HOW 10-28-16

Hello families!

We've had a fabulous week together. This week we began talking about another type of story we can read and write--small moments. These are stories from our real lives that tell about a small moment in life where we had a big feeling. There are lots of big feelings in life: joy, sadness, frustration, excitement, surprise, fright, anger. A small moment story can be about any of these! This week we zoomed in on our big feelings, planned out the beginning, middle, and ending parts of the story, and began to write our first drafts by stretching out each part of the story and adding details! We also read a bunch of great small moment books: Kitten's First Full Moon, The Snowy Day, Knuffle Bunny, The Paperboy, and various small moment stories written by some of my past students!

We finally got to add our last Literacy choice this week--Listen to Reading on the Computer! Last week our two student desk top computers were set up. This week we learned how we can listen to picture books, non-fiction books, or read along in chapter books using Tumblebooks. There is a link to this website always in the right-hand bar of our blog. You can use this at home, too, if you have a computer or tablet connected to the internet. Just plug in our username: rumney and our super-secret password (books). The site has a lot to offer--books your child can read along to or be read as well as videos and games to play (that we don't do during our Literacy choice).

The weather changed a lot this week from last week! Many kids at Rumney were cold at recess. Even though it's early in the season, please do help your child come to school prepared for the cold weather and snow. Please send coats, mittens/gloves, hats, boots, and snowpants. Additionally, during the long Vermont winter we like to have a pair of indoor shoes to wear in school so our floors don't get wet and muddy (making extra work for our custodial staff). If your child has an extra pair of sneakers or indoor shoes they can leave them here at school each day. Otherwise please send your child to school each day with a pair of indoor shoes they can change into while we are indoors.

Coming up next month is our school Artist in Residency, No Strings Marionettes. We'll be making puppets over 3 weeks during our Art classes on 11/7, 11/14, and 11/28. There will be an in-school performance on Thursday 12/1 (more info to come!).

Fun Fact! This is my 100th blog post! I began this blog as a way to communicate with families in my class 2 years ago. Over the years I've built it up more and added links to resources you can use at home and more information about our work here at school. This year we added our "Fox Kits Corner" which has turned into an amazing writing piece for our students as they learn to synthesize the events of the week and tell about the important learning and experiences they have at school. We learn about editing by adding to each others' ideas and how to relay the message more clearly with punctuation and font choices. I hope you are enjoying the blog and able to read it each week. It is really important to us!

Fox Kits Corner
Here's what's important to us this week:

• We were happy that costume day was today (Friday).
• We had squash as a garden snack today. Some of us liked it (or even loved it)!
• We liked our jobs.
• We got a new champ. His name is Flo Yo and we upgraded him today!!
• There is snow on the ground! Soon we can play in it at school at recess! We need snow pants, hats, boots, mittens, jackets, scarfs, and layer to keep us warm!
• We liked our writing this week because we all got to start writing our drafts for our small moment stories and added more details to make it even better. Some of us got to finish the writing part and started editing (this is when we check our writing).
• We started to think about what we know and what we wonder about sound. We are going to be learning about sound starting next week!
• It was fun having Mrs. Joslyn guess what we have for snack!
• It was fun learning about computers and having a turn during Literacy and Choice Time.
• We had games on Friday for math. In second grade we liked learning the "Math Man" computer game--everyone in Mrs. Fox's 2nd grade math class got a turn.
• We liked all doing Fox Kit Corner this week (which is right now)!

Dates to Remember
Next week it's our turn again for Lunch Bunch!
Monday October 31 - Low Key Halloween Party 2:50-3:25 - wear orange and black to school today if you want to!
Wednesday November 9 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (After School)
Thursday November 10 - 4 Winds 1:30-2:40
Friday November 11 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School for Kids)
**Sign up for conferences on-line, http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference/

Highlights 10/21/16

This week students were excited to finish the writing and editing processes for their "All About Me ABC" books. On Friday we shared our writing with our third/fourth grade buddies.

We continued our year-long science investigation about the sun and daylight. We collected data about two fall days this week. We were amazed by how much later the sun is coming up and how much soon it's setting than just a month ago during the summer season!

During our read aloud time we continue to read short stories from Rhinos and Raspberries and talk about social lessons we can learn from these folk tales. On Friday our nurse, Ms. Israel, also came in to share a book about diabetes, Taking Diabetes to School by Kim Gosselin. We learned a lot about how someone who has diabetes is very much the same as everyone else but has to do some different things to stay healthy.

Thanks to everyone who has already sent in cardboard tubes for our upcoming science unit. We are still in need of: small shoe-box size boxes, tin foil, waxed paper cups (small), plastic cups (medium and large). Please send some in if you have any!

Fox Kits Corner
Here's what's important to us this week:

• We finished our ABC books and read them to our buddies today. They really liked them!
• We liked going outside for recess every day and having fun with our friends.
• Every day we had a great day and we want to keep doing it!!!!
• We have important jobs in our classroom that we all need and love to do!
• In writer's workshop we did some more sentence fill-ins where we got to do fun and creative writing.
• We got to do a graph about daylight and dark hours on this Friday.
• We had a garden snack today. It was garlic bread and most people thought it was awesome!
• We got to learn about what an omnipod is. Ask me about it at home!
• We are excited about the "Hotel Transylvania" movie tonight (Friday) here in the Library at 6:30 (but you can come at 6:00 to get a good seat and popcorn). Wear a costume if you want to!
• We like being in this classroom because we get to learn fun stuff and it's fun!
• We are glad to write this Fox Kits Corner!
• We liked getting some math to do at home.

Dates to Remember
Friday October 28 - Halloween Dress Rehearsal. (Students may wear one part of their costumes to school but no masks, things covering faces, make-up, or scary/gross things) 
Monday October 31 - Low Key Halloween Party 2:50-3:25 - wear orange and black!
Wednesday November 9 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (After School)
Friday November 11 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School for Kids)
**Sign up for conferences on-line, http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference/

Highlights of the Week from 10-14-16

Hello friends and families,

This week we did many exciting things in our classroom. We've begun reading short stories together from a collection called Rhinos and Raspberries: Tolerance Tales for the Early Grades. These are folk tales from around the world that teach us more about acceptance and tolerance. We use these lessons in our everyday life when we relate to other people and friends. It also ties in well with our social studies unit about our personal histories and what makes us the same and what makes us different. We played a fun game, "Just Like ME!," that demonstrated this too. 

Leslie Johnson (a teacher of the deaf working here at Rumney) also came in again this week to read us a book about hearing loss and how we can more successfully talk to someone who has hearing aids or cochlear implants. She read The Elephant in the Room by Jim Bombicino. If you'd like more information about this, feel free to contact me or Leslie!

Our ABC All About Me books are nearing completion! We've been sharing a page or word a day with different friends but we can't wait to be able to read each others' books and learn more about each other!

On Thursday we scrubbed and chopped the potatoes we harvested last month with crinkle knives. Soon our cooks Deb and Sabrina will roast them into an all school garden snack! We also had our first 4 Winds with Karen. We learned about insects, their bodies, and two types of metamorphosis: simple and complete! We looked at insects Karen collected outside using our digital microscope!

Figuring out what pieces they need to finish the bumblebee metamorphosis cycle.

This group found all the pieces to the lady beetle metamorphosis cycle.

Some insects have wings.

This aphid had laid some eggs.

First and second grade mathematicians continue to work steadily on their strategies to add and/or subtract. They are practicing ways to use a number line (written or visual in their head). They are gaining more skills in how to explain their thinking or how to use varied strategies to figure something out or prove it.

In a couple of weeks we'll be beginning a new science unit. Here are some household items we'll need: cardboard tubes (from paper towels or toilet paper), small shoe-box size boxes, tin foil, waxed paper cups (small), plastic cups (medium and large). Please send some in if you have any!

Fox Kits Corner
Here's what's important to us this week:

• We liked our classroom jobs.
• We liked writing our ABC books in Writer's Workshop. Some people got to finish or get close to finishing!
• We liked cutting the potatoes for the school snack.
• We got to read books with our buddies today.
• We finished McPufferson and got a new champ. Our new champ is Penny Gee!
• We loved having lunch bunch this week!
• We got to see bugs laying eggs in 4 Winds. We saw bugs up close with a digital microscope that connected to the SMARTBoard.
• We liked using the parachute in P.E.
• We had a dance party in music!!!!

Dates to Remember:
Thursday October 20 - All School Meeting 9:15-10:00
Friday October 28 - Halloween Dress Rehearsal. (Students may wear one part of their costumes to school but no masks, things covering faces, make-up, or scary/gross things) 
Monday October 31 - Low Key Halloween Party 2:50-3:25 - wear orange and black!

Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 14, 2016

Dear Families,


It’s time to check in about your child’s progress. Friday November 11th there is no school for students. Parent/Teacher conferences will be held during the day at Rumney. Conferences run for 20 minutes. Please be on time because conferences are scheduled back-to-back. 

Please sign up for a 20 minute conference slot so we can review your child's progress and work in school together. (If we already have a meeting scheduled to review your child’s progress in late October or early November please consider that your conference time. Do not sign up for an additional meeting time.)

Wednesday 11/9 conference times with me are between 3:20 pm and 5:30 pm.
Friday 11/11 conference times with me are between 8:00 am and 12:20 pm.

Please sign up for one conference time at this link:  http://grades.wcsuonline.org/rumney/conference/

Click on “Mrs. Fox” to check out which times are still available.

Any questions, please contact me directly!

You say potato, I say potato...

Hello everyone,
We had a fantastic morning prepping our garden potatoes for the all school garden snack tomorrow. Here are some pictures of our hardworking kids! We can't wait til snack tomorrow!!

Highlights of the Week

Hello families!

This 4-day school week has been lovely. Students were excited to begin a new writing project: All About Me ABC books! It can be hard to think of something about yourself for every letter of the alphabet--but these creative kids are doing an amazing job! We also began our first social studies unit about how people are the same and different and exploring our personal histories. We read a book, To Be a Kid by Maya Ajmera and John D. Ivanko, that showed how kids all over the world have things in common even if they don't do things in exactly the same ways.

Our Literacy Block is running very smoothly. Each morning children get to choose how they want to practice their literacy skills that day--read to self, partner reading, word work, free writing, or listen to reading (audio picture books). Meanwhile I'm able to meet with 3 groups of readers each day to practice reading strategies, learn sight words, teach about different spelling patterns they will see in their reading, and practice using comprehension strategies while we read. Students also made mini-strategy sheets to bring home for reference during daily 20 minute reading homework. This reading homework is a school-wide expectation. During this 20 minutes a night your child can read to you, you can read to your child and discuss a higher level text than they can read on their own, or you can take turns reading a book together. Practicing sight words in the booklets I sent home is also great practice during this time. Children who practice their reading skills at home, as well as at school, benefit greatly from this experience.

Second grade mathematicians have been working with groups of ten and noticing patterns about how groups of ten correlate to the whole number (i.e. 5 tens is 50, 13 tens is 130). We'll continue building on this concept as we are building our solid foundational knowledge of place value. We also have been using more visualization techniques to picture the missing part of an equation using our fact family knowledge. We've been working on this to help improve our fluency in subtracting in the N-1 family and Take Apart 10 family. First grade mathematicians have been using cuisenaire rods and number lines to show what they know about adding 1 to a number.

We do have quite a few coughing kiddos in our room. I've been reminding everyone to wash their hands thoroughly and often. I hope this long weekend will give you all plenty of time to rest, heal, and enjoy the sunshine too!

Dates to Remember
Friday October 7 - Teacher In-service - No School for Kids
Monday October 10 - Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL
Thursday October 13 - 4 Winds 1:30-2:40 pm