Featuring the First and Second Grade 

The Grades 1 and 2 class is off to a wonderful start!  The children are busy building a classroom community, learning rules and routines, and beginning some academic work.  We brainstormed names to call our class and decided to be The Wonders!  We think Mrs. Wendell’s Wonders has a nice ring to it!

Each day we start with a Morning Meeting made up of Greeting, Share, Announcements, Activity, and Morning Message.  Students greet each other using eye contact and then share something about themselves. After that we review the schedule and any announcements.  The students' favorite part is probably the fun activity or game. We end the Morning Meeting by all reading the Morning Message together. During this time students are practicing social skills such as eye contact and speaking clearly, and we are also doing the important work of building connections and classroom community.  When students feel safe together socially, they are able to take the risks necessary for academic success.

For science we have been going outside on many days!  We have walked many of the trails that surround the school. So far, we have spotted a downy woodpecker and a monarch butterfly plus many plants.  We practice observing and recording what we see like scientists.  Each child has a nature journal where we draw and write about what we see.  

I asked the students what I should put in this newsletter so I will end with their thoughts.  Henry says, “We are having the best year of our lives!” According to Levi, “There are so many kind people in this school.” Stay tuned for more information next month!

Featuring the Pre-K/Kindergarten Class

This year in PK we had 5 new PK students and one new Kindergarten student join our 4 rising K's (last year's PK students) for a class of 10 happy learners! With 6 friends learning all the routines and procedures of being at "big kid school", our 4  returning students have stepped into helpers and role models for their new friends. Kindergarten joins Mrs. Wendell's literacy block (with Ms. Liz) for a combined K-2 Literacy time. During our PK literacy block we have been exploring and discovering letters in our names by counting the letters in our names, and comparing letters to see who else has the same letters in their names. Each day PK practices and demonstrates their growing abilities to use school materials in a teacher directed activity, and to tidy up independently before starting a new activity. Learning to take care of ourselves, interact with peers, and managing big feelings is quite possibly the biggest work for PK and K students at the beginning of the school year. 

Math, ELA, Science and Social Studies are embedded in almost every aspect of our day. We update our daily calendar by counting up to the number of the day, identifying the pattern (red apple, green apple), identifying the name of the day of the week, and stating what month and season we are in. We sing songs about the days of the week, months of the year and at least one song with everyone's name in it each day.

In Super Studies  (Science and Social Studies) we are exploring and discussing what all living things need, and identifying living and non-living objects in our classroom and outside. We will sing a weather song, and are recording the weather each day:  sunny, cloudy, windy, foggy, snowy or rainy. At the end of  month we will compare and identify which type of weather we had the most and least of. 

Favorite read alouds are: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , Baby Owls, Does a Kangaroo have a mother, too? , Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? . 

Our author of interest this month is Eric Carle, so we will be trying to read ALL of his books at least twice!