This week was all about apples! We read books about apples and legends about Johnny Appleseed. We made some great apple themed art projects as well! 

We have been working with a new writing curriculum that is closely linked with great books and has a strong social skills component. We do some drawings and write about them (sounding out words, thinking about beginning and ending sounds, adding details to our pictures) in our special writing notebooks.  Then, we share our writing on the big screen! 

We went to the library with Mrs. Schafer, our media specialist. We listened to a story, learned how to take care of library books, and then checked out a book of our own to read in our classroom! 

We work on our play several times a week. We are learning how to say our lines loudly and with our partners and we're practicing where to stand so the audience can see us. We hope that someone from each child's family will be able to join us on Thursday, October 26 at 2:00 in our classroom - it is sure to be a fun event! 

We have been practicing a new coping skill - "ignoring". We can use ignoring when someone is acting silly, trying to distract us or bothering us with faces or words. We learned that ignoring means we turn away or stop looking at the person and we stop saying words to them. Sometimes we also need to use "move away" or "get adult help" - two other good coping skills. We always prompt students to use coping skills, and we always reward their efforts. 

We also use "get help" when we are stuck on our work, feel upset or confused or when we don't know what to do...but we practice raising our hand with a quiet mouth so that we don't disturb our classmates. 

Our Wonderful Field Trip!

We were excited to get on the big school bus to go on our field trip Monday morning. 

We learned all about insects and spiders at the Outdoor Center. We listened, played games, tried on bug glasses and wings, used puppets, looked at actual insects and went on a wonderful hike in the woods. The children were all wonderful, they worked well as a team, and we were very proud of them! We had a great time eating lunch together too. When they returned from their trip, they drew pictures to send to the WL Foundation for Excellence - they provided the mini grant to help us with our field trip. I think these pictures say it all!

Getting into our school routine

Our first full week of school was very productive. We were able to visit the media center (book check out has not begun yet), go to art and music and PE classes and have some fun recess time.
We continued working on our farm unit and created more animals, tractors and barns this week. 

We learned how to choose a book box and look at/or read the books in the box quietly. This helps children build their attention spans while developing literacy skills. 

We practiced listening to and following directions. This picture helps us remember the steps to doing this the right way: 

We will  spend a lot of time working on the Zones of Regulation. The green zone is where we are "good to go" - we are ready to learn, we feel calm and in control, and other people feel comfortable around us. When we become frustrated or irritated, we may be in the yellow zone. This is the time to stop and use a coping skill to get back in the green zone. Extreme anger and unsafe behavior happens when we don't use a coping skill - we lose control, we get in trouble with our behavior and other people do not feel comfortable around us. This is the red zone. Most children really do want to be in the green zone and coping skills are a great way for them to manage strong feelings.  We introduced and practiced two new coping skills -  move away and take a break.  

We want our students to know that when someone is making noise or irritating them, and won't stop when asked, it is smart to just move away from the problem. We cannot always make another person stop or change a behavior, but we can change our proximity to them. We also want our students to know that when they begin to feel frustrated (this is a yellow zone feeling) it is OK to just stop and take a little break. No one gets in trouble for doing this. We find that most kids are able to move on after a little break. 

***Reminder - our Field Trip to the Outdoor Center is Monday. Please send a sack lunch and drink - we will eat at the Outdoor Center. I will be sure to take a lot of pictures of our fun day!

***Reminder - our play, BIG PUMPKIN, will be held on Thursday, October 26 at 2:00 in our classroom. Friends and family are invited to see our performance and join us for treats afterwards! 

Our First Week!

Our first week was wonderful! We reviewed and practiced many "ready to learn" skills, such as walking in a line...

completing work neatly and putting it in the finished work box...

and working with classmates at reading group...

We were able to go to PE class, music and out on the playground for recess!

We were able to have many great Center Time opportunities - we learned how to use new toys and how to clean them up quietly. These activities help us develop our focus and our fine motor skills. 

We also reviewed two coping skills and will add them to our coping skill board. We learned about deep breathing and stop, think, choose. Both are good ways to get our bodies calm and in the green zone before we make an unwise decision. The goal with these coping skills is to slow our bodies down so that our brains can think before we act. 

Our special theme right now is "farms". We created farmers, cows and horses this week. Don't they look great! 

Next Wednesday, September 13, is Curriculum Night for our classroom. It will be from 6:00 to 7:00 - I am looking forward to seeing you all!  

I am sending home a field trip permission slip for our field trip to the WL Outdoor Education Center on September 18. We will take a school bus and participate in many hands on science activities. There is no cost. Please send a sack lunch and drink with your child that day - we will eat at the Outdoor Center before returning to school.