(UES from Cliff St)
A Thousand Thanks!
I just have to say it- It is without question that I have the best students, the best families, and the best classroom community! There! It's out there! It should be shouted from the top of Cliff St!
I know it's kind of early and the year is not over yet, but in lieu of the past few weeks, I want to thank you for all of your kindnesses. Namely~ (in no particular order of relevance)
~the fish tank upkeep
~the tadpoles
~the fans
~the hugs and kisses
~treats delivered to my doorstep
~your patience
~your support
~chocolate covered almonds
~liverwurst sandwiches
~volunteering
~time in the woods
~the music
~the suggestions
~the space
~and most importantly, the privilege of sharing the past two years with your remarkable babes.
I'm getting choked up. Post anesthesia, perhaps? Nonetheless, you're a great community of parents, doing great things for your children. Keep it up, as you'll be going through the slings and arrows of raising your babes together for the next ten years. And for the love of God- COMMUNICATE with each other with open hearts and open minds! Deep breath. Step. Off. The. Soap. Box.
O.K. So now for the update. The following is a smattering of photos showing some of the things we've been up to. Enjoy!
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Alex and Tyree at an All School Assembly |
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The Unified Sports Team has much to celebrate! |
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Snow Drops are up! |
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Alahna examines the properties of force and motion. |
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An NAP schlepp up the hill to the shelter on an unseasonably hot day. |
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Listening to Amy tell a Native American Folk Tale. Love the oral tradition. |
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Amy at work. |
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Lyn teaches us about galls during our 4 Winds session. |
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The Third Grade Puppet Show. |
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The start of our Nature Adventure mapping study. We're viewing our fair city from the top of Cliff St. |
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Happy Birthday, Em! |
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April Vacation on Key Largo. Seven days of sunsets. |
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This is a domesticated critter who would try to join me at sunset time for cheese and crackers. |
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Bahia Honda, Marathon Key, FLA |
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Each one was more beautiful than the next.
Ok. So the photos are a little thin. I'm now going to try to upload some video. Bear with me...
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Hmmm.... not sure if they're going to work. It's taking a long time and they don't look right. However, let me explain. As you know, we've been working on our Animal Reports. Right now, we're in the midst of finishing up our realistic fiction animal stories; and let me tell you, your kids are great writers! The above videos show small group editing instruction. What struck me most about this lesson was how invested they were in their stories and how curious and helpful they were with each other. This is such a great unit of study, as it has the children learning about and discerning the differences between fiction and non-fiction text AND making connections between the types of books they're reading and the stories they're writing. BEAUTIFUL!
And finally, last Friday...
Rats! The videos aren't uploading and taking forever to NOT upload. Peter? Peter? Peter? I've got some great footage of Dave Keller, Johnny Rawls, and the entire school doing the twist!
O.K. Lastly, content and quotables. We've started our Farm Unit. It's quite comprehensive and the kids are excited about it. Like the Penguin Unit, it's integrated across the curriculum and you're children are not only going to be purchasing property, farming equipment, and large animals; but they'll be learning a lot about farming, money, measurement, estimation, grouping, and algebraic concepts. We'll also be finishing up our animal writing and starting another writing unit based on a book called Boxes for Katje.
We'll also be wrapping up our Nature Adventure studies (now called ECO) on force in motion and changes in matter.
Please note the upcoming dates in the sidebar. Oh, and be thinking about an end of year get together. We've much to celebrate.
The Quotables:
Forgive me, as I don't have my notes with me. Here are just a few I can recall from memory.
Me: Oh Alexander, is that a liverwurst and cheese sandwich you have for snack? I haven't had one of those in years! They were my favorite when I was little.
Alexander: Oh, would you like some Mrs. F?
Me: No thank you, Alexander. Eat up your snack.
...THE NEXT DAY AT SNACK TIME
Alexander: (in a sing song voice) Oh Mrs. F! I have a surprise for you! (He's holding his hands behind his back)
Me: You didn't!
Alexander: (Dancing on his tippy toes and excitedly batting his eyelashes). Yes, I did! Well, actually my grandma did. They're favorites at our house and we like to eat them with pickles! (At this point he presents me with a wrapped sandwich and an individually wrapped thinly sliced pickle).
Me: (salivating) Oh, Alexander! How nice of you and your family. I can't wait to try it- WITH the pickle.
Alexander: (Still dancing about on his tippies) Would you like me to fix it for you? You have to know that these are not dill pickles. They are SWEET PICKLES!
Me: Just like you...
Just one more dialogue...
During a discussion about mammals, during morning meeting, Sophie asked why males don't nurse their young. I told them to think back to all of the Smithsonian books we've read and try to remember what the males were doing while the mothers were in the nests/burrows nursing their young. They immediately recalled that the males were out hunting for food. Good connection, thought I. Moving right along... Until I was asked, "Do males have breasts?" I then go on to explain in the most clinical of terms how males and females have pectoral muscles, but females have milk glands that produce milk, blah, blah, blah. Suddenly, a hand shoots up! "Mrs. F. I think my grandpa has milk glands and can nurse because he has breasts like a female." Oh boy! Fair enough. I went on to explain how time, age, and gravity ravage our bodies (kidding). But we did have an informative discussion about musculature and gravity. I'd like to think that they made connections to prior learning. One can only hope...