Morning Messages

Every morning, around half past nine, we play our “Hello, Today” song and students head to the meeting area. As the song is playing, Ms. Jen or Ms. Lisa begin to write the morning message, and students sit quietly observing what is being written. We are modeling conventions of print, such as using capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and punctuation at the end. This week, we had a silly meeting where Ms. Jen wrote the message without finger spacing. The students had a good laugh and did remarkably well decoding the message! This week, we have had delightful morning messages written by students and shared at our meeting. It is so lovely to see how quickly the schedule of the day has been internalized and by the creativity of students to write their own messages to share.

Place Value: Making Big Numbers with Cards and Blocks

This week, the Math Group has been spending some time on reviewing the tens placement and learning the hundreds and thousands placements. We have started making numbers in the thousands for Pica, Ferme, Nada and the latter part of the week has been making big numbers using wooden cards and unit blocks.

Fall Spirit Day

On Monday the 30th, children are invited to come to school wearing anything that they feel celebrates their Fall Spirit! This might mean coming to school in cozy pajamas, a costume, or any other creative interpretation of the season….basically whatever gives them joy, as long as they can function in the classroom, is safe for the specials they have that day (including woodshop, etc!) is appropriate for a K-11 setting and not scary, gruesome, or involving weapons. Before math, we will encourage kids to change out of any clothing that makes it difficult for them to focus on the learning. As always, PLEASE DON’T send children to school with candy (even in lunches) – Thank you in advance!!!

Warmest Regards,

Jen & Lisa

Community, Connection, Collaboration

As the weeks are rolling by, we are amazed at the amount of collaboration and connections that are happening in LE. These are evident through the many ways that students are interacting and truly becoming part of our community. On the playground, there is the lively chatter of conversations, invitations to join in play, the sharing of strategies on how to play a game, and also the design, development and construction of structures, bases, and “booby traps!”

Vocabulary Sorts

This group of students love a challenge and there is always a buzz of activity when it comes to the vocabulary sorts. While some students prefer to do their own, others will team up with a peer and take on a larger sort. They help each other with not only saying the words in their sort, but also helping sound out an unfamiliar word. Today, two students, who had opted for a larger sort, decided to split it in half so that they could both work on it, but get it done in a quicker time. This type of collaboration and communication adds to the depth of the learning as well as the acquisition of an extensive vocabulary through not only the exposure to the words, but also the conversations that are had as they complete the task.

Writing Prompts

There has been a lot of discussion (still) over what happened to Clucky, our fish. As a writing prompt, students used words and sentences like “Lost”, “Missing”, “Have you see our fish?” and made a poster to hang around the school, in the hope that someone might have some information that leads to solving the mystery. A second prompt was for students to write a get well soon note to Ms. Lisa after gum surgery. When she came back to school on Thursday morning, there was a delightful pile of very thoughtful messages and beautiful illustrations with lots of hearts (her favorite thing), rainbows, waves, and vikings. She was so happy!

Get well soon cards, lost signs

Math

Paper Theme

This week, we started exploring our theme of “Paper.” We read a lovely book called “Emily’s Idea” by Christine Evans, about a little girl who had a small idea that becomes a big one. She decorates paper chain dolls and initially, she decorates her home, but then it extends out to her community and then they end up all over the world, showing how different they are but really, all the same. Students got some great fine-motor work using small scissors to cut out their paper dolls. It was a heavy card stock and took quite a bit of effort. Then, using only paper and glue, they made their clothing, facial features, and hair. There were some very creative ways of making eyes and embellishments on their clothing and accessories. We are planning on visiting all the classrooms at Acera and having everyone participate in making a paper chain of dolls that we will display throughout Acera as a way to engage in and continue building our sense of community.

Math Groups

This week, we have been reviewing adding and subtracting numbers in the tens. Our goal is to increase automaticity before we move onto hundreds and thousands. Using glass bead stairs – red represents one, green represents two, etc., up to ten, we scaffolded the activity so that students worked on discovering as many ways as they could, to make the number ten. They drew the bead stairs and wrote out the number sentence that corresponded, practicing and ensuring that the number directionality was correct. As a challenge, students created their own sums using the bead stairs then writing the addition or subtraction number sentences. We also made two wooden tile memory games, one addition and one subtraction, in which the students flip two tiles and if they combine to make ten they earn the tiles and another turn. It has been very well received and we are helping the students boost memory as to not rely on using their counting fingers.

Vocabulary Sorts

Thursday is Vocabulary day where students can select a vocabulary sort activity. They first sort the pictures with words, then match the pictures, and then match the words. When they are done, students can get a strip of lined paper and write out all the words in their sort. This helps to reinforce words they do know, offers exposure to new ones, as well as writing practice for making their talls, smalls, and tails on their letters.

Lunch and Snack

Lunch and snack is a wonderful time for friendships between new and old students. There has been many a funny conversation, or sharing of stories and these kids really enjoy each other’s company. It’s so lovely to watch all the social connections being made.

Specialist

This week, we got to have our first meetings with Ms. Alison, our engineering and technology specialist, and Ms. Camila, our art specialist. In keeping with our exploration of “Paper”, students experimented with designing and building structural columns using paper and tape with Ms. Alison. In art, they are creating landscapes using paper. Do you see a theme??

Field Trip

We had a wonderful time on our field trip to Honeypot Hill Orchards and the weather was fabulous! After a visit to the farm animals, a wander through the pumpkins, and a clamber over the tractor, we had a snack, and headed for the hay ride to pick some apples. This year, we picked Ruby Mac and they were delicious! Everyone did a fine job of reaching up and twisting the apples to get them out of the tree. We took a fast, bumpy and bouncy hay ride back to the parking lot and headed back to Acera for lunch. We are so appreciative of all the efforts by Pengpeng, Ying, and Rosa to coordinate and plan for such a fun day. And, a big thank you to Amanda, Dave, Lipin, Peter, and Rosa for chaperoning. Enjoy your apples and your weekend!

Making Friends!

It has been a wonderful week two! Thank you so much for making the time to make it to out Back to School Night! We have so much to share with you! The most exciting observations we have during the first two weeks of school are always the unique ways students connect with each other and with the classroom materials. This year we started the day with open-ended materials for our new and returning students to explore. In this way we get to observe the interests, motivations, and personalities of our new group. We have been teaching for many years and no year is ever the same! This cluster of classmates are clear-minded, goal oriented, and exploratory. They have also been very open to cross-classroom partnerships, especially on the playground.

Fine Motor and Helpful Classroom Connections

Our clever and creative group discovered the fuse bead trays and have been working in LARGE groups creating all kinds of geometric shapes. A student will shout out, “I need some transparent reds.” Another student will rush to the rescue, and we will acknowledge, “It is so it is so fabulous to have many eyes looking at colors!” Visual discrimination, clever conversation, grit, and delicate fine motor skills have been on full display this week!!

Literacy Introductions

As we demonstrated last night, each morning we spend the first part of the morning on handwriting and phonetic exercises. Monday:Metal Insets, Tuesday: Handwriting, Wednesday:Word Sorts, Thursday: Vocabulary, Friday: Journal Writing. This week we have introduced all these activities slowly and carefully, making sure that all the students understand WHY and HOW of the morning work. All these discrete experiences combine to create well-rounded writers and readers!

First Weeks of our Math Block

We have spent the last two weeks observing our students closely and their use of very basic math materials! The bead stairs are a series of 9 colorful glass beads that represent the numerals from 1 to 9 that Maria Montessori developed early in her career over 100 years ago. They have been copied over the years by many educators including Georges Cuisenarie in 1945. Maria’s are more beautiful and have a distinction that Cuisenarie lacked… a clear definition of ones in the form of separate glass beads. Our students have been using these beads to add, subtract, multiply and divide although we have only introduced addition and subtraction! WOW!

We have also been participating in a school-wide assessment process that will assign our students with the very best teacher and learning group. Acera is unique in that we can provide each student with the “just right” level as they move at their own pace through math curriculum.

Creativity Stations

This trimester we are partnering with Ms. Kathy (fiber arts) and Mr. Dylan (stop motion animation) every Wednesday morning and afternoon. Both instructors are masterful in their own ways and bring areas of expertise to our students that we don’t necessarily focus on while teaching our core subjects. We do, however, learn from each other and bring the talents, interests, and skills that they learn on Creativity Wednesdays into our classroom!

Listening Conferences Zoom Link

We look forward to seeing everyone in person or on ZOOM tomorrow! We will be asking many questions about your child, their interests & hobbies, family, and routines. We will also ask for your hopes and goals for your child this year to incorporate into the Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which is a living document. It is a commitment between teachers and parents, teachers and students, students and parents as we are partners in the year ahead!

What Your Child can do at Home

Warmest Regards,

Lisa and Jen

Welcome Back!!

Wow! What an amazing first week we have had in LE. We have spent a lot of time meeting new friends, catching up with old friends, learning about each other, the classroom, the playground, and exploring the different spaces at Acera School.

Exploring the Classroom

We have many budding architects, mathematicians, and engineers in our classroom. At Theme, students have been exploring block building, fuse beads, geometric shape sorting, and art.

Exploring the New Playground

It has been ridiculously hot this week, but the LE students have been having a great time checking out all that our upgraded playground has to offer. They have been running, climbing, swinging, digging, and building with the large outdoor blocks.

Writing Books!

During Writer’s Workshop, many of our students have chosen to already start creative writing by making their own books, and developing stories with illustrations. It is kind of amazing to see the energy and excitement as they share their ideas with each other and with us.

The Upcoming Week…

Next week, we will begin our Metal Inset books, continue learning the schedule of the day, and reinforcing the three rules of our classroom which are, we take care of ourselves, we take care of each other, and we take care of our community. We look forward to seeing as many of you as are able, at the Back-to-School night. As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks for sharing your amazing children with us!

Listening Conference Schedule

Expanding Attention Spans

Warmest Regards,

Lisa and Jen

Marble Mazes

We did a unit on measurement for math and as a culminating project, each student made their own marble maze. First, they drew an outline on graph paper of what they wanted their maze to look like. Then, using a ruler, pencils, clamps, saws, and glue, they measured, marked, sawed, sanded, and glued their walls into the maze. Ms. Jen is finishing spray-painting the last of them and children are putting the final touches on, using paint pens. Once everyone has finished, they will get a special marble and be able to bring the maze home. Enjoy trying to escape the mazes!

Bulby Observational Drawings

Our bulb, “Bulby” has been quietly growing away and the children are doing a fantastic job with their observational drawings, taking time to note the changes, the colors, and estimating how tall it will get. The pictures are going into their Observational Journals that they will be able to bring home at the end of the school year. You won’t believe these masterpieces!

Lots of Boxes

Ms. Jen and Ms. Katie (our visitor from New Zealand) showed us how to play a fun game of “lots of boxes.” In pairs, students take turns drawing lines between dots, and connecting them to try and make as many boxes as they are able. The winner has the most boxes when all the dots have been connected.

Happy Weekend,

Jen & Lisa

A New Class Pet!

We were delighted to welcome Snap Pea this week! Kathleen Hanson, mother of Gwen who is a veterinarian, had a parakeet for us to adopt. The students were really excited to have a partner for Magic Mike as they learned that budgerigars live in flocks. The students have observed that they like sitting together, chirp delightfully during the day, and have been sharing a millet bough.

Measurement in Math

We are finishing up our unit on measurement with a woodworking project! We are making marble mazes! This involved making a grid on a 11 inch x 11 inch plywood base and measuring the length of all 4 sides. The students then used clamps and saws to cut the exact length and glued them down. Next, they chose a starting point and cut walls in 1 1/2, 2, and 2 1/2 inch lengths. The students then built their mazes three walls at a time! We were lucky to have all the students together on Tuesday due to a field trip so everyone was able to participate! We were hoping to finish them before the April vacation, but the students are working slowly and carefully! They will be coming home soon!

Observational Drawing

As part of our science curriculum, we are making observational drawings of the plants and animals in our classroom. “Bulby” our classroom bulb is growing daily, and this week we measured the growth… 11 inches high already!

Happy Spring Break! ~Ms. Lisa & Ms. Jen

Spring Tub Friends

Spring has sprung and friendships continue to blossom in the classroom and on the playground! We have also seen some disagreements arise and opportunities to solve problems as individuals and as a group. It is remarkable how sophisticated the students language has become when speaking about difficult feelings.

Budgerigar Study

“Who let the bird out? Whoot, whoot, whoot!” We experimented with letting Magic Mike, our class parakeet, out of his cage! This coincided with a whole class conversation about activities that we are experts in and ones that we are still working on. Well, Magic Mike is still working on getting back in his cage! This has been a source of excitement and we are channeling this interest by doing a budgerigar study! We watched a sweet video of a budgerigar baby hatching in the outback of Australia, and narrating the joys of living in a flock with so many friends. We then did an observational drawing of our Parakeet! The students did a spectacular job.

Metal Insets

The students have made wonderful progress working through the Metal Inset sequence which builds hand-eye coordination, strengthens pencil grip, teaches geometrical forms, and teaches drawing techniques. It takes a great deal of patience and perseverance to move through all nine books and to complete the final exercise number ten! In that exercise, the student overlaps all ten shapes and fills each new shape with several different kinds of lines and all nine colors. They are beautiful!

Because a good handful of students have finished all 10 exercises, we came up with another extension! The students are sewing the overlapping geometric shapes in felt! They are beautiful!

Ms. Lisa’s Book Group

In a small group of six students, we have been reading “A Nest for Celeste” by Henry Cole. This is a novel about a little mouse and a friendship that develops with a young apprentice. It is a story with lovely black and white drawings, and throughout the story, is woven inspiration and the meaning of home, which ties into our theme.

Students have been reading independently, and aloud to each other. We have completed word searches, using some of the rich vocabulary that is in the story. Celeste weaves baskets in her little spot under the floorboards and we are currently attempting to weave a basket using pipe cleaners and raffia. This requires some fine motor skills and a lot of patience!

Warmest regards,

Lisa & Jen

Working Together and Delighting in Teamwork!

Last week the students in LE decided that they were going to tackle the Instrument Vocabulary 3-Part Cards. The cards have pictures and the names of over 100 instruments from around the world and the students wanted to organize them all BEFORE meeting began! This is the time of year where we see the students working so seamlessly together and it is a joy to behold!

Leading Games and Becoming Teachers

Students enjoy taking over the roles and responsibilities that once belonged to their teachers such as leading the game Pica Firma Nada! Everyone wants a turn to call on their classmate’s quiet hands to guess the number. Students are putting out name cards for snack and lunch, shaking the rattle to announce a transition, and give instructions!

Enjoy!

Jen & Lisa

The Hollow Blocks Arrived!

The Hollow Blocks arrived right before the February break in nine enormous boxes! They were stored at 1 Lowell until the LE students were able to visit every classroom in the school to announce their arrival. We developed a packed schedule and went out on tour Monday morning to let everyone in the school understand the rules 1. The blocks stay on the platform 2. Only LE students can be on the platform and use the blocks 3. Never build higher than your chin 4. Put the blocks aways when finished. We were so proud of our Acera students who understood and accepted that the LE’rs needed a safe and fun place to play on the playground!

Cooperative Play/Work

The new block play space provides a wonderful area where the students can use their brilliant imaginations to create dramatic play! This week they were creating a community of Kings, Queens, Princesses, Princes, and knights. The “castle” evolved as the week went on and the students demonstrated great cooperation building! This morning, half the class worked together to finish the very large instrument sort that has images and names of instruments from all around the world. They almost succeeded… a class record!

The 100th Day of School

We celebrated the 100th day of school by counting out ten different tasty items to make a trail mix of 100 pieces, which we then sat around and ate, while chatting and enjoying each other’s company.