It was a Kids in the Kitchen week! We cooked with kale on Thursday morning. Half the class made chopped kale salad and the other half made kale strata. Many (but not all!) of our young chefs found out they enjoy kale. A lot of the chefs were asking for seconds and we had plenty to eat. Thank you so much to our parent helpers for buying ingredients and cooking with us: Suzy Nemec, Vanessa Copans, Francesco Tardio, Xiaoying Liu, and Elise Montgomery. We're looking forward to cooking again in February.
We began book clubs in our classroom last week. Students had a choice among five books all by author, Clyde Robert Bulla. The readers read a portion of the book individually and took "Stop and Jot" notes. As they read, readers wrote down their thinking on post it notes. Stop and Jot notes could have asked a question, made a comment, or a prediction. Then the book club members met together with a teacher to give a summary of what was read, share notes and ideas, and keep the conversation going. Finally, the groups wrote down any big ideas, questions, or predictions the group talked about and decided which page to read to next. A teacher worked with each book club to help fuel the discussion. It has been a fun new way to engage the learners in our classroom. We're looking forward to more book club discussions next week.
In math last week we continued practice adding two- digit (and more) numbers. We did this by solving and telling "fishy" number stories and playing games with partners. We used the life sized fish we made last week to help us with our fishy number stories. For example, if Fish L (100 lbs) swallows Fish K (35 lbs), how much does Fish L weigh now? Or Fish G (25 pounds) swallows another fish. Fish G now weighs 30 pounds. Which fish did Fish G swallow? We also explored temperature by measuring three different cups of water. The cups were filled with room temperature water, ice water, and very hot water. Children took turns using a thermometer to take the temperatures in both Farenheit and Celcius. They learned some important temperature points: freezing 32 degrees, room 70 degrees, and body 98.6 degrees. We've added a new job which includes take the temperature each morning, recording it, and writing an adjective to describe it.
On Tuesday we will visit Mrs. Marinho's classes' "Open Store." Everyone in our class should bring $1.00 in change to spend at the store. Later in the month, Mrs. Marinho's class will visit our "Open Store" as well.
On Wednesday, February 17 we'll go ice skating at the Midway Plaisance Ice Rink. We'll leave our classroom at 12:15 and return by 2:00pm. We need parent helpers! If you'd like to help us please email Ms. Gillespie. Children who have ice skates can bring them. Those who need to rent them should bring money for renting. More details to come!
Next week we'll continue our work spelling words with the "bossy r." Last week we practiced words with -er. Next week we'll work on words with ar and or, like farmer and stormy.
We have a five day weekend approaching and Cookie needs a home! If you'd like to take our furry friend from February 11 - February 15, please let Ms. Gillespie know.