Classroom News: Week of November 26th

Dear Barn Swallow Families,

Last week we were busy!  On Wednesday we had a 'math in the garden' Out & About.  We estimated the quantity of fava beans in our seed envelope.  Then we grouped them by 10's and 1's to quickly find the total.  Finally, we divided the fava beans between 6 garden beds and amazingly, we had 36 beans!  We used standard measurement (inches) and non-standard measurement (hands, fingers) to figure out how deep and far apart to plant the fava beans and flower bulbs.  Be on the look-out this spring for tulips and daffodils!  

On Friday we made handprint trees with leaves to express what we were thankful for.  We continued to work on our stories using play dough, watercolor paint, colored pencils, shadows, and natural materials.  Students are writing fiction and non-fiction stories.  In math first graders worked with odd & even numbers and used them to make equations.  Second graders continued learning about regrouping ones into tens.  They learned how to use the hundred grid as a tool for adding and subtracting.  Students also began learning about inches, which came in handy for flower bulb planting.  

Home Bags will now be coming home on Tuesday, but please continue to bring them to school on Monday.  There was a conflict with the space needed to prep the bags on Mondays.  Thank you for helping your children to return their homework each week.  We are using a class bar graph to keep track of how many Home Bags are returned each Monday.  Last week we had 14 and this week we had 15.  We hope to get to 21 regularly!

Thank you families!

Sincerely,

Sherry

A special note from Sherry and Karen:

We are thankful for students who are curious and inquisitive, and willing to take risks, for students that make mistakes and learn from them, for eager and diverse children that walk into our rooms each morning and work hard to come together as a strong community.  We are thankful for all you do to support your children as they learn and grow.  Thank you!  

Karen & Sherry

Classroom News: Week of November 13th

Dear Barn Swallow Families,

Last week we began preparing the school garden beds for the winter.  Students learned about how to use fava beans as cover crops.  Fava beans are great to plant in the garden in the fall because they can handle the cold winter weather, they protect the soil from being compacted by the heavy rains, they take nitrogen from the air and deliver it to the soil, and you can even eat them!  Students learned about using leaves as mulch in the garden bed, inviting many worms.  We had a sunny and dry day in the garden and students made many observations, connections, and discoveries.

We had many students share their story workshop writing with the class.  Students chose to work with a variety of materials, from play dough to creating shadows with the projector, and worked on both fiction and non-fiction stories.  In math, first graders explored properties of addition using buttons and bugs.  Second graders were introduced to regrouping for addition using base ten pieces.  They continued to work on telling time to the exact minute.

Thank you for sending your child to school with rain gear and layers!  Being prepared for a variety of weather at school allows our class to be ready for recess fun outdoors, as well as keeps students comfortable during outdoor learning.

Thank you families!

Sincerely,

Sherry

Classroom News: November 5th

Dear Barn Swallow Families,

Last week we worked on creating shadow puppet stories that the students shared with each other during our 'spooky story sharing time.'  (Take a look at the photographs in the album to the right to see our shadows!)  In math the first grade students worked on sorting and graphing.  Second graders continued to work on telling time and place value.  On Thursday we spent the day at Jackson Bottom Wetland learning about owls and other birds, and taking a walk to find signs of wildlife.  The students had opportunities to try tools that helped them understand how various birds have adaptations that allow them to successfully eat various foods.  They used binoculars to observe birds in the wetland, and they learned about how feathers serve several needs for birds.  The students did a great job asking interesting questions and sharing information.  Thank you to Jason, Richard, Carrie, and Rachelle for volunteering! 

Home bags came home on Monday!  Please note that with Veteran's Day next Monday, the home bags will be coming back to school on Tuesday.  We encourage all families to work with their child through the homework pieces, as immediate feedback is most valuable for our first and second graders!

Thank you families!

Sincerely,

Sherry