We had a bus assembly and bus drill this morning. Ms. Carr and Mrs. Polansky talked to us about being safe on the bus. Charlie and Zelda were there too. We reviewed the Golden Bus rules. Some buses received the Golden Bus Award. These buses and children were awarded the Golden Bus Award in our class: Sasha and Emma (bats), Amanda (turkeys), Dylan M., Meaghan, and Adam (clovers) and Hunter (snowflakes). Sasha thought it felt really cool getting the award, especially since she got it last year too! Then the P.T.A. presented us with new indoor and outdoor recess equipment that was paid for with Box Tops for Education money. After the assembly we went on a bus. Anthony D.’s mom talked to us about bus safety and how to use the emergency exits. Everyone got to practice hopping off the back of the bus, including Ms. Stern!
We read two more Robert Munsch books. We discovered that his books have a problem that doesn’t get solved right away. We also figured out that the main characters are always kids. His books are so silly!
Miss Harding talked to us about the weather. We looked at pictures and asked us to guess the season. She read us a book called The Mitten, by Jan Brett. We thought about different activities that we enjoy having to do with snow. We wrote and drew about them on mitten paper. People wrote about snowball fights, sledding, building snowmen and igloos, and making snow angels.
Dr. Sarah came to our class to talk to us about teeth. She is a dentist and also Ms. Eyer’s daughter. She talked about the proper way to brush teeth. For example, you can brush in circles or up and down but not side to side because it can damage the gums between your teeth. Hunter learned not to use his floss like a saw because it could make your gums bleed. Drew learned that baby teeth fall out because adult teeth push them out from underneath. Nancy learned to protect your teeth with mouth guards if you play contact sports so that your teeth don’t get hurt.
In art we tried to finish up our tissue paper collages. When we are finished we are going to turn them into abstract art. Lauria added more tissue paper to her collage. Some people just started today and they were able to finish!
During Writer’s Workshop, we continued to look for extra “and”s and tried to make sure that we told enough “what”s in our stories. Eesha worked on adding a good ending and shared her story with the class before it was time for dismissal.
Lots of children brought in their time capsules today. If you haven’t sent it in yet, please make sure that all materials are in on Monday!
Have a fantastic weekend! Stay warm!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
We had a 2 hour delay today! Sasha slept late. So did Dylan A. and Nancy. Emma was playing a Nick Jr. game on the computer. When we got to school, everyone wanted to know if we were having snack. (We didn’t.)
We read a few Robert Munsch stories today. We are practicing reading like storytellers. Good readers sound like they are talking and not reading. Great readers read with expression. Readers who read like storytellers use different voices. Some parts are softer and others are louder. They act out the book and sometimes pretend. The reader’s voice matches the words in the book and the events taking place.
Now that we’ve wrapped up our number sense math unit, we are talking about how numbers go together. Today we made number quilts. We had to make the number 5 using 2 colors. Before we started working, Ms. Stern asked us to think about how we learn best. We had choices about how we were going to work, what our papers looked like, and what type of materials we needed. Some people used color tiles and others didn’t. Some people had open space on their papers and others had boxes. We chose crayons or markers. Before we went to music, Ms. Stern asked us to think about our observations about the lesson:
· The room was quiet. –Jacob
· Everyone was working. –Nancy
· I could think of 6 ways to make 5. –Adam
· People came up with different amounts. –Lauria
· People had different papers. –Stephen
Then we thought about ourselves as math students:
I was paying attention and thinking as hard as I could. –Victoria
In math, you can add up numbers with other numbers. –Sarah
I draw very good. –Anthony D.
I could think of all different ways to make 5. -Adam
In Writer’s Workshop, we continued working on our personal narrative stories. Ms. Stern gave us a few reminders about our writing time:
No drinks or bathroom breaks
Use the materials at your own table
Throw away pens that don’t work anymore. No one else can use a dried out pen either!
Clean up your space when you are done
Everyone got started reviewing their work. We’re going to get ready to edit and fancy up our work again soon for publishing so Ms. Stern asked us to work on stories already in our folders instead of starting new ones. Adam reminded us that “When you’re done, you’ve just begun!” Some people continued to work on their words and others were helping tell their stories through their pictures. At the end of the period Jacob, Stephen, Emma, and Sasha shared their stories.
Speaking of writing…Ms. Stern got a surprise email yesterday! It was from someone she didn’t know and it said:
Dear Ms. Stern,
I just read your classroom blog. Very interesting! I was so happy to learn that you all read Punctuation Takes a Vacation! I hope your class's punctuation is behaving.
Say hello and happy holidays to everyone! (You can see I like exclamation points.)
Robin Pulver
www.robinpulver.com
The author of Punctuation Takes a Vacation emailed us! Can you believe it? Lucky for us, we’re doing LOTS of work these days to make sure that punctuation stays right where it belongs!
We read a few Robert Munsch stories today. We are practicing reading like storytellers. Good readers sound like they are talking and not reading. Great readers read with expression. Readers who read like storytellers use different voices. Some parts are softer and others are louder. They act out the book and sometimes pretend. The reader’s voice matches the words in the book and the events taking place.
Now that we’ve wrapped up our number sense math unit, we are talking about how numbers go together. Today we made number quilts. We had to make the number 5 using 2 colors. Before we started working, Ms. Stern asked us to think about how we learn best. We had choices about how we were going to work, what our papers looked like, and what type of materials we needed. Some people used color tiles and others didn’t. Some people had open space on their papers and others had boxes. We chose crayons or markers. Before we went to music, Ms. Stern asked us to think about our observations about the lesson:
· The room was quiet. –Jacob
· Everyone was working. –Nancy
· I could think of 6 ways to make 5. –Adam
· People came up with different amounts. –Lauria
· People had different papers. –Stephen
Then we thought about ourselves as math students:
I was paying attention and thinking as hard as I could. –Victoria
In math, you can add up numbers with other numbers. –Sarah
I draw very good. –Anthony D.
I could think of all different ways to make 5. -Adam
In Writer’s Workshop, we continued working on our personal narrative stories. Ms. Stern gave us a few reminders about our writing time:
No drinks or bathroom breaks
Use the materials at your own table
Throw away pens that don’t work anymore. No one else can use a dried out pen either!
Clean up your space when you are done
Everyone got started reviewing their work. We’re going to get ready to edit and fancy up our work again soon for publishing so Ms. Stern asked us to work on stories already in our folders instead of starting new ones. Adam reminded us that “When you’re done, you’ve just begun!” Some people continued to work on their words and others were helping tell their stories through their pictures. At the end of the period Jacob, Stephen, Emma, and Sasha shared their stories.
Speaking of writing…Ms. Stern got a surprise email yesterday! It was from someone she didn’t know and it said:
Dear Ms. Stern,
I just read your classroom blog. Very interesting! I was so happy to learn that you all read Punctuation Takes a Vacation! I hope your class's punctuation is behaving.
Say hello and happy holidays to everyone! (You can see I like exclamation points.)
Robin Pulver
www.robinpulver.com
The author of Punctuation Takes a Vacation emailed us! Can you believe it? Lucky for us, we’re doing LOTS of work these days to make sure that punctuation stays right where it belongs!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
We had a spelling pre-test. This week’s words have blends at the end. We discovered that some of them can be at the beginning of words too. Ms. Stern gave us clues. We had to spell the word that we thought it was on the person in front of us. Stephen thought it tickled so badly!
The children in the class helped Ms. Stern with her journal writing. She had lots of great ideas but only 1 period at the very end. Everyone helped her figure out where complete thoughts and ideas ended and marked them with a period at each spot. Then we made sure that each sentence began with an upper case letter.
In music, we made scarves dance to music from the Nutcracker. We made figure eights. They are also called sideways eights or infinity symbols. At the end of the song, we threw them up in the air and caught them. Arlo really liked when we shook the scarves. Lauria liked when we threw them up and caught them.
Ms. Stern read a book called Punctuation Takes a Vacation. It’s about a class where all different types of punctuation are sent away to Take a Break Lake. While they are gone, they write letters to the children in their class. The class discovers how important punctuation is. During Writer’s Workshop, we were trying really hard not to let punctuation escape our classroom! We looked our work over in search of spots where we forgot them.
The children in the class helped Ms. Stern with her journal writing. She had lots of great ideas but only 1 period at the very end. Everyone helped her figure out where complete thoughts and ideas ended and marked them with a period at each spot. Then we made sure that each sentence began with an upper case letter.
In music, we made scarves dance to music from the Nutcracker. We made figure eights. They are also called sideways eights or infinity symbols. At the end of the song, we threw them up in the air and caught them. Arlo really liked when we shook the scarves. Lauria liked when we threw them up and caught them.
Ms. Stern read a book called Punctuation Takes a Vacation. It’s about a class where all different types of punctuation are sent away to Take a Break Lake. While they are gone, they write letters to the children in their class. The class discovers how important punctuation is. During Writer’s Workshop, we were trying really hard not to let punctuation escape our classroom! We looked our work over in search of spots where we forgot them.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
This morning we played Guess My Word. Everyone sat on the blue rug so that they could face the word wall. Ms. Stern gave us 2 clues about a word. We made a first guess, finding a word on the word wall that fit the clues. Then she gave us another clue. We got a second chance to figure out the word. Sometimes people got the word correct on the first try! After that, we took our spelling test. Lauria, Eesha, Emma, Sasha, Dylan A., Hunter, and Dylan got the sentence correct this week.
Four children read with Ms. Stern today. All four children were ready to move to different book baskets. Drew felt really good. He thinks his mom is going to be really happy. Hunter was really excited because he moved two levels!
We played Detective. One person has to go over to Coach Steingasser. Coach Hudson calls someone else to be the leader. Everyone else copies the person that Coach called. If the Detective guesses correctly on the first try, that person gets to press the “Easy” button. Coach showed us a tree stump that was 28 year olds. They cut it down in an Enrichment group. The children in the group counted the rings and discovered that the tree was 28 years old.
Ms. Stern read us a book called Zelda and Ivy the Runaways. It was a chapter book that is about two foxes that wanted to run away because their parents kept giving them cucumber sandwiches but they didn’t like them at all. In one chapter it told about them running away (in their backyards). In the second chapter, they made time capsules. Ivy included her favorite doll. Zelda put in her lucky jewel. After a while, they couldn’t stand not having their prize possessions so they took them back and put in a story they wrote instead. In the third chapter, Zelda wanted to write a poem for her grandma. She had writer’s block so Ivy and her friend Eugene made a secret concoction to cure her writer’s block. It worked! The potion worked and Zelda decided to make a drawing for her grandma instead. We found out that we are going to make our own time capsules in school. Ms. Stern sent home a note today explaining what is needed for this project.
Ms. Eyer surprised us by showing up during Writer’s Workshop. Sasha thinks she stopped by to say hi because she misses us. Emma figures it was because she hasn’t seen us in a long time.
There are lots of projects and activities coming up. Be on the lookout for:
-time capsules: please send in the materials by next Friday (12/11). They will be sent home prior to vacation and should be put in a safe place until 2019!
-Flat Stanley: after finishing Jeff Brown’s book, the children are going to be creating their own flat selves to be mailed to friends or family members near or far. Please start thinking about who or where you’d like your flat person to visit. These will also be sent home before the break.
-New Year’s Celebration: our New Year’s themed party will take place on Friday 12/18 at 9:30 a.m. All parents are invited to attend.
-School photos: picture retakes will be on Tuesday for those that are interested. Please remember to return the photos that you received. I have replacement order forms for those that need them.
-Meals on Wheels: The covered cupboard letter and contents were posted on the blog earlier this week. They will be collected on Monday, December 21st.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Four children read with Ms. Stern today. All four children were ready to move to different book baskets. Drew felt really good. He thinks his mom is going to be really happy. Hunter was really excited because he moved two levels!
We played Detective. One person has to go over to Coach Steingasser. Coach Hudson calls someone else to be the leader. Everyone else copies the person that Coach called. If the Detective guesses correctly on the first try, that person gets to press the “Easy” button. Coach showed us a tree stump that was 28 year olds. They cut it down in an Enrichment group. The children in the group counted the rings and discovered that the tree was 28 years old.
Ms. Stern read us a book called Zelda and Ivy the Runaways. It was a chapter book that is about two foxes that wanted to run away because their parents kept giving them cucumber sandwiches but they didn’t like them at all. In one chapter it told about them running away (in their backyards). In the second chapter, they made time capsules. Ivy included her favorite doll. Zelda put in her lucky jewel. After a while, they couldn’t stand not having their prize possessions so they took them back and put in a story they wrote instead. In the third chapter, Zelda wanted to write a poem for her grandma. She had writer’s block so Ivy and her friend Eugene made a secret concoction to cure her writer’s block. It worked! The potion worked and Zelda decided to make a drawing for her grandma instead. We found out that we are going to make our own time capsules in school. Ms. Stern sent home a note today explaining what is needed for this project.
Ms. Eyer surprised us by showing up during Writer’s Workshop. Sasha thinks she stopped by to say hi because she misses us. Emma figures it was because she hasn’t seen us in a long time.
There are lots of projects and activities coming up. Be on the lookout for:
-time capsules: please send in the materials by next Friday (12/11). They will be sent home prior to vacation and should be put in a safe place until 2019!
-Flat Stanley: after finishing Jeff Brown’s book, the children are going to be creating their own flat selves to be mailed to friends or family members near or far. Please start thinking about who or where you’d like your flat person to visit. These will also be sent home before the break.
-New Year’s Celebration: our New Year’s themed party will take place on Friday 12/18 at 9:30 a.m. All parents are invited to attend.
-School photos: picture retakes will be on Tuesday for those that are interested. Please remember to return the photos that you received. I have replacement order forms for those that need them.
-Meals on Wheels: The covered cupboard letter and contents were posted on the blog earlier this week. They will be collected on Monday, December 21st.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
December 1, 2009
Ms. Stern started reading Flat Stanley. Stanley became flat when a bulletin board fell on him as he slept. That’s how he got his name!
During Reader’s Workshop, we practiced reading smoothly and NOT like a robot! Good reading sounds like a person who is speaking. Robot reading is slow and sounds like there are lots of periods in between each of the words. To make robot reading sound better, we practice and rereading!
We played a few math games today. The first was a matching game that showed number words (one, two, three…). We had to match the word with the correct number of objects that went along with it. It was a piece of cake! We continued playing Toss and Make. We also played a game of Turkey Takeaway. Some people thought they discovered different strategies. Eesha realized that the last row was really important in figuring out who the winner was. Stephen played against Ms. Stern. Stephen won! Together, we realized which turkey is the one to get in order to win.
We played freeze dance and used the instruments. Everyone got different ones. We used them to go along with rhymes that Mrs. Fox recited. We also did the dances for Chihuahua and the Macarena from the Dance Festival last year.
During Writer’s Workshop we shared what good writing should include. Good writing includes:
·events or memories about things that have happened to us
·words and pictures that match
·dialogue (what people were saying)
·feelings and examples
·a good beginning (when, who, where)
·a strong ending
·at least 3 "what"s
·multiple pages
·a story and not a list
·spacing, legible handwriting, punctuation
·your best spelling
Everyone continued to work on their writing.
During Reader’s Workshop, we practiced reading smoothly and NOT like a robot! Good reading sounds like a person who is speaking. Robot reading is slow and sounds like there are lots of periods in between each of the words. To make robot reading sound better, we practice and rereading!
We played a few math games today. The first was a matching game that showed number words (one, two, three…). We had to match the word with the correct number of objects that went along with it. It was a piece of cake! We continued playing Toss and Make. We also played a game of Turkey Takeaway. Some people thought they discovered different strategies. Eesha realized that the last row was really important in figuring out who the winner was. Stephen played against Ms. Stern. Stephen won! Together, we realized which turkey is the one to get in order to win.
We played freeze dance and used the instruments. Everyone got different ones. We used them to go along with rhymes that Mrs. Fox recited. We also did the dances for Chihuahua and the Macarena from the Dance Festival last year.
During Writer’s Workshop we shared what good writing should include. Good writing includes:
·events or memories about things that have happened to us
·words and pictures that match
·dialogue (what people were saying)
·feelings and examples
·a good beginning (when, who, where)
·a strong ending
·at least 3 "what"s
·multiple pages
·a story and not a list
·spacing, legible handwriting, punctuation
·your best spelling
Everyone continued to work on their writing.
Meals on Wheels Covered Cupboards
Dear Parents,
We have enjoyed learning about the special families in our classroom through our reading and social studies activities in November. We have not only learned how families have fun together, but how they help each other to accomplish important jobs or work in their homes. In December, we would like to extend our discussion to include ways families can work together to help their community. There may be a problem in the community, but not enough money or people cooperating to solve the problem.
When we contacted Carissa Coslit, Supervisor of Volunteer Programs at Meals on Wheels, we learned of a problem in that important agency that we are inviting your family to volunteer and help solve. As you may know, the Meals on Wheels Program rely on many volunteers to cook and deliver meals to the elderly in our township. Early in winter, recipients are given a “Covered Cupboard” meal to use in an emergency situation, such as, when bad weather prohibits the delivery of a hot meal. The seniors are given a shoebox, or the cupboard, that contains nutritious ready to serve foods. The agency doesn’t have enough “Cupboards” for all the Meals on Wheels recipients. Ms. Coslit is thrilled that our class has volunteered to help solve this problem in our community.
If your family would like to donate to the “Covered Cupboard Program”, please refer to the attached list for the specific foods Meals on Wheels provides in the shoebox cupboards. Please note that the foods requested are low in sodium and sugar. After packing the shoebox, Ms. Coslit requests we wrap the whole box with paper (i.e. grocery bag paper is fine) and decorate with only markers or crayons please. As the boxes must be stacked in delivery vans, any decorations glued on will be ruined. You may send in the “Covered Cupboards” anytime before Monday, Dec.21. Ms. Coslit has volunteered to visit WOS to receive your wonderful gifts.
We hope your family enjoys participating in this meaningful community service project.
With sincere thanks,
WOS Teachers
We have enjoyed learning about the special families in our classroom through our reading and social studies activities in November. We have not only learned how families have fun together, but how they help each other to accomplish important jobs or work in their homes. In December, we would like to extend our discussion to include ways families can work together to help their community. There may be a problem in the community, but not enough money or people cooperating to solve the problem.
When we contacted Carissa Coslit, Supervisor of Volunteer Programs at Meals on Wheels, we learned of a problem in that important agency that we are inviting your family to volunteer and help solve. As you may know, the Meals on Wheels Program rely on many volunteers to cook and deliver meals to the elderly in our township. Early in winter, recipients are given a “Covered Cupboard” meal to use in an emergency situation, such as, when bad weather prohibits the delivery of a hot meal. The seniors are given a shoebox, or the cupboard, that contains nutritious ready to serve foods. The agency doesn’t have enough “Cupboards” for all the Meals on Wheels recipients. Ms. Coslit is thrilled that our class has volunteered to help solve this problem in our community.
If your family would like to donate to the “Covered Cupboard Program”, please refer to the attached list for the specific foods Meals on Wheels provides in the shoebox cupboards. Please note that the foods requested are low in sodium and sugar. After packing the shoebox, Ms. Coslit requests we wrap the whole box with paper (i.e. grocery bag paper is fine) and decorate with only markers or crayons please. As the boxes must be stacked in delivery vans, any decorations glued on will be ruined. You may send in the “Covered Cupboards” anytime before Monday, Dec.21. Ms. Coslit has volunteered to visit WOS to receive your wonderful gifts.
We hope your family enjoys participating in this meaningful community service project.
With sincere thanks,
WOS Teachers
MEALS ON WHEELS OF ROCKLAND COUNTY, INC. COVERED CUPBOARD PROGRAM SUGGESTED FOOD LIST:
Each shoe box, or “Covered Cupboard” should contain the following suggested LOW
SODIUM AND LOW SUGAR food items:
1 item from each food group listed below: 1 Protein, 1 Vegetable, 1 Fruit, 1 Soup and 1 Starch
Welcome, but not necessary items: 1 Condiment, 1 Beverage and 1 Dessert
FOOD GROUP CHOICES
PROTEIN
low sodium canned fish (tuna, salmon, sardines)
low sodium canned meat (chicken, no canned beef)
peanut butter
canned beans low sodium canned chili
Peanut butter sandwich crackers
low sodium ravioli
STARCH
Individual packets of oatmeal
Small boxes unsweetened cereal
Unsalted crackers (whole grain)
Peanut butter sandwich crackers
Cheese sandwich crackers
Rice
Small packages of pasta or noodles
Low sugar cereal bars or granola bars
VEGETABLES
Any canned vegetables (low sodium preferred)
Small cans of tomato sauce or tomato paste
FRUITS
Any canned fruit packed in own juice or water
Raisins or other dried fruits
Small portion packed applesauce
SOUP
Low sodium chunky soups
Low sodium beef stew
Low sodium vegetable soup (tomato, ministrone)
Low sodium broths
BEVERAGE
Juices (no sugar added)
Boxed milk
Instant packets of decaf coffee
Individually wrapped decaf tea bags
Unsweetened cocoa mixes
Small containers of tomato juice
CONDIMENTS
Jam/jelly (no sugar added)
Small containers of mustard, mayonnaise or honey
Small containers of light salad dressing
DESSERTS
Prepackaged low sugar, low fat pudding snacks
Low sugar jellow
(Please avoid candy!)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving Recipes
We've been cooking up a storm this week. Here are the recipes and directions for the various food items made in school.
Pumpkin Pie
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
In a medium bowl, combine pudding, pumpkin, milk, and cinnamon. Mix slowly for about 1 minute. Fold whipped topping into the mixture then spoon entire mixture into pie shell. Freeze until firm (about 4 hours). Let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 package cranberries
Before cooking, rinse cranberries in cold water and remove stems or bruised fruit. Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan. Heat to boiling. Stir in cranberries, returning to boiling. Reduce heat; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Cornbread
Follow recipe on box.
Butter
Pour heavy cream in a container with a sealable lid. Shake vigorously until the butter solidifies and liquid is extracted. Drain the liquid. Add salt to taste.
Stone Soup
Beef bones
Stone (washed)
Yellow onion, chopped
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Pot filled with water
Carrots
Barley
Soup vegetable pack (found in the produce department)
1 can of stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
2 red potatoes
Butter
Brown the meat in the pot. Add the onions and allow to cook until tender. Add water to the pot. Include the rest of the ingredients. Allow to simmer over medium heat for 3-5 hours. Serve and enjoy!
Pumpkin Pie
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
In a medium bowl, combine pudding, pumpkin, milk, and cinnamon. Mix slowly for about 1 minute. Fold whipped topping into the mixture then spoon entire mixture into pie shell. Freeze until firm (about 4 hours). Let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 package cranberries
Before cooking, rinse cranberries in cold water and remove stems or bruised fruit. Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan. Heat to boiling. Stir in cranberries, returning to boiling. Reduce heat; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature; cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Cornbread
Follow recipe on box.
Butter
Pour heavy cream in a container with a sealable lid. Shake vigorously until the butter solidifies and liquid is extracted. Drain the liquid. Add salt to taste.
Stone Soup
Beef bones
Stone (washed)
Yellow onion, chopped
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Pot filled with water
Carrots
Barley
Soup vegetable pack (found in the produce department)
1 can of stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable)
2 red potatoes
Butter
Brown the meat in the pot. Add the onions and allow to cook until tender. Add water to the pot. Include the rest of the ingredients. Allow to simmer over medium heat for 3-5 hours. Serve and enjoy!
November 25, 2009: Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear Parents,
Recently, we have been discussing families, holidays, and life long ago as part of our Social Studies curriculum. During this time, we have reflected on the variety of things for which we are thankful. I am very thankful for the unique and special class that I have. I would like to thank you for sharing your children with me each day.
Additionally, I am thankful for all of the help and support that you have shown and the time that you have dedicated to making our first grade community a success. It is a pleasure to work with such phenomenal families.
I wish you and your family a season of health, happiness, and joy. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving (and an extra long weekend)!
Sincerely,
Randi Stern
Recently, we have been discussing families, holidays, and life long ago as part of our Social Studies curriculum. During this time, we have reflected on the variety of things for which we are thankful. I am very thankful for the unique and special class that I have. I would like to thank you for sharing your children with me each day.
Additionally, I am thankful for all of the help and support that you have shown and the time that you have dedicated to making our first grade community a success. It is a pleasure to work with such phenomenal families.
I wish you and your family a season of health, happiness, and joy. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving (and an extra long weekend)!
Sincerely,
Randi Stern
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
According to Jacob, “Today was awesome! We got to do a lot of cool stuff.” A few groups of children got to cook in our classroom. Emma, Amanda, and Dylan A. got to make cranberry sauce with Amanda’s mom. They used cranberries, sugar, and water. Two groups made pumpkin pie. Lauria, Victoria, Adam, and Dylan M. worked with Adam’s dad. Jacob, Drew, Dylan, and Eesha also made a pumpkin pie with Jacob’s mom. Most of the ingredients were the same. A few ingredients were different. One of the groups put a smiley face on the top.
Ms. Stern read us a book called Stone Soup. It was about a hungry young man who tricked an old woman. He asked for food but she wouldn’t give him any. He asked her for a stone and told her that he was going to make soup from a stone. Slowly, she gave him onions, carrots, beef bones, salt, pepper, and barley to add to the boiling water. In the end, they ended up with a meal fit for a king! Lots of people thought the woman was greedy. The young man was smart to be able to trick her. On Wednesday, we will be making Stone Soup with our own stone. Mrs. Polansky asked us whether the soup would end up tasting good even if we didn’t include the stone. Some people thought yes and others thought no. We will have to wait and see when we try it on Wednesday!
During Reader’s Workshop we reviewed the latest strategy that we learned: looking for chunks. A chunk is a little word or a part of a word that we already know that helps us figure out another word that we don’t know. We DON’T need to look for chunks when we already know the word. We learned that sometimes a chunk that we find doesn’t help us figure out the word. If that happens, we need to use other strategies like looking at the picture, getting your mouth ready, or thinking about what makes sense.
Ms. Harding read us a book called Sarah Morton’s Day. It was about a girl who lived at Plymouth Plantation. We made a Venn diagram comparing children today with Pilgrim children. Children long ago had chores like milking goats and feeding chickens. They also played marbles and wrote on chalkboards. Children today watch TV, use air conditioning, and have running water. Children long ago and today do chores, play with toys, and fold clothes. After we talked about the book, we worked on turkey booklets at our seats.
In art, we worked on tissue paper collages. The colors were overlapping and some made new colors. Sasha placed yellow and red together to make orange. Sarah used blue and yellow to make green. Red, yellow, and blue are primary colors. Orange, green, and purple are called secondary colors.
Ms. Stern read us a book called Stone Soup. It was about a hungry young man who tricked an old woman. He asked for food but she wouldn’t give him any. He asked her for a stone and told her that he was going to make soup from a stone. Slowly, she gave him onions, carrots, beef bones, salt, pepper, and barley to add to the boiling water. In the end, they ended up with a meal fit for a king! Lots of people thought the woman was greedy. The young man was smart to be able to trick her. On Wednesday, we will be making Stone Soup with our own stone. Mrs. Polansky asked us whether the soup would end up tasting good even if we didn’t include the stone. Some people thought yes and others thought no. We will have to wait and see when we try it on Wednesday!
During Reader’s Workshop we reviewed the latest strategy that we learned: looking for chunks. A chunk is a little word or a part of a word that we already know that helps us figure out another word that we don’t know. We DON’T need to look for chunks when we already know the word. We learned that sometimes a chunk that we find doesn’t help us figure out the word. If that happens, we need to use other strategies like looking at the picture, getting your mouth ready, or thinking about what makes sense.
Ms. Harding read us a book called Sarah Morton’s Day. It was about a girl who lived at Plymouth Plantation. We made a Venn diagram comparing children today with Pilgrim children. Children long ago had chores like milking goats and feeding chickens. They also played marbles and wrote on chalkboards. Children today watch TV, use air conditioning, and have running water. Children long ago and today do chores, play with toys, and fold clothes. After we talked about the book, we worked on turkey booklets at our seats.
In art, we worked on tissue paper collages. The colors were overlapping and some made new colors. Sasha placed yellow and red together to make orange. Sarah used blue and yellow to make green. Red, yellow, and blue are primary colors. Orange, green, and purple are called secondary colors.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Meeting the Author: Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Today we got to meet the author of the Biscuit books. We found out lots of facts about being a writer and also how the Biscuit series was created. Before we met, we read a bunch of Biscuit books. We also looked on her website and even worked on a Biscuit word search together. We knew a little bit about her before we actually met.
Here is the author, Alyssa Satin Capucilli, explaining how she was inspired to write the very first Biscuit book.
We got to see one of the author’s very own writing notebooks. She calls them her “Treasure Keeper” because all of her ideas are treasures, even though they might not all become books one day.
These are the big ideas that she talked to us about:
-Encouraging children to read all kinds of books
-How books are written
-How books are made
-Being INSPIRED
-INSPIRATION
-Using IMAGINATION
-How she writes: recording ideas, starting stories, writes every day, favorite spot is on her blue couch with her dog by her side, on the train, on a plane…, she never erases because the idea that is gone forever and can never be used, crossing out is okay
-Biscuit facts: Biscuit was based on a much bigger dog and was shrunk down by using her imagination; when he gets something, he wants more; Biscuit is a boy; he never gets older or bigger; he is the only character that says “woof, woof;” in Spain Biscuit says “wow, wow;” Biscuit and the little girl are in every book in the series; the little girl doesn’t have a name because she could be anyone
-Authors and illustrators don’t always know each other…sometimes they even live in different parts of the world!
-Previewing a new story called: Biscuit Meets the Class Pet
We were able to leave our Biscuit books behind for Alyssa to autograph. It was so cool getting to meet the real author of one of our favorite series of books!
Here is the author, Alyssa Satin Capucilli, explaining how she was inspired to write the very first Biscuit book.
We got to see one of the author’s very own writing notebooks. She calls them her “Treasure Keeper” because all of her ideas are treasures, even though they might not all become books one day.
These are the big ideas that she talked to us about:
-Encouraging children to read all kinds of books
-How books are written
-How books are made
-Being INSPIRED
-INSPIRATION
-Using IMAGINATION
-How she writes: recording ideas, starting stories, writes every day, favorite spot is on her blue couch with her dog by her side, on the train, on a plane…, she never erases because the idea that is gone forever and can never be used, crossing out is okay
-Biscuit facts: Biscuit was based on a much bigger dog and was shrunk down by using her imagination; when he gets something, he wants more; Biscuit is a boy; he never gets older or bigger; he is the only character that says “woof, woof;” in Spain Biscuit says “wow, wow;” Biscuit and the little girl are in every book in the series; the little girl doesn’t have a name because she could be anyone
-Authors and illustrators don’t always know each other…sometimes they even live in different parts of the world!
-Previewing a new story called: Biscuit Meets the Class Pet
We were able to leave our Biscuit books behind for Alyssa to autograph. It was so cool getting to meet the real author of one of our favorite series of books!
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