Greetings families,
These past weeks have been flying by and we have been hard at work completing projects and our units of study for the year. Most recently we have been revisiting our opinion writing unit. Students are working to extend their understanding of opinions by realizing how their thinking and ideas are meaningful to the world around them. It is my goal to help students recognize their significance and belonging in the world. Students have been spending time discussing what inspires their thinking and how they can persuade others to view the world through their eyes and vice versa.
The students and I have been talking a lot about change and the opportunities that come from change as well as challenges. Students have been very engaged in reviewing the changes in responsibility and learning they have encountered so far this year as well as changes they will face in the coming year. We came to the conclusion that change is hard because it can push us out of our comfort zone. In light of further discussion we discovered that part of what makes change difficult is that we have not yet had the opportunity to connect with the changes coming towards us.
For example, if someone decides they do not like a new school before they visit then they have not yet given that change an opportunity to be positive. The students and I are working on how we can help ourselves to develop strategies to be regularly connecting with new things, so that when change occurs we have the ability to transition successfully and confidently.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Birdhouses
Hello everyone,
This past week was filled with beautiful weather and a lot of great learning opportunities. On Friday we had guest Sam Davison come in with 26 bird house kits, nails and a drill. Students were wonderful about bringing in their own hammers and we were able to build all 26 birdhouses to support our learning of habitats as well as living & non-living things. Students were great listeners and very carefully built their birdhouse with the help of myself and parent volunteer Doug Hartwell.
This was such a great day for us, students were able to mix in and work together with the other kindergarten class and learn / utilize some great skills we have been learning throughout the year. We measured, discussed angles and applied much of our math learning to this project. Students greatly enjoyed the independence and result, which they got to take home! We will be referencing this project over the next couple of weeks to remind students that their learning in the classroom is applicable in real life. We even completed the project sans injury with as many as 12 kindergarteners hammering at once!
While half of the K classes were completing the project, Ms. Leggett took the remaining students birding in our school forest. Students identified many different types of birds and were excited to see some of the creatures that could be living in their birdhouses soon!
Please help students hang these somewhere at home so they can watch their work and learning extend even further. It would be so cool if some of these became inhabited before the school year ended and we could share reports. Thank you!
This past week was filled with beautiful weather and a lot of great learning opportunities. On Friday we had guest Sam Davison come in with 26 bird house kits, nails and a drill. Students were wonderful about bringing in their own hammers and we were able to build all 26 birdhouses to support our learning of habitats as well as living & non-living things. Students were great listeners and very carefully built their birdhouse with the help of myself and parent volunteer Doug Hartwell.
This was such a great day for us, students were able to mix in and work together with the other kindergarten class and learn / utilize some great skills we have been learning throughout the year. We measured, discussed angles and applied much of our math learning to this project. Students greatly enjoyed the independence and result, which they got to take home! We will be referencing this project over the next couple of weeks to remind students that their learning in the classroom is applicable in real life. We even completed the project sans injury with as many as 12 kindergarteners hammering at once!
While half of the K classes were completing the project, Ms. Leggett took the remaining students birding in our school forest. Students identified many different types of birds and were excited to see some of the creatures that could be living in their birdhouses soon!
Please help students hang these somewhere at home so they can watch their work and learning extend even further. It would be so cool if some of these became inhabited before the school year ended and we could share reports. Thank you!
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