Buckaroo News for October 12th to October 16th

I can't believe that it is already the middle of October!  Time is flying but we are making the most of every minute of it at Camp Buckaroo.  It was great talking with so many of you for parent/teacher conferences and I look forward to talking with more of you next Thursday.

I'm always looking for better ways to reach children and to help them be the best that they can be.  Doing things "the way we've always done them" just doesn't fit sometimes so changes need to be made if growth is to happen.   The two big changes are coming in the areas of math and reading.  

You might've noticed a colorful workmat coming home each day in math with the concept that we've learned that day and practiced.  These will not be coming home as frequently as I will be pulling lessons from a multitude of great resources that I feel fit the standard that the children need to learn and practice.  The lessons will be more engaging and hands-on so that ALL of the students can access and apply what they're learning.

The second change will effect what your child will be bringing home to read in their book-in-a-bags.  After reading about how to help children self-select good books, I realized that I am doing the opposite of what I'm saying.  Self-selection should be just that but I've been telling children what tub of books I want them taking their "warm-up" books from each week.  This isn't allowing them to "sample" books at all levels to then select the ones THEY feel are just right for them.  Starting today, the children were allowed to choose "warm-up" books from any of the tubs of books so don't be surprised if your child's "warm-up" books are super challenging and maybe even super easy to read.  Self-selection takes time but with lots of opportunities to self-select, they will begin to understand and select books based upon what they feel they need.

Here are some questions to help guide your conversations this weekend about your child's learning this week:

What kinds of pictures did you put on your "heart map?"

What have you learned about bats?  How do you know they are mammals?

Which piece of writing did you share on the "share bench" during Writer's Workshop this week?

What did you like best about Steve Harpster's visit?

What happened to Mrs. McNeal when she stayed at COSI when she was a Brownie?

How are you like Lulu?  How are you different than Lulu?

Upcoming Events:
Thursday, October 22nd - Parent/Teacher conferences
Thursday, October 29th - Harvest Party in the afternoon
                                     Pumpkin Fun in the morning - I am still in need of four
                                     parent volunteers for this morning fun:)  Let me know
                                     if you're interested!
Thursday, November 5th - 50th Day of School!  This is a huge milestone for us
                                      and we celebrate this day by dressing up 50's style.
                                      We will be learning about life in the past compared to
                                      life today for the entire month of November beginning
                                      with 50's day.  I wanted to give you a heads-up so 
                                      that if you see anything "fifties" while shopping for
                                      costumes, you could snag it:)

Next week's related arts schedule:
Monday - P.E.  (remember tennis shoes)
Tuesday - Art
Wednesday - Music
Thursday - Library (remember book-in-a-bag too)
Friday - P.E.

Steve Harvester came to our school for an author visit.  We have one every year.  We learned how to draw turtles, sharks with a jet pack, monsters, and fish.

This girl was looking at Steve Harpster's video of what he drew when he was a kid.  We learned how to draw using numbers and letters.

He is listening to Steve Harpster.  He is also drawing what Steve Harpster is telling him to draw.  

He said that  you don't have to make your drawings perfect.  Just use your imagination and practice.  He helped us draw and then we drew the same thing as him.

Steve Harpster always draws with letters and numbers.  He taught us to concentrate.  He told us to be silent so we could concentrate on our drawings.  

We are taking a picture with Steve Harpster.  We took a picture with him so we can remember when he visited the school.  

This is a silly picture!

She is sharing her work from Writer's Workshop.  Her story was about a cat, a rabbit, and a bear.  It was Writer's Workshop.  She was sharing on the sharing bench.

He was sharing a story about a good apple.  He had so much color and "cheese."  He was reading nice and loud so we could hear him.

Buckaroo news for October 5th to October 10th

Hello Families!  I apologize for no post last week!  I had trouble logging onto our blog and posting all of our great thinking last week.  This was a week full of learning and imagining and rather than telling you all about it, I'm going to help you with some questions to ask your child in hopes that he/she will tell you about his/her week.  I know they are exhausted when they come home each night and it's easy for them to say "nothing" to your question of "what did you do today?"  These questions may help to guide your conversations:).  

Possible Questions for Rich Conversations with Your Child:)

What are you working on in Writer's Workshop?  Tell me about Mrs. McNeal's story about Fireflies.  How did you rate it?

How much of the Phonics Dance can remember without seeing your word wall?  What is your word study team working on?

How are you like Johnny Appleseed?  How are you not like him?  Do you think he was a hero?  Why or why not?

What part of Math Workshop is your favorite part and why?  

Can you name the five parts of the Daily Five?  Which one do you think you'll want to do most days?

Tell me about Lulu.  How is she like you or how is she not like you?

Reminders:

October 12 - Book Orders due

October 12th - Book-in-a-Bag comes back to "shop" for new books

October 14th - Parent/Teacher Conferences -  If you don't remember your time please let me know.

October 29th - Pumpkin Fun!  I'm looking for six volunteers that would like to get their hands all messy and gooey with pumpkin goo along with four first graders.  I would need your help the morning of the 29th.  I will take the first six volunteers...GO!

He did this during Morning Menu.  I chose a book and wrote about a character named Ike.  Ike is smart, gooey, creative, flexible thinker, and his favorite thing is ink.  We are really working hard to think on  a deeper level and this little guy is showing his understanding by relating those thinking skills to characters he's reading about in books!

It was my sharing day.  I could not pick which book to share.  I chose the Princess Party story.

We made applesauce and we ate it.  We used our five senses.  We studied about Johnny Chapman so we decided to make applesauce to celebrate him on his birthday.  

We made Johnny Appleseed art.  We got to be creative.  The artist wants you to know that the little blue dot is a bluebird.  

Buckaroo news for September 21st to September 25th

Greetings from Camp Buckaroo where great thinking happens everyday, all day!  I am delighted to report that I have finished reading with each and every child and I know what they each need in order to bloom or continue to bloom and grow as readers.  I will be sharing what I've learned about your child on Progress Book as well as at conferences in October.  I can't wait to meet with each of you.  If haven't scheduled a conference time with me as of yet, please let me know so I can share the times that are still available.

  Here are the highlights of our learning this week:

In Word Study, we sorted words with /ad/ and /an/ patterns.  We also practiced these patterns using rainbow words and by writing them three times each.  Finally, we learned a new game called Sight Word Races.
In Writer's Workshop, we have read several fantastic books to help us understand where and how writers get their ideas for stories.  Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino, Ike's Incredible Ink by Brianna Farley and Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon are great ones to check out of the library to reread with your child.
In Science, we have been learning how to read nonfiction books about the moon and to find the answers to our many questions.  Our Wall of Thinking is full of our questions and what we've learned about the moon thus far.  Ask your child to share some facts with you.  
In Math Workshop, we are continuing to work on representing and solving problems involving addition within 20.  This has been challenging for many because it doesn't necessarily mean adding two known numbers to get an answer.  Many times the problems have included unknowns or "missing parts" such as 5 plus ___ equals 8.  
In Reader's Workshop, we have begun the process of self-selecting books based upon need and interest to place in our book baskets.  Next week, your child will be bringing many of these books home along with October's reading log to record the minutes your child reads to you and/or you read to your child. The children are VERY excited about this!

Specials Schedule for Next Week:
Monday - Art
Tuesday - Music
Wednesday - Library
Thursday - P.E.  (remember tennis shoes)
Friday - Art  

We are doing math problems on the computer.  The math test was really hard but we persevered.  There were some "times."  If you didn't know the answer you could just make a good guess.  We tried our best on the test.  There were some questions that were hard but we got through.  

He is making a book about himself during Writer's Workshop.  We really like it and it is really fun for all of us!  We get to write about our own thing.  It is our OWN time!  We make books.  Writer's Workshop is a time to be creative.  

We were researching about the moon.  She made moon craters with glue.  When the glue dries we get to paint over them.  We all made our own moons.

They are reading a poem together.  They are singing songs in their poetry and songbooks.  

You have to get the right books otherwise you won't read challenging books.  Everyone needs their own good fit!!

We are studying about the moon.  It's really fun to study about the moon.  This is a wall of our facts.  Without the moon, the waves wouldn't move.  It takes 27 days for the moon to move around earth.  The sun shines on the moon.  The moon is far from the earth.  It takes three days to get to the moon.  The moon has creators.  Neil Armstrong was the first to get on the moon.  The moon reflects light on the earth.  The moon changes.  You can fit 50 moons in the earth.  We drew a lot of moon facts.

Happy National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Aaargh!  Ahoy Me Hearties!  The Buccaneers of Room 118 had a blast today celebrating National Talk Like A Pirate Day!  It's officially tomorrow but I couldn't let that day slip by without incorporating it into our learning time together.  I will let them tell you more about this in the captions below each picture.

Here are highlights of learning from our week!

Handwriting - I can already see an improvement in all of the children's handwriting.  I am formally teaching the formation of each letter.  I've also told the children that we never start any of our letters from the bottom line.  This week we worked on the letters /w/ and /t/.  

Shared Reading - As we sing songs each morning, we are engaging in shared reading.  The children love learning new songs each week that we also use for word study to find parts of words we know.  When we have a long weekend, I will be allowing the children to bring their poetry/songbooks home to share with you but will need them returned when we come back to school.

Writer's Workshop - We have finally begun this time everyday and the children are already taking ownership of this time in a big way!  I've set up the expectations for this time and they are being very responsible about their choices.  After my mini-lesson, the children are given some time to share with a friend what they've been writing about or they can get suggestions or help with words from a friend.  After about five minutes of sharing, I put on classical music which we've learned helps to get our creative juices flowing as we write.  

Science - I shared with the children that I had some questions about skunks and asked them if they'd help me to research this mammal.  The children will be bringing home a project to show what they've learned about skunks.  By studying this together, my hope is that they will also choose something they are interested in knowing more about to study on their own during our "Imagination Station" time each Friday.  This will be a self-guided time based upon each of their interests.  We will continue to review the six habits of thinkers (I shared this during Curriculum Night) to guide us as we study what we're interested in.


Math - Math Workshop is now underway.  I've already posted in Progress Book about how your child did on the first assessment which was a PRE-ASSESSMENT for all.  Based upon this pre-assessment about addition, I've planned activities for the children to do to either extend their thinking or to give them more time and experience working with me to better understand this concept.

Reader's Workshop is also up and running.  This week we talked about the three ways that a reader can read a book.  Ask your child to share these three ways with you.  We also talked about what their needs are to do their best reading.  Take a look at the poster to see what they told me they needed:).  

Upcoming Important Dates:
Monday, September 21st - Book Orders will be submitted
Tuesday, September 22nd - MAP testing
September 30th - Our first reading log will be coming home to record minutes your child reads to you and/or you read to your child in the month of October. 

Related Arts Schedule:
Monday - P.E.  (remember tennis shoes)
Tuesday - Art
Wednesday - Music
Thursday - Library
Friday - P.E.

This is Pirate Day.  We wore pirate things.  Some of us wore pirate hats.  

Pirates have a flag with bones and a skull and it is called the Jolly Roger.  Pirates would only attack one ship at a time.  We learned to talk like pirates.  Aargh means hello.  Aargh mateys means hello friends.  

The pirates believed that  having a girl on the ship was bad luck.  They wore an eye patch to see in the dark.  They have it on the entire day and when it is night time they would uncover it and then they could see in the dark right away.  They thought that having their ears pierced would help them to see better.  They thought that whistling on the ship would bring a storm.

We wrote down number sentences for 20 and under.  We worked on different numbers and the different ways to help other people with different ways to make that number.

We were writing as many number sentences as the number was.  If the number was 18 then there were 18 ways to write number sentences.  The way that we knew that was to draw a line under the first number of each number sentence.

We got pirate names.  Girls picked three even numbers and the boys picked three odd numbers.  The names were really funny!

Buckaroo news for September 16th!

WOW!!!  I apologize for the tardiness of this post on our classroom blog.  As you  know, the electric went out for the last hour of school on Friday and that is when we typically blog about our week together.  Below, you will see a couple of pictures from our learning last week.  Use them as conversation starters for you and your child.  

We will resume our postings of our week on Friday (barring any other calamities:).  

The main reason for today's post is two-fold.  The first is that tomorrow is fall picture day.  If you would like to purchase pictures for your child, just follow the directions on the handout that is coming home tonight.  Several of you have already sent in your envelopes.  I have them and will get them to the photographer.

Secondly, this Saturday is National Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day.  Since we will not be at school, I would like to celebrate this day on Friday.  Your child may dress as a pirate on Friday if he/she wishes to do so.  We will be engaging in many fun (and educational) activities throughout the day.  My plan is to hide some "pirate booty" somewhere in the school.  If you would like to donate something for our "booty" that is not food-related please feel free to do so.  Just send in in a bag tomorrow or Friday morning and I will add it to the loot.  Thank you ahead of time for helping out with this.  This has always been a very popular day for Camp Buckaroo!

Specials Schedule:
Today - Art
Thursday - Music
Friday - Library
Monday of next week - P.E.  (By the way, every child had tennis shoes for our P.E. class this week!  Great job, families!)

Buckaroo news for August 31 to September 4

The year is flying by already!  We have completed our first full week and it was packed with tons of great learning!  My fabulous "firsties" have shared their thoughts on our week in the captions underneath each picture but I will also share a bit.  

We have begun handwriting practice and your children have heard me use the term "chicken scratch."  Ask your child if they remember what I mean when I say "No chicken scratch:)."  As I shared during Curriculum Night, we are establishing the routines of word study, writer's workshop, reader's workshop, and math workshop.  This takes time and lots of practice so we will be spending the month of September establishing those routines together.  Some of the work that will be coming home will be challenging for some and not so challenging for others but this won't be for long.  Once routines are established, differentiation will begin in full force so that all can grow and be successful wherever they are beginning their journey.  In word study, we are beginning with the "hunk-and-chunk" at.  We've already done many activities involving this hunk-and-chunk such as learning a song about a naughty kitty cat, reading about Pete the Cat, making words with magnetic letters using at, sorting and speed sorting with a buddy, etc.  In math, we began learning how to show our thinking when given a prompt, sharing our thinking, and showing the multitude of ways to show a given number.  Again, establishing the routine before differentiation can begin.

Upcoming Events:
September 7th - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day!
September 17th - Fall Picture Day - More information to come

Our Specials Schedule for Next Week:
Tuesday - Library
Wednesday - P.E.  Remember tennis shoes
Thursday - Art
Friday - Music

We made a garden with pattern blocks.  We made a HUGE land!  

We read a book called Oliver Button Is A Sissy.  We learned that we should not wrinkle other people's hearts.  We learned that people who bully are bucket dippers.  They are bucket dippers because no one has filled up their buckets.  We have bandaids on our arms all in the same place.  This was about fairness.  Fair doesn't mean everyone gets the same thing.  Fair means everyone gets what they need.

These are the words that mean don't wrinkle people's hearts.

One square can turn into something else with your imagination!  

She is teaching us how she did this math problem.  

Welcome

Hello Families!  Can I just share how much I already love this class of "firsties" and how fun they have made this first week?  Thank you for sending me the best part of yourselves each and everyday!  This blog will be your "go-to" for almost everything you will need to know about what's going on in our classroom and at SCE.  I will be posting pictures of our learning each week as well as reminders for what is coming up.  Feel free to comment:).  

This blog will be an interactive one.  Every Friday, the children will be sharing with me what they think I should be typing up on the blog to share with you.  If the font is in blue, you will know that it is me doing the talking.  If the font is in green then this will indicate the the children are talking and telling me what to type.

This blog is also to help you to ask questions of your child about his/her learning while at school as I know a few will answer "nothing" to your question of "What did you do today at school?"  

This was a short week but we've already begun to establish our community and the rules that are in place so that everyone can do their best learning.  We've talked about why they are here and who is responsible for their choices and behavior.  They are loving the ticket system that I have in place and I will share more about this next Thursday at Curriculum Night.  We have read many, many books about friendship and have done activities to help us to get to know each other better.  We have also compared ourselves to how we were in kindergarten.  I could see all of them sit a little taller in their seats as we talked about how grown up they were compared to our K friends.  We received a "4" in P.E. yesterday which means our behavior was AWESOME!!!  

This is our related arts schedule for next week:
Monday - D Day - Music
Tuesday - A Day - Library
Wednesday - B Day - P.E.  (remember to wear tennis shoes!)
Thursday - C Day - Art
Friday - D Day - Music

Upcoming Events:
Thursday, September 3rd - Curriculum Night at SCE

I also completed the first homework assignment of taking a picture of myself reading in a special place.  Here I am reading a book about a mischievous hen to my own hens:)  I have already received several pictures of your children reading in a place that is comfortable to them.  I would love to receive a picture of every child reading in a special place.  

This little guy is taking a first grade survey about his feelings and thoughts on the first day of school.

She is also hard at work filling out her survey.

We took a serious picture of us on the first day of first grade and then...

we had to take a silly one, of course!

We read a story entitled The Day the Crayons Quit and we giggled all the way through the book!  Each child then selected his/her favorite color and then got into small communities based upon that color.  They were then asked to gather ANYTHING in the room that matched their chosen color and then CREATE something with all of their gathered materials.  I bet you can guess the favorite color of each group:)

After we read a book entitled First Grade Stinks we completed a brace map about what first graders can do.  I especially love that they came up with the thought that first graders are creators!