100th Day-Thursday, February 26, 2009

Today was the 100th day of school! We are more than half way done with first grade! The day began with bonus P.E.

When we came back to the room, we did lots of activities to celebrate the day and all we have learned.

We started by seeing how many times we could write our first name in 100 seconds. Before we started, everyone made an estimate. Afterwards, we counted the number of times we wrote our name. Zoe had the most. She wrote it 35 times in 100 seconds. We think it helped that her name has 3 letters.

We are making 2 class books. One includes our responses to the question: “If you could have 100 of anything, what would it be?” and the other tells what we would do if we had $100. Ms. Stern even gave us a $100 for inspiration.

If I could have 100 of anything I would want 100 slices of pizza to eat because they would be yummy!

If I had $100 I would spend it on a house in Disney World. You can swim all the time and you can get a big tan there. And it is my favorite place to go to. -Isabella

If I had $100 I would buy a lot of candy. It is sweet and sugary. I would eat it every day. -Kevin

If I had $100 I'd get a kitten from Pets Place 2 because they are soft like a feather. -Carly

If I had $100 I would go to the mall and buy a pretty dress because I would be fantastic. -Mia

If I had $100 I would buy a band and I would make cd's. I would get a drummer and a singer and a guitar player. -Kaitlyn

During math, Ms. Stern gave us a challenge: see how many addition problems (out of a total of 100) we could solve in 10 minutes. The goal was to be accurate (get more correct) and not careless so answering fewer questions correctly is more important than answering more and getting less right.

Everyone did a great job! We are going to continue practicing by doing this once each week. The more we practice, the better we should get. Ms. Stern expects to see each person grow from week to week, regardless of how many we got today. A few children got 95 or more correct and are already moving to subtraction! Wow!

This afternoon, we worked in groups to try to put together 100 piece puzzles. Everyone picked a popsicle stick with an animal on it. That decided which puzzle we were going to work on. There was a chimpanzee, parrot, tiger, pig, and kitten. We discussed some strategies to use before staring. Using the picture on the box was one. Finding the edges was another. Starting with the corners was the third. Many children thought the puzzles were very tricky to do. Some people got frustrated. Ms. Stern discovered that lots of children hadn’t done many puzzles before and explained that they are challenging if you don’t practice and have patience.

Sammy, Zoe, and Kevin worked really well together and complimented each other. Joshua stayed so focused, even after his partners were dismissed. In fact, he completed his puzzle (minus the one missing corner piece that was nowhere to be found!).

Happy 100th day!

PS-We have been checking in with lots of our Flat Stanleys. We always begin by using Google Earth to see the distance we traveled from William O. Schaefer. Then we check out the area and make an inference (Is it a city? Suburb? Rural?) by looking at the surrounding land before finding out about our interesting travels. Google Earth is free software that can be downloaded here.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Our new math strategy today was about adding in any order. We can add in any order because the addends are the same. It’s like a shortcut. If we know one math fact, we really know another one! Since 2+5=7, we also know that 5+2=7.

In P.E. we played Rugrat Tag.

During Reader’s Workshop, we started learned that readers ask questions before, during, and after reading. When we’re done, we look back and see if we were able to answer any of them. We practiced by reading Shoes from Grandpa. Many of the questions we asked were answered, or we were able to infer what the answers were by thinking about what we knew and what we learned.

We have a new writing teacher in our class! Her name is Mem Fox and we’re learning about her and her writing to help us get better at our own writing. This new unit is called Authors as Mentors. Mem is from Australia. We looked at her hometown on Google Earth. Adelaide is very far from New York! We think it is a city because we noticed lots of buildings close to one another. First, we looked at lots of her book covers. We noticed that lots have animals on them. Many also show loving relationships. Some people have read some of her stories before. Some people thought that Mem was a man. We found out that she is a woman. Mem wants to tell readers how she feels in her heart when she writes her stories and she wants the reader to feel something. Ms. Stern read us a story called Koala Lou. We think Mem wanted us to understand and feel disappointment, love, pride, nervousness, and sadness. The story was written because Mem felt sibling rivalry as a kid and also because she came in second for a children’s book award when she wrote a story called Possum Magic. We think she wanted us to know how she felt and also how we have shared similar feelings.

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Rockland Read In Photos

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The class has met our Heartprint goal! Lots and lots of our kind gestures have been recognized. We decided that we’re not stopping now! Our new goal is to leave 200 heartprints by the 100th day of school!

We had an assembly called Dinosaurs Rock! today. A man came to talk to us about dinosaur fossils. He showed us a raptor’s claw with an ostrich’s egg. We also got to see part of a mastodon (it was a reproduction). It was originally found on part of a golf course. The leg was over 9 feet tall. After learning about different dinosaurs and fossils, we got to touch some of them. Darren got to come up and see how heavy a meteor was. He said it felt like a thousand tons! We learned that meteors can be as big as the distance from the ground to the highest cloud in the sky! One of the fossils that everyone touched was actual dinosaur poop! At the end, everyone got to choose 2 fossils from a bin. We can look on the website (www.dinosaursrock.com) to find out what we have. Zoe favorite part was when we picked the fossils. Mia liked when we touched the meteor.

We started sharing Flat Mia, back from her trip to the United Kingdom. We got to see different coins that they use, called pence. They look sort of like our coins that we use in the United States! There's lots more to learn.

In Gym, we got to choose whether we wanted to run through or run to the center of the jump rope and jump 3 times. After we did it with the coaches, the kids did it with partners. We worked in groups of 3 or 4 and sang different songs while people jumped.

We had our third birthday celebration of the week! Today is Darren’s 7th birthday. We ate doughnuts to celebrate. He got to hold the stick for limbo in P.E.

This afternoon we had our second writer’s celebration. We had special guests come in to listen to us read our stories. Ms. Eyer, Mrs. DiMaio, Mrs. Doran, and Ms. Carr all read our personal narratives in small groups. Mrs. McCahill was supposed to join us but she couldn’t make it. Lots of children felt nervous at first. Some people felt excited and eager, too. We all felt proud after we shared our work. Ms. Stern and Mrs. Barsanti thought that everyone did a beautiful job writing, listening, and sharing their work.

Remember: tomorrow is the Rockland Read In. We will be reading in our classroom from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. tomorrow. The children can bring a pillow and blanket, as well as some just right books from home. We will also be distributing our valentines and going to Technology. It’s going to be a busy day!

Some of you have already noticed the parent survey that I placed on our class blog. Thank you to those of you who have already responded! If you would kindly take a few minutes to fill it out, I would gladly appreciate it! The link is on the side bar as well as in the post titled "Parent Survey." Thanks so much!

Heartprints Update

Heartprint Project Current Total: 87 Heartprints left; 13 more to reach our goal!

"A heartprint is formed when you do something kind. Your love touches others, leaving heartprints behind."

1. When Gianluca and Kaitlyn were doing a drawing contest with me, Kaitlyn said mine looked nice and that made me feel happy. –Carly
2. Sean complimented me when I got a spare. –Darren
3. When Rebecca or Carly gave me a compliment for my art, it made me happy. –Sophia
4. When my friend Carly let me cut in front of her, I felt happy. –Kaitlyn
5. When I wanted to be in the Ducky Club, Nolan let me. –Mia
6. Kevin helped me figure the word out. –Michael
7. Once when I was on the playground, I fell and somebody laughed at me. My friend Sophia offered to bring me to the nurse. –Isabella
8. When Zoe and Emily let me join in the game, it made me happy. –Mia
9. I felt happy when Darren complimented me in my drawing. –Sammy
10. Emily let me cut in line. –Zoe
11. When Carly and Joan let me in their club, I felt cheerful. –Gianluca
12. When I fell, Darren helped me up. –Sean
13. I was so happy that Nolan let me join the Ducky Club. –Sammy
14. At the end of each day, Sean helps me by moving the names back on the Smartboard for lunch count the next day. –Ms. Stern
15. Daniel needed a writing partner and Sean offered to help him. –Ms. Stern
16. Kaitlyn picked up my pencil for me. –Gianluca
17. When Rebecca gave me a hug that made me glad. –Mia
18. When I was outside, Michael helped me tie my shoe. –Bartosz
19. Isabella helped me clean my spill at lunch. –Sophia
20. Sean helped me pick my writing. –Zoe
21. Michael got my lunchbox for me when we were packing up. It made me happy. –Sophia
22. In art, my friend Sammy said my art picture is nice. –Isabella
23. Darren picked up Kevin’s backpack when it fell on the floor. –Ms. Stern
24. I was happy that Sean said he liked my writing. –Sammy
25. Gianluca helped me put the beans in the jar. –Kaitlyn
26. Zoe was a fantastic leader during our morning meeting. –Ms. Stern
27. Darren pushed my chair in for me. –Sean
28. When I fell on my face, Darren asked me if I’m okay. –Nolan
29. When I left my lunch box in the lunchroom, Sophia picked it up. –Carly
30. Darren took my coat down. –Mia
31. Every day Kevin comes into the classroom and unpacks so quietly and quickly! He is always the first person on the rug and is a great model for his classmates. –Ms. Stern
32. Gianluca gave me my book bag. –Darren
33. Sophia said my folder is cool. –Isabella
34. Sean helped me tie my shoes. –Zoe
35. Emily gave me a hug when I was sad. –Zoe
36. Kaitlyn helped set the dinner table and washed the dishes. –Mom
37. Sophia said my lady bug is good. –Isabella
38. Mia smiled at me and that made me feel good. –Isabella
39. Kevin cleaned crumbs off the counter and floor without being asked! Kevin is a great helper! –Mom
40. Anthony helped his Nanny up the basement stairs. –Dad
41. Zoe gave her mom and dad a pretty Valentine card. –Mom and Dad
42. Sammy gave books to soldiers. –Mom
43. Today Danny helped his mom vacuum the house after our dog made a big mess. –Mom
44. Sammy helped me sweep. –Mom
45. Mia called her Bubby to check in on her. –Mom
46. Carly gave a butterfly charm to her friend Mia. –Mom
47. I loved when Carly gave me a lucky charm. –Mia
48. Sammy congratulated me when I got my first 6 (while playing Trouble). –Sean
49. Mia looked and watched out for her sister when they crossed the street together. –Mom
50. Carly mailed her friend Joan some pictures and a little monkey magnet. –Mom
51. Darren helped his dad bring in the logs for the fire. –Mom
52. Mia made sure her mom was comfortable when she hurt her foot. –Mom
53. Carly gave me a big hug when I was sick. –Mom
54. Carly made some beautiful cards for her grandmother, who is in the hospital. –Mom
55. Anthony helped me set the table for dinner. –Mom
56. Darren helped me clean the house. –Mom
57. Mia enjoys the company of her friends and treats them with kindness and respect. –Mom
58. At snack recess, Emily let me play with her. –Zoe
59. Kevin said my vest is pretty. –Isabella
60. Kaitlyn held my lunch box for me because I could not hold it. I felt good. –Sophia
61. When I forgot my jump rope, Rebecca got it. –Isabella
62. Anthony gave me a big hug after a long day at work. –Mom
63. Joshua helped me carry the papers. –Bartosz
64. Sammy and Nolan went around helping children during math today. –Ms. Stern
65. Kevin helps to clear his dishes from the table after every meal. –Mom
66. Sammy treated his brother very well. –Mom
67. Joshua reminded his dad, “No TV when eating breakfast.” Instead, he asked his dad to read him a book. –Mom
68. Gianluca pushed in Sophia’s chair after her bus was called at the end of the day. –Ms. Stern
69. At snack recess, Emily made me a snowflake. –Zoe
70. Anthony shared his jump rope with me. –Kevin
71. Sean helped clean up Carly’s water bottle spill on the floor. –Ms. Stern
72. When I was in P.E. I was serving the ball and I missed and Coach said, “That’s okay.” –Isabella
73. Joshua helped me by packing his and his sister’s lunches. –Mom
74. Bartosz let me play bowling with him. –Michael
75. Rebecca brought me to the nurse when my leg hurted. –Carly
76. Bartosz let me play bowling when I said, “Can I play?” –Gianluca
77. Darren pushed in my chair. –Zoe
78. Mia let me play with the thing she was playing with in gym and it made me happy. –Sophia
79. Michael let me bounce on his ball in Gym. –Sammy
80. Rebecca let me and Sophia cut her in line. –Isabella
81. Sammy helped me with math and I got it but I almost finished. –Kaitlyn
82. Joshua said I am his best friend. –Nolan
83. Mia helped Axl look for his pencil grip and found it for him! –Ms. Stern
84. We were playing Tunnel Tag and Carly went through my legs. –Mia
85. Darren said, “Nice catch.” –Sean
86. Sammy shared the beach ball with me. –Emily
87. In Gym, Nolan was about to serve but then he let me. -Sammy

Thank you for finding the heartprints left at home! Please let me know if you need additional hearts to keep recording!

Parent Survey

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Monday, February 9, 2009

We are practicing making meaningful connections that help us understand the stories. Last week we focused on text-to-self connections. This week, we’re thinking about text-to-text connections by thinking, “Does this story remind me of another book I’ve read?”

We shared our first Flat Stanley today! Flat Darren arrived safe and sound from Ireland. He stayed with his cousins. They went to a rugby match, school, on his uncle’s farm, and even to the beach! We discovered that some things are different and others are the same between Ireland and the United States. Isabella learned that the way we write the weather is different. Our temperature is measured in Fahrenheit and in Ireland they measure in Celsius. The temperature there was 2 degrees, which meant the same thing as today’s temperature of 36 degrees. Nolan learned that it rains a lot but there isn’t too much snow. The children in school there have to wear uniforms. We discussed how some students in this country wear them. Ms. Stern’s old students in New York City had uniforms that they wore to school! The pupils are in school for about the same amount of time as us and they have similar vacations.

Today was Kevin’s birthday. Kevin’s dad read us a book called I STINK! It’s about a garbage truck who loves to eat garbage and lots of dirty, stinky stuff. Gianluca thought the story was funny. After we read the book, everyone ate their birthday cupcakes. Bartosz’s favorite part was the Oreo in the middle!

At P.E., we played Tunnel Tag. It’s when you tag someone if you are holding a red Frisbee. If you get tagged, the way to get free is by having someone crawl between your legs.

We are getting closer to our publishing party. We only had 2 more days to work (today and tomorrow). For our celebration, we are having some invited school guests come in to listen to us read our stories. Some people colored. Others worked on fixing up spelling. A few people even began working on their title and covers.

Please feel free to leave comments or questions. Please feel free to leave comments or questions. I am working to make it a more interactive tool to bridge the school-home connection. Suggestions are always welcomed!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Today was the second day that we worked on making cards for soldiers in Afghanistan. They are away from home for a long time and we want to make them smile. We drew pictures of ourselves and soldiers, hearts, and the American flag.

We learned that there are strategies in math, just like we have strategies in reading and writing. Today we learned to draw pictures to help us when we add. Sammy brought in books to send. Darren brought in a magazine to send.

In P.E., we are jumping rope. We use the rope in different ways: going forward, going backwards, making shapes and jumping inside and out, or even work with a partner!

In Writer’s Workshop we were looking over our writing to make improvements from our checklist. Once that was done, we tried to fix our spelling in 3 different ways: write it 3 ways and circle the one that looks right, look and find it around the room, and think about spelling strategies.

The heartprints are starting to come in. So far we have left 44! We’re almost half way to our goal of 100 heartprints!

From Ms. Stern:
Next Thursday is the Rockland Read-In. Schools across Rockland County participate to promote the love of reading. The children in Room 66 will spend 2 hours reading independently. They may bring in one pillow and/or one blanket to get comfy while reading. They may also bring in a few books from home (as long as they are books that can be read by the children). Parents are invited to come in and read along with us. If you are available, stop by our classroom with some reading materials of your own (newspaper, book, etc.) to demonstrate the importance of being a lifelong reader. We hope to see you on Thursday!

Heartprint Project

"A heartprint is formed when you do something kind. Your love touches others, leaving heartprints behind."

As the 100th day of school approaches (on February 26th), our class is trying to leave at least 100 heartprints. Heartprints are gestures of kindness and love towards others, without expecting anything in return. The idea stems from the book, Heartprints, by P.K. Hallinan. (Hello Mr. Hallinan, if you are reading this!) It is a beautiful story that demonstrates consideration of others and portrays children performing caring deeds for others.

We are working to recognize the kind acts and gestures done for one another in our classroom. So far, 15 heartprints have been recorded:

1. When Gianluca and Kaitlyn were doing a drawing contest with me, Kaitlyn said mine looked nice and that made me feel happy. –Carly
2. Sean complimented me when I got a spare. –Darren
3. When Rebecca or Carly gave me a compliment for my art, it made me happy. –Sophia
4. When my friend Carly let me cut in front of her, I felt happy. –Kaitlyn
5. When I wanted to be in the Ducky Club, Nolan let me. –Mia
6. Kevin helped me figure the word out. –Michael
7. Once when I was on the playground, I fell and somebody laughed at me. My friend Sophia offered to bring me to the nurse. –Isabella
8. When Zoe and Emily let me join in the game, it made me happy. –Mia
9. I felt happy when Darren complimented me in my drawing. –Sammy
10. Emily let me cut in line. –Zoe
11. When Carly and Joan let me in their club, I felt cheerful. –Gianluca
12. When I fell, Darren helped me up. –Sean
13. I was so happy that Nolan let me join the Ducky Club. –Sammy
14. At the end of each day, Sean helps me by moving the names back on the Smartboard for lunch count the next day. –Ms. Stern
15. Daniel needed a writing partner and Sean offered to help him. –Ms. Stern

Please help us reach our goal by looking out for heartprints left behind by your child outside of school. Each time your child shows a gesture of love or kindness, please record a quick description telling what your child did on a heartprint (though siblings, grandparents, and others can fill one out as well) and have your child bring the heartprint back to school.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to recognize and record your child's thoughtful ways. Hopefully, we will surpass our goal of 100 heartprints well before we reach the 100th day of school!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Today is Groundhog Day! We learned that if the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow then we will have an early spring. If he DOES see his shadow, we will have 6 more weeks of winter. Everyone made a prediction whether or not Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow or not. The vote was 11-7. More people thought he would see is shadow…and he did! We tried watching the video of him but it wouldn’t work. We read a story called Go to Sleep, Groundhog! (You can read the book here! Click on the page to turn it.) It was a silly story. Kaitlyn made a prediction while we read and it even came true! We discovered that a groundhog and a woodchuck are the same animal.

We saw a performance about nature performed by the Hudson Vagabond Puppets. The story was about a caterpillar that turned into a butterfly. It showed the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly. The play was like a puppet show. Some of the puppets (like the dragonfly, bee, and the ladybug) had machines to make them move. The rest moved by people who were attached to the puppets. The puppeteers wore black clothes. Even their heads were covered. We think that is so people will look at the puppets and not at the people moving them. Bartosz liked when the cardinal was moving his beak. Darren liked when the caterpillar went into the chrysalis and then came out as a butterfly. Gianluca learned that caterpillars have to eat lots and lots of leaves. Isabella learned that a butterfly egg is very small-even smaller than your smallest fingernail! Even though the performance was really great, lots of people had a hard time seeing while sitting on the floor in the gym. Maybe we could solve that problem by sitting up closer or sitting on chairs. Or possibly some kids could sit on the floor and some could sit in chairs.

We celebrated Sean's birthday today by having mini-cupcakes. He is 7 years old now.

In art, we are working on our heart project. Some people finished them. The class earned a star for working well and cleaning up nicely.

In Writer’s Workshop, we worked with a partner to read the two pieces that we thought were our best ones. Sammy and Sean both chose each other’s favorite pieces without even knowing it! Everyone is now ready to start revising and then fancy up their work before it gets published!