New School Year '08

Hello to all the Omega parents! This blog is how I will pass along information about what we have done in the classroom and what is coming up. We can also have a discussion on the blog if people post comments. All you have to do is create an account. It's pretty easy and only requires your email address and a password. It doesn't have to be a gmail address. Please let me know if this format doesn't work for you (you can't get online to read it), and I can print you a hard copy.

The first week of school went smoothly. We are working on building our classroom community and have had a discussion about what that means to us. Our ideas will be up on the classroom wall. We played cooperative elbow tag, in which the goal is to get everyone an equal number of turns. We also played Two Truths and a Trick. Each student wrote three things about him or herself (only two that were true though), and the class had to figure out which were true and which one was not. On Friday, the students participated in a human knot acitivity. In groups of varying numbers, students crossed their arms and held hands with their teammates in the form of a circle. Then they had to untangle themselves safely. The goal was communicating to effectively solve a problem. The kids did well and had fun. Then they wrote in their journals about the experience...their first journal writing assignment.

On a more academic note...I administered the first spelling assessment, and instruction will begin tomorrow. Students have also had their first exposure to the new cursive handwriting program that I am using this year called Handwriting Without Tears. I will start reading assessments this week, also.

Charley and I are trying to set the date for our class potluck for Thursday, September 25. Does this work for everyone? We are thinking of having the potluck at school and securing childcare so that we can have adult conversations. Please contact Charley if you have not touched base with him already.

Last year I took my class to the UVM Ropes Course. I'd like to do so again, as it was a powerful learning experience for everyone. I was thinking of sometime in October before the weather gets too chilly and after we have had some time to work on our classroom commuity. The cost of the Course is around $30 per child. Please check in with me or Charley and let us know if this is something that works for you/something you'd like your child to do.

Have a great week!
Rachel