Newsletter: Thursday, April 26

Dear Families,

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out last week for Curriculum Night. I know Mrs. Simpson was very proud of the poems the kids shared out with you. These opportunities to share out are so important because they provide the kids a larger audience for their work.

I was also thankful for the opportunity to share our News and Journals with you. It is a very important structure that's part of our daily routine. I hope you noticed:

* The variety of topics discussed
* The opportunity to explore issues and items of interest with a bit more depth
* The attentiveness and respect the kids gave their peers
* The probing questions the kids asked of one another
* The kids' ability to speak out to a crowd

Speaking of news, I recently shared an article that talked about how information from the most recent census shows that women make 79 cents for every dollar men make - even when other factors are the same or similar. I asked why this might be. One of the girls responded "Maybe some people think girls can't do as good of a job." We talked about how ridiculous this idea is but then realized that some people may actually believe it. Many of the bosses we remembered seeing in different places tended to be men, not women. This felt very wrong. We'll be on the look out for ways women might be portrayed in unfair ways - in books, movies, shows, commercials, history books, etc. If you see anything please pass it along. If this is in fact a problem it would provide a nice opportunity to take on a class letter writing campaign.

This week we've been continuing our work with multiplication. The kids have played a new game (I hope you had a chance to play at home with them) and then worked to solve a variety of real world problems. Everyone in class will work today and tomorrow to create similar problems of their own. My goal is for them to begin noticing the types of problems that require multiplication, creating a number model or illustration to solve, and finding a reasonable answer. At this point our emphasis is on constructing an understanding of what multiplication is (repeated addition, equal groups). We'll continue this work next year as well as begin memorizing all those lovely multiplication facts!

In reading we are finishing up the short novel More Perfect Than the Moon. This is the fourth book in the Sarah, Plain and Tall series. There is one more book in the series that we will read together in the last few weeks of school. Sharing this series together has been a really nice experience. The kids love following along in their books as I read aloud. They also love turning to talk to their neighbors about something that has just happened in the story. All our work in these books is geared toward enjoying a good story and working to make sense of the text. This means making predictions and connections, asking questions, solving unknown words, imagining the story in our heads, and so much more. If you've not heard about the book be sure to ask at home.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE ARE SINGING AT THE SPARKLEBERRY FAIR ON SATURDAY. BE AT STAGE #1 AROUND 10:45. I'LL SEND OUT MAPS TODAY OR TOMORROW.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we were working to take better responsibility for our personal belongings as well as the classroom supplies. In that newsletter I asked for the kinds of chores and other responsibilities your child has at home. I'm going to end this newsletter with the feedback I received. It's fun to share different strategies and stories with one another from time to time. Also, I really appreciate that you've provided me with good counterarguments at home when my kids say "But John NEVER has to make his bed in the morning!"

Some tasks are eagerly completed:  yardwork, washing dishes and folding laundry

Others are forgotten and/or frequently left and stepped over- towel post bath and books or LEGOs left in the living room at bedtime.  There has been improvement on the latter since a family meeting a month ago.  We are seeking a compromise about where LEGOs/dolls and in progress creations belong in their rooms at the end of the day.

Keep his room picked up and neat, make his bed each morning, put his dirty clothes in the laundry, hang up his towel and keep the bathroom picked up, give the dog a bath every other week, push in his chair and take dishes to the sink after each meal, turn his shirts right-side out after taking them off. He gets a weekly allowance of $5.00, but we deduct 25 cents whenever we have to remind him to do one of these.

  Make her bed, clean her ENTIRE room, clear all dishes from table, load dishwasher, sort the laundry, unload dryer, fold & put away clothes, sweep floors.

Feeding and giving fresh water to cats and dog twice daily, scooping cat litter each afternoon, cleaning dining room table, coffee table, picking up living room and dining room for extraneous clutter, cleans her bathroom [shares this duty], folds and puts away her own laundry, other chores as assigned, also gets up with alarm clock. Despite the list above, her bedroom at any given time may look like a tornado hit it.

He is responsible to make his own bed, brushing his teeth; clear the toys in his bedroom and cleaning after himself after eating. Throughout the week, each day he has different chores, and they include: setting the table and cleaning the table; vacuuming the house; sweeping the floor; taking out the trash; loading the dish washer. I do their laundry every Saturday: both he and his brother help each other to fold their laundry but especially putting their socks, under pants and under shirts in the right drawers. Sometimes he helps me with cooking- stirring or kneading a dough or putting topping on a pizza etc.

Take his plate and cup to the sink after eating (he is good with this); Put his dirty clothes in the laundry room (struggles with this one); Feed our dogs (I remind him); Clean up any messes he makes.

Let’s start with always must do:  Put clothes in hamper, hang towel on rack, clean sink after brushing teeth, take shoes off and put them by the back door when he comes into the house, put book bag by back door, flush the toilet(yes that has been a problem.  Mostly resolved as I charge for my services if I flush it for him).Clear plate from table, put up toys in the evening, care for electronics with extra attention, put homework back in folder and then back in back pack,  and answer the phone politely…Does with less frequency:  vacuum the floors, make bed, put mail in the mailbox, get the newspaper, put books away(this is big because Trent has books everywhere!  He reads in just about every room of the house.) write thank you notes, make himself a sandwich…Does when asked:  takes garbage/recycling out to bin, picks up pinecones, wash dishes, change sheets on his bed with help, sorts toys for goodwill

He is responsible for picking up things from the floor before his brother vacuums. They sometimes switch roles but they have to agree before this can be done. They are responsible for cleaning their own room. If it gets out of hand they will ask for help and sometimes we are willing to help, sometimes not. They know it's not our responsibility.  He has to get his clothes ready for school and bed each day and make sure his book bag is packed and in its designated area. His own personal schedule is posted on the refrigerator so he can keep track of what he should be doing just in case he gets amnesia.

He is responsible for emptying the smaller trashcans into the main kitchen trashcan. He is also responsible for making his bed too. He is starting to sweep the kitchen floor but that is more sporadic than routinely. I too struggle with the towels. I am very interested in seeing what other families are doing.

Have a great weekend!
Chris

Newsletter: April 14th

Here are some highlights and key information from our past few days together...

Trent's dad, Mr. Seaman, visited our classroom on Thursday to share the ways scientists and mathematicians use data to solve problems. He began with simple questions like "What is your favorite fruit" and then moved to more complex issues such as the correlation between amount of schooling and unemployment rate/salary. We also learned there is a relationship between the amount of television children view in one day and how well they achieve in school. Mr. Seaman provided us an opportunity to read a whole variety of graphs. The kids thought it was pretty funny to find out that if you were a turkey you'd want to live in South Africa. Why? Because according to the data their citizens only eat about a pound of turkey each year (as opposed to about 17 pounds per year in the U.S.)

We also spent time this week building toward a conceptual understanding of multiplication. This began with a fun game...Circles and Stars. The kids brought this game home to play against a parent or sibling and I hope you all enjoyed the opportunity to play along. This game helped us to think about repeated addition such as 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 is 12. We transitioned to writing this as "4 groups of 3 = 12". Next week we'll begin using the standard 3 x 4 = 12. There are lots of fun multiplication games to choose from. We'll share one with you next Thursday at Curriculum Night.

In reading we've been enjoying some rich picture books. As I've read the books aloud the kids have created sketches that illustrate their understanding of the book. Their illustrations are then used to fuel discussions with a partner as well as the whole group. We often think in words (with internal conversation, oral discussion, and writing) but this provides an opportunity to both develop and sort out our thinking using a different sign system - art. At the heart of this work is the task of thinking more deeply about the texts we read. I've noticed that many of our readers in class are becoming quite comfortable solving words and reading with a comfortable rhythm. However, I notice a good number of them are still struggling to engage with the text deeply enough to really grab a sense of the characters and plot. This is developmental. Our work over the remainder of the year, as well as next year, will be to read for greater understanding.

Here are a few random notes of interest...


* Next week is my final week of coursework at USC. I will drive home on Wednesday evening, drop into a chair, and let out the biggest sigh of relief ever known to man. While I love my classes they do make it hard at times to breathe because I'm also working hard to be the best teacher, coach, dad, and husband I can be. That said, I apologize if there has been a week or two over the past couple of months when I missed a newsletter or took a bit longer to respond to an e-mail.

* Next week is Mrs. Simpson's final full week with us. Her last day will be a week from Monday and then she will move on to graduation, applications, interviews, and hopefully a job! She has worked really hard this past semester and truly enjoyed her time with the kids. Be sure to thank her at Curriculum Night.

* Hopefully you saw my e-mail yesterday about our Sparkleberry Fair performance this month. We'll be on stage singing our original songs at 10:55am on Saturday, April 28th. Please be there about 15 minutes early. I'm not sure what stage number we'll be on just yet. They usually tell me just a few days before the event. I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

* I really liked the idea of the nightly sheets explaining what work needs to be done. I think they helped the kids keep track of their responsibilities. Just after we started this new sheet Mrs. Simpson took over and I stepped out of the classroom for two weeks. I didn't ask Mrs. Simpson to continue this new routine during her two-weeks of full time teaching because she had so much to keep track of already. However, we will return to the sheet next week so be sure to look for it each night.

And finally, a classroom concern...

The kids and I have talked a lot this past week about responsibility. While they are extremely responsible for their behavior and their work in the classroom many of them continue to struggle to clean up after themselves. While this creates for a messy room it also leads to broken and lost materials. Jackets are left lying on the floor, papers get randomly stuffed into backpacks, decks of cards get thrown into cabinets without a case, chairs are left in the middle of the floor, trash litters the carpet, classroom library books are destroyed or lost, pencils are scattered about everywhere, math journals cannot be found in cubbies, etc.

We are going to really work very hard over these next few weeks to address this. Please discuss this at home and take a moment to think about the responsibilities your child has at home. Do you pick up his or her towel and dirty clothes from the bathroom floor each day? Do you clear everyone's dishes after breakfast or dinner? If the answer is yes you might want to think about ways of helping your child begin to take responsibility for these types of tasks. Second and third grade is a great time for children to begin learning to vacuum floors, straighten toys, put away dishes, take out trash, and even clean the bathroom. I know this comes more easily for some children than others (there is evidence of this at my house each and every night as we remind the same three kids to hang their bath towel on the rack).

If you don't mind sharing, e-mail me a few of the weekly responsibilities your child has around the house and I'll compile these and include them in a future newsletter. All responses will be anonymous but we'll all have an opportunity to see what kinds of things other families are doing at home. This will make for some really great data!

Homework: April 10 - 13

1. Play two games of "Circles and Stars" against someone at home and bring your game sheet back to school by Friday.

2. There will be a class journal assignment on both Wednesday (science journal) and Thursday (math journal) night. Each are due back the next day.