It was so great to see all of you at our parent conferences this week. I hope you found them fulfilling and they gave all of you a deeper insight on exactly what your child is working on, goals they have, and a general sense of how their year is going so far. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out anytime. Again, thank you for taking the time to meet with me.
As I discussed during our conferences, the students are excited about the culmination of our Financial Literacy unit. So far, no one has chosen to buy a toy or candy and they are all saving their money for the movie night. I had to laugh because on Thursday, two kids decided to buy a toy and they both said they could watch a movie at home. By the end of the day they both asked if they could change their minds. Luckily I have a liberal refund policy! The movie night will be Thursday. I will let you know (via email), by Wednesday, if your kid didn't save enough money to buy a ticket. If you don't hear from me, they are good to go. Here are the details:
- Please arrive at 6:00 pm on Thursday, November 16th.
- Please pick up your child at 8:00 pm. (That same day 😏)
- Students can bring stuffies, a blanket, and wear their pajamas (their request).
- I will have popcorn and some candy.
- Have your child bring a water bottle. This way drinks wont spill on carpet.
- Any sibling that is kindergarten or older is free to join. I ma hoping to give all of you a few hours to have a date night.
*NOTE: If there are any food allergies for siblings attending, you must email me those prior to Wednesday.
This week in writing, we started class with the Hokie Pokie. The kids liked the fast movement and the chance to shake their body and even turn themselves around! The purpose of this was for them to describe how they were feeling right after it was done and they had to sit down. I then explained that good writers also do this in their writing. They describe how their characters are feeling. The students used this strategy along with previous ones to continue to bring their stories to life.
This week I read the Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. This book is about Brian, a boy who feels invisible at school. He is ignored by the teacher and his classmates, never chosen to be on kickball teams, and is excluded at lunch. When a new student, Justin, comes to school, Justin gets made fun of and Brian reassures him. After this act of kindness, Justin and Brian become friends, and he no longer feels invisible.
This story is very touching because everyone has felt alone and invisible at some point in their lives. The text tells the story of Brian very well and allows the reader to sympathize greatly with him. However, it is the illustrations which draw the reader in completely. They use color to demonstrate how Brian is seen. At the beginning, everything is in color, except for Brian and the objects close to him. Having Brian be the only thing in the picture which is black and white shows how excluded he feels, and how he is treated as though he were invisible. The illustrator uses white space to demonstrate how small Brian feels in this world. However, when Justin is introduced, Brian smiles at him, and part of his face gets a little color in it! As their friendship strengthens, Brian becomes more colorful, demonstrating that he is finally being seen. This use of color to portray his connections with people is very encapsulating because not only is there a textual difference, but the reader can visually see Brian becoming more welcomed. We followed up the reading with a discussion about how we can each work on being inclusive and inviting friends to join us in activities, at recess and lunch.
We talked about Veteran's Day on Wednesday. Both of my brothers are retired Marines and I asked my youngest brother Jimmy to talk to the class about what it means to serve, what a veteran is, and to discuss why the flag is an important symbol to him. Jimmy spoke of being an ambassador (when you serve) and that the he always felt like he needed to represent Vermont and it's people when he served. The students each worked on a sheet about their learning. There is one part that you can fill out with them. This is the section about family members that have served. Take time to talk to your child about your family's history. The sheets went home with them yesterday.
NOTES:
*Please make sure your child has the appropriate outside clothing for the weather. We go outside for recess in most weather.
*Don't forget to pack your child an extra snack. Some of them express that they are hungry at different times.
That is all for now. I hope you all have a great weekend. Again, I want to thank all of you for the thoughtful conversations during conferences.
Peace,
Tommy
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| Kids playing Don't Make Me Laugh |
