This Week

Wondering what we're up in room 401 to these days?  Read on to find out the juicy details... and use this info to get more news out of your child!

• Community Building Activities:     Creating a safe, warm and inclusive classroom environment is crucial these first weeks. Through getting-to-know-eachother activities, whether a read aloud, project activity, or playing games in the park, we hope to establish a firm foundation for friendships, kindness, and collaboration. 
• Classroom Routines:     This week, we are teaching and practicing classroom routines, such as responding to the chime, arrival and dismissal procedures, and transitioning from activity to activity. Routines are so important in sustaining a self-sufficient and self-directed classroom community. Having routines in place from the beginning of the year only helps us later on as the work load becomes more rigorous!
• Hopes & Dreams:     After reading inspirational books such as "The Tin Garden," "Leo the Late Bloomer," and "Matthew's Dream," students will be asked to decide on their own hopes and dreams for first grade. After several rough drafts, each student will illustrate and write their hope and dream on a quilt patch.   We'll assemble all the patches together into a beautiful quilt that will hang by our classroom door all year long, reminding us that if we work together, our hopes and dreams will prosper.
• Classroom Rules: Once the students have finished detailing their hopes and dreams, the class will come together to create rules necessary for making their hopes and dreams come true. This process spans several days.
• Self Portrait Project:     Each student will draw and then paint a self portrait. We will display our water-color portraits in the hallway, and later hang them in our classroom.