Creative Play

At first glance we see that the Grand Prix has come to room K-3. In reality the track built by Lucas, Fin, and Noah is a fine example of creative play. This team effort took planning, cooperation, and self-discipline.

While all this fun might be called "free choice" time it actually helps build a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of elements, such as working memory and cognitive flexibility. But perhaps the most important is self-regulation — the ability for kids to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline. Executive function — and its self-regulation element — is important. In fact, good executive function is another predictor of success in school as well as a child's IQ.

Everyday Math Is Everywhere!

While our scheduled math lessons are first thing in the morning before our P.E. class at 9:15, math related concepts are frequently integrated through-out the school day, and beyond. Just look at the math related activities the class has been involved in today.

*Reading and rereading Monday's schedule, noting the times on the classroom clock
*Finding page 55 in our handwriting books so we can practice printing the letter "e"
*Counting and comparing answers on the "Question of the Day" graph
*Traveling in number order with a new line leader each week
*Using our time wisely when given two more minutes of snack or work time
*Recognizing where to sit in both Art and Music according to our classroom seating locations
*Writing with the sequence of time that spans morning, afternoon, and night
*Using the digital cameras to take pictures of things with shapes on campus
*Creating working partner pairs, which led to counting by twos, and recognizing we are an uneven group when one is absent
* A brief discussion of odd and even numbers, and what that means
*Looking at the clock for when the long hand lands on 6, it is 30 minutes after the hour...12:30...recess!
*Counting the seconds backwards from 15 as we watch for recess time to begin
*Counting by tens the marbles in our "Do the Right Thing" jar (341 marbles!)

Revising Our Small Moment Stories

For the past several weeks in writers' workshop the children have been learning how to make their good writing even better. We have talked about extending our stories, inserting words in the middle of sentences using carats, and using talk bubbles so our characters can speak. All of these revising techniques add more detail to our stories and make them more interesting. Each student used a purple felt-tipped pen to add their revisions to their stories. Using the purple pens was very motivating and the children eagerly looked for ways to add to their stories.

We have talked about what we need to do to complete a whole three page story, including the illustrations and the writing, in one writing session. Everyone agrees that concentration is the most important skill needed; but, it is also important to limit erasing and to focus on the story you are writing about. Most of the class is able to write a new story each day.

This Friday will be our celebration for the end of the revision unit. Each child will select their best story to "pretty up." We have invited Mrs. Cameron's second grade class to come down to share our celebration with us and to hear our stories. We will begin at 12:30. Parents are also invited to join us. Please let me know if you plan to attend. The children are very proud of their great stories and are eager to share them.