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Hello, Families-What a busy and productive week we had upon our return from Spring Break! Here’s a sample of what we’ve been up to! On Tuesday-The question of the day was: Did you go away for Spring Break or did you stay in DC? Or did you do both? The winner was “Go Away.”Santino shared a hermit crab whose super power is that he can hide from predators inside his own shell. S______ also brought our conversation to defensive skills by explaining that the hermit crab has pincers and can pinch to defend himself. This led us to go back over our previous animals and discuss which of them has ways that they can defend themselves against others instead of or in addition to hiding. A student (I can’t remember which!) also asked “How does he know to use the shell for protection? I explained that this is instinct and said that instinct is that feeling in your belly that tells you what to do. I had C_____ drop something on my head and demonstrated that instinct told my hands to cover my head for protection. J____added that that’s just like when you run away when something scary is coming. It was a very productive conversation!Next, Ms. W____ came in and hosted a community meeting. She taught us how to kindly and effectively communicate a redirection. She taught us that when someone does something you don’t like, you get their attention and calmly say “I didn’t like it when you….. It made me feel…. In the future, could you please not do that again?” And the other person can decide whether or not to agree not to repeat the action in the future and, if a harm has been caused, he/she should also take this time to apologize. This turned into a lovely conversation in our room and I hope to see the kids adopt this language more and more as time wares on. Next, we went outside and played in the glorious weather!Our read aloud was “The Emperor Lays and Egg,” All about the process of laying and incubating Penguin eggs. This gave us the opportunity to compare Penguin child raising habits to those of chickens and humans. We also learned a lot of fun penguin facts! Penguins face temperatures of negative 60 degrees, but through using group huddling and body warmth, father penguins keep penguin eggs at a toasty 98 degrees. After that, we had a brief and calm centers time. In the afternoon, we had a Mystery Reader. It was B____’s Mom! He was so excited to see her come in!Wednesday-The question of the day (Thought up by J____ and F___ and S____) was “Which truck would you rather drive: a Monster Truck, a snow plow, a garbage truck, or other?” The winner was other by a landslide. Apparently we have picky truck lovers in our class We didn’t have a sharer, so we went outside and ran the track before morning activities. We read more out of our chick book and learned about the developments that happened in our chicken eggs while we were away on vacation. During centers, I met with the kids in small groups to look at pictures and discuss these developments more thoroughly. F____ noted that the yolk got smaller as the chick’s body ate it inside the egg. A_____ noted that it was a pattern that as the yolk got smaller, the chick got bigger. M____ observed that someday the baby chick will grow into a mama chick. C_____ noticed that the chick developed feathers while we were gone. We glued notes from the chicken book into our egg journals to keep track of what happened while we were gone. We got clues about the mystery reader(s)There are 2One goes to SWS one doesn’tBoth are girlsGuesses: an adult and a kid, Ms. H____ and her daughters. B_____ guessed his mom and brother til he realized that that didn’t fit all the clues. In the end, it was L____’s Mom, J____ and his sister, E_____. It was such a nice surprise for L____. Our Read Aloud was “A Chicken isn’t the Only one” by Amy Sklansky in which we got to talk about all different types of eggs and the animals they produce. We also learned that since we don’t hatch from eggs, people are mammals.Next, we looked at the most up to date picture of what was going on inside our eggs (day 15) and the kids made observations. They tried their best to sound out letters and write these observations in their Chick Journals. J____ (A_____’s Mom) and D____ (C_____’s mom) came in and help scrub down our classroom to chase out all the germs. Thanks for your hard work!!On ThursdayThe question of the day (Inspired by J_____’s Inquiry about which state everyone’s parents came from) was “Did you parents grow up in DC or somewhere else?”Answers showed that only M_____’s parents grew up in DC and B____ thinks that his dad didn’t but his mom did. I’m curious whether all of the kiddos were accurate with their historical geographic knowledge . There was no sharer and again, we ran around the track as a way to get ready for the rest of the day. I am considering instituting this as a daily ritual to start our mornings. We played outside in the nature area. When we returned, the kids went around and named things they love about spring as part of the preparations for our upcoming all-school meeting. Our Read Aloud was “The Heroes of the Vegetable Path” by Ulf Stark and charlotte Ramel. It was an adventure about children shrinking down small and helping vegetables to survive a hot summer. It was a great tie in both to our talks about Spring and to our discussions about what makes a hero a hero. We decided that the kids in the books were heroes because they helped take care of others, they rescued someone, and they did kind things for their neighbor. Next we had a very short centers time where those who had not yet updated their Chick Journals had a chance to do so. I was called to the hallway by Ms. M____, who was delighted by a game that the kids in studio had started with the overhead projector. S_____ was using big salad tongs to act as an alligator mouth shadow puppet and L____ was jumping in in such a way that it looked like the shadow of the “Alligator” was eating his head. J____, I____, and C____ were helping to add scenery and sound effects to the scene. Very fun stuff!We celebrated J______’s birthday. Happy fifth, J______!On Friday-There was no Question of the Day because in the morning mayhem, Ms. Laura plum forgot!R____ shared about spiders. He shared that their fangs are full of venom that both numbs their prey so it doesn’t feel pain and kills their prey so they can eat it. He also shared that they can spin webs with string that is stronger than nylon, which he explained is what some clothes are made out of. L_____ clarified and asked, “does that mean that spider webs are like shirts?” And R____ explained that it is just strong like the string that makes clothes. J____ pointed out that spiders shoot web from their abdomen and JO______ drew the connection that web shooting reminds her of Octopi spraying ink. We played outside in the gorgeous spring day and I took the kids through the herb garden to touch the herbs and smell their hands to compare the scents of all the herbs. Next, we came inside and read poetry.I read them “In just Spring” and “i thank You God for most this amazing day” by e.e. Cummings. Both are beautiful poems about Spring.(Please note that while “i thank You God for most this amazing day” does have some clear religious themes, I was very intentional about centering our focus on the celebration of Spring and not on the religious aspects. In the interest of inclusivity, I omitted the word God while reading it. This way, I left the poem open to interpretation about the “You” addressed in the poem). Our conversations about these poems were absolutely stunning:“Spring is confident because it is so nice.” –IK____. I asked, “What things did you hear about Spring?”It is the sun’s birthday. – B____Me: What does that mean?B___: That we are celebrating Spring by having a birthday for the sun.Me: Why is it the sun that we’re celebrating? Why is the sun’s birthday now?J___: The sun is getting warm and it makes the plants grow. R___: in winter the sun was gone because it was so cold. And now it is back. I think that in winter, it is snow’s birthday and in spring, it is the sun’s birthday.Me: What about this line, “I who have died am alive again today,” ? What does it mean? Did someone really die?S____: No. It’s like, the sun was gone. It just faded away in the coldness. But now the sky is blooming. It was white. White white white. Because of alllllll the snow. But now, it’s getting back to how it used to be. It’s blue. It’s blooming. Me: S____s talking about what R____ noticed and what I noticed too. When it was winter, all the plants died and the sky got white, but now everything is back to how we are used to seeing it.S_____: Yeah. And in the summer, it will get hotter and the sky will get even bloomier. It will be the bloomiest. Me:What about this line: “This is the birthday of life and love and wings”?I___: It makes me think about how the birds are coming out and the people are coming out more and people are loving the weather and this place that they live in.”Me: I’m with I____. While you were playing in the sun and smelling the flowers, did you feel happiness or love? When I smelled the lavender on my hands, it made me feel the same feeling that love does. Next I read ‘In Just Spring” and asked what they thoughtMB_____: It makes me think of this video I saw of a person singing in Spring. He was stuck inside after a looong loonnng loooong cold cold winter and then when it was spring, he was happy so he came outside singing. Me: So this poem made you think about singing?MB______: No, about a video of a man singing.Me; So what did it make you think about?MB______: Love can be very respectful.Me: what do you mean by that?MB______: The poem made me feel love. Love is great! You always give hugs and kisses when you feel love. S_____: this poem makes me want to play outside.C_______ I think they’re saying “Wee” so many times because they are celebrating because they are so happy that it is Spring. Julia: It makes me think they should have a picnic outside!Next, we wrote a poem that I will read when our class hosts the Whole School Community Meeting next week. I went around the circle and asked each child to contribute a word or phrase. Here is our Spring Poem:TulipPeople come outsidePicnicPlay outsideHydrangeaPlay with your friendsIt is the sun’s birthdayHotMore People Come out of their housesSpring is awesomeRiding scootersPeople like SpringThe sun comes outIt is nice for you to play at the playgroundTake walksSun is hotYou can ride your bikeRosesSpring is beautifulThe flowers bloomEvery colorThe rain comesCherry blossomsThere’s more rain in the SpringHappily every after. Our read aloud was “Jack and The Beanstalk” by Nina Crews. It was a modern twist on the story. The kids had read the original with Ms. Mampara in foodprints and we used the opportunity to compare and contrast the two versions of the story. We had a very quick centers time that seemed to go by in a flash!Finally, X______ and D_____(C______’s brother and Mom) were our mystery readers! C________ was so thrilled to have his family come in!Notes:Snack next week belongs to L____’s familyDon’t forget to sign up for Mystery Reader! A new Signup Genius has just gone out!Next Wednesday, our class is hosting the All-School Community Meeting. While this event is not a performance and is mainly for the students, if you’d like to come and sit at the back of the room to witness our class’s turn, you are welcome to do so. ................
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