September 21, 2012

Another week wraps up!

Today in skills the Zesty Wombats reviewed suffixes and talked about tricky spellings.  They learned that the -ed suffix can make 3 different sounds.  It can say /ed/ like in added, /d/ like in paddled, or /t/ like in switched.  They also learned that the -s suffix can make 2 sounds: /s/ like in cats and /z/ like in dogs.  They read the story The Chips in which the cat bandit uses a catapult to shoot himself on top of the refrigerator to get the chips. 

The Ice Dragons finished the second chapter of The Mouse and the Motorcycle.  They've now met Keith (the boy) and Ralph (the mouse), and are excited to find out more about their friendship.

The Screaming Mustaches have been working on making good summaries.  It's hard to figure out just how many details to include in a summary, and that's something we'll continue to work on all year.  They read The Pancake Part 2, which is a lot like the Gingerbread Man story.  They found it pretty easy to summarize it!

In centers, the kids finished creating b's and d's.  They used clay to make the letters, and practiced just making them at demand and also making the letter that corresponded to the beginning sound of a word.  They also did some chaining.  Chaining is when they start with one word and then a sound changes and they have to write the next word in the chain.  An example of a chain is car --> card --> hard --> harp --> sharp --> shard...etc.  The kids do chains that go along with the sounds they're learning or reviewing.  The last center was another calming strategy center, which Michelle will post about soon. 

This afternoon were curriculum projects.  The second graders are finishing crafts relating to Hinduism.  They also learned about the celebration Diwali, which is a festival of lights that celebrates the triumph of good over evil.  The first graders continue to learn about the world and its continents and oceans. 

At all pod, Velma's pod released about 35 butterflies to go to Mexico.  We all got to go outside and watch them fly away.  One landed on Richard! 

This week, we've spent some time talking about being "sneaky mean."  I've noticed some kids in our class doing things that qualify as "sneaky mean."  Sneaky mean is doing something that's mean-intentioned but could be disguised as something nice.  For example, one child could ask another child about TV shows they like to watch.  But they might ask questions like, "Do you like to watch Sesame Street?  What about Dora the Explorer?  What about The Wiggles?"  When they ask these questions, they're not asking to find out whether they really like those TV shows - they're asking to gather fodder to make fun of the child.  The other child might not know they're doing it, and that's what makes it sneaky mean. 

Another example of "sneaky mean" is doing something like announcing, "I'm going to sit with all my friends!  I'm going to sit with Jane and Meg and Alice and Maria.  These people are all my friends and they're the only ones I'm going to sit with!"  This is sneaky mean because it deliberately excludes other children and makes them feel like they don't have friends.

After giving the kids many examples of sneaky mean and discussing how it's hurtful to others, I also told them that sneaky mean is absolutely unacceptable and that if I see it or hear of it, I'll be contacting parents.  Please help to encourage your children to be kind to others, even if they aren't friends with them.  I'm working really hard to create a safe, inclusive environment and every bit you can help at home to reinforce that is wonderful.

Have a great weekend!