September in Review!

New Beginnings

Wow! We can't believe one month of school has already past.  We couldn't be happier with our new classroom family. We started out the month establishing important rituals and routines, getting to know each other, and having some serious fun!

"Getting to Know You" Wheel of Fun

Mind-Up
We are so lucky to have Mrs. Colucci working with our class this year.  She will be joining us on Mondays, teaching us to be "Mindful" people.  We are learning all about the brain, and how we are in control of our bodies! This can help us to make good choices! We love "Mind-up!"

Amazing Mathematicians

Using our new math program (Math in Focus), for the second year, we truly feel the students have a stronger understanding of math and demonstrating knowledge of curriculum.  We have been using manipulatives, visual aides, and good old paper and pencil to demonstrate all we know!  Place Value, adding with and without regrouping, and solving challenging word problems, all proved that we are excelling in the area of math.  Go Team Marsen!




Wonderful Writing
We jumped right into writing workshop this year.  We decorated our notebooks and created heart maps to show important people, places, and things in our lives.  We learned that things that we love are the "watermelon" ideas for our writing.  Ask your child what the "seeds" are in writing?

Reading Rocks!

Wow! Reading in Room 13 has been a true adventure.  We established reading partners and reviewed how to "turn and talk" as well as "think, pair, share". Right now, we are working a very important reading skill- making text-to-self connections.  Ask your reader what a level 1, level 2, and a level 3 connection is and see if he/she can make a level 3 connection after reading a book! Relating the text to your own life and coming to the conclusion of the "big idea" is truly an important reading skill.

Finish Up Friday- "Word Hard, Play Hard!"

By now, we are sure you have heard about the opportunity for free play in our classroom.  We truly feel that students who finish their work and demonstrate a good work ethic should be rewarded.  Last period of the day on Friday is a special time when students can have free time in the classroom and work on team playing skills, such as sharing, taking turns, speaking appropriately, cooperation and cleaning up together.  They truly love this time!

Students enjoying free time!

"Each Kindness"To kick off the school year, Mr. Sinanis read the book Each Kindness to our class.  We found the book inspirational, and chose to do a follow-up activity.  We challenged our students to generate 21 acts of kindness.  See below on 21 ways you can be kind. 

Class Pledge

Following Constitution Day, our class decided we needed our own "Class Constitution".  Click on the video below to hear about what rules we generated from a homework assignment. We look forward to following these important rules this year!

We are so excited to be able to share our classroom happenings  with all of you.  Please post a comment to let us know your thoughts- something you liked or even something you would like to hear more about! Stay tuned for our next addition...