A Great Start

A Great Start!

We had a fantastic (and hot!) start to the school year last week!  We spent time getting to know one another, our classrooms, and the expectations for the school year.  

We Can Learn Anything!

This year we will focus on having a Growth Mindset or a "can do" attitude.  To get us thinking about this, we watched a video that shows how each of us has the ability to learn anything as long as we put in the effort and don't give up.  Here is a link to the video that we watched...

https://www.khanacademy.org/coach-res/reference-for-coaches/how-to/v/you-can-learn-anything

We also learned that our brains have millions of neurons that get stronger with practice.  We emphasized that our neurons can be weak when we first learn something new and that as we practice new concepts and skills, they will get stronger!

Keeping this in mind, students each chose a motto to live by this year.  They began to illustrate these last week and will finish them this week.  Below are some pictures of some very hot, but determined students!  Stay tuned for the finished products.

Book Tasting

We dove into reading this past week by having a book tasting at "Leger's Lunch Spot."  It was a fabulous way to get books into students' hands and to give them a chance to try out genres that they may not have leaned toward in the past.  All students left with a book they are ready and rearing to read and a list of books that they are looking forward to reading in the next few weeks.  We also reviewed how students look for good books and how they make sure that they are choosing just right books.  

This week we will discuss expectations for reading at home and some information will come home about "reading in the edges."  Please let me know if your child ever reports that they are having difficulty finding a good book to read!

Math Workshop

Last week students were paired up to work on a number sorting activity.  Each group had the same set of numbers, however, many groups had different ways to sort these numbers.  Students were introduced to the idea of each student in our class having a different opinion or way of solving problems. This is one of the important parts of math in our class this year.  We will be learning how to agree and disagree with our classmates respectfully and understanding that we might have different ways of getting to the same answer and that is okay!

Writing Workshop

This week your child will need to decorate his/her Writer's Notebook for homework.  Your child will be asked to decorate the notebook to represent who they are.  This can be done with pictures, clip art, drawings, words, etc. The cover of the notebook will help to spark writing ideas throughout the school year.   Your child needs to have his/her notebook decorated by this Friday, September 7th. 

We will be doing an activity with flashlights on Wednesday this week.  If you have a flashlight, please send it in with your child by Wednesday.  (If you don't have a flashlight, that is okay too.  We will be able to share.)

Have a great week!  

Jen and Jaime