"ABC Blues" Cures Sleepy Kiddos

If you are looking for a way to instantly thrill your child try one of the three options: A. ABC Beat, B. Ze-Zi-Ziddly, or C. (and the all time favorite in Room F) ABC Blues. These are cheesy, yet oh-so-silly songs that the kiddos love to sing and dance to. We sing them everyday and it is a hoot to watch them dance! Don't fret if you don't know these songs! I would be willing to be your student will gladly sing them for you. Today while we were singing I had to stop because I was laughing so hard- the kiddos sing and dance so passionately and it is so cute you can't help but feel joy for them. The more I get to know our class, the more song and dance I incorporate into our day. I think we were made for each other. At the beginning of October I will be bringing my keyboard in, then we can really jam!

We've been working hard these past two days by working with numbers and turning them into tallies, and also by taking important tests! Yesterday and today we took our fall MAP tests. These show us where each student is starting the year. As we re-test in the winter and spring we can watch how they grow. I am excited for you to see your student's growth. You will be so proud! In math we've been working very hard to develop strategies for determining which number is larger. Once we do that, we translate that number into tallies. This is a tricky concept for two reasons: the idea that the fifth tally is a slash is confusing and it takes a lot of self control to be using whiteboards and counting. What a great lesson in numbers and self control! We started playing Top It today which is a huge hit. (It's essentially the game of "War" but with a much more peaceful name.) Tomorrow is our first Math Game Mania! Instead of me teaching for the entire duration of math, the students will get to do an academic choice. This is where they assess what they like to do or what they need practice in and do an activity that supports that. This also gives me a chance to work with small groups of students to help them with specific skills. Tomorrow our choices will be Bunny Hop, Penny Dice Grab, Top It, or I Wish I Had. Stay tuned to find out what your student chooses!

We have been learning about cooperation this week and have been practicing in various forms: through structured play, free choice, free play outside, during math and reading, and walking in the hallway. Playing math games and working in partnerships provides the ideal environment for teaching what cooperation is all while helping the students solve problems independently. We have a very exciting activity tomorrow afternoon that will help us remember what cooperation and our class motto ("We are all in this together") mean. Well, I'm excited...hopefully the kiddos will be too.

Here are some pictures that are just too cute to pass up. The cantaloupe was a huge hit!

Brandon thought that it was just too funny
that the melon was the same shape as a
smile!

The cantaloupe is almost bigger than
her!

This is no match for Kasey! I think he
ate three pieces. This is exactly the kind
of healthy eating we want to see kids
doing!

 Books We Read Today:
The Mouse and the Motorcycle - Beverly Cleary
Dooby Dooby Moo - Doreen Cronin


Interesting Tidbits From Our Day

One student came to another student and said, "I got over 100 points on my test!" The other student, who scores 170 points said with grace and compassion, "Wow, that's really great nice job!" Instead of bragging about his score (which is very hard for anyone of any age not to do), he chose to react that way. The other kiddo's face literally lit up with pride.


"Wouldn't it be cool if apples were black?!" (Other student, completely unimpressed by the notion) "No."

"Tomorrow is Friday? Do we never have to come to school after that?!" (Seriously, I don't know what it is about the kiddos thinking school is done for the year already...)