Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's Day was spent engaging in activities to remind us how important it is to be kind to one another. The students were challenged to use candy hearts to build a tower. This was far trickier than it seemed, but they perservered and were triumphant in their success! We also used the hearts to play Valentine Bingo. To spread the Valentine's Day love, each student got a Compliment Sheet. We started by writing something positive about ourselves, and then we passed the sheets one by one around the room so that each student got to write something kind about their peers. At the conclusion of the activity, every student had a sheet filled with positive compliments, making them feel loved and respected on this special day! Finally we ended our day with my favorite party of the year. The kids love opening their valentines and were so grateful to each other!



100th Day Hooray!!

We had a great time celebrating our 100th Day of School last month! We did so many fun activities to commemorate this important milestone. To begin, each student was given a 100th Day bag, and their assignment was to collect 100 items to fill the bag. They wrote 3 clues on an index card to describe their items, and then their classmates guessed what was in the bag. There were quite a few stumpers!

We also used a 100s chart to create a secret picture. I read clues and the children found the numbers on the chart that I was describing (ex. find ten less than 63. find 24 and count on 5 more). We did this in silence so no one would reveal the secret picture. Of course, they were so smart they were able to predict it as we got close to the end!

We also played Dragon Dice, which is a simple game, but oh so much fun! Students played in partners using a 100s chart a dice, and playing chips. They took turns rolling the dice to determine how far to move. The fun part came at the end because the winner had to land EXACTLY on 100! Some underdogs came out victorious in the end because of this! If they finished early, they played again by doubling the amount on their dice!

We also read 100th Day books, sang 100th Day songs, wrote about what we would do with $100 or what we would be like when we were 100 years old!







Powerful Words and Phrases

One of our areas of focus in Reader's Workshop and Writer's Workshop is identifying and using Powerful Words and Phrases. We have reading journals called Thoughtful Logs, and in them we record PWP that we find in our reading so we can use them in our own writing. During a mini-lesson on PWP, students were given a copy of a page from our mentor text, I Love You the Purplest. They worked in groups to select and highlight a powerful phrase and a powerful word to record in their logs and share with the class. We had a hard time choosing because this book is full of them!

Telling Time with Pretzel Hands!

We recently concluded a unit on Telling Time in math. During a lesson on hand placement, I decided to jazz up our learning a bit by having students use pretzel sticks for the hands on the clock! We created clock faces using a clock template and a paper plate, and then the students received two small pretzel sticks each. They bit off half of one to serve as the hour hand and the other was assigned to the minute hand. I gave them several different times and they practice placing the hands for the hour and half-hour increments. Who knew learning could be so delicious!



Solid Towers

We have been exploring solids and liquids in our Foss Science program. After being introduced to several solid materials and naming their properties, the children were challenged to build a tower with their solids. Their goal was to use what they knew about the solids' properties to make the tower as high as possible. For example, the cup has a wide bottom and would make a good base. The tin foil was flexible and lightweight so it would be good to use at the top. We could have done this activity for hours! What a bunch of creative engineers!

We Are Money Savvy!

During our unit on Money in math, we were fortunate to have a guest from Johnson Bank come in to talk to our class about being responsible with our money. Mrs. Jean Hinstorff taught the children that they have four options when it comes to using their money: spend, save, donate, and invest. They learned that it is smart to use your money in all four ways if you can. The chidlren got to practice making choices about their money. Mrs. Hinstorff set up a shopping experience where she placed signs indicating ways the children could spend, save, donate, and invest their money. Then she gave them $10 in play money and asked them to move around the room and place their money near the sign where they wanted to use it. Afterwards, they recorded the places they used their money and checked to make sure they had a balance of the four ways. What a practical, real-world experience for the kids to learn about money!

Holiday Concert

Our annual Holiday Concert was held in December. The theme was "Bears", which meant that all the songs the children sang had to do with bears. They even got to put some makeup on their noses and they wore little bear ears. The music teachers did an excellent job preparing the children for the concert and it was a huge success.

Thanksgiving..... Way Overdue!

This post is ridiculously late, but the project was too cute not to share! At our school we have a special day where the hot lunch served is actually a Thanksgiving Feast. Families are invited to join us for the delicious meal. On this day our focus in writing was sequencing and using transition words. We brainstormed a list of transition words that can be used to help writing flow, and then students wrote about the Thanksgiving lunch using transition words. After they wrote the created turkeys using construction paper and scrapbook paper for the feathers. Gobble gobble!

Synonyms/Antonymns

We spent time learning about synonyms and antonyms recently. After identifying several examples as a whole group, students received a red or green index card with a word on it, and had to find their matching antonym or synonym. Then we recorded some examples in our Thoughtful Logs. Students can keep track of additional synonyms and antonyms they find as they read independently.  

Good Morning Ms. _________!

When students complete extra credit assignments they earn stickers on our Extra Credit Chart. Every 5 stickers equals a trip to the Prize Box. Once a student has reached the end of the chart, the "big" reward is to sit at the teacher's desk for the day! What a treat! Kylie was the first in our class to earn this special privilege. Way to go!