Happy Friday!
We started something new in Morning Meeting this week called "Circle Time". Circle Time is a Restorative Practice meant to build deeper community, empathy, and communication in our classroom. During Circle Time, we go around our meeting circle sharing our "number" for the day. We each choose a number between 1 and 5...1 means "I am having the WORST day ever", while 5 means "This day could not get any better!" After we share our number, we share why we chose it. It helps us know what's happening in each other's hearts and minds so we (the kids and me!) can both better support each other, and have greater understanding of why someone may be acting in a particular way. We have a little "Circle Time Bear" called a "talking piece", and this means we must be holding the bear to speak. (We haven't named it yet.) So far, the kids have reacted very positively to Circle Time. My intent is to continue expanding Circle Time to include some discussion questions and additional character building. Please ask your child what he/she thinks about Circle Time! I welcome the feedback. :)
Operation Comfort Cases:
Our school is participating in a community service project in support of an organization called Comfort Cases. Comfort Cases aims to support children in the foster care system by providing them with a new backpack or duffel bag filled with both essential supplies and comfort items to help when transitioning to a new home. Each grade level is collecting a different supply for the Comfort Cases, and in 1st grade, we are asking for donations of new stuffed animals. Pinebrook will host a community-wide Comfort Cases Packing Party on Saturday, February 17th. More details will come as the event gets closer, but for now, please consider donating a new stuffed animal to be included in a Comfort Case. You may send the donation to school with your child. Thank you!
Valentine's Day Party:
Mark your calendar...our classroom Valentine's Day party will be Wednesday, February 14th from 12:05 - 1:15 pm in our classroom. All families are welcome to attend. The kids will exchange Valentine cards at the party, and I sent home a class roster in yesterday's Thursday folder for those of you wanting to get a start on those. (Shout out to the Type A peeps!) The card exchange is completely voluntary, although historically, the majority of the class participates. If your child brings Valentine cards, please be sure he/she has one for every student in the class. If your child wants to attach a little "something" to his/her Valentine cards, please don't attach candy or food... little items like pencils, erasers, tattoos, stickers are fine. Please watch for more details regarding the party soon!We started something new in Morning Meeting this week called "Circle Time". Circle Time is a Restorative Practice meant to build deeper community, empathy, and communication in our classroom. During Circle Time, we go around our meeting circle sharing our "number" for the day. We each choose a number between 1 and 5...1 means "I am having the WORST day ever", while 5 means "This day could not get any better!" After we share our number, we share why we chose it. It helps us know what's happening in each other's hearts and minds so we (the kids and me!) can both better support each other, and have greater understanding of why someone may be acting in a particular way. We have a little "Circle Time Bear" called a "talking piece", and this means we must be holding the bear to speak. (We haven't named it yet.) So far, the kids have reacted very positively to Circle Time. My intent is to continue expanding Circle Time to include some discussion questions and additional character building. Please ask your child what he/she thinks about Circle Time! I welcome the feedback. :)
Operation Comfort Cases:
Our school is participating in a community service project in support of an organization called Comfort Cases. Comfort Cases aims to support children in the foster care system by providing them with a new backpack or duffel bag filled with both essential supplies and comfort items to help when transitioning to a new home. Each grade level is collecting a different supply for the Comfort Cases, and in 1st grade, we are asking for donations of new stuffed animals. Pinebrook will host a community-wide Comfort Cases Packing Party on Saturday, February 17th. More details will come as the event gets closer, but for now, please consider donating a new stuffed animal to be included in a Comfort Case. You may send the donation to school with your child. Thank you!
Valentine's Day Party:
Focus Areas for the Coming Week:
- Reading: We will continue learning strategies for reading nonfiction books. We will explore personification in fiction stories. Personification is when a non-human character exhibits human traits.
- Writing: We will explore character traits and opinion writing as we continue to focus on editing for mechanics, punctuation, and proper sight word spelling.
- Math: We will begin our place value unit.
- Science: We will finish our Winter Adaptations unit.
- Social Studies: We will begin our Famous Americans unit, in which we discuss the lives and contributions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, Benjamin Franklin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
As always, please reach out with questions, comments, or concerns.
Enjoy the weekend! Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary! Leo and I have been married 22 years. I'm not sure whether to be happy or frightened because it means I'm old! I'm not sure how we're celebrating, but I know our celebration will involve lots of carbs! Calories don't count this weekend!
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