a warm buzzy. Golden buzzies are reserved for targeted areas in the school which at this point in time is the playground. Each classroom has a "honey jar" that is used to collect the warm buzzies and golden buzzies. When a jar becomes full it is emptied into the large "bee hive" in the main office. Each time we empty the jar we celebrate as a class (extra recess, group game, lollipops, free choice). The entire school worked together to fill the"bee hive" which resulted in a "Swarm Party"! Everyone in the school made crowns, we all gathered in the gym early one morning and sang songs together led by Mr. Bolger on guitar and Mrs. TH at the microphone.
The positive effect these small pom poms have had on our school is quite astounding. The children are proud to receive them, love being publicly recognized, and most importantly have a clear set of expectations that are consistent throughout the school.

Story Problems & Self Portraits

This past week we started our first math story problems. A simple story involving ladybugs was read aloud to the children along with a picture illustrating the words. The children were encouraged to draw a picture, use numbers, or words to explain their thinking. Most were able to do this without hesitation and in more than one way. The difficulty was in explaining their thinking. This year the children will be asked to "justify" their thinking in math (which then dribbles over into every facet of their lives). Initially the children will learn to use the word "because" to begin describing why they did something. They may simply know something in their head, however, there was a means to retrieving that information. Understanding that route will allow them to make more mathematical connections.

After a quick lesson on where our features are actually located on our faces the children were off and running with a self portrait project. Everyone created a pencil drawing of their face with minimal detail, retraced those lines using a permanent marker, erased any pencil lines, and then using water color paints added color. There were so many directions to follow! Sharp listening skills were a must. They are all adorable!

1st Week of 1st Grade

I am the luckiest teacher on the planet . . . everyone came in to school eager and ready to work and learn! No one complained. No one asked when lunch would be served. No one asked how much longer until the buses came. Everyone participated and followed our 3 school rules; be kind, be safe, and be responsible. As children exhibited positive behaviors for any one of these rules they were rewarded with a "warm buzzy" or a "golden buzzy" if they were on the playground. Each "buzzy" was put in a honey jar and when the jar was filled we celebrated within the classroom, brought the jar to the office where the buzzies were deposited into the "hive" and worked to fill up the honey jar again. When the hive is full the entire school will celebrate!

The week ended on a high note with everyone exploring the new iPads. It was nothing short of amazing watching them figure out how to go deeper within each app, sharing surprises with others in the room, and asking questions that allowed them a deeper understanding of how to use this very cool tool. By far the silliest and most fun app was the Photo Booth. I'm looking forward to finding ways to incorporate this app as well as many others into our daily work.

Wildlife Sightings

Every morning I rise and shine at 4:45, brush my teeth, and put on my running clothes. By 5:00 I'm outside and running down the road. Two miles from my house is the Audubon Nature Center and all along the way the Huntington River quietly meanders along. This view of Camels Hump is the treat I get at the end of my run as I round the final corner and head home. Rarely does a day go by that I don't have a wildlife sighting of some sort or another. Often times there are ducks bobbing along one spot in the river bordering a farmers field. There are always birds singing their morning songs. Interesting how those songs change as the seasons change. Once this summer I came upon a snapping turtle crossing the road. I didn't really dare to pick it up so I just stayed there directing cars until it was safely across and on its way towards the river. There seems to be a bear crossing at a rather sharp bend in the river. One day a single male crossed in front of me and on another day a mama and 2 cubs made there way across and into the river for a drink at the very same spot. I've had a woodchuck snort at me, quite loudly too! And the squirrels and chipmunks race through the forest making quite a racket.

Many days I am lucky enough to stare into the eyes of white-tailed deer. Today was one of those days. As I was leaving the Audubon Nature Center a single deer appeared out of the trees on the side of the road. We both stopped at the same time and locked eyes upon one another, its ears twitched from side to side. I told the deer that it really needed to be careful crossing the road as cars tend to go rather fast along that straight away and the forest really was deeper not to mention had the river for nice cool water on that side. The deer blinked at me, turned around and leaped off through the tall grass, disappearing into the forest. That was cool!!

Blueberry Picking

One of my favorite things about August is that the blueberries are ready at Owl's Head Berry Farm in Richmond. They have the coolest set up I've ever seen in my travels to various berry farms. The rows are planted similar to rice terraces in the Philippines and hanging above all the rows on thin wire are sparkly silver strips waving in the breeze to ward off birds. If that wasn't enough they have an intercom system set up with raptor sounds blasting so that any berry loving bird brave enough to fly under the waving silver strips will be scared off by the thought that a raptor is in hot pursuit!! Very clever don't you think? On Tuesday and Thursday evenings they have live music with loads of different performers to entertain the berry pickers.

I also love, love, love the book Blueberries For Sal by Robert McCloskey. If you aren't familiar with this story Little Sal and Little Bear both lose their mothers while eating blueberries and almost end up with the other's mother. Click on the picture or title to listen to the story and see the illustrations from the book compliments of Discovery Education.

Shelburne Farms

My husband Bill works at DEALER.COM in Burlington and every summer they have a company wide family BBQ at Shelburne Farms. We got to walk around and visit all the adorable animals, watch Marco the Magician play amazing card tricks that I'm still wondering about, be entertained by a crazy juggler, and eat lots and lots of yummy food. The best part of the entire evening was when I found Georgia and her sister Maggie!! Maggie and I spent the past 2 years together and now I get to spend the next 2 years with Georgia, yeah!!

Exciting + Scary = FUN FUN FUN

I am a summer baby and this year for my birthday I went on a white water rafting adventure. Bill and I traveled to a remote spot in Canada on the Rouge River and experienced the ride of our lives. At times it was very scary, when I was under a churning mass of water and had no idea which way was up. Most of the time it was incredibly exciting! I learned that if I listened to our guide and followed his instructions even the scary parts turned into a whole lot of fun.
Can you find me? I'm in the back of the raft right in front of our guide.

Summer Fun

What do you like to do on a hot summer day? One of my favorite activities is skiing . . . on water and snow! My family has a summer camp on Woodbury Lake in Vermont and we love to get together on beautiful days and play in the water. My children like tubing at high speeds and jumping over huge waves made by the boat. I much prefer skiing on calm water and making my own spray.

We also have a pair of loons with a baby spending the summer on the lake. They are quite content to bob in the water as we ski past them. Sometimes we get a close look at them while kayaking. Not too close though . . . wouldn't want to scare the baby. Early in the morning we can hear their calls to one another. Click here to listen for yourself! Loon wail

Art Pad

I found a super fun web site that has a very simple drawing program. The great aspect of this program is that you can replay your painting and watch how you created your work! Here's one that I made for you . . . click here . I hope you try this out for yourself. You can even email pictures that you make! Here's the link to Art Pad. You can find it on the sidebar as well.

Eleanor & Ginger

Do you have any pets at home? We have 2 cats named Eleanor and Ginger. Eleanor loves to be with her people and will let us do just about anything to her. She is pretty much a princess so the crown is an accessory she is accustomed to wearing on a regular basis. Ginger is a real scaredy cat. She likes to hide in closets and drawers. She does come out early in the morning and meows quite loudly until someone pats and talks to her. Guess she is a morning "person"!

Happy Birthday America!

The 4th of July seemed to begin on the 2nd of July this year and s-t-r-e-t-c-h all the way through the 4th! We started celebrating with a family gathering at my nieces new house and proceeded to unload 2 large trucks full of furniture. I worked in the kitchen helping to unload box after box after box and finding places for every dish, glass, bowl, pan, and kitchen gadget under the sun. We all had a grand time cleaning, eating, unpacking, and laughing together.

The following evening we went to Burlington's Waterfront Park to listen to music and watch the sensational fireworks. While we were waiting the seagulls and ducks performed a few acts of their own. Alita managed to snap this picture of a seagull blocking out the sun. Pretty neat!!

Alita was hard at work in the kitchen the next morning creating mini cupcakes which she frosted to resemble the American flag. They were almost to good to eat . . . somehow we managed to empty the tray before the day was done.

When you're at the library look for this funny book about a stubborn mule who almost ruins the 4th of July Jake Johnson: The Story of a Mule .

Hello Summer

Summer has arrived and so have the flowers and weeds in my gardens. Behind the lavender are rows of raspberry bushes just bursting with luscious berries. I love to pick berries of all sorts and create delicious desserts. My daughter Alita and I are going to Mazza's Berry Farm to pick strawberries for the 4th of July. Mmmm . . . strawberry shortcake, chocolate dipped strawberries, strawberry smoothies, and strawberry sauce over pancakes!

What is your favorite way to eat strawberries?

Here is one of my favorite books about strawberries, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR . Click on the book title to hear and see the story for yourself.