ask me about thursday, september 8, 2022

We had a great day! In my class, we have a class captain.  Instead of having lots of different jobs that are rotated each week, we have a class captain who does everything.  It changes each day.  The captain does jobs such as taking the lunch cards to the cafeteria, being the line leader, sometimes being the inspector to be sure things are picked up in the cubbies, etc.  
Your child is bringing home a book called I Promise, by LeBron James.  This book is about promises the children who go to the I Promise school in Akron, Ohio make each day.  The book has some big ideas in it, so we will revisit it from time to time.  Although I'm not a big basketball fan, I'm from Akron and LeBron is very special to my family.  LeBron grew up in The Projects in Akron.  My mother did as well.  When my mom was in high school, they got their first house on a road in Kenmore.  LeBron's first apartment he lived in with his mom was on the same road, just a LOT of years later.  Knowing this made my mom a huge fan of LeBron.  She even went and found the home he lives in when he's in Akron and is always wanting to drive me by it.  We are so proud of the commitment LeBron has made to the children in Akron.  When I saw this book in Scholastic for a dollar, I knew I had to buy it to give the kids.  They get to keep the book "for their whole life".  I hope you enjoy reading it too.  Ask me to tell you how LeBron James helps families in Akron, Ohio.  
We wrote a personal narrative today.  It really was just a baseline sample so I could see what the children are comfortable doing right now in writing.  We went through part of our writing process.  Getting an idea was easy once I explained they were to write about something they had done.  I provided the example of riding on the Ratatouille ride in a big rat at Epcot.  Once the children had a minute or so to get an idea, they turned to talk to a partner about what they were going to write.  As we went back to write, we did have a few reluctant friends who were concerned they couldn't spell.  We talked about giving it a try or just drawing a picture with their pencil.  
We worked more with our math fingers and doing some pages from our math book.  The assignments weren't that difficult for the children, but following directions and working at a faster pace was a little difficult.  They are doing a good job of finding the page to tear out, since it's the usually the first page in their book since we are tearing them out.  They are just moving very leisurely, drawing extra things on their paper instead of just showing the math.  So we are working on speeding it up, but still working carefully.  I used the five minute sand timer, but we still had some stragglers and children who did not follow directions on the back of the paper.  These are new tasks for them, so it's okay if you see they did not circle the pictures on page 14, I think, but instead were drawing lines or circling all of them.  We are still learning these new routines and ways we show our understanding.  I was hoping to open the Math Station, but they were just a little too slow to make that happen.  We'll try again tomorrow!
We are learning about feelings in Health, as well as healthy habits to prevent spreading germs.  We read the book Big Feelings, by Alexandra Penfold.  This book is about a group of children playing together who have some difficulty getting along.  The book shows and labels the different feelings the children have as they work through their problem.  It's important for children to be able to label their feelings and to also know that are feelings change throughout the day.  We can see that clearly in this beautiful book.  The illustrations are by Suzanne Kaufman and show a very diverse group of children.  I was able to show where Ms. Kaufman added herself as a child to the illustrations.  I love that she showed herself having some very big feelings and having a tantrum!
I saved the best for last.  This is the picture I shared for our morning Picture Talk.

One of our friends lost a tooth last night, so this was the perfect picture.  But what the children talked about with their partners, then with the whole group is so impressive.  The first child to share with the group said he noticed that one girl was left out and feeling sad.  We talked about how she might be feeling and what might have happened next if this was a story.  Each girl was showing a different feeling. Other children had talked about that in their group as well, and I'm happy to see they noticed.  We talked about how our class is a little family, and how we need to watch to see that we don't leave kids out.  Ask me to tell you about this picture.

My clients wanted me to share this Brain Break with you.  Move over Koo Koo Kanga Roo, we might have a new favorite!  I hope you enjoy the Sid Shuffle.

Have a nice evening!
Miss Wolfe