A few tidbits from our week

Yummy!   One of our "wonders of the day" took us on a trip with Maya and Miguel of PBS Kids.  The wonder was, "Who is your abeula?"   The game was a cooking game with grandma (abeula).   One of the recipes was "Indian Mango Lassi".    Well, most of us had never had a lassi....except for Disha and Samay!   They told us that lassis were super yummy!  So we printed out the recipe.   You should have gotten it in your Friday papers.   Can I just say DELICIOUS?!!   I have already had two!

Our Friday schedule is different than any other day of the week.  I gave you a good idea of what our schedule was in our star book but I should have put a disclaimer that "we are still tweaking our schedule".   For example, we may be moving art to the mornings and assessments to the afternoon.   We do assess on Fridays.   Yesterday, we took our first concept test (math) and phonogram test.   For the concept test, we went step by step and did it together.   Next Friday, we will take the SAME test but this time individually.   

We also did one of my favorite lessons of the week!   It was based on this book given to me by my partner teacher, Ms. Miley!  (Thank you, Ms Miley!!)

First graders (and adults alike) can get frustrated when they are trying to draw something and it doesn't look "just right".   Here's a great review..

"Ramon loves to draw: "Anytime. Anything. Anywhere." When his older brother laughs at one of his pictures and points out that it does not look like a real vase of flowers, a dejected Ramon crumples up all of his efforts. However, he soon learns that his younger sister has hung the discarded papers on her bedroom walls. When he declares that the picture of the vase doesn't look like the real thing, she says that it looks "vase-ISH." The child then begins to produce paintings that look "tree-ish," "afternoon-ish," and "silly-ish." His "ish art" inspires him to look at all creative endeavors differently. The watercolor, ink, and tea illustrations have a childlike charm. Set against white backgrounds, the quirky line drawings and restrained use of color combine to create an attractive, unique picture book. The small size lends itself to one-on-one sharing and thoughtful examination. Ish, like Leo Lionni's Frederick (Knopf, 1967), encourages readers to see the world anew. - Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI" 

We drew all sorts of fun "ish" drawings!   The kids were FANTASTIC! 

LOVE IT!!!!

The kids have been getting very good at bringing their STAR books to school each day.  Keep it up!!  It helps them SO MUCH with their organization.   If your child does not have a second binder, please get them one this weekend.  We use it to organize many things in their desk.  Speaking of desks....oh my!   We had our first big clean out on Friday!  The world is definitely divided into "Felix and Oscars"....:)   Do you remember the Odd Couple?

We had our Felixs help out our Oscars!   

Your child should have brought home their Poetry Journal.   This will be coming home each weekend and is always the only homework your child will have on the weekends.   Oh homework....I will be writing another post about that tomorrow....

Have a great weekend!

Also keep in mind all the kinks are NOT worked out of our e-mail system yet.  I am NOT receiving all emails from you.   It's very spotty so please continue to use my personal email for any pressing concerns or questions.  IF you haven't heard from me regarding an email you sent, please don't think I'm ignoring you!   I am not a flake....really....

Oh PARENT VOLUNTEERS, how we LOVE you and how we NEED you!!!!

Mrs. Taylor and I are working on getting the schedule together.  Depending on the capacity that you are helping, we may need to have a fingerprint and background check so I will be in contact with you regarding that.   There is a fee associated with the check so we can chat about that when we figure out exactly who has volunteered to do what.   

Thank you so much!

Carin