Miss Ahrens' Class: August 2013

Planting

Students planted their germinated seeds today. They had fun in the soil and looking at the little leaves that were already forming.

Aaron and Angelina

Anthony I, Jessica, and Jackson

Hunter, Destiny, and Domiyan

Sharing the Letter /Ss/

Jessica and Domiyan brought back the Letter of the Week containers and SURPRISE.....

...Jessica brought in a shell from a trip that she took and.....

...Domiyan brought back stuffed animals, Sonic and Stuffy.

Silly, Slippery Snakes

A Silly, Slippery Snake

Oh, I wish I was a silly, slippery snake

Oh, I'd slither across the floor

And I'd slip under the door

Oh, I wish I was a silly, slippery snake

Detail

Jessica and Domiyan were chosen to take the Letter of the Week containers home. They will fill the container with something special to share with the class, on Friday.

We can't wait to see what they bring :-)

Germination

We have been discussing and witnessing germination. We are watching our Lima beans grow and will be planting them in soil at the end of the week.

Again yesterday, we discussed germination and we talked about how time-lapse photography is made and how it helps us see and understand events that happen over a long period of time.

Here are the videos that we watched.

Word Wall Strips

Students cut out letters and assembled some of the Word Wall Words.

Anthony I.

Destiny

Domiyan

Jessica

Justin

Megan

Sirius

Seeds

We began a unit on seeds and the germination process.

We are germinating Lima beans, kidney beans, and black beans. We also learned about the parts of a seed.

Week 2 Poetry

A Seed Needs

I see you are a seed,

Tell me what do you need,

I need some soil to grow,

And then the sun to glow,

Water to make me wet,

Air for my leaves to get,

Space for my roots to spread,

Now I'm a plant.

Planting

I took a little seed one day

About a month ago.

I put it in a pot of dirt,

In hopes that it would grow.

I poured a little water

To make the soil right.

I set the pot upon the sill,

Where the sun would give it light.

I checked the pot most every day,

And turned it once or twice.

With a little care and water

I helped it grow so nice.

Stretch, Stretch, Stretch Your Arms

Sing to: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Stretch, stretch, stretch your arms

High above your head,

Stretch so high,

You reach the sky,

Stretch, stretch once again.

A Silly Slippery Snake
Sing to: If You're Happy and You Know It

Oh, I wish I was a silly, slippery snake.

Oh, I wish I was a silly, slippery snake.
Oh I'd slither across the floor and I'd slip under the door
Oh, I wish I was a silly, slippery snake.

Sharing the Letter /Tt/

Sirius brought back the Letter of the Day container and SURPRISE! It was filled with Tootsie-Rolls for the class.

T is for Teddy Bear

Happy Birthday, Jackson!

Try, Try Again

Miss Osberg's class visited us today and recited their weekly poem for us.

Try, Try Again

by T.H. Palmer

'Tis a lesson you should heed,
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again;

Then your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear
Try, try again;

Once or twice, though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again;

If we strive, 'tis no disgrace
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in the case?
Try, try again

If you find your task is hard,
Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again

All that other folks can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view:
Try, try again.

Small Group

This morning, Jackson, Anthony H., and Megan worked on a small book together.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Destiny, Hunter, Aaron, and Domiyan

Megan, Angelina, Justin, and Anthony H

Jessica, Jackson, and Sirius

Our Class (in drawings)

Letter of the Week Sharing

/Tt/

Your child has been chosen to share something

special, on Friday, that begins with our

Letter of the Week.

The object must fit inside this container.

We are looking forward to seeing it!

Keep it a secret!

Group Reading

Hunter, Sirius, and Destiny

Jessica and Justin

A Great List

Students created a list of /Tt/ words.

Our Class

Week 1 Poetry

A Circle of Friends

We've joined together as classmates

as the new year begins...

A year full of learning

while we become friends.

We'll share and be kind

as we work and play.

And our friendship will grow

with each passing day.

Friend Of Mine

Sung to: Mary Had A Little Lamb

Will you be a friend of mine,

Friend of mine, friend of mine?

Will you be a friend of mine

and ________________ around with me?

Good Manners

Sung To: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

Good manners is thinking of others,

Good manners is doing what's right

Good manners is thinking of others

Good manners always feel right.

Helping, caring,

Sharing with you today, today

Kindness, honesty

Sharing with you today.

Tap Your Toe

Sung to: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Tap, tap, tap your toe,

Tap your toe for T.

Tap for train and turkey and toy,

Tap, tap, one, two, three.

Welcome to your classroom!

Please, click on the Classroom Tab, under the header, or on this link to see more.

12-Hours Later

I started at 0630 this morning with a room that looked like the photo above and at 1830, 12 hours later, the room looks like the picture below.

I know that it doesn't appear to be much better but in addition to rearranging furniture, there is a lot of cleaning to do also.

Check back tomorrow to view the classroom tour.

Everything in the Right Place

On the first day of school, students will receive a box to fill, with the supplies that they bring in on the first day. This box will be theirs for the year. They will need to take care of and manage their own supply boxes.

This part of classroom management is give to the students so that they learn responsibility, learn the value of what they have, and also begin to understand the concept of other people's personal property.

As supplies are used up, they will need to be replenished. I will send home a note when additional supplies are needed.

Sharing the Letter of the Week

Each week we will concentrate on a Letter of the Week. During the week, we will do activities with the letter, work on penmanship, and phonics for the letter.

Friday Sharing will reflect the Letter of the Week. Two students will be given a Sharing Container. They will bring 1 or 2 items that fit in the container. These items must begin with the Letter of the Week (i.e. spoon, snail, shell, spider, spoon)

Don't give it away the secret! We want to be surprised :-)

Owl-Standing

Students thrive on positive recognition and praise. I work hard to create an environment of friendship and respect in the classroom. I teach students that life is about choices and I expect them to make appropriate choices.

In the classroom, we strive for consistency and will start the school year with clear expectations. In the middle section of the Take Home Folder (HOOT) there is a communication log for a week of school. Each afternoon your child will colour in reflecting their behaviour for the day. If necessary; I will write a note on the reverse side.

Each day, students will earn up to 5 points (purple) for their behaviour. At the end of the week, points will be added up. If the student earns a score of 21 or higher they will get to choose a prize on Friday.

Busy

There is a week to go until school starts and the things that needed to be laminated were piling up.

I sat this weekend and got most of it done. There will still be stray pieces, in need of my attention before the start of school, but for the most part it is complete.