WHERE WE HAVE BEEN...

I love this time of year. The trees are a mix of deep summer green, dipped in the paints of a sunset. There is a noticeable chill in the air. Not the kind that demands tightly fastened bulky coats, not yet. This is just an invitation to welcome back sweaters.

This time of year there is a shift in the classroom as well. Students demonstrate a sense of belonging and shared ownership in the classroom environment and routine. You can see this in the way your child enters the classroom in the morning. Just a few weeks ago, their steps may have been tentative, uncertain. Watch them now. This is their classroom.
These past 19 days (yes, we have been together just 19 days!), we have worked together to establish the routines of our year and to develop a constitution for how we want to be with our class, school and local community. This agreement reflects the contribution of 20 individual voices with a shared responsibility and goal of a successful (defined as learning, joyful and full of friends) year.

Of course we have been getting to know each other too. While students are learning more about each other and the foundational structures of the classroom (i.e., Readers’ Workshop, Writers’ Workshop, scientific observation in the sunflower garden, Learning Centers…), I am learning more about each of them as class citizens and scholars through observation and informal and formal assessments. What a great group of kids!

BUDDY PROJECTS...

Collaborative projects between levels foster a sense of a larger learning community, allow kids to experience a greater variety of partnership roles and responsibilities and of course make more friends. It gives our kids the opportunity to begin to establish important relationships with the peers and teachers that they will work with as they move up and through their school years here.
This year we will have multiple inter-level partnerships.
Some will be for short-term projects— Next week we will begin a collaborative project with our high school photography class. The two classes will work together to create a book based on Tana Hoban’s “Look Again”. Students will be learning some basic elements of digital photography, observational skills, and basic photo editing publishing.


We will have yearlong partners in our Merlin buddies. This is a level 2 classroom led by Gretchen. This partnership is created to foster literacy skills. We do shared reading and writing activities and hope to be creating resources for a local pre school. We meet every other week. Last week the buddies worked together to create “sandwiches” that describe their interests and attitudes about reading. It was both fun and informative for buddies and teachers ☺

We will continue annual partnerships too. This will be our third year with Peace Buddies. This partnership between a level one class (Tree Swallows), a level two (Kestrels with Charlie) and a level three class (now Chris) began in the first week of school our first year. We created books with images of peace in recognition of International Day of Peace (September 21). Since then, we have gathered twice yearly around topics of peace and citizenship.
Our first project with Peace buddies is Pennies for Peace. You will be hearing more and more about this from your Tree Swallow. We have been learning about Dr. Greg Mortenson and the children of Korphe, a village in Pakistan. We have been exploring maps and comparing ways of life here and in the village Korphe. Last week we introduced the Pennies for Peace program, a worldwide fundraising program created by elementary students. This program provides the funding needed to build schools in Pakistan and Afganistan.
We will gather next week to begin planning and organizing. Over the next few weeks, the buddies will be creating and filming PSAs (public service announcements) providing information about Pennies for Peace to be shared with other classrooms. More news about this soon.

Extra! Extra! Math Groups are off and running….

No doubt you have heard the news, but the grade-level math groups are now meeting. I love that the kids are excited and look forward to this time of the day and that we get to work with Swallows from each classroom. The Cedars (2nd grade) meet in our classroom. We have a large group that is already working great together. This week we will be creating glyphs (pictorial graphs) that share some about each class member. We will complete baseline assessments and continue to practice Workplace (math centers) routines.

WHERE WE ARE HEADED.....

This week is short but sweet. We will be preparing for goal setting conferences by talking about individual strengths and needs and setting personal goals. Your Swallow will share these goals with you and I at their conference.
On Wednesday we will make our first trip as a class to the Forest Grove Public Library. We will be using this library during project work and for research soon. This trip is to practice the expectations and navigation of the library with the goal to celebrate our love of books and to bring back a “just right book” to read in the classroom and at home.
In order to check out books, your child will need to have a current library card with them. I will not be able to check books out for students. Library cards are free and you just need proof of address to get one. Many Swallows opt to leave their cards in the classroom so we have it when we go. I have a folder that I keep students cards in. Of course, we will have the opportunity to read while there, so checking a book out is optional.
This month we continue exploration of maps and culture, through partnerships, art and backyard study.