June 20, 2012

Good Morning,
  It is hard to believe that we are at the end of another school year.  It always amazes me how fast the time goes.  This weekend, my first group of Waitsfield 1st Graders will be graduating from Harwood.
I hope you  have enjoyed the year and found the classroom to be an open and welcoming place.

  I would like to thank each and every family for the beautiful apple trees.  It was a very generous and thoughtful gift (not to mention unnecessary).  I have already planted them in my yard, and they look wonderful.  The trees will be a living memory of the good times of the good times I had with this group.

Today your child will have their report card, a list of books (if people are looking for summer reading), and a copy of this blog.  I wanted to make sure everyone received the thank you part of the blog entry.

I hope you have a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing all of you in August.

Thank you again for a wonderful year.

Peace,
Tom

Reading List:

Second Grade and Third Grade Common Core Suggested Reading List

• My Father’s Dragon  Ruth Stiles Gannett
• “The Fire Cat,” Esther Averill
• Amos and Boris  William Steig
• The Treasure  Uri Shulevitz
• The Stories Julian Tells  Ann Cameron
• Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan
• Henry and Mudge:  The First Book of Their Adventures  Cythia Rylant
• Tops and Bottoms Janet Stevens
• The Raft Jim LaMarche
• Poppleton in Winter  Cynthia Rylant
• The Lighthouse Family: The Storm  Cynthia Rylant
• The One-Eyed Giant  Mary Pope Osborne
• Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa   Erica Silverman

Poetry

• “Autumn,” Emily Dickinson
• “Who Has Seen the Wind?” Christina Rossetti
• “Afternoon on a Hill,” Edna St. Vincent Millay
• “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”  Robert Frost
• “Something Told the Wild Geese”  Rachel Field
• “Grandpa’s Stories”  Langston Hughes
• “A Bat is Born”  Randall Jarrell
• “Knoxville, Tennessee”  Nikki Giovanni
• “Weather”  Eve Merriam
• “Eating While Reading”  Gary Soto

Informational Texts

• A Medieval Feast  Aliki
• From Seed to Plant  Gail Gibbons
• Bats: Creatures of the Night  Joyce Milton
• Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions Around the World  Selby Beeler
• Art around the World  Heather Leonard
• Martin Luther King and the March on Washington  Frances E. Ruffin
• So You Want to Be President?  Judith St. George
• Crittercam  Andrew  Einspruch
• Boy, We Were Wrong About Dinosaurs  Kathleen V. Kudlinski
• Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11  Brian Floca
•  ***See our REVIEW and Resources you could use with this book!***
• Where Do Polar Bears Live? Sarah L. Thomson

Read-Aloud Stories

• How the Camel Got His Hump Rudyard Kipling
• The Thirteen Clocks  James Thurber
• Charlotte’s Web  E.B. White
• ***See what we thought about reading this book and get other links to help with lesson planning!***
• The Cricket in Times Square  George Selden
• The Search for Delicious, Natalie Babbitt
• Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis
• Sign Painter  Allen Say

Read-Aloud Poetry

• “The Jumblies,” Edward Lear
• “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” Robert Browning
• “Your World,” Georgia Douglas Johnson
• “The Song of the Jellicles”  T.S. Elliot
• “Fireflies,” Paul Fleischman

Read-Aloud Informational Texts

• Lincoln: A Photobiography Russell Freedman
• The Story of the Ruby Bridges   Robert Coles
• A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder  Walter Wick
• If the World Were a Village:  A Book about the World’s People  David J. Smith
• Ah, Music   Aliki
• The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections  Jan Mark
• What the World Eats  Faith D’Aluisio
• Wild Tracks!   A Guide to Nature’s Footprints
• 14 Cows for America   Carmen Agra Deedy

June 13, 2012

Good Morning,
  We had a wonderful time visiting our pen pals yesterday.  The students' behavior at Thatcher Brooke, Ben and Jerry's, and on the bus was wonderful. I was proud of them and appreciated their effort.

  Tomorrow is Field Days.  The students should wear appropriate clothing for running around and (possibly) getting wet.  The Field Day events will take place in the afternoon.  Tomorrow evening, we will have our class presentation at 6:00.  Please be here on time.  This presentation will start with a quick skit about the history of our school.  This skit was driven by the time line that we created to start our unit of study.  After that, you will be invited to walk around and visit your child's digital timeline as well as other students from the class.  There will not be a dinner served.  Apparently there is rumor of a potluck floating around.  This will not be the case.

  I hope to see all of you tomorrow evening.

Peace,
Tom

June 11, 2012

Good Afternoon,
  Today we had a visit from Mrs. Dillon and one of her 5th & 6th grade health classes.  They read a book that they published about dangers of cleaning chemicals and smoking.  I also continued testing the 2nd graders with their reading.  The students also finished their pen pal letters.

  We will be leaving at 9:00 tomorrow for our pen pal trip. Please make sure to pack a lunch.  I have had only one family request a bagged lunch, so I assume everyone else is all set.

  I hope you have a great week.

Peace,
Tom

June 8, 2012

Good Evening,

  Well, I survived the Boston trip!  I had a really nice time with the 6th graders, and they were wonderful to travel with.  We have quite a busy week ahead of us.  Please make note of the following:

Tuesday:  We will be traveling to Waterbury to meet with out pen-pals.  Feel free to join us if you would like too.  The children should bring a bagged lunch that day.  If you need the school to provide one, please let me know by Monday Morning.

Thursday:  We will have field days in the afternoon and our class presentation night in the evening.  Please make sure your child dresses appropriately for field days.  Our evening performance will start promptly at 6:00.  

We will spend next week wrapping up our science unit, fishing the math program and preparing for our skit.  There will not be anymore homework sent for the rest of the year.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,

Tom

June 4, 2012

Good Morning,

  Just a reminder that Sally Utter will be subbing for me through Thursday of this week.  I will be in the building today as I test each student's reading ability.  There will not be homework sent home this week, but I encourage you two read books from your home collection.  The kids will be working on their timeline skit during reading time this week.  Remember that I will not need the parent volunteers this week.

  I hope you have a great week.

Peace,
Tom

June 1, 2012

Good Morning,
  This morning the students were asked what state would be created when we mixed baking soda and vinegar.  We carefully pureed the substances into a test tube and then sealed the top with a balloon.  Ask your child what happened and their answer to the question.

  Please remember that I will be testing your child's reading level on Monday.  Please make sure they are in school.

  I hope you have a great weekend.

Peace,
Tom