Small Moments

We have been working hard on writing personal narratives, "small moments", this month.  We worked on stretching out our ideas across several pages, planning our thoughts by saying our stories aloud before writing them, and zooming in our stories with a strong focus.  We will end our work this week by discussing how to write an effective ending.

Veteran's Day and 11-11-11

We had a fun themed day today with our celebration of 11-11-11 and Veteran's Day.  Highlights include walking in the parade and seeing REAL veterans (the kids were so excited), and lots of activities around the number 11.  We read 11 books, wrote 11 digraphs in shaving cream (messy but fun), did 11 jumping jacks, wrote number sentences for 11, and made collections of 11 things found in the classroom.
It was a really great way to end the week!

Nature Adventure

We had an AMAZING day outside.  We ventured to Hubbard Park again and enjoyed a cold, but beautiful morning hiking through tall grasses, woods, and fields.  We listened as our naturalist, Amy, use bird calls to invite a wood thrush, and at least 12 chickadees to the trees within feet of where we were.  We enjoyed our snacks with tea brewed over a fire using a Kelly Kettle.  After some fun games, we finished our day by gathering sticks to make a tri-pod sculpture.  When we returned to school, the students wrote in their science journals and I’ve never seen them so engaged in expressing what they saw, and still wonder about our experience outside.  It was magical.