Oct
27
2011
Miss Estridge
Today, we started something called Daily News. At the end of the day, after everyone has packed up, students are able to suggest sentences of something special about the day. I type them on my computer, which is projected up onto our screen, and students copy their sentence down. This will be one more way for students to practice their writing and for you, the families, to know what is happening in the classroom. The Daily News will be sent home every day, but will be a day late. For example, the Daily News you receive tomorrow will be from today! It’s only been three days, but the students seem to really enjoy it, and I’m excited to see the growth in their writing abilities throughout the year!
Oct
27
2011
Mrs. Clark
Over the past few weeks I have had a few questions about sharing. Many parents are curious if they can send their child’s favorite toys to school. The answer is YES! Each morning, during morning meeting, 4 or 5 friends get the opportunity to share something from home, a piece of work, or an event that happened in their life. We use this as a part of our community building in our classroom. In addition, I think it is important to honor all parts of a child’s life. Toys and items from home are a big part of that! Please do not be worried that it will become a distraction. The kids now know that it goes back in their book bags after our morning meeting. It is now just part of our routine. 🙂 SO….if they have something they want to bring in and as a parent, you are ok with it, send it in!
Oct
27
2011
Mrs. Bucher
That is the question that I posed to our friends today regarding our puppet project. And boy, did they come up with quite the list of things we need to do to get ready for our puppet shows. Some of the items they said were:
paint the stage
add curtains and a background to the stage (one background for each story we are performing)
add ropes to pull the curtains up
make invitations
make three sheeters
make programs
create the seating (semicircle)
and of course practice our shows!
We will get right on that. 🙂 By the way, I am thinking our puppet show grand finale performance will be the week before Thanksgiving break. I am thinking that Thursday or Friday evening starting at 6pm.
Oct
27
2011
Mrs. Argus
Who knew that a metal detector and a mail center could occupy the same space? They do in room 104!
Today while working on our airplane, we discussed ways to make the two wings symmetrical. After some discussion about measurement and guesstimation, a friend suggested tracing the first wing onto the next cardboard piece for the second wing- that way it would be totally symmetrical. After cutting out the second wing, friends tried out different placements on the airlane to see where the wings fit best. We then saw a problem- how could we make the wings stick out from the plane without drooping on the floor? Cameron suggested using a large, popcorn tin to hold up the wing. We noticed that the tin looked almost exactly like an engine on the wing- how perfect! Hutton suggested we get two tins for each wing. Knowing we had one tin already, we had to problem solve to figure out how many more we needed. Monica suggested three, because we already had one, and the total we would need was four. She said, “Because four take away three is one!”
After figuring out the airplane wings and engines, we began to walk away from the plane and continue other activities during studio and explore when I heard Monica squeal excitedly. “Mrs. Argus!!! It’s a metal detector! Flip it over!!!” “Huh?” I thought as I looked at the large box on its side. Then I saw what Monica meant. Once we flipped up the large box so it stood vertically, she showed me the two door like openings that the cut wings had left. It looked exactly like a metal detector! Monica and Cameron continued to add details to the metal detector, like an x-ray machine, a button to turn the detector on, and a pretend flashing light to show if somone inside it had contraband! They enjoyed showing the class their creation. The class LOVES making a beepiong noise when someone pretends to go through.
Monica shows the class the metal detector.
We also have another exciting addition to our class. We have recently begun writing letters to one another in class and we saw a need for a mail center. Each child now has their own personal mail center mailbox where other children can place mail inside. We even have a mailperson job who delivers mail on a regular basis and calls to friends that have mail.
Our sign for the mail center.
Jenesis, our mail carrier, delivers classroom mail.
Tags: creativity, motivation, project, thinking
