Sprout Kids

We completed our first science investigation this week.  Students used old nylons, grass seed, saw dust, and rubber bands to create Sprout kids.

These Sprout kids will be put into one of three place; Bright Light (natural sunlight), Pale Palace (classroom/fluorescent light), or Black Out (closet).  Students had to predict how their Sprout kid would grow in each environment.  After they finished their hypothesis, they named their Spout kid and drew a picture.  Over the next few weeks, students will water their Sprout kid and check to see how they are growing.  

Thank you to everyone that brought in materials for this project.  We would also like to thank Brady, Alyce, and Tierney's Papa, Mrs. Maas, and Mrs. Heinonen for volunteering their time.

September 2-5 Weekly Update

Our first week has come and gone, and what a fabulous week it was!  Now that we are up and running we thought we would give you a picture of what each subject area looks like in our learning space:

Math-
Students were given a pre-assessment at their grade level.  Based on their pre-assessment  and classroom observations, students were placed in groups based upon their needs.  Groups vary in size of 4-7 students.  In these groups, students are instructed directly by a teacher.  When their group is not meeting with a teacher, students are in a math fact practice station, a technology station or an independent station (where they work on workbook pages/remembering sheets).  As teachers, we are loving the small groups and the ability to focus on a select number of students at a given time.  The students are loving the movement of the math time and the ability to work with so few kids and one teacher.

Science/Social Studies-
We are starting the year in science with a focus on plants.  More specifically, their life cycle, how they make food, and what role they play in the oxygen cycle.  We did a short video preview of plants and are going to start off running with a fun activity that will last about two weeks, beginning on Tuesday.  Please visit our signup for materials needed for the activity: Science Sign Up.  Also, during this time, students will be brushing up on their typing skills. 

Literacy Workshops-
For our reading workshop, students were placed in book clubs of about 4 students/book.  The students set up their reading calendars to make sure they would be able to finish their book and complete a short report by September 24th.  When in our workshop model, students are using what they are reading to complete a book log and a reader's response.  Students are asked to write a short paragraph to answer one of the prompts we have given them-there are about 10 to choose from.  Also, during this workshop, students have visited two fun reading websites: abcya.com and Tumblebooks.  Next week, students will continue these stations and Mrs. Petersen and Ebert will being assessing the students using our Fountas and Pinell books.  
This week, students also took their first spelling assessment which helps us locate what their needs are as far as word work is concerned. We are calling spelling "Words" this school year and although it has a different title, is still the "Words Their Way" that we used last year.  There will be no weekly spelling assessments this year, instead we will check for understanding roughly every 5 or 6 weeks to ensure students are utilizing the new patterns-not just memorizing a list of words each week

We have heard from a few parents with questions on homework expectations.  Each week, students are asked to read at least 100 minutes.  The reading that is done at home should be documented in the assignment notebook with the title of the book and the minutes read.  Why is it so important to read at home?  Take a peek at this graphic:

We also check each morning to see that the assignment notebook has been signed by a parent.  This signifies to us that at home, the parent has checked the assignment notebook for notes from the teachers and has checked to make sure any homework for the night has been completed.  The assignment notebook is a fantastic tool for communication between home and school!

Some more exciting news-most kids have already handed their Google Permission forms back in with a parent signature so the Chromebooks should be making their appearance next week!

If you need to get a hold of us for any reason. please feel free to write a note, send an email apetersen@kewaskumchools.org & nebert@kewaskumschools.org or call 262-626-8427 ext. 5107.

First Day-In the Books!

Walking into the room this morning was such an amazing experience for us!  The morning started with the staff running around putting the finishing touches on the day's agenda and activities.  And then the kids came through the doors!

Some people may expect sad faces and slow feet as the end of summer and the beginning of school arrived, but not at WES!  Kids were rushing to their rooms looking for familiar faces and teachers to hug.  Parents were handing out well wishes to teachers and kids alike as they left the building.

Our learning space looked fabulous, but the big question was-would it work as an actual classroom?  The answer we found today?  Yup!  It sure will.

We spent most of the morning talking about expectations that the students had for themselves and their teachers.  We brainstormed, shared, discussed and created a short list of qualities anyone can see when they step into our learning space.  We ended our morning with a wonderful short video that gave a great start to a discussion about treating others with respect and kindness, no matter the situation.

The afternoon was full of some time getting reacquainted with Dreambox, completing a review of summer activity and ending the day with a great read-aloud.  Oh, and of course, recess was squashed in there too.

It was awesome to see the students hop right into the activities ready to grow and learn again. We are so excited to see what this year brings.  After such a fabulous day, there is no doubt we are headed for success!

Kids working on Dreambox!  After a little chaos getting everyone logged in, the kids got right to work. 

The beanbag chairs and couch quickly became the quiet, comfy place we were hoping it would be. 

Open House-A Success!

Thank you to all of the families who made it out to our Open House!  We loved seeing all of the familiar faces, and some new faces too.  It was great watching all of the kids find their crates and organize their sparkling new materials.  Another awesome aspect of the night was hearing so many positive comments about the layout of the room and the excitement of the upcoming year.  Yes, there has been a lot of change (some kids called things "weird"), but it is change for the better!  

On Tuesday, we plan on walking through the day with the kids.  We know this is going to be different for them, but we know if we prepare them and let them know what to expect they will have no problem finding their niche in the classroom.  

Watch for a new post next week with some classroom pictures and updates on how the room is working when the kids are finally here.  We are so looking forward to a great year with our fantastic students!  

Open House Tomorrow

Can you believe that summer is almost over?  A week from today, and we will be starting a new school year. We are excited for you to see the classroom at open house tomorrow.  Please bring your supplies and meet us in room 110 anytime between 4:00 - 6:00.  The PTO will also be hosting a book fair, so be sure to check that out in the cafeteria.

Progress!

We are making progress!  Our classroom is really beginning to look like a room designed for learning.  We still have some decorating and organizing to do before the Open House in a few weeks-but we're getting there!

Take a look at what the room looks like as of this morning:

• On the left you can see the book carts with some of our textbooks.  
• In the back section to the left you can see the Promethean board, groups of desks, a large whiteboard and a small group table in the far right hand corner.  
• The bookshelf with purple and pink bins is actually double sided with another 16 baskets on the other side, organized by reading level. 
• The small bulletin board beneath the flag has a bunch of beanbag chairs below it and is facing a couch for a cozy reading center.  
• More books continue in the pink, green, blue and yellow baskets on the right hand side of the picture.
• Between the bookshelves we have milk crates that will be used as individual storage space for each of the students.  This is where they can store their supplies, water bottles and any other treasures they may have. 
• Desks on the right are in a conversational U-shape and face a Promethean board.  
• The old staff lounge is now our 3-5 storage space.  You would also find both teacher desks in that space as well.  

We still have plenty to do before Open House, but we are so proud of the transformation this space has had so far.  Every time we move something we think about how it will impact the students, the learning and the feel of our room. 

Please make sure to have our Open House on your calendars: Wed. August 27th from 4-6

Summer is the perfect time for...

Summer is the perfect time for things like swimming, relaxing, being with friends, vacations with family!  For your teachers, it is a time for all of those things AND unpacking and arranging our new room!  It's not quite ready for all 43 students yet, but we are getting closer and closer.
At the beginning of July, our new classroom looked like a whole lot of boxes in an old library.  A few days of hard work left the room looking more like a classroom and less like a storage unit.  Take a look:

Using the desks and tables to organize what was once in boxes.  July 2014

All of the colored baskets are full of books organized by genre!  Mrs. Ebert spent a ton of time getting all the books where they needed to be.  July 2014

Did we mention how many books were sorted through?! July 2014  

More organizing.  The door you can see is the entry door into the computer lab. July 2014

More items to be sorted on the desks, boxes of books and one of the Promethean boards.  The door you can see is the entry that is across from the bathrooms.  July 2014