Drum Circles

Every Monday, we have a drum circle to help us make the transition from the weekend back into the school environment. Drumming gives us a chance to lead, to follow, to build community and to make music. It takes a lot of concentration to keep the beat. Notice how focused our faces are in the photos below.

Homework
No homework for the weekend. Enjoy some good books with your child.

IA (Integrated Arts)
Our IA class next week is Art.

Library

We had our first visit to the school library today. Our regular library time will be on Thursdays at 10:25 am. Please help your child remember to bring their books back to school by Thursday mornings so that they can check out new books. We love visiting Ms. Diana and the library!

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 1.13 Number Stories

Character Traits

Students at our school learn about and try to live by five character traits:
beneficence - being kind to others
empathy - understanding how others are feeling and seeing things from their perspective
integrity - doing the right thing even when no one is watching
stewardship - take care of our world and our place in it
perseverance - continuing to try even when things are challenging

We have read several books about each trait to help us understand them better. You can see the titles of some of them in the pictures below.

Common questions that I ask during our closing circle each day is: How did you show a character trait today? or Did you see someone else show a character trait today? You could ask these same questions at home, too.

Self-Portraits
Last week, we drew our self-portraits. We noticed lots of similarities and differences in our hair, eyes and skin. We talked about how we were different on the outside in some ways but the same on the inside in some ways. We are crew. (Click on the picture to see a larger version.)

Homework 
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 1.12 Thermometers

Guidelines for Behavior

Our school only has 3 rules or guidelines for behavior that cover most any situation. They are:

• You may do anything that does not create a problem for you or anyone else in the world.
• If you find yourself with a problem, you may solve it by any means that does not cause a problem for anyone else in the world.
• You may do anything that does not jeopardize the safety or learning of yourself or others. Unkind words and actions will not be tolerated.

We discussed these as a crew and then signed our names to show that we all agreed to live by these rules. (You will notice that we shortened that last rules a bit in our discussion. You can click on the picture to see a larger version of it.)

Homework
Reading ~ Read a good book or two.
Math ~ Home Link 1.10 Tally Marks

Patrol Groups

Yesterday we met with the patrol groups that we formed to go on our Voyage. We divided into two patrols groups. Our first task as a group was to choose names for our groups. This is a hard task for first graders. There are so many great names out there. Our final choices were the Eagles and the Rattlesnakes. Ask your child which patrol group he or she is in.

 

IA (Integrated Arts)

Our IA class next week is PE. Be sure to wear appropriate footwear.

Cutting and Gluing Practice

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, we practiced cutting and gluing in a fun way. We cut various colors of construction paper into small squares. Then we glued them on a piece of paper in the shape of our name. The crew thought that this was great fun while Ms. Wendy and I used this time as an opportunity to teach cutting and gluing skills. The finished products are so colorful. We are enjoying having them on display in our room. (Click on the picture for a larger view.)

Brain Breaks and Body Breaks

At various times throughout our day, we take little brain and body breaks. We do all kinds of activities during these breaks. Some that are pictured below include walking on a pretend tightrope, crunches and jumping jacks. We have many more to learn. These help us all burn off a little extra energy and stay fit and healthy at the same time.