Thank You!

Thank you to the Hiller and Principato family for donating $25 gift card to purchase books for our Nook! Luke and Xander picked out some wonderful choices. PS - They wanted to do silly faces.

More Glogs

I'm trying to find fun ways for the kids to share what they've learned from the books we're reading in small groups. I taught another group how to create a Glog. We read a book called Wild Nature. We learned a little about tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. The girls picked one of the disasters and did MORE research before creating their Glogs. Enjoy!!

Baylee and Maraina

Mary Sullivan 

Mary Sullivan didn't get a chance to present on Friday, but is very excited to show the class first thing Monday morning! She worked so very hard!!

A Play!

In one of my small reading groups, we talked about the importance of being fluent readers and adding expression in our voices. In order to be a fluent reader, we want SMOOTH reading and sometimes we have to practice, practice, practice! And let me tell you... this group sure did practice hard these last three weeks!

They practiced their parts, made some props, and put their own spin on things. They did a wonderful job and it's so obvious how proud they are of their accomplishment. They performed for the class and this was the video I made of them. I tried sending it to their parents, but the file is too large to attach in an email! I hope you get a chance to see this.

Way to go Luke, Alex, Aaron, Xander, and Kellyanne!

A Sweet Surprise!

Today Angus's mom surprised us with Cookies N Cream cupcakes -- a SWEET Friday treat! I wish I had thought to take my camera to lunch. The cupcakes were quickly devoured. I did manage to sneak some home though (after much questioning from one of my friends who tried to convince me that I should give the rest to HIM to take home).

Yummy!! They had an Orea cookie at the bottom.

Thank you Mrs. Fisher! We absolutely LOVED the cupcakes!

Awesome Parents

I could not ask for a better group of students OR parents. You guys are always so willing to help in anyway possible. This was a big week for us...  we had a Color Nook donated to our classroom from Mary Sullivan's Family! The kids were thrilled with this new addition to our classroom.

The kids wanted to send a special message.... (took us awhile to get in the right order, HAH!)

 They wanted to do a goofy picture too. I love these kids!!

Bailey D. got to pick out the first book for our Nook. She picked Violet's Halloween.

We would love to build our e-book library! A Barnes and Noble gift card would be wonderful. Your child will have the opportunity to select the books we purchase!

I do want to say thank you to ALL of my parents. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate everything you do from cutting out lamination, sending in items to use in class, and just supporting your child everyday. You guys definitely deserve a HUGE pat on the back (and maybe a few hugs too!!)

C'mon! Please Mom and Dad?

Last week, we read 2 stories, The Perfect Pet and I Wanna Iguana. In each story, the child tried to convince their parent to let them get a particular pet. Well, we wanted to try our persuading skills. First, each child picked one thing they really wanted. We brainstormed in our journals reasons why we thought we needed or deserved this particular thing. Then, we wrote a letter to our parents, really working hard to persaude them! And let me tell ya -- your kids had some very convincing arguments! Last, we sent our letters home, keeping our fingers crossed. Parents had a chance to respond back to their child. We shared them as they came in and they turned out so cute. Thank you to all the parents who responded back! You should have seen your kids' excitement as we read these aloud. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post these!

And... of course I had to write one too!

Maps! Maps! Maps!

Earlier this week, we discussed the difference between a globe and a map. A globe is round and shows mostly land and water. A map is flat and can show more detail. On Thursday, we discussed the difference features of a map like a title, a map key, a map scale, and a compass rose. The kids then had a chance to design their own maps! They had to fill in the Map Key and then decide where (and how many of each) to put on their maps. They turned out very cute and colorful! They are currently hanging up in our classroom, but here's a sneak peek of a few!