pointer power

You may hear your child talk about pointer power at home- our most celebrated tool for reading books, poems, the morning message, signs, and labels! The children continue to grow as super readers and use their pointer finger to help keep their reading organized and ensure they read all of the words on a page. When reading with your child, encourage them to activate their pointer power. As always, our morning message provided rich literacy work. Children pointed to and read the sentences with pictures from our classroom experiences to help guide their reading;

We like to read.
We like to write.
We like to count.
We love to play!

The following day I mixed up the words and they built the same sentences. We talked about how many words and how many spaces in each sentence. We talked about the change in pattern. For some children, there was an interest in figuring out the word "read" or "write" and listening for vowel sounds. While our community of super readers have different skills and strengths, these sentences provided rich reflection and learning for all.

 

 

 

 

movement

Every morning between writing workshop and reading workshop we come together for a celebration of self-health and relaxation, body awareness and balance, flexibility and strength building. Sometimes we move through a collection of basic yoga poses and stretches.

This week, we have been practicing a variety of exercises to tone and strengthen our cores. A strong core improves balance and stability, on the playground, in the woods, and in the classroom. During these exercises children have been focusing on their breathing and practicing controlled, careful movements. In just a few shorts days I've observed children excitedly hold a side plank for 10 reps. Their bodies have been challenged in a different way. It isn't about being the fastest or first. It's about centering yourself, listening to the sound of our rhythmic counting, feeling your breath go in and out. Our transition into reading following this break has been successful every time.

Bring your hands up behind your head and use your core to roll yourself forward, ending with your hands now stretched towards your toes. 

 


Side planks- try to hold your body steady. If you need help, use your elbow or your knee.

 

a pumpkin soup publishing party

The Kindergarteners have been working hard to prepare their writing for publication. Throughout the writing of their teaching books children have been looking for feedback from peers, practicing adding detail, stretching words and hearing all of the sounds, and growing as writers within their community. I try not to use the words, "make your writing the best it can be", because the word best holds a lot of pressure. Synonyms for best include- perfect, unbeatable, top, and supreme. Our writing should be meaningful and powerful. Children should feel proud as writers. Our goal is not to be the best, our goal is to grow.

 

This one word (best) can destroy the writing process for young children. We celebrate the mistakes we make, we learn from them, we often keep them in our writing. So, to prepare for publishing, we talked about making our writing more powerful by using what we know about teaching books. We also talked about publishing as a way to share what you've been working hard on with your larger community. We invited the first and second graders from Ms. Richardson's class to join us for a community snack and a publishing party on Wednesday afternoon.

 

We read the book pumpkin soup and made our own pumpkin soup to share with the first and second graders. The Kindergarteners were so proud of their writing and loved talking with their "big kid" partner. At the end of our share, when I asked how it felt, Dylan said, "It felt great. I made a new friend and I can't remember his name or if he is in first or second grade, but after we shared our writing he taught me that 10 times 10 is 100 and now I can't wait to tell my family that!"


A few pictures from our pumpkin soup publishing party and a little glimpse into some of the children's writing;

 

 

 

Pinball Machine
By - James

 

 

Snakes
By - Amelia

 

 

 

 

Extraordinary dragons can spread extraordinary dust!

the three billy goats gruff

There was such a shared excitement to perform the Three Billy Goats Gruff during our Reading Workshop the other week, that I moved a copy of The Three Billy Goats Gruff to our block space, providing an invitation for children to build bridges and play out their favorite story book during academic choice.

One group of children used paper and popsicle sticks from our art shelf to make puppets- representing the four characters from the story. Keeping these puppets in our block space, children have been inviting their peers to leave their choices for a little community performance. It has been one of our favorite new experiences and has been an opportunity for students to feel empowered as readers in a different and creative way. Following each performance there has been an incredible applause and cheer from the audience.

There are many academic and social components to this experience. When acting our stories children are thinking about and representing the characters, using expression to sound like the characters, reading more and more of the story, following the sequence of events in the story, practicing being in front of an audience and projecting their voice, taking initiative of their learning and negotiating with their peers, working together, and sharing a love for play and literacy. Following their organized performance on Friday, one child said that we could try this with all of our favorite story books! The most powerful learning experiences come from the students we work with.

I am reminded of a quote; The children are the curriculum.

 

 

 

present (2)

Friday, 11-2-18

Continuing our work practicing being present, the Kindergarteners spent our outdoor classroom time hiking on one of the new trails. We walked through the afternoon mist actively listening- some of our hike was silent, except for the sounds around us.

The more you look, the more you see.
The more you listen, the more you hear.

When we gathered together we took three more minutes of mindful listening. This was a good challenge for many of the children- to not be playing with your velcro or talking about your weekend plans- to be silent and calm, a present observer. At the end of our mindful moment, I asked each child to say what they heard. We moved down our row and I recorded their words in the form of a small poem. I will print each child a copy of our poem and it will live in their nature journals with their earlier reflections.

 

We are present, we hear. . .

cars

tweet

motorcycle

river

cars

river

little drops

wind

leaves falling

cars going vrrrmmm!

river

birds

rushing river

leaves crunching

 wind

new sounds

present is . . .

On Friday we talked about the word present. The children shared their initial thoughts about the word, some said that present is . . .

being with my family
having fun
feeling loved

We read the book What Does It Mean To Be Present and continued our conversation; present is . . .

being in the green zone
listening with your whole body
looking, feeling

The children took a moment to reflect outside during Friday afternoon. Each child found a place on the playground and responded to the prompt;

I am present.
I see ______________

 

On Monday I made large copies of Maeve and Will's journal entries, as a way to revisit our work from Friday afternoon. They talked about everything they saw when sitting on our playground, the same playground we play on almost everyday.

When you are present, you see more. 

 

I connected being present to the act of meditation; taking the time to clear your mind and feel stronger. We read the book Bee Still and followed the character, Bentley Bee, as he walked the woodland creatures through the act of meditation. Following the read aloud I invited the children to find a quiet place in our classroom and we took a few minutes to clear our minds and focus on our breathing.

It was one of our most peaceful and powerful moments- the rest of our day was incredibly joyful. I wonder if starting the day meditating together helped to set the tone? When children asked me how many more minutes until choice or what was for hot lunch, I would respond with, I'm being present and I'm thinking about and feeling what's happening right now. I would also ask when we transitioned to be mindful or present- ensuring we focus on the moment, even if the moment is as simple as walking down the hall. The culture of school can sometimes leave us feeling rushed or frazzled, busy and unsettled, timed and scheduled. But, perhaps within a scheduled day we can find flexibility and honor a gentle pace, we can teach peace and listen to our breathing- individually and together.