All Treats, no Tricks

This past week was filled with many wonderful treats for the students.  The theme for the week was Spooky and Creepy. Our read alouds were all about Halloween.  One activity involved reading the book Creepy Carrots and designing one of their own.  The children seemed to have enjoyed it.

Some wonderful creations are on display for everyone to see.  

The children participated in virtual learning on Thursday while the faculty and staff attended workshops and meetings throughout the day.  This also gave me an opportunity to rearrange the lay out of the classroom giving the children an optimal learning space.  I like some of the changes that I have made.

Moving the rug to the front of the screen works better for the children to come up and sit there in order to better participate and understand the lesson.  I really like the flexible seating we have.  The children are able to choose where they want to sit to complete their reading or writing assignments.

Voice and choice is something that we allow the children to have during their learning.  We provide them with choices on how they want to learn and share out what they want to share.  

On Friday we held the virtual student of the month assembly.

The children were very attentive and excited to hear who the students were in each classroom.  We have once again initiated the traits of the month.  This month is all about Gratitude.  Throughout the month of November we will be doing many activities revolving around gratitude.  Our Grade 5 students introduced this to us through their presentation of slides.  

To add a little extra excitement to the day, there was a spelling bee in the room.

The children never know what to expect from day to day with me.  I hope that the children stay motivated and involved in their learning process.  

 

Keep Calm and Keep Writing

           Spirit Week:

Our first Spirit Week was a huge success.  It was great to see so many children participating and enjoying the week.  

It was exciting to see the children taking part in all of the days, themes.  Great participation and spirit throughout the school.

Mrs, Sanchez and I had a lot of fun participating as well.

Many great pumpkins came in and are displayed in the school library.  Here are just a few of them.

Wednesday was National Day of Writing and many interesting activities were planned our for the ELA classes.

The first activity was to choose a number, once they did, they had to write a story based on what was inside the bag. 

Another class was given a scenic picture and had to create their story based on that picture and word clouds (wordles) were created 

At the end of the day, each student had to fill in a #WhyIWrite slip and they are going to be displayed in the hallway outside of the classrooms.

I loved this day and the final products that came out of it.  The children are finalizing their stories this week.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend and let's keep our fingers crossed for more of this beautiful fall weather.

A Community of Learning and Discovering

Our week went well.  New books were introduced and activities were completed.

I love reading to the children and they are able to generate some wonderful conversations based on what was read.  They make connections with the book or have a story to share.

Wonderful conversations are taking place in 4Z based on themes or lessons from the book.  The children are displaying such positive traits throughout the classroom and within the school.  

After reading the books in circle time, the children go back to their tables and work on some type of activity.  One of them was what could they do in their community to make a difference.

Recess time is always a great way for the children to let out that extra energy.  Hopefully, the weather will continue to be nice and we can get out there.  The children really need that extra time outside.  Mask breaks and socializing with their classmates are needed and well deserved.

 

Note taking is a skill we worked on this week.  The children are going to be doing research on natural disasters and need to know how to take notes on what they read.  We had discussions about highlighting important details and not just "copying" from the text.  

This upcoming week is sure to be a fun one being that our first Spirit Week of the year is beginning tomorrow.  We are starting with Culture Day- dress in authentic clothing from their culture or the flag colors of their country.

We also had a great Pink Out Day on Friday, thank you to all who donated to the Gloria Gemma Foundation.

Also, coming up this week:  Mrs. Eastman explained to all the classes about decorating a pumpkin as a book character.  Mine is done and ready for school in the morning.  I cannot wait to see all the wonderful creations that the children come up with.