The House that Jack Built

We had our first cross-grade level Literature Circle on Tuesday with the Superstars and Ladybugs.  This year, our three classes are studying the concept of "interactions."  We are meeting to share literature that we can do activities together, as well as branch out and interpret the stories at different levels in each class.  The Ladybugs are learning about themselves and their family, the Superstars are learning about their families and community helpers, as the Sharks will learn about different communities and how to be good citizens in our community. 

We are starting with this book:

We met together as we each designed our own idea of a "cool" house.  Later in the classroom, the Sharks wrote an advertisement so that their house can be "listed" in our community.  Here are what their listings looked like: (sorry, the pictures of the houses did not turn out, you'll have to come to Curriculum Night to see)

My house is pretty. My house is only $400! It is tall and there is a pool in the backyard.

Call AS for details.
Cool living room! Free TV! Humungous Garden! Only $300,000,002
Call JL for details.
My house has an oven, an elevator and a secret entrance! Buy for $900,000,000.99
Call CH for details.
Six story house with 2 big TVs, big living room, neat bedrooms, separate meeting rooms and 2 bird feeders.
Buy for $100,000,000
Call VK for details.

This house is 10,000 square feet and furnished. This house has a hot tub. All new inclusive designing. Rent for $569 a month!
Call LR for details.
KID FUNHOUSE! TV, toy box, fan, telescope, toy cars, scooter, square legos, and pool. 1bath, 1bedroom, 1 laundry, 1 slide, kitchen, 2 chairs,1 remote control, elevator. Price $50,000. Includes: coffee maker
Call JT for details.

Awesome hammock. Cool beanbag bunkbeds. The couch is really comfy. Price: $120,000
Call AM for details.
My house is cool. Has circles on the windows. There’s a nice garden in the back. Price: $100,000
Call GH for details.

It has a slide and only two windows. Stairs to the backyard full of toys. Price: $150
Call TV for details.

A really scary face on the house to scare your neighbors. Hot tub at the bottom of the house. Inside, a beautiful dining room and a tower where you can ring a bell. Price: $8,020
Call CW for details.

A "snapshot" of our Day

This week I have been building in ongoing routines such as reading and math groups, as well as introducing our concept for the year.  With every topic we discuss, we will be looking through at the "Interactions" that occur.  For the Fall trimester, I am introducing the idea of community, and more specifically how each one of us are a part of it.  Below is a concept web that we created together as we pooled our ideas of community.

From this, I can begin to see their understanding and interests and build in the idea of community integrating math, writing, reading and science.  In literature, we will be reading "The House that Jack Built" along with the Superstars and Ladybugs as we begin to make our own connections at the different developmental levels.  A few field trips are currently being scheduled to get the students out in the community and bring in more experiences and questions to be studied.

Every morning, the Sharks are also working on computation and number sense.  I have a number of the day in which each child has to create 5 number sentences (equations) that equal that number.  They can add, subtract, multiply and/or divide, and use a combination of more than one.  Of course, the highlight is to write their favorite on the smart board.  Here is a snapshots of today's work:

I have done this activity for years and it caters well to each child's computation skills.  As the year progresses, the equations tend to get more elaborate and longer, using multiple operations.  I will post a snapshot of this monthly to watch the growth.

I'm sorry I don't have any photos of your kiddos this week!  I have really enjoyed getting to know each of them and look forward to the many new adventures that lay ahead.

Meet the Sharks!

Welcome to a new year at Seabury! We've had our first fun week together establishing new friendships and learning our classroom routines.  One new item in our classroom this year is our smartboard, which the students have been using each day.  It's hard to share though, as only one person at a time can use it, so we are also learning patience and taking turns :).  The Sharks are also loving the back part of the room, which is where our classroom library and the infamous Shark tent resides.  Last week and this week I am assessing your child's abilities in reading, writing and math to provide them the appropriate instruction in those areas, and will share my results during our fall conferences in October.  Sign ups will be available at curriculum night, as well as information about what we will be studying over the year.  Please check back weekly to see what we are doing every week!

Using our smartboard on day 1.  We were writing equations that equaled 1.

Several Sharks enjoying our classroom library!

Looking for addition equations that equal 10.

I am SO excited to see the Sharks in just a couple of weeks!  It's going to be an outstanding year full of fun and adventure.  Below is a list of supplies we will need to start our year off right!  Please bookmark this site as it will be your window to our classroom.  Weekly emails will be sent when a new post is ready for viewing.

SHARKS 2011-2012 Supply List

Please label your child’s supplies, coats, backpack and lunch! Thanks!!

Remaining school supplies will be provided by Seabury and are community shared.

1 regular sized backpack (please no wheels if possible)

3 folders with inside pockets (any fun design they want!)

1 wide ruled spiral notebook (80 page size is sufficient)

1 pair of headphones (cheap dollar store ones work well)

A water bottle to leave on their desk

1 box 24 count crayons

Everyday is a Busy Day

NB is using a meter stick to find the measurement of the chair

We have been using a variety of tools to measure length in inches, feet, yards, centimeters and meters.

An Chiuly activity with our Artist in Residence Joni

Making observations with the leaves and petals

Fun scientific tools to study leaves in more detail

Here are some of the differences and similarities the students independently wrote down while studying leaves.

More Artist in Residence

JE using a meter stick to measure the whiteboard

Mrs. Katy is helping DS with an O'Keefe inspired art project

Here are a bunch of pictures of us over the past couple of weeks.  The Sharks have been so busy with hands-on activities, and making the connections between their work and the real world. 

Mangos, Papayas and Guava fruit, Oh My!!

This week we have been talking alot about seeds and how they travel from their parent plant to their new location to germinate.  We read "The Tiny Seed" by Eric Carle, and each Shark is writing and illustrating their own version of this tale using collage and texture painting and publishing on Powerpoint.  We cut open some fruits and found, or attempted to find (do naval oranges have a seedless variety?? If so, oops!) When I asked the class to share examples of fruit, I got every fruit under the sun, except the basics like apples, bananas and oranges.  Have you ever had jack fruit??

The seeds we planted are beginning to germinate for the garden.  Now, if only mother nature would cooperate and give us some warm weather to plant them!!  We will be studying cacti, the photosynethesis process, and the purpose of a flower in the coming weeks as we continue to "travel" to various regions and learn about different Native American cultures.

There's gotta be seeds in here somewhere??

LW is dissecting an orange( I didn't know they were seedless!)

The best part of today's lesson was eating the fruit!

CH and EJ showing off their Pueblo dresses.

NB and GH leading their own reading group!

JE and DS enjoying the fruit

Exploring Seeds

This week, we have talked about the life cycles that humans, insects and plants go through.  We saw that all living things begin as a seed, and go through several transformations in life.  We read The Dandelion Seed today, and discussed the ways that seeds travel.  The students then designed seed coats that would allow their seeds to hitchike, like pinecones and berries, fly through the air like maples and dandelions, and float by water like coconuts and cranberries.  The students tested their designs for effectiveness.

THANK YOU to all the parents who supported this year's fund-an-item of supplying our classrooms with smartboards.  I had a chance to bring the demo board to the class for the morning that the students LOVED interacting with the board.  They will be installed and ready for use either at the end of this year, or definately this fall.

NB, DS, and AD testing their floating seeds

EJ has made a flying seed.  I hope it works!!

Will this flying seed be successful??  You'll have to ask MP.