Monday, December 17th, 2012

Today has been such a nice, refreshing way to get back to some feeling of normal. I have so enjoyed being with my "kiddos" again today. Thank you for sharing them with me!

This week's IA: PE
IA after break: Art

Reader's Workshop
We had the great opportunity to learn from our 6th graders last week. A group from Ms. Lisa's Crew came in and modeled what a Literature Discussion group looks like. We were all able to sit and listen as they discussed a question they had about the book, Jumanji. The big things we noticed about the discussion were that they stayed focused and didn't talk about anything but the book and they didn't talk over each other. They took turns and listened respectfully. We also noticed that they came prepared with their thoughts written down. Because of this modeling, we are now better able to talk about our thinking about the books we read. Thank you Ms. Lisa's 6th graders!

Writer's Workshop
On Friday, Ross Swirling, the lead singer and lyric writer for my husband's band, was our guest speaker. He taught us about why writing is important, why he writes, the process he uses to write poems and songs, and all about revising and editing in the "real world" of punk rock music. :) The kids had a blast learning from Ross and we have so many tips we can apply to our writing, especially as we learn to write poetry.

On Wednesday, many of you came in to share your child's published writing. I saw many smiles and heard many laughs as we shared our persuasive letters. This shows how much voice we had in our letters. Thanks so everyone who was able to make it. I will send home copies of the childrens' letters. Their originals will go in their portfolios.