Good Saturday Morning to each of you. This morning I find myself on the North Shore (Beverly area) for my daughter's parents' weekend. She has a busy day schedule for us, so I figured I better get this post done this morning. I am sure you all are engaged with a variety of events and activities that a fall Saturday morning brings to parents of young kids. All I can say is enjoy the moments because it certainly does fly by quickly.
This week had us finishing up a spelling assessment that I give three times a year. This assessment helps me determine where I start with phonetic instruction for each of your kids. Next week will be the official start of all academic components of our daily schedule. Parent volunteers will be starting a week from Monday (10/7). If you haven't done the background check (that I explained in a previous post) please do so Monday. I will check the list on Tuesday to see who is cleared to start on the week of 10/7.
Three Tuesdays a month, Mrs. Smith's 5/6 grade will be joining us to help out with our language arts rotations. They will join us from 1:50-2:15 to work with the kids that aren't working with me (their reading group) during this time. Her classroom is our Buddy Classroom this year and we will connect with them in a variety of ways throughout the year.
We continued our study of traditions and celebrations by discussing the fall foliage and all of the traditions that come with it. I read several different picture books about the changing leaves, why they change, and what colors go with what type of tree. The kids completed a writing prompt about why they like the fall colors and also did a multi-step art project that allowed them to paint and color their own fall tree picture. They are being displayed on a bulletin board on the hallway and also on our cabinet doors in the classroom.
In science, the kids learned how to use magnifying glasses to make observations and record "zoomed in" notes and pictures in their science notebooks. The students also continued their work with coding. They learned how to program a character to do an action using a multi-step tool and also learned how to add voice to their characters. Mr. Mongeon has been leading these lessons and the kids have loved working on the tasks that he has created.
I will use on of our vacant French times to do mindfulness activities with the students. This will include how to using breathing to calm their bodies and going for walks in town. It is great that the town has such nice sidewalks and it allows us to safely get out and enjoy some movement and fresh air. This week we walked to the covered bridge and back. I also introduced/reviewed the use of the 5 finger breathing technique. This is a way that kids can calm their bodies by regulating their breathing. It is amazing how well this works. Here is a link that goes over the basic routine (it is a little different than ours but explains the concept).
NOTES:
*I REALLY need everyone to set a goal of having their children at school by 7:40. The doors open at 7:25 so anytime between that and 7:40 is fantastic. I know mornings can be tricky as I have experienced them with my own two daughters. However, in some cases, you will need to adjust your morning routine by 10 minutes to make this happen. Kids who arrive later miss the opportunity for morning connections with their peers and then have to jump into Morning Meeting with our having time for snack. Please work on a family plan to make this happen. I truly appreciate this happening and the effort it takes but it is all for the best for your child's start to their school day.
*All of the book orders have come in and they were sent home with your child on Friday.
*I will be out of the classroom on Thursday. Now that I have turned 50, my doctor keeps letting me know about all of these "old man" things that I get to do. Thursday allows me to experience one of those procedures. I will be back on Friday.
*Many of the kids have been building fairy houses at recess. They really want to create a bigger version and asked if I could do an after school time with them. I will do this on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. We will go from 2:30-4:00. If you would like your child to attend, you must register them using this link. I will provide an after school snack for them. All I ask is that you arrive by 3:55 for a 4:00 pick up. We will do this in the Gazeebo (if the weather is good) or my classroom if not.
*This week we will have an all school assembly on Tuesday and at some point we will celebrate (as a school) our first reward for earning over 1,000 tickets as a school.
That is all for now. I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Mr. Young
