Shoe Man Celebration

Drum roll please......
633!
That is the number of donated pairs of shoes that we will be giving on behalf of our service learning project to George "The Shoe Man" for his shoes to water project.  The children did such a great job publicizing the project and setting goals to collect their the shoes.  It was especially exciting as we rubber banded the shoes, grouped them into bags of 10, and completed the final count up.  Woo hoo, we have so much to be proud of!  To cap the celebration each of us received a water bottle with the saying "I turned shoes into water" so that we would remember to share our news with you tonight!
Thank you for all the ways your support your child's learning and this service opportunity.  We couldn't have reach such an incredible number with you!

Six Flags Reading Fun!

Please be on the look out for a gold piece of paper (stapled) coming home in folders today.  This is a great opportunity to get your child excited about reading and gives him/her the opportunity to earn a free six flags pass.  Please carefully read the directions and record the number of minutes you read to your child daily and/or he/she reads to you.  When you have met the goal return the sheet to me and I will submit the form for the six flag ticket.  The tickets typically arrive the last week of school and make for a perfect kick off to summer vacation.  Happy reading!

Celebrations-Traditions (Germany)

Thank you to Josie and her mom for sharing their family's tradition of welcoming the New Year with sauerkraut and sausage.  The children had the opportunity to try their tradition (the faces were priceless) and learned that the long strands of cabbage are eaten to bring long life and prosperity.  The children also learned that the pork eaten is to bring good luck.  Josie's mom also read the children a German folktale, Rapunzel.  

We loved the opportunity to learn about a new place through our friends and their family celebrations!

Tablet Trial Run

We are currently in our first week of a trial run with five of the district's Nexus 7 tablets.  The children have been using them as enrichment options during math and reading.  We also have several handwriting options available for forming letters and numbers.  Please feel free to email me if you have apps your children love at home that we could explore in our classroom.  As we move into next week will be using the tablets in small groups for book clubs and as challenge options for math.  It is amazing how easily the children navigate these technical tools and how excited they are to explore learning in new ways!

 

Partner Power!

Since returning from winter break our new focus in writing has been on writing partnerships.  We have been exploring the power of working with others to increase stamina, motivation, and growth in reading and math and are now bringing the excitement to writing.  We will be using partners to help us before and after we write, initially, with the hope that the children will eventually extending their partnerships into a coaching model by the end of the year.  I am so impressed with the way the children communicate their ideas and synergize to help each other create wonderful story ideas and detailed pictures.

 

Duck Duty!

Our P.E. teachers have a special incentive going to help raise money and awareness for the jump rope for heart health initiative.  The children have information coming home in their folders about how to earn ducks by raising money for the cause.  Please read over the packet of information and help your child join in this wonderful program.  Last year it was a smashing success...and a favorite activity for the entire school.

Happy Holidays!

Thank you to all our wonderful families who made our winter party such a wonderful success!  It was a wonderful time to enjoy each other and close out 2013 with smiles and laughs.  Thank you to everyone to volunteered time, yummy treats, or games for our festivities!