Too chatty!!

Happy Monday! We are trying to get into a routine but today, we were sooo talkative that we were about an hour+ behind this morning--we didn't even have time to get into Reader's Workshop! Anyway, hopefully, tomorrow will be better. 4th grade is tough and probably a little quicker paced than previous years.
We read, The Dot, and discussed our hopes, dreams and passions during our morning meeting. Then, we created a list of 12 high frequency words to focus on this week. In Writer's Workshop, we discussed and wrote sentences. What does a Kindergarten sentence look like? First grade? Second? Third? Fourth? What are the similarities? Differences? We did begin our read aloud, Wonder, by RJ Palacio--one of my ALL TIME favorite books!! Today, we were introduced to August (Auggie) and learned a little about his "facial anomalies" that have kept him from going to public school. In Art, we finally earned a painting! (Mrs. Bowers said we were too talkative last week for one...hmmm...) After lunch and recess, we had our first Number Talk to begin Math Workshop. Then, we worked on our own or with a partner to solve mathematical problems. This was more of a lesson on setting up a successful math workshop so we discussed and charted what makes math workshop successful and roles as student and teacher. We finished up our math workshop today with independent math. Our day concluded with writing our mission and working on communication skills with partners.

PS-Sorry this is so late! I barely stayed afloat today-felt like I was drowning!

TGIF!

Well, we made it through our first week! Woohoo! Today, we began our morning meeting with a game where students were Disney characters but they didn't know which character they were as it was taped to their back. They had to ask their peers yes or no questions to figure it out. Fun! Then, we took a high frequency word spelling test so I could just get a sample of their spelling abilities. We answered the prompt, "What is your favorite part of school? Why?" so that I could also have a small writing sample to look over. The second part of our Writer's Workshop was to make a padlet entry about their week using the iPads. We will do this every week so that you can take a look into their thoughts about the week as well as allowing them to become more familiar with the technology we use. You can access this week's padlet at padlet.com/heather_lambrig/Friday8_28 . After completing their entry, they read independently. (We are still working on the reading silently part.) We had our first whole school community meeting today too. We were introduced to the entire staff and learned about our new "buddy bench" as well as just had some time to be a community. After gym, lunch and recess, we had some independent math time and finished our Me, By the Numbers posters. Then, we took a survey about our feelings about Math and watched a video about having a growth mindset with math. ALL students can learn and ALL students can learn Math! We completed an activity called Four 4's to show this possibility. Finally, our day ended with completing our All About Me booklets.

Almost finished...

We have almost made it through our first week of school! Today was a great day-still a little chaotic and really noisy but a little more controlled chaos. We began our day talking about teamwork. We read, Chopsticks and then did a fun race with spaghetti. This took a lot of teamwork! We signed our Teamwork Contracts (A LOT of them need to learn their signatures!) and then read, The Sandwich Swap and found our O'clock partners. We discussed that O'clock partners were a good compromise between them picking partners and my wanting them to work with other people. :) Next, we brainstormed what Reading Is.... Then, we showed what reading looks like while picking just right books and reading independently for a little bit. Finally, it was time for Music, Lunch and Recess. But first, I read, Manners in the Lunchroom to remind them about cafeteria behaviors. Math was the focus of the first part of our afternoon by looking at what Math Is... Then, we compared and decided that math is very similar to reading. Students then picked a math tool and shared its uses with us. Finally, to finish up math, we completed a poster of Me, By the Numbers. What numbers did your kiddo use to describe themselves? Our day ended with setting up new passwords on the laptops and practicing using Google Apps and logging in. We will be using Google Apps and technology a lot this year and quite a bit independently so the more comfortable they are, the better. We cleaned up earlier than usual but then did it quicker than usual so we had a little extra time to answer some questions about our day--What did you do in special today? Pick a classmate and give him/her a compliment. Finally, I read, Going Places to them.

Day 2 complete!

Another crazy, chaotic day but as we get into our routines, things will slow down, I hope! For morning work, students took a quiz to see how well they knew me--i.e. What's my favorite color? What's my favorite candy? Then, in our morning meeting, we went over our quiz. How well does your kiddo know me? I read, The Day the Crayons Quit and then we transitioned into a game. I gave each "group" two dice and told them to play. There was a lot of confusion and frustration getting started because I didn't give them any RULES to the game. This "game" led to our discussion of why rules help us and then we discussed our one and only class rule--Every student shall be safe and able to learn. We brainstormed what this looks like and took pictures of a few as reminders. Next, we decided to look at ourselves as learners and figure out how we learn best as well as some things we do that may bug others. Then, we wrote down characteristics of A Great Classmate. (I think I read, The Most Magnificent Thing around this time. I read so much that I forget the order!) We had art as special and enjoyed a lovely lunch and recess. After lunch, Charlie shared some things he received yesterday while visiting the WWII Memorial. We read the book, Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle and then each person got a bandaid. This led to a discussion about Fairness. Ask your kiddo about this to see if they understood the message. Next, we worked on our All About Me booklet. Finally, we completed a teamwork cup challenge. (This is probably what they'll tell you most about. It was fun, exciting and a little competitive.)

First Day of School!

Today was crazy and chaotic but wonderful! This morning, we used words and pictures to decorate sunglasses to show what we did this summer and used this to share a little about ourselves. Then, we read, Black Dog, which taught us not to be scared and that things are always bigger than they seem. Next, we went on a classroom hunt and used a map of our room to find our way around. We went over this later and a couple of them asked if I could stop talking so they could do some work. :) We had gym and a crazy lunch where the registers and technology weren't working and then recess. After becoming more familiar with the room setup and where things were, we conquered the supplies...duh-duh-duh! Again, chaos. However, they are enjoying having their own things. Each student has a canvas-y bag that I gave them to keep their stuff in (like the reusable bags you can get at stores now). Finally, after reading The OK Book, Lily the Unicorn and Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon, we began working on our All About Me booklet. They might want to bring in pictures to use tomorrow.
Hopefully, you'll get more than a shoulder shrug today when you ask them about their day.

Welcome Families!

Hey there! Welcome to my daily blog. Have you ever wondered about your child's school day but all you get is, "Fine," or a shoulder shrug when you ask them how school was? Well, here you will find an outline of our day. Use this to get an inside look into your kiddo's day at school. I will tell you the nuts and bolts of what we do each day and give you some good questions to ask your child to promote a conversation. One thing I've learned from my own children is that if I ask specific questions, I can get so much more information. Plus, this will help us to bridge the home-school gap and make this 4th grade year a true partnership in your child's education.