Our Class

Reading during the day

2012-01-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

As I am sure you are aware, the children are involved in a variety of reading activities everyday. We have a poem of the week that we read in every morning, a quiet reading time where children can read individually or with a friend, and almost everyday I read aloud from a chapter book.

Here are some examples of the things we are reading during our Map Unit:

The first week there was a riddle to solve:

I have streets but no pavement,  

I have cities but no buildings,  

I have forests but no trees,  

I have rivers yet no water.  

What am I?

(answer: a map)

I read My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett to the children. The story includes a beautiful maps of the islands the boy travels to.

The children really enjoyed following the adventures of Elmer Elevator. If you are looking for books to read at home with your child, you may consider reading the other 2 books in the trilogy.

The second week's poem helped the children learn the names of the continents:

To learn the seven continents 

Think of the letter A, 

And when you're down to only one 

An E will save the day. 

There's Africa, Antarctica,  Australia, Asia, too; 

The oceans run between them 

With their waters deep and blue. 

There are also two Americas-- North and South, you see. 

Now we're coming to the end.

 Europe starts with E!

I also started a new chapter book: Paddle-to- the-Sea by Holling Clancy Holling. In this story, a Canadian boy carves a small wooden canoe that he sends off down a river, hoping it will make it's way to the sea. We will be looking at maps of the Great Lakes as we track the canoes journey.

Winter Walk

2012-01-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

We had winter weather for our "Winter Nature Walk with Faye".

Each child received a map of the County Farm Park. Together we decided on a destination and then used the maps to find the chosen location.

As we trekked through the snow the damp weather took a toll on our maps but we still made it to our destination. On the way we found evidence of animals in the woods. There were tracks in the snow and a branch a rabbit had nibbled on.

It was a great walk but it was also nice to get back to school and warm up with some hot chocolate and cider.

Exploring Maps

2012-01-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

Maps of the world, maps of the country, maps of the city...

We often pull down the World or United States maps for a reference in discussions, but this month our focus will be on maps. We will be exploring all different types of maps.

What about a map of your room, map of your heart, map of a dog...
These are some of the maps in the book we will be reading by Sara Fanelli.

Personally, I love looking a maps. I hope by the end of the month the children will gain an appreciation for how much you can learn from maps. Maybe we will even find some cartographers in our midsts.

Snacks schedule

2012-01-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

It's time for the next rounds of snacks. Mark your calendar for the week your family brings snacks for the class.

Remember to keep the snacks healthy and nut free. There is a morning and afternoon snack. Our class has 12. Also, there are 2 children in the class who can not have dairy.

Jan. 9-13..Andrés

Jan. 18-20...Andrew

Jan. 23-27...Viola

Jan. 30-Feb. 3...Niko

Feb. 6-10...Arwyn

Feb. 13-17...Gabe

Feb. 23-March 2...Oliver

March 5-9...Noah

March 12-16...Dominic

March 19-23...Kaden

March 26-30...Kit
April 9-13...Varvara
April 23-27...Andrés
April 30-May 4...Andrew
May 7-11...Viola
May 14-17...Niko
May 21-25...Arwyn
May 29-June 1...Gabe
June 4-7...Oliver

Thank you

2011-12-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

...to all the Summers-Knoll families who contributed to the generous gift certificate from Zingerman's.

Also thank you for all the kind notes and sweet treats. What a way to end 2011; thanks for your show of appreciation.

Bones

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

This fall, the children started learning the names of the bones in our body with Dr. George.

This week, they learned some of the reasons we have bones: to hold us up, to help us move, and to make blood.

The spine is very important because it protects the spinal cord.
In order to learn more about the spine, we went to visit Dr. Rose at Rose Chiropractic. Dr. Rose showed us a model of the spine. We could see how the nerves come from all over the body to the spinal cord. He told us how ligaments hold the bones in place and showed us the cushion between each vertebra called a disc. Dr. Rose also talked to us about keeping the spine healthy. It is important to make sure you are not spending a lot of time with your back in the "C" shape. Many people sit in this shape when they are working at a computer or reading in bed. As we were leaving Dr. Rose taught us how to walk really straight by pretending we have a string pulling our head up to the ceiling.
The children had excellent manners at the office and told Dr. Rose about all the things they had learned about the body. He was very impressed. When we left, he told me, I had a great class, which I could not dispute.

A big thank you to Dr. Rose for letting us come to visit.

The Body

2011-12-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

The last couple weeks, we have been learning about the body. We started with each child writing down one or two parts of the body to learn more about.
Here is the consensus:
skin
brain
eyes
bones
cells

I went to the library and collected many books about the human body.

The epidermis was a logical place to start. The children already knew that skin: "holds in all your parts" and that "it keeps your blood in so you don't bleed till you die". From a Bill Nye DVD we gained more information about skin from a scientific point of view. We also listened to an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin", for a fictional perspective on the subject.

After exploring the skin, I added digestion to the list of systems we would learn about. I have found that the children love this topic because it ends in the popular subject of "poop".
Digestion starts with the teeth so we made tooth puppets. Then the food travels down your throat to the esophagus. At this point the children learned that there is another tube called the trachea that brings air to your lungs. So that food doesn't go down the wrong passage way, there is a special flap called the epiglottis that keeps food from going in your lungs. The children loved all these scientific terms.

Next, on to the stomach, where the food is mixed with digestive juices. The children made mock esophagus's and stomachs to take home and do a quick experiment with water and a cracker to simulate what happens in to food in the stomach. The next day we talked about what happened and then talked about the final stages of digestion that happen in the small and large intestines.

Guest student

2011-12-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

Varvara has a friend, Elsa, visiting from Finland.

Elsa came to spend the day with us and will be back on tomorrow and Friday.

It has been lovely to make a new friend.

Is that a frog in your throat?

2011-12-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Last night my voice started to get scratchy. This morning, it was almost inaudible.

How do you teach with a frog in your throat?
Get the children to assist.

The children rose to the occasion.
At morning gathering Gabe read, More Parts.
There are 3 books in this series by Ted Arnold. Parts, More Parts, and Even More Parts. It is about a child who misunderstands language and thinks he is going to lose part of his body. For instance: when his father asks him to: "give him a hand", the boy thinks his must literally give his hand to his father. These books have more than 100 body part idioms. Very humorous.

No problems with quiet reading and writing. I could go around and whisper to children about their work.

After lunch, it was story time. Kit and Andrés, each read a few pages of our current chapter book:
Ramona and her Mother by Beverly Cleary.

Thank you to all the children for their cooperation and help in making it a pleasant and productive day.

December's Theme

2011-12-04T08:22:00.000-08:00

This month we will be exploring the Human Body.
On Friday, the the 5th and 6th graders came to the Lower School and gave presentations about various body parts and systems in the human body.

This was an amazing introduction to the unit. I wish everyone could have been there to see the incredible presentations.

On Monday, we will talk as a class about what things we found most interesting and what we would like to learn more about during December.

See more photos and description of the 5th-6th graders project here.

Math: Problem Solving

2011-12-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

I told the children a story about someone walking in the woods. The person took a photo of the woods. In the picture, there was a person walking a dog, 2 squirrels chasing each other on a tree, and 3 birds flying. The children's assignment was to work with a partner and figure out how many tails and legs were in the photo. Teamwork, determination, and math skills were necessary to complete the task. Here are the results:

Arwyn and Juna's work

Varvara and Eli's work

Ella and Viola's work

Dominic and Andrew's work

First Snow

2011-11-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

I heard groans from adults and squeals of delight from children with the arrival of the first snow.

When it was time for "morning meeting",only about half the children had arrived. I posed the question, "Where do you think everyone is?" The children used their own experiences coming to school to speculate on why so many people were late. Hands flew in the air to tell stories of seeing cars skidding on the road and slippery sidewalks.

They discussed car doors that were frozen shut and windshields that needed to be scraped. One child mentioned the bridge construction on Stadium as a possible reason for delays.

Soon, all the children arrived. The children really thought we should play in the snow immediately but I assured them it would still be there when it was time to go outside.

When we were in the snow, the children made tracks, snowballs and snowmen...
and went fast down a slippery slide.

In order to maintain the thrilled faces, the adults have to work. Every day the children need dry boots, snow pants, coats, and mittens. An extra pair of mittens is helpful. It is also important that there are extra clothes in cubbies for when clothes get wet.

Even though it is a lot of work, it is worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

As I think of the things I am thankful for in my life, I immediately think of my parents. Through out my life, my parents have been there to support and guide me. They encouraged me to accept and celebrate the differences in people as well as their similarities. They raised me to be an independent thinker and to use my strengths to improve my life as well as the lives of others. Maybe these are the things lead me to Summers-Knoll.

I am thankful to to be a teacher at Summers-Knoll. Here I am able to be the type of teacher and person I want to be. I am able to use my talents and creativity in an unrestrictive setting. I have the freedom and flexibility to create a classroom that to meet the needs of the children in my class. I am able to work with an amazing group of educators who encourage and inspire me.

Tuesday, the children made bread to contribute to their Thanksgiving feast. Hope you enjoy it, (even if it doesn't make it to Thursday).

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Flea Market

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Over the past weeks, in math class, the children have been preparing for the Flea Market.

First, the children became acquainted with the names and values of coins.

Then there was the pricing of merchandise. This part was my personal favorite. I loved listening to the children discuss the price of objects.

The children did not take this job lightly. They looked at the items and discussed if it should go in the 1, 5, 10, or 25 cent pile.
"Do you think this should be a penny?"
"I think this is 25, don't you?"
"Oh yes, that is definitely worth a quarter."

I tried to guess what price would be put on the toys but I could not determine the value. The children however we almost always in agreement.

Finally it was time for the big event. The day we had all been waiting for with anticipation.

Irma was in charge of the market. She looked vaguely familiar but she sounded like she might have come from south of Michigan.

Four tables were covered with an amazing array of items. There were so many choices, it was hard to decide what to buy.

It was very sweet to hear many children picking out a special toy to give siblings when they got home.

I am sure you were amazed at all the treasures your child was able to buy with just $1.

We will revisit counting money various times through out the year but it would be great to set up Flea Markets or other types of stores at home. This is a fun way to work on math skills.

Special Collections Library

2011-11-19T06:25:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Holly Sorscher at the University of Michigan's Special Collection Library. Holly set up an amazing trip for us.

We saw signed copies of the books that Joan Blos donated to the library.

Holly showed us archival materials from the collection. There was a notebook Joan Blos kept while on a trip to Colorado researching information for her book The Heroine of the Titanic.

We looked at rough drafts of some of her books. This is a preliminary copy of Nellie Bly's Monkey. We could see how Joan typed an original draft then covered it by hand written notes. The children realized there were still further changes in the published copy.

Authors and illustrators rarely meet or talk to each other, but when Joan Blos was writing her books, illustrators and authors worked closely together. There were letters that went back and forth with suggestions for changes. The illustrator made sketches that the author saw before making a final colorful painting.

Another treat was to hear a passage from a book Joan thought about writing. It was going to be a sequel to her book, Old Henry . It was to be called "Old Henrietta". It was in the same poetic style but unfortunately she never finished this version. We are one of very few people have ever seen/heard this idea of Ms Blos.

Holly also told us that no one can take out the books in the Special Collections Library. The only way to read these books is to make an appointment. Then they will have what you want to read available for you to read in their reading room. Many people come to the library to learn about the history of books, illustrators, and authors. They even come to see how people in different eras advertised books.

Our trip ended, with Holly reading one of Joan Blos's books that is out of print: Lottie's Circus. Holly told us as we were leaving that Joan Blos is still living in Ann Arbor. If we write her letters, Holly will make sure Joan will receive them.

Your child might also mention that we went up to the 8th floor to look out the windows. While we were there we saw my sister and Owen's mom. After our visit with Holly, we went into one room of "the stacks" just to get a small feel for how many books there are in the library. We estimated millions.

Travel

2011-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

Here is an example of planning, following the children's interests, leading to a rich integrated curriculum covering a range of topics including: literature, history, geography, public speaking, and writing.

We started the day by finishing the book about Nellie Bly by Joan Blos. The class discussed some of the modes of transportation Nellie used on her trip around the world in 1889. Then we unrolled maps of the United States and the world.

One child ask if he could show on the map a trip he had taken out west. Children started raising their hands to tell about trips they had taken. They pointed out places on the map they had visited, and told about transportation they had used, and how long it took them to get to their destinations.

The children were so excited to tell their stories that I decided to extend the activity with a writing project. Each child wrote about a trip they had taken, or imagined taking.

Here are a few examples of the writing.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, as part of our author study, I was trying to set up a trip to U-M's Special Collections Library. The trip will be this Friday morning. As we see some of the books by Joan Blos we will learn about a library that is dedicated to preserving books and other
materials for research. The library has a collection of Blos' books, many of
which are signed copies. It also has archival materials that include artwork and early
drafts of picture books, with written comments by the author. Personally, I can't wait for the trip.

Math class

2011-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

The children decided that they wanted to give a copy of their number book to the library, so this week, we delivered a copy to Malletts Creek Library. While we were there, each child selected a book about math to bring back to school.
Finding our books was another math lesson. We had to find the 500 section in the library. When we got to the number section, things became a bit confusing. Finding a 5 was easy but finding the 500's was a bit of a challenge. When you are used to single digit numbers place value is not an issue. In the months, to come we will be working more with place value, which should make this task a bit easier in the future.

Later in the week we made counting ropes. Each child made one to take home.

We will be making 20 bead counting ropes to assist us as we move into adding and subtracting numbers in the "teens". For instructions on how to make and use counting ropes, click here.

(Thank you to Ms. Carpenter for sharing this site with us.)

EB classes

2011-11-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

I am not teaching an EB this time so I have the luxury to walk around and see what others are doing this morning. Everyone was completely engaged in activities.

Gabrielle, Arianna's mom, was a guest teacher in the cooking EB. She helped the children make matza balls.

George was busy helping children with their robots . Groups of children were working together on computers and with their legos.

Gabe and his grandmother were telling the story of Gabe's uncle who was adopted from Korea.

Val was reading a book about Andy Warhol, called Uncle Andy's Cats by James Warhola.

Author Study

2011-11-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

With the "Our Backyard" theme in mind, I thought it would be interesting to choose an Ann Arbor author to study in November. For author studies, I also try and find an author who has written both novels and picture books. This lead me to an author named Joan Blos.

In my research, I found out the Ms. Blos was a Children's Literature professor at the U of M. In 1980 she won the Newbery Award for her novel A Gathering of Days.

Her stories are often historic novels or fiction based on historic figures. We will be reading, The Heroine of the Titanic, about Molly Brown and Nellie Bly's Monkey . Nellie is a reporter, who in 1889, who went around the world in 72 days. This story is told by the monkey she picked up in Singapore.

In my pursuit of Joan Blos's books, I discovered that many of her books are out of print. This problem will hopefully be serendipitous. I am working to set up a visit U of M's "Special Collections" Library. Several of Blos books are in the "Special Collection". They can be viewed by not taken out of the library.

Keep tuned into the blog for more information about this trip and other activities that we will be doing. along with more on the Joan Blos books.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

The children made

"Haunted Houses".

If the children

had time, they wrote a

story about their

house.

Safe Trick or

Treating!

Eco Fair 2011

2011-10-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

The Eco Fair was a grand success.

Guess who?

Inventive costumes filled the school.

There was an ATM machine, a Box, and a Newspaper princess, just to name a few.

The classes were mixed together and traveled from room to room doing activities.

We ended the day in the woods. It just seemed like a perfect way to end the Eco Fair.

These are the things great memories are made from.

Number Book

2011-10-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

My math group read a number book by Arlene Alda.

Alda's book inspired us to make our own photograph number book. The children looked for numbers around the room and school. Here is what we found:

After the children photographed the "numbers", the class decided that 12 copies of the book should be made. One for each of them, one for each class, and a copy for the library. I hope everyone enjoys their creativity.

Our Backyard Woods

2011-10-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Look close to see what Oliver found in his hickory nut,

Friday afternoon, Faye was waiting for us at County Farm Park.
She immediately gave us a mission to find a nut that was partly chewed by a squirrel or chipmunk. The children scoured the ground and found numerous examples. Then Faye asked them why they thought the animals just eat part of the nut and left the rest behind.
"Maybe something frightened it."
"Maybe it was full."
"Maybe it didn't like the way it tasted."
"Maybe because there are so many around."

...a grub!

Faye said, she didn't know the reason but she thought all the ideas were good ones.

As we walked in the woods, Faye told us about some of the birds that migrate from Michigan to warmer climates for the winter. She showed us how burs can be used as "natures jewelry", and she showed us how to make the sound of a chipmunk that is worried.
Towards the end of our tour, we stopped at the prairie and looked at a fox and coyote skin. She taught us how to discriminate between a cat, dog, and coyote track. (Ask you child. The clue is it is all in the nails.)
We took a short walk through the prairie and found trails made by deer and indentations in the grasses, where the deer had slept the night before.
Then it was back through the woods to school. Another educational trip through the woods with Faye was at its end. Our next trip with Faye will take place this winter.

Are we doing math today?

2011-10-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, and so much more...

Each day I write a brief outline of the days schedule on the board. Last Friday, in the spot that usually says, "Math", it said "Cooking". One child ask, "Why aren't we going to do math today?" This question lead to a discussion about how cooking can be math:

"Because you measure things!"

"You have to count how much of things you need!"

"I know. You have to use a clock to tell how long to bake what you made!"

Good answers, I thought.

I love to bake with children because it does give practical applications to so many things we learn: reading, math, science, and social skills. This day, my goal was more focused on the social skills, but I was glad they were thinking about the math aspects within the activity.

I wanted to see how the children would handle working as a team for a common goal. I divided the children into 2 groups of six, gave them a recipe, ingredients, and told them to make banana bread.

Then I sat back and monitored as they divided up the tasks. Each group found their own solution to the task at hand. One group even found a way for everyone to stir at once.

The only assistance I provided was to explain that they didn't need to find the "cream" that the recipe meant mixing the ingredients until they were creamy.

At Summers-Knoll, we think a crucial part of education is having children work together to solve problems and conquer tasks. Having the ability to work collaboratively is a crucial tool for children in their every day lives and in their future.

Owls and Bones

2011-10-14T04:48:00.000-07:00

At Summers-Knoll, integrating ideas across subject areas is an important part of the curriculum. Sometimes connections are planned and sometimes they happen by coincidence. This week is a case in point.

Monday, Joanna lead the children in writing a poem during the morning meeting. She first asked the children for a subject for the poem. One child said, "owls". This idea probably came from a talk about owls the 1st/2nd graders heard while we were at Howell.
The poem they wrote:
Owls in the night
They do not like the bright
They do not hunt in the day
They eat all their prey
Until their night is done.

I was had been thinking about the owls too, inspired by our trip to the Nature Center. Over the weekend I found an interesting poem by Richard Wilbur, A Barred Owl . This was our poem for the week. The poem tells of a child who is quieted by learning the barred owl's call sounds like, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?" (One of the many facts we learned from the owl experts in Howell.)

Later this the children dissected owl pellets. Since the children heard about owl pellets last week, I thought it would be interesting for them to see owl pellets first hand. As we discussed the bones the children would see in their dissection, I realized this went back to our discussions about bones with Dr. George. The children were already acquainted with the names of the bones, and were able to quickly identified them and find which animal they belong to on the charts.

And thus...
the evolution of ideas spin their way through out classroom.

Eco Fair 2011

2011-10-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

What is an Eco Fair? For several years, Summers-Knoll has had an Eco-Fair in place of a traditional Halloween celebration.

At home, the children make their own costumes out of recycled/reused materials. It is a time for them to let their imaginations soar.

On Friday, October 28th, children should come to school wearing the costumes they designed.
Then during the morning, we mix up the classrooms and they move from room to room, doing "Eco friendly" activities. Everyone usually has a great time at this event.

I've included photos from last years Eco Fair to provide inspiration.

Poetry

2011-10-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

This month, each week we will be reading poems about the natural world.
Before reading last week's poem to the children, I told them, to listen to the poem and then tell me what they thought the title might be. The poem's title is the name of the thing the poem describes.
I read the poem once and several children raised their hands with ideas, but I did not let them tell their ideas till I read it a second time. After the second reading hands were flying up. No one could refrain from calling out, "it's the wind!"
I asked them why they thought it was the wind and they pointed out stanzas of the poem that described thing wind can do.

Here is James Reeves poem The Wind.

I can get through a doorway without any key,

And strip the leaves from the great oak tree.

I can drive storm clouds and shake tall towers,

Or steal through a garden and not wake the flowers.

Seas I can move and ships I can sink; I can carry a housetop

Or the scent of a pink,

When I am angry I can rave and riot;

And when I am spent, I be quiet as quiet.

Highlights from Howell

2011-10-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Eating together

Working as a team...

to build shelters.

Trying edible plants

Flying through the air...

on the zip-line

Learning about owls

Singing songs and

roasting marshmallows around the campfire.

October Calendar

2011-10-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 6 Howell Nature Center Trip

Friday, October 7 Teacher Inservice Day - No School for Students

Friday, October 14 Field Trip to Materials Recycling Facility

Friday, October 21 Field Trip to Once Upon a Time

at Wild Swan Theater

and a Nature Walk in County Farm Park

with Naturalist Faye Stoner

Monday, October 24 No School for Students

Friday, October 28 ECO-Fair (more details about this event soon)

Reminder

If you have not contacted me to set up a conference time, please do it soon!

Howell Trip

2011-10-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

warm weather

chilly weather

Our trip to Howell is always one of the highlights of the year. It is a long, fun day. By the end of the day the children have experienced a wide range of activities from going over a gully on a zip line to trying edible plants in the woods. At the end of the day adults and children are exhausted.

One thing we can never be sure of on this trip is the Weather. Believe me when I say, I have experienced everything except a tornado. We have had nice warm days, pouring rain, and a blizzard. One year we had all of these on the same day.

This year it appears we are going to be very lucky. The experts are calling for sunny and 70. Please, make sure your child has appropriate clothing for the weather. You can pack extra clothes in a backpack. We will have a lodge where we can leave the packs while we are out in the woods. Your child will at least need an extra layer for the evening. My advise is to keep watching the Weather Channel and prepare for everything.

In preparation for the trip, I would suggest getting your child to bed at a reasonable hour Wednesday night and if you have the flexibility, let them sleep in Thursday morning. If you are driving to Howell, you can meet us at the Nature Center at 11:30. If your child is leaving from school, they don't need to be at school until 10:00. You should receive more information about the trip from Karen. If you do not, please contact her.

rainy weather

snowy weather

Numbers

2011-09-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

From 9:00-9:45 children are doing math throughout Summers-Knoll. The 1st and 2nd graders are divided in 3 groups working with me, Mrs. Carpenter, and Marshall. The children are grouped together with others who have similar skill sets.

The children who come to my class for math, work in their Singapore Math books for the first 15 minutes. The remaining time, we do a variety of more interactive and hands on activities. Currently, we are working on writing addition/subtraction mathematical sentences and number bonds.

This is an example of how to make number bonds.

Today I told a story about one of my friends who has lots of cats. I drew a picture of their house with 7 cats and their studio with 3 cats. Then the children told me the sentences we could write about the story. Next, we put the numbers in a number bond. Using a real life story and situations in math, helps the children understand that math has a useful purpose in everyday life.

At home, you might try to make up some number stories with your child and then put them in the number bond format. For instance, pick 2 rooms in your house and count the windows in each room. Put these at the bottom of the bond and then find out how many all together. Try to write the 4 equations that go with the number bond. Remember: have fun!

Poems

2011-09-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house

A street house, a neat house
Be sure to wipe your feet house
I not my kind of house at all-
Let's go live in a tree house.

By Shel Silverstein

An important part of the literacy curriculum in our classroom is reading and learning poems. The past 2 weeks, the children have been reading Shel Silverstein poems. I copy a poem on big paper and the children take turns reading it to the class. We read the same poem all week. By the end of the week many of the children can say the poem from memory. There are many benefits to reading poems, but my personal favorite is learning a love of language and play with words.

Tree Houses

2011-09-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

As part of the "Our Backyard" theme, we have been talking about tree houses. The children have been drawing plans for tree houses, writing lists of words to describe their houses, and making models of tree houses. Construction of their models is coming to completion. The next phase is to go into the woods and find branches to put their houses in. (Normally, you would find the "tree" first and build the house in it but when you are constructing with glue, the process has to be reversed.)

In order to stabilize the branches I plan to "plant" them in a buckets of sand. I have several containers at home, but unfortunately not enough for 12 children. If you have any old buckets (without holes or cracks) empty paint cans, cat litter buckets, or large coffee cans you can donate to the case, they would be greatly appreciated.

Watching the young architects at work was quite a thrill for me. I had no idea how intent they would be making these models. Their concentration, tenacity, and problem solving skills were palpable.

Reading to children

2011-09-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

In our class, reading occurs throughout every day. I read to the children and they read on their own. We read instructions, poems, and stories. We read for information and for pleasure. The children look at books and read by themselves or with friends.

Every day, I try to find time to read from a chapter book to the children. Even when children are competent readers, it is still important for them to be read to. Reading to children exposes them to stories that are beyond their reading level and introduces them to literature they might not choose on their own. As more sophisticated stories are read to them they become acquainted to more advanced vocabulary, story lines, and characters.

I began this year reading the first book in the "Magic Treehouse" series. In this story the children venture into the woods, past their backyard, and discover a treehouse full of books. They look at a book about dinosaurs and are magically transported back into the Cretaceous period. Many children are already familiar with this series but their has definitely been an increased interest in these books since reading this book.

Currently, I am reading The Secret Garden to the class. In the beginning of the book, the main character, Mary, is in India and everyone she knows, including her parents, die from cholera. The children were curious about cholera so I got on the computer and read to them about the disease and we looked at a microscopic photo of the bacteria. The children decided the bacteria looked like worms. Since, 1st and 2nd graders, are already fascinated with bodily functions, this lead to a lengthy discussion about how you get the disease, and why so many people died ,and how in present day, people can now take antibiotics if they contact cholera.

When you read a novel to children, you can never be sure where the discussions will travel. Hopefully, we will have some lighter discussions as the story progresses and Mary finds a neglected, locked garden in the backyard of her uncle's house. One can only hope.

To learn more about reading aloud to children , click here.

Snacks

2011-09-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

The children have lunch and two snack times, everyday; once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Lunch and snacks are an important part of the day. Healthy food through out the day help sustain healthy minds and bodies.

Each week a family will provide snacks for the class. Currently, there are 12 children in the class. When it is your turn to provide snacks, please keep in mind:

SK is a "NO NUTS" school. Please remember to check for peanuts and tree nuts, including snacks made in a shared facility. Also, check labels for transfat and high fructose corn syrup and avoid those foods whenever possible.

Please avoid snacks with eggs and dairy, due to allergies of a couple children in the class. If for some reason, you bring something with one of these ingredients in them, please let me know so I can provide an alternative snack for these children.

It is important to encourage children to form healthy eating habits while they are young so please provide healthy snacks.

Here are some snack suggestions:

-fresh fruit

-fresh vegetables

-apple sauce

-crackers

-popcorn (we have an air popper at school so there is no need to buy microwave popcorn)

-bagels

(find more suggestions here)

Mark your calendar:

Sept. 6-9...Elaine

Sept. 12-16...Dominic

Sept. 19-23...Kit

Sept. 26-30..Andres

Oct. 3-6...Andrew

Oct. 10-14...Viola

Oct. 17-21...Varvara

Oct. 24-28...Niko

Oct. 31-Nov.4...Arwyn

Nov. 7-11...Gabe

Nov. 14-18...Oliver

Nov. 21-22...Elaine

Nov. 28-Dec. 2...Noah

Dec. 5-9...Kaden

Dec. 12-16...Dominic

Dec. 19-22...Kit

Jan. 9-13...Andres

If for some reason the date assigned your family does not work for any reason, contact me and we can switch weeks with someone.

A few snap shots from Wednesday

2011-09-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

During math, the children worked together finding out how many squares it took to cover a sheet of paper. First, they estimated how many squares they thought would fit on the paper and then they tested their suppositions. There were two goals with this exercise: one to hone the children's estimating skills and the other to practice working as part of a team. To learn more about some of the math skills your child will be working with this year, click here.

The second half of the morning was spent with Imogen learning about where in the world the Latin language originated.

After lunch, Dr. George came to our class. He talked to the children about maps. The children tried to make maps of our classroom using a "bird's eye view". In this photo, George is answering a child's question about his arm brace. He takes this opportunity to explain the ergonomics of the brace and how it helps him from further damaging his wrist. This is an example of following the children's interests and making them "teachable moments".

Next; on to music, with Cara, where the children played with rhythms and patterns.

If you went to the link above, you have read how this study is not only important to building an understanding of music, but also in building mathematical skills.

Stay tuned, I will be writing more about our integrated curriculum in a future blog.

First Day

2011-09-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

The day, and new year, began with a meeting on the playground. Each child and adult came to school with there own set of butterflies in their stomachs, but I think everyone felt a positive level of expectancy and exhilaration as they approached something new and exciting.

Joanna, our fearless leader, led the call to start the day and lo, school year began.

As we entered our classroom the children settled themselves
on the rug and we started to learn each others names and faces. Then we started the September's theme, "Our Backyards", by sharing things from our backyard. There were flowers, vegetables, a rock, and a golf ball, photos of basketball playing and a trampoline and a deer antler. It was a wonderful collection.

In the afternoon the children went to P.E. with Shan and Madame came in for French class. Everyone said, "bonjour" and "au revoir".

I apologize for not having as many pictures of the children as usual, but my hands were a bit busy with other things.

I am looking forward to spending the year with all of you.
Elaine

New Beginnings

2011-08-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

When the hibiscus and sunflowers start to bloom in my yard, and I enjoy the taste of tomatoes right off the vine, I know it is August and time to start thinking about getting ready for school.

This September will start a new chapter in my teaching career at Summers-Knoll. Over the years, I have taught pre-k/k classes, straight kindergarten classes, and k/1 classes. This will be my first time to teach a 1/2 class. I am very excited for this new adventure.

I am also moving to a new classroom. I look forward to working with the children to make this new space our "home away from home"(at least our temporary home until our new school is ready for us to move in.)

While we are getting to know each other this fall we will be exploring the theme, "Our Backyards".
This theme will lend itself to learning more about each other and our surroundings. We will be exploring the flora and fauna of the County Farm Park, which is in the school's backyard, as well as many local establishments that create the larger "backyard" of the Ann Arbor community.

More information will be coming soon so keep watching the blog!

And as Dorothy once said:
"if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard; because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with"

Finale

2011-06-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

In September, you turned your children over to me. For many of you it was bittersweet moment. You watched your child move from the pre-school years to elementary school. It was exciting to watch your child take this giant step. The excitement was mixed with some anxious expressions and teary eyes as you entrusted your child to me, a virtual stranger. Over the past 10 months, together we watched all the children grow and mature and learn.

Last Thursday, was my turn for the bittersweet moment. It was my turn to look at the children and hope I had prepared them for their next journey. As I watched the children looking over their portfolios, excitedly remembering their year, I took a moment to step back and relish the voyage we have taken together. With tears in my eyes, I gave them their last hug as a kindergartener and wish them a wonderful summer.

In considering my year, I also must stop and thank you, the parents, for all the support you provided me and the class this year. I can not express how meaningful your kind words, notes, and hugs were to me as we parted on Thursday.

In looking forward to next year, I am excited to join some of the children in 1st grade and start a new adventure together. For those not be returning to Summers-Knoll, I wish you the best, encourage you to stay in contact and will stay part of the Summers-Knoll community.

I wish you all a fabulous summer.

Elaine

Architects

2011-06-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Enough room for each child to stand

The architects who are working on the new building came to talk to the children and brainstormed with them about what is needed in a school. First, they talked about how architects think about measurement, size, and purpose of the space to determine how much space is needed. Then the children did a few exercises to illustrate the point. They stood close together, had a string wrapped around them and were asked if this is enough space for them. "NO".

Then they laid head to toe. "Better". Finally, they were shown what people have determined is a good amount of space for children in a school classroom.

Heel to toe

The amount of room architects have decided each child needs.

Adding ideas to the blue print.

The second part of the morning centered on what we needed in our school. There were some very interesting comments as children considered the options. One child remarked that we needed bigger cubbies. Another child liked that the music room was by the bathrooms because she liked listening to music while she went to the bathroom. Many children cling to the idea that we need pools and water slides.

The final product

New Digs

2011-06-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

No rain Friday afternoon meant we could go on an adventure. We ended up at the new building. While waiting for our tour guide to arrive, the children found a small room with an unlocked screen door. They surmised that it was a jail. Then someone thought it might be the space for the "principals office".

Soon our tour guide, Joanna, arrived, .
She pointed out green spaces and possible used for various parts of the building.

The children looked in windows and speculated where the all important lunch room would be located. Everyone was excited and in awe of the size of our new school.

Nesting

2011-05-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Cardinal

Robin

We are very lucky to have two birds nesting right by our school.

There is a cardinal in the bush next to the playground door. She does not seem to be bothered by the children playing around her, however, she is camera shy.

I tried several times to take her picture and she would fly off. Finally, I was able to get a quick shot of her on her nest. It will be interesting to see how the parents react to us once the babies are born.

In the pine tree, right outside our classroom door, a robin has made a nest. She is on a low branch so we can watch her through the window. We are anxiously waiting for her eggs to hatch so we can watch the baby birds being fed.

Reflecting

2011-05-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

I spent this weekend reflecting and writing about the journey the children in my class have taken this year.

Reflections Night was a perfect start to this muse. I watched children who entered the class in September with a combination of trepidation, anxiety, and excitement, standing and performing in front of a room filled with adults. On stage, each child's personality was apparent, as well as their ability to come together as a group with a common goal. They demonstrated confidence and maturity as they performed in front of an adoring audience of family and friends. What an amazing night!

Poetry Book

2011-05-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

As you may have read in an earlier blog posting, during poetry month Christine and Jeff, Juna's parents, came in and did a poetry workshop with the class.

Now, the poems have been "published". Jeff put all the children's poems in an anthology, A Bestiary by the students of Elaine's class.

The children were thrilled to see their poems in print. Thank you Jeff.

Story Problems

2011-05-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Math books are just a small part of the math hour. Each child spends about 10-15 minutes working in their workbooks. The first part of the math time we work on a wide variety of hands-on and group activities. During past couple months we have been working on solving word problems with partners or in small groups.

This is how it works: I tell a story and ask a question about the story. In small groups the children try to figure out how to solve the problem and try to come up with an answer.

Here is an example of one a story I told this week:

In a house there lived a man, a woman, a child, a bird, and a dog. One day the child wanted to know how many legs there were in the house.

The class was divided into 4 group and given the task of figuring out the answer for the child. They had a paper and pencil. They could figure out the answer using any technique they wanted.

-One group made a drawing of the people and animals and then counted the legs.
-Another group made lines to represent the legs and counted their lines.
-Two children used skip counting by 2's, stating the the dog had 4 legs so that was 2, 2's.
-The fourth group wrote a number problem to determine the answer:
2+2+2+2+4=12

With this assignment the process critical. The children must work as a team, collaborate, and present what they did to others. All the children see first hand that there is not just one way to get to the right answer.

Prairies

2011-05-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

We have started a study of American Prairies. The children have been getting a historical perspective of prairie life through books such as Elsie's Bird and Prairie School. They have also learned about modern prairie restoration projects in Butterfly Count, a fictional account of a young girl's experience helping in a reconstruction project, and in The Prairie Builders, which follows scientist's efforts to rebuild the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.

Friday, we walked through the Botanical Garden trail to the Marilyn Bland Prairie. At this time of year there were not many signs of life on the prairie. The fields were filled with stubble from last years grasses and flowers. Susan's class brought 10 Painted Lady butterflies to release on the prairie. The butterflies hatched from chrysalises earlier this week. Standing on the hillside we watched as the Painted Ladies joined a few other butterflies who have already returned to the area.

After a long hot walk back through the woods we enjoyed sitting under a tree for a quick snack before heading back to school.

Scientists at Work

2011-05-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

Don't underestimate the power of play. During pretend play children come to understand the world around them. It is a place where they can try out ideas, roles, and activities in a fun, safe manner. One minute you can be a dragon, the next a mother, and later a builder.

On Friday morning, the children were scientists. They used test tubes and eye droppers to mix colored water. Maybe not the most sophisticated experiment but the important part was that they felt like scientists. In the afternoon, they got to look through microscopes at the cells of an onion skin.

I can be what I imagine myself to be.

More kitchen science

2011-05-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Good observational skills and being able to draw conclusions from what is observed are essential tools for a scientist. Over the past weeks, the children have been practicing these skill while observing chemical reactions and carrying out simple experiments.

One experiment was to find out the conditions yeast grows best in. First, they tried water temperature: boiling water, room temperature water, and ice water. As the children predicted, the yeast bubbled most with the room temperature water. Then, they took 3 containers of water at room temperature and added yeast. Next, they added salt to one, sugar to another, and the 3rd was left plain. Probably, based on personal experience, most of the children predicted the yeast would like sugar best and it did.

The best part of this experiment was putting our knowledge of yeast to the test. On Thursday, we made bread.

Time

2011-04-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

In math we are starting to explore clocks and time.

Along with learning the names of the hands on the clock and figuring out where the numbers are placed, we have also been experiencing how time can be relative. The way we did this today was to experience a minute while doing different things. First, everyone marched around the room for 1 minute. Next, we tried to be completely still and quiet for a minute. Most of the children thought that the minute seemed much longer when one is trying to be quiet. Last, we tried to jump up and down for a minute. Within 30 seconds everyone was sitting on a chair. It is hard to sustain some activities even for a minute.

All this week, we will be practicing telling time. The children who already know how to tell time will be my helpers. We will start by learning how to recognize the hour or "o'clock" times.

On Wednesday, I would like your child to find something from home that can be used to tell time. It can be anything from a watch, to an egg timer, to a sun dial.

Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

Every year we try to think of a meaningful way for the children at Summers-Knoll to participate in the Earth Day celebration.

This year the children decorated colorful
re-usable bags with Earth Day images and slogans. The bags were made to give away to unsuspecting shoppers. Kroger's on Maple graciously said we could give bags to people outside their store.

Today, the children in our class and Renata's buddied up and drove to the store.

Each child gave away 2 bags: the bag they made and one made by a child in Mrs. Carpenter's class.

It took quite a while to give away all our bags. Amazing to us not everyone wanted a beautiful, free bag. But many people received the a bag with excitement and enthusiasm. One man asked if he could have several bags because he was helping some senior citizens with their shopping and he knew they would really appreciate such lovely bags. A benefit of it taking an extensive time give away all the bags, is that we got to watch many people proudly carrying their groceries out with in our bags.

Thank you Kroger's for being a strong supporter of local community projects.

Milk and Soap

2011-04-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

This month's Kitchen Science Unit started on Friday with an experiment using milk and soap. Well, actually, it started with water and food coloring, and built up to the grand finale of milk, food coloring, and soap.

We quasi followed the scientific method.
First, I explained what we were going to do. Each child would get a plate with some water on it. I would put 4 drops of food coloring in the water. Then they would dip a Q-tip in the water.
What do you think will happen?
The children hypothesized: "the colors will mix in the water", "the Q-tip will get the color on it", "nothing will happen"...

Then we did the experiment. Each child had a plate of water with four different color drops of food coloring. They dipped a dry Q-tip in the water. Next, they dipped a Q-tip with liquid soap on it in the water.

Since this was a highly "controlled" experiment, when each child announced their findings, there was a wide variety of response. For some the color started mixing with the water right away; for others the colors didn't move until the soapy Q-tip was placed in the water. But everyone noticed that the colors drew slightly towards the soapy Q-tip.

The plates were cleaned and it was time for the second half of the experiment. Milk was placed on the plates. Together we discussed differences between milk and water. Children said: "It comes from a cow", "Milk is healthier than water","It has vitamins", "It has calcium". I explained that milk also has fat in it. The milk I brought in was whole milk so it had more fat than 2% or skim milk.

With a bit of knowledge from the water part of the experiment, the children made hypothesis about what they thought would happen to the colors in milk:
"the same thing", "I have no idea", "The milk is thicker so the color won't mix as much".

Four drops of color were added to the milk. The colors barely dispersed. The children dipped a dry Q-tip into the milk. There was no change. The soapy Q-tip was dipped into the plate and there were squeals of delight. The color rushed away from the Q-tip like an "explosion". After watching, stirring, and a few spills, we cleaned up the experiment and discussed our observations and conclusions.

What happened?: "The milk turned light purple", "The water turned black but the milk turned purple", "The colors moved a lot when you put the soap in the milk."...

After many excited descriptions, I asked the children if they had ever hear of molecules. Many children had, and they shared their knowledge with the rest of the class. Then I tried to give a simple explanation of what had happened with the soap and the milk. The soap molecules attract the fat molecules in the milk.

Here is a link with the description of the experiment if you want to try it again at home. It might be interesting to see what happens with other liquids.

Exclamations!

2011-04-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

It is a challenge to find writing projects for young children in which all the children in the room can enjoy and find success. This activity hit the mark. Both goals were achieved.

In the morning I read Yikes by Robert Florczakto. The story is told only using exclamations. Later in the morning, the children brainstormed as many of the exclamations from the book they could remember. I wrote them on the board. Next the children drew their own drawings to go with an exclamation. Here are a few example. You can view the rest of the exclamations are on the bulletin board in our room.

Math=fun

2011-04-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we are having so much fun, it takes a minute to realize that what we are doing is math.

Friday one child asked me:

"Are we going to do math today?

Before I could answer, he answered his own question:

"Oh, we did; I know why this is math, because we had to figure out how many to use and figure out the pattern."

This week we worked with patterns and calculating:

Monday, I wrote this on the board:

1 green

1 yellow

2 greens

1 yellow

3 greens

1 yellow

4 greens

1 yellow

5 greens

1 yellow

6 greens

I asked if this was a pattern. At first, I heard "no"

but quickly the children saw it was indeed a pattern.

Tuesday, we used the pattern to make a necklace.

Wednesday, the children had to calculate how many greens and yellows they used to make the necklace. They could draw a picture, count, add, any means to figure out the problem.

The children also wanted to make necklaces using their own pattern so I made a chart on the board listing 6 color choices and the children got to put an X by two colors. The top 4 choices would be the color choices for the next time we made necklaces.

Thursday, the children helped me dye the pasta. One tablespoon rubbing alcohol with a few drops of food coloring, mix, and lay out to dry. (Evidence of this activity was probably still on your child's fingers when they came home Thursday night.)

Friday, the children had to create a pattern on paper. Then they used the colored pasta to make necklaces (or snakes). No two designs were the same. Fun was had by all.

New Chapter Book

2011-04-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Today it was time to start a new chapter book. Instead of me choosing the book, I gave the children the choice of 4 books. I read the first couple pages for each book:

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Abel's Island by William Steig
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

The winner with 5 votes was Mr. Popper's Penguins.

I mentioned to the class, if the book they voted for was not chosen, they might want to get it out of the library to read with their family.

Snack schedule

2011-04-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the snack schedule for the remainder of the year:

April 18-22... Andrew
April 25-29...Eli
May 2-6...Nilay
May 9-13...Arwyn
May 16-19...Arnav
May 23-27...Varvara
May 31-June 3...Kit
June 6-9...Gabriel

Reminder:
-bring healthy snacks
- no nut or eggs.

Thank you

FestiFools

2011-04-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Ruth, the children,

and the FestiFools crew

for the amazing puppets

Another year, another bunch of Fools in Downtown Ann Arbor.

And what a day it was.

The weather was not as beautiful as last year but that did not damper the enthusiasm.

Over 20 SK families braved the wet and cold to help maneuver the puppets through the parade and participate in the foolishness.

Puppets, costumes, drumming and dancing in the street.

The puppets and people were a bit damp in the end but no one had lost

their smiles!

Poet Workshop

2011-03-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

It was such a treat to have Juna's parents come and visit our classroom. With them we heard, lived, and created poems.

Jeff read a poem to us about a horse. After listening to the poem, we turned into horses and galloped around the room. We returned to our human state to listen to another poem about a tiger. We were a little bit familiar with William Blake's poem The Tyger, because we read it the other day, but today we got to be the tiger in the poem. The room filled with roars and claws as the tigers moved around.

After listening to a couple animal poems by other people, we became the authors. Each child picked an animal and wrote a poem about the animal. Christine is an expert at drawing out the poet in everyone. Jeff is taking all of the poems and turning them into a book for us. I will let you know when you can read them.

If you want to read some of the other poems we have written, they are hanging on the bulletin board in our room.

Puppet Studio

2011-03-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland walking around the Festifools workshop. Strange huge heads looked down from everywhere. It was an amazing experience.

Ruth walked us through the studio showing us how a few sticks can be transformed into a puppet. First, the sticks are covered with a card board skeletal structure. Then papier mâché is layered over the cardboard,

finally the structure is painted and the puppet comes to life.

Mark, one of the puppet
masters, showed us
a video
from previous
Festifools events.

The children's
curiosity,

imagination, and

enthusiasm

are certainly
sparked.

They are looking
forward to

getting started

with their own
creations.

Test:
Which are the puppet heads?

Alice

2011-03-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

We are currently reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

Alice has been rapidly changing sizes. We put tape on the floor to show how big she was when she was 9 feet tall, another for when she was 9 inches, and another tape to indicate the inches of tears she cried.

The 9 foot Alice was bigger than 2 children but not 3 children. Andrew asked me to lay down with him and found out that together the 2 of us were bigger than Alice.

Invention Connection

2011-03-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

The hallway was buzzing with excitement and energy Friday morning as children walked through the door with their Simple Machine Inventions.

By 9:15 the children had their inventions set up and were split up into 4 multi-aged groups. During the first part of the morning children shared, explained, and answered questions about their inventions from 2 groups of children.

After a break for snack and some fresh air, the children came in to see the remaining inventions. This time it was more of a Science Fair format. Two groups stood by their projects, while the other children walked around the "Fair" looking at the projects. Then the roles switched and the second 2 groups traveled around watching demonstrations.

It was impressive to see the children respectfully observe each other's projects and give positive comments to the children of all ages.

Dr Seuss and Shakespeare

2011-03-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

What do these two men have in common, besides beards?

They both liked to use iambic meter in their writing.

How serendipitous that Dr Seuss had a birthday on March 2, just as we started a month of Poetry study. In his honor, we read Green Eggs and Ham. The book lead us to learn the word "iambic". We beat the "da dum" rhythm on the tables. Today, we marched in iambic meter around the room as we recited:

"I do not like green eggs and ham.

I do not like them Sam I am.

I will not eat them with a mouse.

I will not eat them in a house.

I will not eat them here or there.

I will not eat the, anywhere."

Next week we will march to a different drummer, William Shakespeare.

We will march and recite the witches song: "Double, double toil and trouble..."

March Events

2011-02-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

Friday 3/4 9:15-11:30...Invention Convention

Thursday/Friday 3/10-3/11...Elaine in Chicago for a workshop: "Active Learning in Early Childhood"

Friday 3/11 6:45-8:00...Barn Dance at Allen School

Friday 3/18...No School for Students

Friday 3/25 10:00...trip to Wild Swan Theater's production of Peter Rabbit

Thursday 3/31 7:00-8:00 PM...Community Meeting

March is time for Spring Conferences with parents.

The official day for conferences is Friday, March 18, but in order to accommodate more parent's schedules, I will be providing conference times before this day. In the past, many parents have told me that mornings are the best time for them to meet. So I will have conference times at 8:00-8:20am and 8:20-8:40 am. If the designated times are not convenient, please contact me so we can set up an alternative time. For example, I am available Monday and Thursday between 2:00-3:00.

You can email me with a couple times you are available or sign up on the sheet posted next to my classroom door.

I look forward to meeting with each of you.

Friday before break

2011-02-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

In the morning, the class had more opportunities to use simple machines. The children tried to balance pennies on a ruler (lever) by moving the fulcrum, used inclined planes to construct marble runs, and attached objects to a rope, attached to a pulley, to raise objects to the ceiling.

The day ended at the ice rink.

Even though many children had very little experience skating, they all enjoyed the challenge. It was great to see the sense of accomplishments and joy on all the faces. It was hard to get everyone off the ice at the end of the hour.

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who helped with skates and on the ice.

I hope everyone's break was as enjoyable as our time at the rink.

Good News/Bad News

2011-02-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

The good news is, it feels like spring is coming.

The bad news is, the playground is full of puddles.

The good news is, the children love the puddles and water.

The bad news is, clothes can get very wet.

The good news is, the children learn many things playing with water.

The bad news is that it creates more work for the adults.

And this is where we, the adults, come in. If you make sure there are extra clothes to school, I will help children change after playground time. I will also help them put wet clothes by the heat vents to dry. It is especially important to have several pairs of extra socks.

Thank you for your patience during the transitional weather.

Simple Machines in Action

2011-02-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

Using levers

Trying a pulley

This month the children have learned about simple machines from books and from watching DVD's from the "The Way Things Work" series. They have even started learning a song about simple machines, but nothing can replace the understanding gained by using the simple machines.

I hope you will enjoy working with your child designing an invention using a simple machine.

Experimenting with inclined planes

Will you be my valentine?

2011-02-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day 2011

We hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

We did!

Sub Zero

2011-02-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

What do you do when there has been sub zero temperatures for a week?
Go to the beach, of course!

When the children came to school on Friday there was a sign on the classroom door that read:
"Under Construction, Do not enter".

After the school's morning meeting, the children were all wondering where we were going to have class since we couldn't enter the room. I explained the room had changed and was no longer a classroom. After showing them several clues, the class guessed that the room had turned into a beach. Each child got a postcard with pictures and names of shells. I told them were going to collect shells and see how many different kinds they could find. I also mentioned that when my friend and I go shelling, if one of us finds several of one kind and the other person doesn't find any, we share.

Off went the shoes, and the hunt began. Everyone collected a bag full of shells. There were many questions about what each shell was called. Then each child sat on "the beach" and sorted and categorized their shells. They were every good about sharing with each other.

Juna came Iate to school because of a dentist appointment. By the time she arrived, all the shells were collected. I was so impressed that all the children were willing to share some of their shells with Juna and make sure she had gotten all the varieties.

After collecting some children wrote about the experience, while others drew in the "sand". Instead of sticks or fingers, markers were used. The room was vibrant all morning.

Thank you to my friend Nancy for helping me collect all the shells for this activity and driving them back to Michigan so I didn't have to take them on the plane.

Shoes and math

2011-02-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

grouping and measuring shoes

Venn diagram

Recently, the children have done several math activities with shoes.

The first activity involved grouping the shoes. First, everyone got all their shoes and boots from their cubby and off their feet. They put them in a line and counted them. Next the shoes were put in pairs, then in groups of 5's and finally in groups of 10. We did not have 100 pairs like the caterpillar in the book, One Hundred Shoes so ours did not make complete sets. After grouping the shoes, someone suggested measuring the line of shoes. I asked them what they were going to use to measure them and all of a sudden all of the rulers were lined up next to the shoes.

black velcro

The next time shoes were used was to introduce Venn Diagrams. It is difficult to see in the photograph but there are two paper circles on the floor. Different labels were put on the circles, for example: black and velcro, and the children had to determine where their shoe would go, inside one of the circle, where the circles intersect, or outside the circles. We did many variations.

As the week continued, we worked with smaller Venn diagrams using plastic bears and geometric shapes of varying colors and sizes.

Winter Walk

2011-02-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

Everyone bundled up and we went into the woods with Faye. It was a chilly morning but the woods were shimmering with sun light. Faye was impressed that we were ready for a walk. She told us not many children and teachers would brave the woods on a cold day. We shortened our trip from an hour to 20 minutes. Even with the shortened time, Faye taught us about animals in the winter woods.

We went off the path, into the undisturbed snow, to look for tracks. Faye explained you really have to think how the animals act to figure out what animal made the track. A rabbit and squirrel track can look similar, but if you see the tracks going from tree to tree it is probably a squirrel.

Faye had us pretend we were deer looking for food. We pawed the snow with our feet to see if we could find any food. We found dead leaves but Faye told us a deer eating dead leaves would be like us eating paper, not a lot of nutrition. Then she had us looking for twigs sticking out of the ground. The twigs are still alive so deer will eat them for food.

Back to the trail, and back to school, for some hot cider and bananas. Thank goodness we don't have to survive on what we find in the woods.

Levers

2011-02-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

We read our first book about simple machines, Move It! Work It!: A Song About Simple Machines by Laura Salas.

On Monday we will ask Jan if she can help us learn the song in the back of the book.

We also watched a DVD about Levers. It explained the relationship between the fulcrum, load, and effort, in making a lever work.

The morning story mentioned that a baseball bat was a type of lever. After the DVD, I reminded the children about this and they started brainstorming other sports that use levers. They came up with quite a list of levers: golf club, hockey stick, crochet mallet, cricket bat, and tennis racket.

This is just the beginning of our simple machine explorations.

Library Visit

2011-02-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

Friday we were supposed to go for a walk with Faye in the County Farm Park but the sub zero wind chill canceled this outing. The trip has been rescheduled for Tuesday morning. Cross your fingers that the temperatures won't plummet again.

With outdoor activities canceled for the morning, Mrs. Carpenter and I decided to take our classes to the library. Renata's class stayed at school. They enjoyed being able to spread out in various classrooms to practice lines for their up coming play.

What is better on a cold day then curling up with a book. While some children took turns on the computers, other children searched the shelves for interesting stories.

On one of my many loops helping children find books, I came around the corner and found Maddy reading a Dr. Seuss book to Arwyn. A perfect example, of the benefits of having classes spend time together.

Simple Machines

2011-02-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

What simple machine have you used today? That is one of the questions the children will be exploring during February as we study simple machines. The children will have many and varied opportunities to work with these machines and discover how they make our lives easier.