Letters we know

Here is a photo of the letters that have been introduced so far.

Students are working to master the name, key word and sounds of these letters. Today I also introduced the first 'trick' word (otherwise known as a sight word). It's the!

Practicing these lettersand new word at home would be great!

What's 'hop-pening' in our room?

The bugs have gone away and some frogs are out! Math workplaces continue to be a highlight of our day since students self-select their choices. The work stations change frequently enough that there's something new at just the right time! Here are some photos of kids with the frogs. How did they sort the frogs? By color, spots, type??

Pattern blocks are still a popular choice. Here are some if today's creations:

Made by Venah

Made by Miles

Made by Wren

Writing partners

We've been taking a close look at what published writers do in their writing. Today we talked about the fact that writers often have helpers to make their writing better. 

I read a book I am working on writing and the class asked me questions about my work to help me make it better ( such as: who is the person in your picture? Why does she get mad?)

Then students sat with their writing partners and read each other their stories. They took turn asking questions to make their partners' writing better. It was great!

The Little Red Hen

Today we read the first Little Red Hen book. We acted out the story and had a lot of fun!

Math today

In math today, a new math work place was introduced. In this work place , students create patterns with unification cubes and then record them.

We also introduced ten frame cards with bugs on them. We ordered them from least to greatest, then matched the ten grid card to the numeral that showed that amount.

Wrapping up

To wrap up our Lio Lionni author study, I put all the books that we read out on the counter. The kids were amazed with how many books we had read and how many he wrote!

Then we reflected on everything we've learned about Lio Lionni by reading his books.

This has been such a rich author study with great conversations about vocabulary, illustrations, story elements, author's craft and so much more! Next we are moving on to reading many versions of The Little Red Hen and taking part in a bunch of activities with this story. 

Sharing Days

We are ready to start sharing! Each morning during Morning Meeting, 2 or 3 children will have a chance to share. This is a wonderful opportunity for the class to learn more about each child. The sharing rule is no toys. They can tell about an experience, bring in something or a picture. Some ideas of great sharing items are: a sunflower from a child's garden, a feather found outside, a special picture of a family member, a sea shell from a trip, a map, etc.
If your child is really stuck on bringing in a toy, maybe they could bring in a photo of it.
If your child does not want to share, it's okay! I'll encourage them to share as the year goes on, but we can ease into it.
Here are the sharing days;

Monday- Sadie and Q
Tuesday- Johnny and Robin
Wednesday- Wren, Jesse and Cora
Thursday- Miles and Marley
Friday- Arie and Venah