Newsletter: Week Two

Dear Families,

This past week or so has been a bit of a whirlwind for me. At home we worked sun-up to sun-down to get moved into our new house, unpacking every single box, in just four days. That feels like it should be some sort of record. By the end of the weekend we were about ready to collapse. In addition to unpacking we also prepped the lawn. Fearing the soil around the house would slide away at the slightest hint of rain I found a nearby farmer who would deliver a 1,000 pound bale of hay to us for just $30. Talk about a bargain! Everyone pitched in as we hurriedly spread some grass seed and covered it all with the hay. Just as we finished the clouds parted and the sun popped back out.

There’s been a lot of hard work happening in the classroom as well. A favorite part of everyone’s day is Explorations. As the kids come in each morning they unpack, browse for a book or two they plan to read later in the day, and then select from a menu of items they’d like to explore. We created this list together after the first few days of school. Early on the kids were happy to make construction paper creations or throw some ingredients into a cup and call it a “science experiment.” However, over the past week they’ve learned to make better choices that allow them to explore studies and activities that both support the work we do in the classroom and ignite their curiosity and passion for learning.

Many of the kids enjoy a game of chess. In fact, a group of boys decided to put together a small tournament – creating sign-up sheets and distributing them around the room. Others have enjoyed the dinosaur “bones” puzzles in the science cabinet. There are three different types of dinosaurs to construct and they are really quite large when put together. Each day there is also someone in the room working to prepare a written history of our previous day together. This is read at the beginning of our Morning Meeting and then added to our Class History book.

Of course reading is often a popular choice during Explorations. If you walk into the room around 8:15 you’re bound to find a variety of readers spread across the room enjoying a good book. I probably spend about thirty minutes each day reading aloud to the kids and they read another twenty to twenty-five minutes independently. Seeing that the kids feel they need even more time to settle in with a great read is wonderful.
There are other things going on as well. Each Wednesday I bring in some materials to set up a science experiment for those who are interested in this type of work. I also sometimes pull out my guitar to sing a song or, better yet, think about new songs we might write together. This happens while other groups of kids are off playing a game of Othello, writing a card for someone, or getting a closer look at a dead fly in the microscope. So many choices!

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In math this week we studied strategies that help solve a variety of addition problems. We began by looking at the doubles (such as 2+2, 3+3, etc). We saw a pattern in the sums (they are always even and count up by 2s) and sang a jazzy little song that helps us to remember these answers. Later we learned how easy it is to add 10 to a single-digit number and then used this to help us solve problems that add 9 to a single-digit number (You just add 10 and then subtract 1). To practice these problems we rolled two dice (one standard die and another with only 9s and 10s) and recorded which sums came up most often.

We’ll continue these explorations into addition in the coming week or two. As we do this we put these problems into a context that helps the kids to make sense of them. To help accomplish this we’ll often begin our math workshop with a problem to be solved individually, in a partnership, or with a small group. One of the more enjoyable problems this week read “There is a barn with four cows, three chickens, two sheep, and one farmer. How many legs are in the barn?” It was interesting to see how some of the kids drew a picture, some made tally marks, and others wrote number sentences to help them find the answer. Sharing these diverse strategies out with the class helps us all to see and play with numbers in new ways.


Notes of Interest:
• Homework for next week will be announced and added to the class blog on
Monday.
• This week’s assignments (math game, reading log, and interview about change
within the community) are all due on Monday morning. Please help your
children remember to bring these in on Monday.
• Our PE day in on Thursdays. Please make sure the kids wear tennis shoes!
• Many of the kids enjoy eating a small snack in the afternoon as they read
silently. I think this is a great idea. However, please make sure the snacks
they bring in reflect healthy choices. Cookies, chips, and juice are not
allowed in the classroom. I’ve been asking the kids who have these items to
put them back into their backpacks so that they can enjoy them at home.

Have a great weekend,
Chris