I Didn’t Do My Homework Because…

As it turns out, I have quite a collection of great books.  Often, we read a book and do some writing afterward.  This book, along with A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to School… and The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer are FANTASTIC ways to get kids excited about writing their own versions of the story.  They were so excited and eager to write.  We brainstormed and shared with one another.  We will continue to write our stories this week and even after break.  It takes a long time to get a finished product, which is something we are learned about right now.  Three cheers for creative writing!  Ask your kids about what they are writing. 

Michigan Weather, It’s Here!

We can usually count on some amazing weather in the fall, can’t we?  This year was no exception.  It seems that the weather has finally turned, and it’s winter.  Winter is wet.  Winter is cold.  Because of these facts, please make sure your kids are prepared to go outside.  They must go outside for recess as there is no indoor alternative.  Snow pants, hats, gloves, mittens, boots, shoes to change into, scarves, and socks!  So.  Much.  Stuff.  J 

Also, if you have extra winter gear laying around (we don’t need things to have pairs or match, they will go in our classroom bin for kids to use when they don’t have something, or what they brought is wet).  Thank you!

Poetry in our Pajamas!

Wearing pajamas to school is pretty great.  We had a great time lounging around our classroom on Friday.  The student council has decided to have some spirit days before break, so they will have the chance to wear them again soon!  On Friday morning, we started our day writing pajama poems.  Kids wrote poems IN their pajamas ABOUT pajamas.  The results were really great.  They then had the opportunity to share the poems the wrote in front of the class.  I encourage everyone to share, but it’s completely up to them, and there’s no pressure.  My hope is that more will share their work as the year progresses.  They are a really talented group and I hope they feel comfortable enough to share at some point. 

Fractions!

We have had a lot of fun starting our fraction unit this month.  Kids are enjoying sharing their knowledge with one another and I am so proud of how hard they are working to understand all of the fraction concepts we have been talking about.  We are focusing on:  ordering fractions, equivalent fractions, comparing fractions, and writing fractions on a number line.  As always, we discussed the many strategies they have to solve fraction problems and shared our ideas on the board.  We played the game Fraction Top-It, which they loved.  

YayYYYyy!  Fractions!