AUTHOR GROUPIES!! Progress Reports, Dioramas......

Hello Friends,
  It has been a very busy week in room 212! Last night was WONDERful because we got to meet RJ Palacio! It was such a rewarding experience for me because about 10 of my students from last year came along with 6 of my Westchester Crew! We all sat together listening to RJ talk about the book and at one point I realized that I couldn't stop smiling! :) I felt so happy to be a teacher. I truly love what I do and your kids make everyday so special. It was such an amazing feeling to be surrounded by 2 classes full of kids who have responded to WONDER so positively.
  When I made it to the signing table I was able to tell RJ about how much her book means to my students and to our responsive classroom. She hugged me and thanked me for smiling throughout her presentation. I told her I was RJ Groupie for life! Today I looked in my book and saw this.....(sniff sniff blubber..)

Also...England was great. I was able to spend a whole week with my dearest friend and her daughter. We drank lots of afternoon tea!

Now for the school stuff:

  Progress reports will be in your child's book bag today. There was a delay with the printing and some 'tech' issues yesterday. You can keep all of the documents, I have copies. If you haven't signed up for a conference please visit the this sign-up genius LINK !
  Our reading log procedure has changed. I went back to what I did last year. The log is a calendar that is glued inside the RRJ. (reading response journal). The kids will just write the title of the book they read in each square. At this point I expect them to write neatly, with correct capitalization, and correct spelling.

I have started using class dojo for positive reinforcement of behavior. I am not going to share the link with parents because it is merely a tool to help 'inspire' students to remember hallway rules, focussed transitioning, and classroom organization. So if your child comes home and talks about class dojo, please know that it is really just a little motivator within our classroom community.

***Dioramas are due FRIDAY OCTOBER 3rd! I will email the document in case you need it...:)***


Here's what we've been up to: I will make a separate post with upcoming curriculum lists..:)

Kindergarten Book Buddies

Juicy Sentences! 

Science Experiments Were a Success!

Hello! What a great week! I hope your kids came home with lots of stories about all the things they have learned this week! :) We are having Fun Friday Games tomorrow afternoon so the kids can bring in a board game if they choose to. No electronic games please....:)

Reminders:

1. No School Next Week

2. Progress Reports/MAP Scores will go home Thursday September 25th! 

3. R.J. Palacio is coming to Decatur! Thursday September, 25th (6:30p.m. at Renfroe Middle School)

4. Please look over the Diorama assignment I sent home in the blue folders this week. If you need a new sheet, please email me so I can send another one home.

Wish list:

   The kids are super into birds and nature....so one student suggested getting a suction cup bird house for the class. If you are interested, please let me know so that I can ask room parents to coordinate! 

   The kids are also super into WONDER, so I think I'd like for every child to get a copy. Please consider purchasing the book for your child. We will also be reading the Julian Chapter  after we finish WONDER(The Julian Chapter is only available on Kindle so I will be using the Promethean board for it)

It's been a very busy week...we worked on animal adaptations, revising & editing our personal narrative stories, homophones, rounding numbers to the nearest 10 and 100, playing capture 5 addition & subtraction games, and we had a wonderful time doing our science lab on Bird Beaks, Giraffe Spit, Whale Blubber, and Duck Feathers. 

Take a look:

Adaptations Comprehension Reading Passages with Posters and Presentations

Bird Beaks Experiment and Science Journaling

Writing Anchor Chart & Capture 5 Game

Giraffe Spit Experiment

Adaptations Scavenger Hunt

Have a great week off! I'm heading to London, England for the week to visit a dear friend but I will have access to email if you have any pressing questions. Thanks so much!

" I don't want to leave school today!"

Yep...I heard those words today...which made me so very happy!


So here are some updates and info & then you can look and see what we've been up to!

* On Monday, 2nd and 3rd grade teachers will be at EL training for another 1/2 day. We are in full creative mode coming up with this year's case study and expedition!
*MAP testing is complete and I am finishing up DRA assessments as well. This means we will analyze the data and be ready to present it to you along with progress reports after the break.
* Fall Break is September 15-19th......I am very excited to go to London over the break and visit with a very dear friend.
* Mrs. Yoo and I will  be conducting rotating Science experiments next week! We will have 4 animal adaptations centers for the kids. (Giraffe Spit, Bird Beaks, Whale Blubber, Duck Feathers) (ALL MRS. YOO's IDEAS...I love her! )
*******You should have received an email that asks for items we will need in order to set up the experiments.The email provided you with the sign-up genius link. If not CLICK HERE!!!
 * We will be making dioramas in science as well this month....stay tuned for instructions, rubrics and info....this can be done over the break...but don't worry if you are headed out of town..there will be more time!

NOW...Here's what we've been up to!

BOOK FEST BOOKS!

GRAPHING DATA PROJECT

RECESS FUN

ROUNDING ACTIVITY WITH MRS. YOO'S CLASS