Class Blog - Archived Posts

This week, we had the privilege of learning from and spending time with one of my friends and former colleagues: Karen Rocco. When I started teaching at Mary Collins School, Karen was a primary teacher, and then we were teaching partners in grades 7/8. On Celebrate Reading Day, Ms. Rocco brought the joy, humor, and positive energy she always infused into her own teaching and infused it into our class community. In addition to leading the class through a "warm up" book that was a song, she taught us all about mitate and the artist Tatsuya Tanaka. She brought in tiny animal and human figurines, along with many everyday objects, and the class exploded into a joyful celebration of creativity. With 100% engagement, natural collaboration, and imagination at the center of this work/play, I had a hard time getting everyone to stop creating and to leave the classroom for snack and recess. What?! That's right--they wanted to do this work instead of eating and playing outside. We will definitely be revisiting "mitake" in the coming weeks. Thank you, Ms. Rocco!

This is such a special tradition for our school! Celebrate Reading Day may look different each year and in each class, but one thing is the same--kids of different ages, kids from different classes, and grown-ups coming together to share a love of reading. There is a beautiful sense of community and joy in snuggling up together with a good book on this day--one of the many things that makes Cherry Valley such an amazing place. 

Every Tuesday morning, our class sings together. This special routine is how we spend most of our morning meeting at least one day per week, and it is definitely time well spent. We have certain songs that we sing every week--giving the kids a chance to learn to memorize the rhythm, the movements, the melody. They get to watch me struggle and succeed as I accompany them on ukulele; sharing that I am a beginner with this instrument helps them to understand that we can all try new things and put ourselves out there in front of others if we aren't perfect. But what is most magical about all of this is the sound of children's voices sharing a moment together. This is at the core of our class community.

Our afternoon writing time involves many intentional components. We started this year by brainstorming the kinds of things we can write during this time. From letters to songs to stories to poems, the list is expansive. It is important for children to have the opportunity to choose what they WANT to write. Students can write collaborative or individual pieces, and they experience the difference between "peer conference time" and "quiet, focused, individual writing time". I also teach mini-lessons during writers' workshop. These are quite varied, but at the beginning of the year I like to teach some foundational writing--last week it was the difference between a sentence & a fragment, and next week we will build complete sentences. Additionally, I teach specific genres during this time. This week, I taught an introduction to poetry. Please check your child's Seesaw account to see photos or video of one of their writers' workshop pieces. It's a special window into the hard & fun work of being a 2/3 student in our class!

This week, we had our first formal class meeting. A key part of our social-emotional curriculum, we will have a class meeting every week. To begin each meeting, we have a special routine: We each hold a rock that another classmate has decorated. It's given to each us at random, and we connect to that classmate's energy and positive intentions they put into that design. We then go over our class meeting expectations (see the image below) and then make a temporary, collaborative structure with these rocks--as another focal point during the meeting. Some meetings involve sharing information about our personal lives or our feelings, some involve problem solving school issues, and some involve playing games together. Class meetings are such a special time for our community. 💕

This month, we are working on throwing and catching for our class PE work. However, every game and every skill involves opportunities for learning that reach far beyond what is apparent at surface level. Although the kids knew this game to be, "Count as high as you can--one number for each catch," we were really focusing on two essential principles of improv. "Make your partner look good" encourages each person to throw the bean bag in a way that their partner can catch it. "Woo hoo!" highlights the need to embrace mistakes as an opportunity for learning and growth--and sharing kindness with ourselves. 

Students were assigned partners for this simple game, for this chance to support one another. New connections were formed, and in some cases forgiveness and understanding resonated as the beautiful sound of laughter across the quad.

When we spend the time setting clear expectations--and practicing how to reach those high standards--we experience the benefits of that practice for the rest of the school year. Rather than "Drop Everything and Read", we use the guidelines of "Read to Self" from Daily Five. This method teaches students to work independently so the teacher can be available to conference with individual students or teach small groups.

We take pride in our ability to follow commonly agreed-upon norms, and we track our progress through our Reading Stamina graph. The feeling in the room is so incredible during this focused time; I was so proud of these kids!

We read a sweet book by an educator named Annie Painter this week. Many years ago, I learned some inspiring and transformative techniques and processes through professional development with Annie Painter--when I was a beginning teacher here at Mary Collins School. Through her work, I taught the class about color mixing, about principles & elements of design, and about how we act as artists in a learning community. While listening to Chopin's "Nocturnes", each table group collaboratively created abstract paintings..."nothing with a name", and employing the improv concept of Yes, and...

Beach Day is, quite simply, a magical day. I know of no other school that brings EVERYONE to the beach for one day. While we provide activities and some scheduling structures, the main focus of the day is to make space for children to PLAY. As an added bonus, many families get to interact as well. The multitude of new & deeper connections, of smiles & belly laughs, of discovery & teamwork--it takes my breath away. What a beautiful way to start the school year. We are so lucky to be part of the Mary Collins School community!

At the beginning of the year, we are both gathering expectations and setting clear boundaries. This makes the rest of our year go smoothly. Throughout the course of a few weeks, I administer multiple assessments to the class: handwriting, spelling, math, writing, phonics, and more. Some of these need a closer look, and then I do some one-on-one assessments as well. Knowing where the students are at enables me to intentionally design instruction so it meets their specific needs. 

We are also setting clear expectations for how we will interact as students and as classmates. Once we understand the boundaries, it is safe to have lots of fun and explore within those boundaries for the entire school year!

This has been a very unique start to the school year. While none of us expected a shift in teaching assignment, etc., everyone has been handling it all with such flexibility and grace. As we settle into our new beginning, we are focusing on what matters most: connecting with one another and developing trust. We are exploring materials, playing together, developing routines, and showing how much we care for one another. These connections will keep growing and strengthening over time. We are all so lucky to be part of such an incredible community. ❤️

One of our first art projects this year involves multiple layers of reflection and self-expression. This sweet book (photo below) shows how a bird who feels safe in its nest yearns to fly and be free. However, the bird feels nervous about taking a risk. Seeing the friendship shared by others as they take flight, our little avian protagonist takes the plunge! We explored watercolors, helped each other trace, played with line, wrote our hopes & goals in a frame ("We endeavor!"), and wrote our needs to be able to feel safe & learn on our nests.