A Late Winter Picture Story

Hi All-

I hope that you're all well rested and reconnected after the break.  By the looks and sounds of things, your babes seem to have grown taller (Tre grew half an inch!), lost lots of teeth (they dropping out of their heads!), and there was lots of swimming and skiing done.

I did a whole lotta nothing and loooved every torpid moment.  Read a number of books, slept late, spent a few days at Stowe Mountain Resort with my man, and Topnotch with my girlfriends.  Also discovered the wonders of cooking with duck fat.  There is NOTHING more delicious!

What I didn't do was update my blog.  My apologies.  What I'm going to do right now is upload photos from read aloud parent visits, our publishing party, Penguin Day, and Reading to End Racism, and today's puppet show.  Truly a wonderful production.

I'll   update Dates to Remember, learnings, and notable quotables over the weekend.  

Enjoy-

Paulette

Penguin Day!

Maxine is a Rockhopper

Idy is too (note the feathers in her hair)

Can you guess what Em is?

Seth brought a friend

EB rocks a chinstrap

On our iceberg

Alexander's costume finally dries!

We had a visitor come to read to us and do an activity during Reading to End Racism Day

Ms. Clements, our Math Coach, teaches a mini lesson in our classroom

Em Keller volunteered for our "Matilda" read aloud

EB reads his story

Em wrote a great piece

Tre wrote about super heroes.  He looks like a serious writer.

Sienna integrated teeth, God, and adolescence in her story.

Seth shares his piece.  The look like serious readers, don't they?

Alahna used lots of dialogue in her story

Z got very descriptive.  Looks like a poetry slam!

The "Handsome and Gretel" puppet show.
Dan warms up the audience.

Look at the joy on their faces!

Dan and Barb lead us in a rousing rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
Can you say,"Oweembawep?"

Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures during the puppet show.  However, I've seen a number of these productions and this was the best by far.  The puppets were fantastic, complete with lots of special effects.  We even got to join Dan and Barb for a question and answer session after the show.  Ask your little about it!

Again, have a nice weekend.  More to come on "Matilda" , NAP, our animal study, new special, art with sAmTk, vocabulary, math, literacy, etc.

A Fabulous Week!

I don't know where to begin...

This week has been an incredible week for learning both socially and academically.  In the interest of time, and the fact that it's Friday afternoon, I'm going to list learnings, vocabulary, quotes, and announcements.

Learnings:


-Gentoo, Rockhopper, King, and Little Blue penguins.  Ask your kids about the weight, height, colors, egg production, and unique features of these amazing birds, as they've been collecting data and reading non-fiction pieces (highlighting important facts) about each type.  Still to come: Chinstrap and Emperor Penguins.

-Making text to self and text to text connections with fictional texts and learning that our connections, combined with our schema, helps us to better understand (comprehend) what we're reading.  A pretty big idea.

-How to work in small groups.

-Vowel diagraphs and the sounds of /ee/ and /ea/.  Think Eats bread and steak.

-Looking for word parts to decode (chunking)


-They seem to love learning about punctuation!  Namely, periods, exclamation points, question marks, and quotation marks.

-Re-reading their work and checking their spelling.

-Just how powerful using humor, your brain, and ignoring someone who may not be treating you nicely, can be.

-The difference between tattling and warning, NOW problems, and NOT NOW problems, and being a problem solver.


Vocabulary:


-regurgitate
-preen
-stanza
-fledge (fledgling)
-pointillism
-limerick (great for Valentine's Day)
-twerp
-pokey (prison)

Many of these words are from Matilda and our penguin study.

Quotes:


During our pointillism study today, Sam asked the kids to imagine themselves in the future - twenty years from now.  After discussing where/how they saw themselves, they were sent off to sketch a picture of themselves doing just what they imagined.  The following is a list of what some your nippers will be doing twenty years from now:

Alahna: a dentist
Sienna: a shoe maker
Ethan: a zoologist
Idalee: a teacher, mother, singer
Tre: an explorer
Sophie: in a rock band
Leo: playing the drums
Emily: a piano playing solo singer
Alexander and Samuel: power rangers
Maxine: a mermaid

Quote:  After going over to Alahna and asking her to tell me about her picture, she explained, "When I grow up and turn seventeen, I'm going to be a dentist and have very shiny teeth."  Her picture is priceless

Today's NAP Outing

Another incredible day outdoors!  Blue skies, comfy temperatures, Chickadees singing, and the light!


Today we ventured out as scientists, with thermometers in hand, ready to measure temperatures.  We measured the North Branch (34 degrees F), deep snow (22 degrees F), inside our jackets (66 degrees F), air (on the way up, 36  --  on the way down, 40).

We also talked about, explored, and tested the many types of materials, surfaces, and textures, we could use to make sleds.  The children created the most wondrous sliding structures using all manner of recyclable products and duct tape.  The concept and learning behind all of this is Newtonian (motion).  We're starting out small, but it didn't take them too long to realize that there is a connection between weight and distance; after many trips down the hill on our bottoms, "Mrs. F went the fastest!"


I can't say enough about these outdoor classrooms.  The children are in charge of their own learning!  There is little class management, and left on their own to explore, I've found that they're in charge of their own learning, both academically and socially.  Not to mention all of the benefits of being outdoors, schlepping our belongings up hill, eating together, and the space... I can't say enough about the space!  Lastly, outside in the open, there is no need for differentiation.  Mother Nature does that on her own...

Enjoy the pictures~

Amy drops a thermometer into the North Branch

At 9:20 am, it measured 34 degrees Fahrenheit.  

We had some visitors.  Idalee counted 10 males and 10 females.

Here we are using our thermometers in/on the rocks and ice on Hubbard Park Drive.

Ethan and Sophie go spelunking!

Sofa Lofa and I on our way back down Hubbard Park Drive.  I'm the lumpier one.

Amy gathers all of us to talk about and observe the materials we're going to use to make sleds.

We shared a group snack of local cheese, bread, and apples.

After sliding down the shelter hill, like penguins (except not on our tummies), we showed off our creations.

Some Highlights from the Week

For our second lesson on Pointillism, we made color wheels with 'Nilla wafers and primary colored icing.  SamTk teaches our class every Friday afternoon.

SamTk and Sienna

Idy is working on her secondary colors

Dilly is sampling some primary blue

Samuel is working and sampling his secondary colors

A completed and delicious colorwheel

Our North Branch Adventure
What a day!  Each and every Nature Adventure has been magical and wondrous.  This one was no exception!  Well worth all of the cancellations.  It was a crisp and clear day; complete with light snow that blew off the tree branches like sparkly cloud showers; not to mention reaping the rewards  of the Ice on Fire celebration, complete with igloos and pine tree mazes.  Another bonus was mixing up our classes.  I had the pleasure of interacting and visiting with students and parents I don't know very well, if at all.  The whole morning was about connection with each other and with our surroundings.

I particularly loved the fact that there was very little need for management or instruction.  The learning, the self regulation, the social components, the connections (both academic and social) were intrinsic and magical.  
Food for thought...

Mrs. Dostie, Mrs. Wrigley, and our class were part of the morning group. Amy tells us how to be safe and to listen for the river otters.

We combined our classes and then divided them into three different groups: The Mice, The Moose, and The Monarchs.  These are The Mice preparing for departure.

I led The Moose.  Our first stop was the Education Barn and The Critter Room.  This turtle has been there since the Paleolithic era.

Some of us faced our fears and touched snake skins.  This guy wasn't so bad, but that "Albino Snake" ... Jeesh!  Emily M and I stepped out of our comfort zone and acquainted ourselves with him/her.

This guy was happy to see us.  Can't you tell?  Look at that smile!

This was the first group of "Critter Room" tourists.  They learned a lot through observation, wonder, and independence.

Nora curls up like a deer in the tree maze.

Here, we head off on the nature trails to "The Deer Forest."

Tracy, a fantastic parent volunteer, snuggles with the moose, by the fire.

Whilst sitting by the fire, we snack on local cheese, local bread, and fresh apples.

While snacking, Amy regales us with Native American Folktales...

...and some personal stories about camping adventures and mice!

O.K.  I Instagram-ed this guy.  How cute is he?!

They have so much character and expression!  I can't help myself!!!

Instagram-ed this guy too, but it didn't do him justice.