Poetry

April is National Poetry Month and we have been reading loads of poetry. Last week the children began writing their own poems and as always I was blown away with their ability to choose words that relay meaning and include creative design and emotion. The first thing we learn about poems is that they break all the rules of writing that we have been studying . . . boy do they love that! It's truly a beautiful thing to watch a child share a newly written poem and ask others to help bring it to life. Bringing a poem to life involves creating line breaks and moving words or phrases around to sound better. This week the children will be posting some of their work on their own blogs.

Every Friday afternoon we have a team meeting. As always the meeting ends with "recognitions". Recognitions are when one student recognizes another for something they did that was safe, kind, or responsible. This past Friday a second graders recognition brought the adults to tears. It went as follows, "I would like to recognize Jamie for helping me get better at jump roping. He told me that all I needed was to be more confident. I believed in myself and now I am really good. It's nice to know that other kids are looking out for me." Amazing!

Little Bird Tales

The children have learned how to use a fantastic web based publishing site called Little Bird Tales. First everyone had to register within the site using their school email address. After having completed a story (a very short story so that we can get right to publishing for a larger audience) the task of creating art work and typing in the text began. Finally, reading and recording the story for all to hear. Saving our work was the biggest stumbling stone! Some pages required 2 saves while others only one. Everyone seems to have it down after a bit of trial and error and we are beginning to publish the stories on the sidebar of the blog as well as their own individual blogs (we really need to get back into those and publish more of our work). Enjoy listening to their sweet voices . . . it's really a treat!

Here's a tutorial if you would like to know more about Little Bird Tales. Given that this tool is web based the children can access their accounts from anywhere! Little Bird Tales

Differentiating

Teachers are constantly differentiating in the classroom for every skill, strategy, or subject area taught. Math is no exception to that rule. With the help of our math interventionist, Kathy Schaw, I have introduced a number of math games that work on number sense and span many levels.
The first game we learned was "Farkle" which is played with 6, six sided dice and depending upon the combinations players are awarded various points each round. The points are cumulus which demands much higher level addition skills than the children have ever been exposed to. With the help of an iPad app called "Number Rack" (this is a relatively new app and great for so many different skills) the children are able to do the necessary calculations. The best part about Farkle is that I am able to change the point value depending upon the skill level of each individual child.
The next game I taught the children was "Spit" or "Speed". Using a deck of playing cards the children organize their cards in front of them similarly to Solitaire with a few remaining cards in their hands. The object of the game is to get rid of your cards by placing them on two shared center piles. When getting rid of a card it has to be either the one before or the one after the existing card and there is an element of speed involved. I am able to differentiate the game for individuals by eliminating face cards. This is a very fast paced game and is enhanced by quick thinking and reactions.
Another game the children are playing is called "10 Frame Frenzy". For this game the children must match up addition facts that equal 10, locating answers on a Bingo type board, and think strategically in order to beat their partner. I am able to differentiate this game by changing the frames to 20 frames and addition facts that equal 20.
As we continue through our geometry unit and discover 3-D shapes in our world we will continue to build number sense through these games during our Work Place stations.

S'mores Celebration

After a failed start our S'mores celebration picked up and was a total success. The children loved roasting their own marshmellows and making their own S'mores. We had spent some time earlier in the day watching a youtube video on how to make a S'more and then created our own "how to" document with step by step procedures. It was really fun to watch them actually carry out the steps . . . some even counted to 30 so their chocolate would melt (not me!!).

Celebrations like this really help to create a positive environment and culture of caring and mutual respect within the classroom. They were all so thankful for the opportunity. So nice to be a part of in a world that frequently spins much too fast.

Dr. Seuss meets the Document Camera

Our new unit of study in readers workshop focuses on character study and what better characters to spend some time with than those created by Theodor Seuss Geisel. In writers workshop we will be working on constructed responses to prompts. Again, Dr. Seuss opens many doors to the imagination.
As the children arrived to school on Tuesday morning they were greeted by the aroma of green eggs and ham! Even the most reluctant eaters gave them a try and many were surprised by how much they enjoyed the breakfast surprise. We all donned Cat in the Hat style crowns and spent a good part of the day reading, watching, and thinking about the 108 year old author and illustrator.

Over the vacation I installed a document camera on to our SMART board and we are discovering many, many uses for this "new to us" technology. Along with our study of Dr. Seuss' books in literacy we are working on our listening skills (particularly with follow through to directions). Well, the document camera has proven to be worth it's weight in gold! We were sharing our first assignment that entailed several components toward meeting the goal (and a couple more to exceed). Everyone was sure they had either met or exceeded the goal. As it turned out only 3 children met and 2 exceeded. Almost everyone else asked if they could have their papers back for a second go. On our second assignment we had only shared 3 papers when many children raised their hands and asked if they could "do a little more" before their work was shared. How much am I loving this . . . let me count the ways!

Tomorrow we use the document camera to investigate reflective angles using pattern blocks and a hinged mirror. Who has more fun than us I ask?!

Happy Valentine's Day

We learned many historical facts and legends about Valentine's Day from one of our Rookie Reader books. We love Rookie Reader books as they are just the right size and hold just the right amount of information for young readers. You can find Rookie Reader books on just about anything or anyone of interest.
We also learned how to address an envelope with our names and mailing addresses. Everyone addressed a very large envelope and decorated it with many colored hearts. Later in the day Valentine's were delivered into the envelopes and loads of delicious treats were enjoyed. Thanks to all the parents who helped out and joined us for this celebration of friendship.

100th Day of School

We had counted forwards and backwards, grouped, charted, and created patterns using the numbers 1 - 99 each morning during number corner. All of that in anticipation for the 100th day of school. Of course we all had to wear crowns sporting 100 dots in various groups and . . .

• count by 100's as we all one by one dumped 100 gorp items into a large bowl
• eat 100 Kix one by one as we wrote all the numbers on a grid
• estimate what 100 steps would be and then count out 100 steps
  
• draw what we would look like in 100 years
  
• flip a penny 100 times and keep track of the heads and tails using tally marks
• hop on one foot for 100 seconds (it's longer than you think)
• talk to a friend for 100 seconds
• hold 100 popcorn kernals in our hand
• watch 100 popcorn kernals pop from a hot air popper and see where they would land
• compare what 100 popped kernals looked like after picking them up from around the room
• state what we would and would not eat 100 of
• state what we would and would not hold 100 of
• write what was one of our most favorite activities from the past 100 days
• as a group collect 100 happy words
• as a group read 100 books
• wrote number sentences equaling 100
  

We are all looking forward to next year when we are 2nd grade mathematicians. Perhaps our 100 year old guest teacher will make an appearance next year!

Readers Theatre = Fluent Readers

At the risk of sounding like a broken record . . . I love 1st grade! One of the many reasons is the amount of progress the children make in readers workshop over a relatively short period of time. Everyone is working on becoming a more fluent reader and the best way we know how is to read, read, and read some more. Readers Theatre allows children to do just that. They begin by reading the text to see which character is most interesting to them, reread to practice for an audition (just in case someone else wants the same character), reread aloud with the group in preparation for a performance, and finally read aloud as a group before an audience. More to come!

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!

View all

Get your own

Click on pictures to see full screen.

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!