Sunday, August 12, 2012

Welcome Back!

Starting back to school is such an exciting time of year and one way to help ease our students back into the routine is by providing them with "thinking skill" activities. Sit down with your child and look through photos from the summer, playing with friends or siblings or going on vacation. Then use the following question prompts to get your child thinking. 1. Where is this scene taking place? Use describing words. 2. Who are the people in the scene? 3. What is happening and when (time of day, place)? You could have your child write a factual account of the picture or you and they can brainstorm possible different outcomes and write a story about this together. Rather than focusing on the "mechanics" of this writing, focus on the fluency and creativity of their ideas. You could even have your child begin the story and you finish it or vice versa. Have fun!

Nancy Drew Book Group

Ms. Falls and I met with different groups of girls as a "book club" to read, blog about, and discuss a book. I was excited to work with a group reading a Nancy Drew mystery (mysteries are my favorite genre!). The students each had a "job" that they used to guide their reading and their blog posts. At the end of our meetings I shared with the girls a recipe from my very own Nancy Drew Cookbook from 1973!

3rd Grade Book Club Final Meeting

Our last book club meeting for the 2011-12 third graders was a picnic on the front lawn of Moss Hall. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed sharing books that we thought our friends would enjoy reading over the summer. As we talked and enjoyed our snack, I was surprised and grateful for a lovely gift of flowers and chocolates from my dear students. I look forward to meeting with you all again this semester on Thursdays (once a month) during lunch recess. See you soon!
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End of year water gun fun!

I can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by and I can't believe that I forgot to share this with you before now! Right before school ended in May First and Second grade students conducted an experiment using water guns. The students had several water guns to test and they first made predictions about how far they thought each water gun would shoot. They recorded these predictions and then we went outside to test the guns. It was a fun way to use our scientific and mathematical skills. I hope that you had opportunities throughout the summer to read, play and even use a little math!
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