Falling into Great Work

 Fall is absolutely in the air.  As I sit here writing this blog, the wind is blowing, leaves are on the ground and the air is crisp.  

This week was another one filled with learning and discovery.  We were busy getting ready for our Open House, our Star Time conference, and overall learning.  Open house was a huge success.  Thank you for all that attended.  If you were unable to, and want to meet, please let me know.  We will hold parent/teacher conferences on November 9th.  

I know that there was a lot of information coming your way, but please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Language Arts:

We are working on Subjects and Predicates in Grammar this week.  I let the children view a video, while taking notes.  We are continuing with narratives in writing.  Some of the children are drafting, some are still brainstorming and some are ready to peer edit.  We are also still working on Natural Disasters in Wonders.  The children have created slide presentations and will be presenting them this week.

Station Rotations:

We participated in stations twice this week.  The children are getting a good handle on them and how we rotate and transition to our various stations set up around the room.  The children work together, help each other and cooperate in their groups.

Amplify Science:

The children are continuing with Systems.  They read the booklet that goes along with the unit and answered questions.  There were some great conversations taking place throughout the room.  

Social Studies:

Our letter for the postcard exchange is ready to be mailed out to the 49 states.  We have received post cards from Utah and Pennsylvania.  The children are very excited when we get them in the mail.  

Star Time Conferences:

On Friday we held our first star time conferences. They went really well.  We met with the students to go over their AimsWeb results, goals, attendance and just overall how they feel that they are doing.  I spent about 15 minutes with each student.  They filled out the data tracker with how they were feeling, how they want to improve in any academic area, and assessed how they perceived their effort and behavior for the month.  While I conferenced with each child, the students had a choice board with many activities to work on until they were called up.  

As you can see, our days were full and busy.  The week ahead will be just as full.  Looking forward to viewing their slide presentations this week as they present them to the class.  Also, on Friday, the children will be bringing home their Friday folders with completed work and various assessments.  Have a wonderful week ahead.