Highlights 2-17-17

Dear Families,

Another week has flown by. The snow we got this week has made the playground much more fun! Thanks for helping your child come prepared each day with all the outerwear they need to have fun in the snow at recess. We try our best to get all the gear home at the end of the day. If it doesn't come home it may end up in the over-flowing lost and found in the lobby. If you are missing anything and are at school please check there! Kids are also free to check lost and found for any missing items--just let us know wha to look for!

This week many students finished writing their opinion pieces about "How to Make the World a Better Place." These are hanging up on the boards outside our room. I also sent home the finished "I Wish I Had 100..." opinion pieces that we wrote to celebrate the 100th day of school earlier this month. With these pieces are: the student "check sheets" to help them edit their work for all the parts of opinion writing that are expected for a first or second grader (it is quite different); the graphic organizer that helped to plan out their ideas; and the teacher rubric we use that has a sliding scale so you can see the writing skills your child demonstrated in this piece and where it falls on the continuum of writing progression (below, at, and above grade level). If you have any questions about these please let me know!

This week we did more work about how to solve small problems by talking about how it makes you feel. Students had written down small problems that they thought could be solved by using an "I-Statement." Using these ideas we practiced a few together. Then pairs acted out the problem and solution for the class. The problems our kids had brainstormed ranged from "someone is talking when it's my turn" to "when someone isn't watching where they are going and bumps into you" to "I just want to play with my friend but he keeps running away from me." Being able to practice solving small problems like this in a safe, controlled classroom setting is a great way for kids to gain the skills and be able to transfer them to more independent use. They are making wonderful progress with this!

We also did some more work talking about feelings (sad, frustrated, energized, excited, etc) and identifying when we have those feelings. This can be a difficult thing to do (for kids and adults) but it is crucial for self-regulation. Knowing yourself and how you are feeling helps you know what you need to feel good and to be more successful.

We continue reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. We even had a special guest reader, Mr. Rosen, who read a chapter to us on Thursday and helped us think deeply about some of the interesting words and phrases used in the chapter.

We also read  a new book to our classroom, The Berenstein Bears: Kindness Counts. On Thursday we went to the Flynn Center in Burlington and saw a great play, "A Year with Frog and Toad" based on the books by Arnold Lobel. Everyone in our class has been reading this series independently or listening to one of the books at our Listen to Reading station. This show was a hit!

We have one more week before our winter break. Stay healthy, get some rest, and have fun this weekend!

❤ Mrs. Fox

Dates to Remember
Winter Wellness/Fitness Fridays - 12:30-3:30 on Jan. 13, 20, 27; Feb. 17, 24 (make-up date since we didn't go on 2/10)
Monday Feb. 27 - Tuesday Mar. 7 - Winter Break
Wednesday March 8 - 1st Day Back from Vacation