Marybeth & Lora’s Class Notes
September brought with it crisp air, strong winds, and the feeling of fall - it’s hard to believe that we were splashing in the pool a week ago! Our school year is off to a wonderful start. Through games, stories, and collaborative projects we have been building friendship and community.
The start of the year is the time for constructing a strong foundation upon which we can build a year of meaningful learning. From sharing feelings at our morning meeting to creating our classroom expectations, the children are learning that they have important contributions to make and that their voices matter. These weeks are essential in making sure that all students feel safe, happy, and supported.
Reading is at the heart of everything we do. We have already read more than a half dozen books, and have started our first chapter book, Ribsy, by Beverly Cleary. We have been working with each student to set personalized learning goals, and have successfully launched our first reading and writing workshops. Our young authors began illustrating, dictating and/or printing their first books of the year, and our reading workshop was launched with a grand opening of our classroom library. All students were able to select books of their choosing and snuggle down under our classroom “tree” to enjoy them.
Art, music and creativity fill the air. Our once empty walls are slowly filling up with self portraits, one hand drawn and another constructed of cardboard, along with a series of abstract watercolor paintings. Steve Hudson joined us on Friday for our first music class. In honor of her passing, the children have begin learning the first in a series of songs by the late Dolly Parton. You’ll have to wait until November’s Feast of Remembrance for their performance!
In the coming weeks we will enjoy apple picking, our first trip to a local library, and a visit with David Berringer, the architect of our new building where our “librarians” will get to view the space for the first time. It’s going to be a great year!
