I can't believe we are already here in February! I hope you all got a good chance to look over your child's report card. Should you want to talk more about it, let me know. I'm always happy to get together and chat about their progress and how we can best support them in their day here at school.
The kids continue to do a great job working on their goals for the week in literacy. I would encourage you all to ask them what they are working on in their reading groups or what they are writing about. The topics are as varied as they are!
In read aloud we are currently reading a children's biography about Abe Lincoln which helps adds context for the kids and will lead into our reading about Harriet Tubman and other people of color to celebrate Black History Month. There is so much great literature out there to here help us and, as always, I look forward to working with Lynn Woodard (our amazing librarian) on providing some great reading for our kids.
In helping our kids get a more broad view of diversity, we read a couple of books that deal with economic diversity. The subject was about home. Carson Ellis, one of my current favorite authors, wrote a beautiful book about homes called "Home". After reading it, I realized that while her fantastical views of different kinds of homes were fun to read about, it also provides a helpful place to explore when talking about people who have no homes. Eve Bunting's book "Fly Away Home" gets to this in a beautiful way. I encourage you all to check both of these books out to open this rich and important discussion.
In Writer's Workshop we are going to be working on our hooks and for our writing pieces. They have done some great writing about convincing their readers. Good luck with your cats, dogs and vacations to Guatemala! We are also using this time to talk about what scientists do. This discussion will lead into the scientific process.
We have also had a great new start with our class house (aka The Chateau). The kids have stripped it down and we have begun the renovation. I am helping some friends build a periscope for it. I am looking forward to seeing where it all goes. I have been thinking a lot about how the house has been a metaphor for our year thus far; create, use, play, share, work through conflict, and reset.
Winter Wellness continues to be a big hit. I can say that seeing the kids improve weekly is so inspiring. Kids who couldn't stand on skates a couple of weeks ago are zooming all around! It just goes to show you how hard work and dedication can pay off, even in a relatively small amount of time.
Reminders
- If you send in Valentine's with your child (not something we make a big deal of in our room, so no worries if you don't) make sure everyone gets one. If you need a class list, let me know.
- There is also an All School meeting on the 19th, feel free to stop in and check it out. The last Winter Wellness is this coming Friday (the 16th)
As always, let me know of any questions, comments or celebrations.
Best,
Ben and Tammy
