On Monday this week, we met baby Eli and mama Lori. The class was enamored with Eli and his mellow behavior. We had a great time learning what he could and couldn’t do yet. He almost rolled over for us; we are hopefully next time he will be showing off his rolling over moves. If you would like to know more about Eli and our predictions about what he can do, please visit the Roots of Empathy bulletin board in front of the classroom. All through the week I observed students going over to point at Eli’s picture and comment on what a special baby he was.
On Thursday we had our Halloween party and what a party it was! Thank you to all the families who helped make our Halloween extra special. I was especially proud of the class, we had a normal morning with our literacy block and then celebrated Halloween in the afternoon.
Friday was the launch of our PBL project. In the morning, we read the book Winfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and right when we finished reading the book, we received a phone call inviting us to Queen Anne Manor. Although the visit had been planned for about a month, it was important that the students think we were just invited spur of the moment. The excitement was contagious the rest of the day and after eating lunch, we walked over to Queen Anne Manor. Before we left, we brainstormed things we might take to share with the residents and the first thing out of everyone’s mouth was “Our Writing!” Armed with our writing, coloring supplies, and a few games, we met our new friends. It was amazing to see how naturally the students interacted and conversed with the residents. After 45 minutes, we bid our new friends good-bye and headed back to QAE. Before we went to recess, I asked students to share one thing they learned at the Manor. It could be as simple as one of the resident’s names, however, most shared much more than just names. We learned Paul went to a university in Michigan, Noreen had never played one of our favorite math games before, Jack was born in Seattle and much more. Thank you to everyone who came with us to the Manor.
Finally, at the end of the day, Ms. Teske’s mom came to visit all the first grades and share a little bit about first grade when she went to school. We learned there were a lot of differences, for example, in her class there were multiple grade levels not just one class of first grade!
Upcoming Events:
Library will be on Monday. Please remember library books.
On Friday, we will be singing in the Veteran’s Day assembly. We would love for you to join us; it will take place from 9:35-10:00.
Below our photos from our visit to the Manor.