Happy Valentine's Day!

A day as sweet as this deserves a blog post!  I only wish I had taken more photos...  But here is a little Valentine cheer for you from Room 5.



Look what the "Valentine Bug" left for our class!  What an excellent, creative surprise. 
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!



Candy Heart math is oh-so-motivating!





"Text Me" (I promise that is what it says!)




Eilidh's Valentine heart word problem: ""My Girl" had 3 babies: "Miss You", "Love Bug", and "I (heart) You".  "Be Mine" had twins, "Go, Go, Go" and "Go, Go, Go".  "Tweet Me" had 4 babies: "Hold Hands", "Be Mine", "Ask me", and "Boogie".  How many babies in all?



In the Groove

Have you been in Room 5 lately?  If so, you may have noticed that we are in the groove!  There is a palpable vibe of learning in the classroom.  The kids are into their learning, the parent volunteers are providing consistent and valuable support, and I am able to focus in on individual instructional needs each day.

My favorite moments over the past month have been the times when I pause, step back, look around, and notice each and every student engaged in a learning project of some sort.  Usually there are no fewer than four activities going on at any time.  It’s noisy at times, and seemingly chaotic, but there is a special synergy evident in the classroom.  To me, it is MAP Room 5 at its best.

Here’s a little sample of what the kids have been working on lately:

·         Writing poetry about the sun

·         Singing songs about outer space

·         Reading books about the solar system

·         Sharing unbelievable facts we’ve discovered about objects in space

·         Sorting word study words

·         Reading with classroom volunteers

·         Recording information from our class solar system chart

·         Drawing out-of -this-world art with oil pastels (thanks Eric!)

·         Discussing the plotlines of stories by Chris Van Allsburg and David Weisner

·         Practicing for our class play, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

·         Searching for words in the dictionary

·         Writing stories with friends

·         Playing math games

·         Making symmetrical paintings

·         Making creations from objects in the Creation Station

·         Learning new skills from one another in student-led centers and during share time

·         Reading our favorite books together (we love Junie B. Jones!)

This is what I love about this time of year.  The kids know the routines and expectations and we can get into things. 

Come on by and join us someday soon!

Sweet Times in Room 5

There are seasons of the school year that seem to fly by in the blink of an eye.  The weeks that encompass Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Winter Holidays is such a time.  It seems like last week that the kids and I were dancing around in our Halloween costumes.  Now we find ourselves prepared to wave a cheery goodbye until "next year". 

Before we head our separate ways for a few weeks, I wanted to give you glimpse into the sweet happenings of Room 5 over the past few weeks.  Enjoy!  And happy holidays to you and your wonderful kids!  Teaching in Room 5 is certainly one of the greatest blessings in my life. 

Writing Workshop--Taking a stab at revising







Chopping veggies for soup for the Gratitude Feast

The Second Annual Holiday Craft Workshop

 

Jeremy made this wonderful tree for our classroom!





Halloween, MAP Style

Halloween is one of my favorite days of the year, and although I would not wish it to fall on a Monday, it was an exciting way to start our week. The kids were buzzing with excitement from the moment they got to school on Halloween. Fortunately, they were able to burn off some energy immediately in P.E. for the first 45 minutes of the day.
After P.E. we created a funny, interactive Halloween sentence. Ask your kid to teach you how it works!  (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Our MAP pumpkin carving event took place outside in the warm sunshine this year. Sophia explains, "We carved pumpkins with our buddies. I made a cute one with a smiley face, and different sized eyes. We worked together with our buddies to make jack-o-lanterns." Once again, I found myself shaking my head at the idea of encouraging 120+ kids to carve pumpkins on their own. But, like last year, it went off without a hitch—no one got hurt and the kids created a festive, creative collection of jack-o-lanterns to decorate our school, and then their homes.

The afternoon was a whirlwind, as expected. After hastily changing into Halloween costumes, the kids of Room 5 joined Manor School in a Halloween romp around the campus, ending up on the blacktop. On the blacktop, we were entertained with songs, poems, and dances led by various classes. The second and third grade classes sang a spooky Halloween song, complete with sound effects.

Of course, no Halloween would be complete without a class party! The parents of Room 5 swooped in with food, decorations, and helping hands to host a Halloween feast for the kids. After eating, we played Halloween charades, heartily laughing as classmates acted out pirates, zombies, ballerinas, witches, wizards, and more.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Halloween extra special this year. Let the holiday season begin!

Chapulines de Oaxaca

An important part of our daily Morning Meeting in Room 5 is share time (a.k.a. “show and tell”).  Each day two students share something special with the class—anything from a funny story, an interesting find, a special vacation keepsake, or an unusual collection.

Last week, we had a very special share presented by Pema and her mom, Kathryn.  The two of them traveled to the city of Oaxaca, Mexico this summer and brought home many unique pieces of art and clothing.  The most memorable souvenir presented was “Chapulines de Oaxaca”, a popular snack enjoyed in the Oaxaca area, known in English as toasted grasshoppers.  Pema generously brought enough to share with the class.  Luckily, our principal, Mr. Richardson, happened to stop by for a visit just in time to partake in the feast. 

We have a brave bunch of kids in Room 5, and most of them tried the smaller, rice-sized chapulines.  Some, including me and Mr. Richardson, even tried the not-as-appealing larger variety.

I bet you are very disappointed that you missed this particular share time.  If you are itching to try some chapuline, I know a girl who will happily share her stash with you!



Brave lady with not-so-brave principal in the background



Yum...



Noshing an extra large chapuline



Quite an experience

 

We love eating grasshoppers in Room 5!



And the Adventure Begins Again!

Welcome to the 2011-2012 School Year.  We are already many weeks into the new year, and have been experiencing many fun learning adventures in and out of Room 5.
Take a look at what we've been up to lately.

We've had a few parents share their talents and skills with us in the past few weeks.  Brad's dad, Patrick, is a wonderful musician.  He brought his guitar and led a rousing sing-along.  We've already invited him back to do it again next month!

Julia's mom, Nancy, is teaching some of us how to knit.  We all love finger knitting, and Ms. Emily knew we were ready for the next step...  Or maybe she just wants a new scarf for the colder weather.

As you know, the theme of the first month of school has been spiders.  We've learned so much about these creepy crawlers.  In fact, most of us kind of like the little creatures now.  We read all about spiders, observed them in the wild and in jars in the classroom, drew spiders, conducted research, created paper mache spiders, went on an incredible spider walk at Lake Lagunitas, and wrote a song about spiders which we performed at the Critter Carnival. 

If you have any spider questions, Room 5 has answers!