All of the time together learning, talking, eating, and partnering has led to many budding friendships! Our class has a wonderful sense of humor, and can be found sharing jokes, riddles, and just being silly. The joyful classroom environment has also settled down from the beginning of the year as everyone gets into the flow of learning.
Eating Outside
Last week we were invited to sit outside the Clancy Group, and they even put out picnic tables for us! We learned the reason the business has a big red bulldog out front… The owner LOVES bulldogs and sculptures… and continued to develop community.
Literacy
Please come to our Literacy Curriculum Night next Thursday, October 6th from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Lisa and I will explain all the aspects of the Literacy curriculum, and share with you all the components that lead to reading and writing fluency. We hope that everyone can make it!
Math Groups
We have a very hands on manipulative based curriculum. We have started the study of place value, exploring ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands. Using base ten blocks and corresponding cards we played around with making very big numbers and reading them… 5,322! In partners and pairs the students worked together to make 2 big numbers, collect the blocks, and then added the numbers together! Today and tomorrow we are playing a Trading Game where students roll dice to acquire ones, training them for tens, and finally trading tens with a hundred and next week we will add another twist.
Theme
We continue to explore the classroom and are learning to work together cooperatively. The class is becoming so comfortable knowing where all our materials and supplies are kept, can set-up activities for friends, and clean-up responsibilities!
Lisa and I greatly appreciated hearing from everyone after the summer break and the first eight days of school! It has been a busy start of the school year with Back to School Night, Listening, Picture Day, and our rained out Apple Picking Field Trip! It was a good call to cancel the field trip with the epic downpours, lightning and thunder! We hope that we will have another opportunity to get out and about, maybe when Ms. Lisa joins us after October 3rd.
Our next Acera event is next week! Join us for the Family Potluck on Friday, September 30th at 6:00pm-7:30pm. There will be lots of great food, fun on the playground, and some crafts for the kids!
Our Class Book
We were able to take snap shots during the picture day and created a LE Classroom Book! The students are in the process of writing a couple of sentences about their new classmates and when they are finished they can take them home. Please practice the names of the children in the class (teachers too!) to aid in the adjustment to school.
We have also been connecting children throughout the day. “Miles can help you find the pencil sharpener.” “Noah knows how to spell ‘places’.” This helps students rely on each other and make meaningful connections. Already there are small groups of students that look to sit with friends at snack and recess, please ask your child who they are sitting with during meals!
Active Play
Our classroom is definitely beehive of activity! I read this passage on my social media recently and it really resonated with me! Kindergarten and First Graders need to MOVE and find their passions! We provide SO many opportunities for students to be active throughout the day and even have a designated movement class every Wednesday for all of the LE students. Ms. Maria gets everyone jumping, balancing, hopping and cooperating! Ms. Karen has been working on the smaller muscles in our fingers by knitting with them! If your child needs significant full-body activities try and and get some large muscle work before the school day starts as we have some focused school work as the day begins. Responsibilities at home can provide the muscular work needed for concentration as the day begins.
We are writing our first blog of the 2022 school year after a busy fourth day of school! There is so much to share after meeting you at the Open House and combining the first year and second year students for our first week. The over aching theme of the week has been getting to know each other, the classroom, and the routines which has most likely left your students tired. It is hard to absorb so much in a short time!! We are entering all the systems slowly, mindful of this large transition.
Open House
Thank you for the GREAT turn out for the Open House! It made an impact on building community between our students, parents and teachers. It also made a difference on Opening Day when students new and returning entered the classroom, finding familiar materials to work with and friendly faces. We look forward to Back to School Night on September 15th at 7:00pm and Listening Conferences on September 16th to share more information about our daily learning and about your hopes and wishes for the year.
Morning Work
As your child enters the classroom they have the opportunity to “Take Care of the Classroom” one of our three classroom rules. The other two are “Take Care of Yourself and Take Care of Others”. Watering plants, feeding the animals, washing the windows are fun activities to look forward to as the students say goodbye to parents and enter the day. Excellent job getting to school before 9:00am each day, as we enjoy every minute of learning at Acera!
Morning Meeting
During Morning meeting we greet each other and start the day! We incorporate literacy, math, theme, and of course social/emotional work during the 15-25 minute together time. This week we have been learning all the classmates and teacher’s names by playing the “Name Stretching Game”. Ask your child about it! We pack a lot of learning into this short block of time while we build community.
Literacy
We are easing into Reading and Writing this week providing opportunities for drawing, writing, fine motor, as well as early screening opportunities. The most important literacy work at this time of the year is sharing stories, a pattern of listening and responding, that is a foundation of all language learning. We are lucky to have Ms. Susan in the classroom as our literacy specialist and many adults with kind and listening ears.
Snack & Recess
We are eating indoors this year to support healthy eating habits as well as appropriate social skills. Using utensils, access to hand washing, and appropriate seating supports healthy habits. The conversations have been delightful and provided important connections at the beginning of the school year and sprouting early friendships.
Math Groups
We have been exploring our math materials, as well as seeing numbers everywhere! We have completed the first round of math screenings “Too EAST!” and are getting ready for next steps! Our class is demonstrating huge capacity for mathematical thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving. As always we are finding the “just right” work for the individual and this will take a couple of weeks.
Rest and Read
We have EXCLUSIVELY been resting the week! Finding a cozy place to sit or lie down and having a few moments of peace, quiet, and reflection has been important. This time of day will eventually become reading instruction including “Book Clubs” where small groups of children will bond over books.
Theme
The Theme of the year is “Place”. We will start with our classroom space, move toward to the entire school environment, and then to our greater neighborhood. With so many materials to explore, we will spend the next several weeks focusing on our classroom.
Read Aloud
We are reading Stuart Little by E.B. White at the end of each day… except for today when we were in such FLOW we forgot it was the end of the day! Reading to your child every night is just about the best thing that you can do as a parent. At this age readers and non-readers need to have super star adults to read with expression and voices! Stopping to ask questions, “What do you think will happen next?” or checking for comprehension, “What just happened?!?” is important home and school work.
Greetings from Lisa
Kia Ora!
Greetings from a sunny and beautiful Saturday (Friday in MA) in New Zealand. It is early spring here and there are daffodils and lambs everywhere. I had an amazing time with my kids, Kaitlyn and Thomas, catching up with lots of family that they haven’t seen for five years. I drove on the other side of the car and the road, which is very tricky! We have seen bubbling mud and steam vents on the side of the road, soaked in thermal mineral pools, gone up a mountain in a gondola and a luge ride down, been out on a boat and gone fishing – I caught a snapper that we cooked and had for dinner. I have also been taking lots of walks along the beach where my family live.
I am so enjoying my time, but I am also very exited to get back and be in the classroom with Ms. Jen, learning and growing with all our students. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll look forward to checking in about my next adventure to a place called “Hahei” which has hot water springs under the sand, at the beach!
Ms Jen's & Ms. Lisa's Classroom Blog 