Ask me all about our Writing Celebration!  We went outside today and sat under a big maple tree.  We each brought a special stuffed friend with us.  We were just like Trixie, the main character in Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems.
We sat together and listened as each friend read their story in the Author's Chair.  It was so beautiful in the shade!  We loved hearing everyone's pieces.
We noticed that some people used speech bubbles and big print, just like Mo Willems.  We also noticed that we have become excellent authors and illustrators this year!  We are very proud of our hard work!!!

Ask me all about my writing piece!  I have been "fancy-ing" up my story so that it is ready for tomorrow's celebration.  

We have been looking closely at the works of author Mo Willems!  We made a big list of all the things we noticed about his writing and illustrating.  We LOVE his books and we think he is a fabulous mentor author!

Ask me all about Mrs. Brady's Reading Challenge!!!  Today we discussed all of the work that readers do when they read.  We reviewed picture walking, using our strategies, fluency, and retelling.  Then we talked about all of the questions we ask our reading partners...What was your favorite part?  and What did the story remind you of? etc.
New Just Right books will not be coming home this week because over the next few days we will be working on some reading assessments.  We get to show off our reading!  We have learned so much this year!!!  We can't wait!!

Ask me all about our special visitor!!!  Today Miss Stephanie came from the CT Science Center to teach us about shadows.  We looked closely at sundials and the Earth's rotation.  Then we used Legos to practice positional language, such as above, beside, under, behind, & in front of.
Next we used a flashlight to make our own shadows!!!  We moved our shadows, made them grow and shrink, and shared our observations.
It was so cool!!!!

Ask me all about our Fifth Grade friends!   We worked very hard this afternoon, even though some of us were very afraid of the thunder and lightening.   
When we were lining up for music Jack G. and Jack K. walked by.  There was a big clap of thunder and everyone was worried, so we asked the 5th graders if they were afraid of the thunder.  The boys said, "No, not anymore" and then went on to explain what thunder is.  They told us that thunder was just the warm clouds (air) and the cool clouds (air) running into each other and that it was just "noise in the sky".  We were so relieved and felt much better!!!  We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family of friends here at Warren School.  Thank you, boys!!!

Ask me all about the scientific book I finished today!  We have been working hard on a Frog Life Cycle book.  Today we added more details and then shared them.  Since these are informational texts, used to teach people about frogs, we had to make sure that the colors we used in our diagrams were natural colors (we know that frogs are not pink!)
Then we dove into a bucket of brand new informational/non-fiction books!  We curled up and read about sharks, helicopters, ladybugs, and much much more!!!!
We love learning about new things!

Ask me all about Mo Willems!!  Last week we found out that he wrote another book in the Knuffle Bunny series.  We were so excited that Mrs. Brady ordered it and it came in the mail yesterday!!!

Ask me all about data collection!  In math, we have been learning different ways to share information that we have collected.  We can use a T-chart, a tally chart, or bar graph.
Today we played a new game called "grab & graph".  We used teddy bear counters.  After grabbing a handful, we sorted, and then graphed our results!!!  Then we made observations about our data!!!  We are so smart!!!

Ask me all about the animals in and around Warren School.  1st, 3rd, and 5th grade are hatching baby chicks...as we speak!!!  We can hear their little chirps coming down the hallway.  Our tadpoles are growing and eating...eating and growing.  It is so fun to watch.
And today we had a baby chipmunk in the feeder in our science center!!!  
Life cycles in action...we think science is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Ask me all about our swimming pool!!!!!!!!!  We are diving into reading!  
Today during our reading stations we worked with the ipad in our new pool.   We used the Wet, Dry, Try app from Handwriting Without Tears.  It is so cool.
Next we climbed up our tree house and enjoyed some Mo Willems books (our mentor author). The we curled up on the carpet with our just right book boxes.  What a fun drizzly day!!!

Ask me all about taking a survey!!!  We just started a new math unit on data collection.  We have been collecting information about the weather all year long, during our morning meeting.  So we began our study by looking closely at our weather data.  It was amazing to look back to September and see all of the rainy, stormy, snowy, cloudy, and sunny days we have had!
Yesterday we realized that it was hard to write down everyone's names when surveying.  Many of us were wondering if there was an easier way to collect information.   Today we worked with tally marks.  First we practiced on white boards.  Then we used them on the SMART board to answer the question of the day.  We noticed that it was much more efficient!!!

Ask me all about our Pigeon centers!  Today we celebrated the character work we have been doing with Mo Willems' main character, Pigeon.  We made pigeon hats, we graphed our favorite pigeon books.  We also create our own ideas for new stories Mo Willems can write....like "Don't let the Pigeon rive a Motor boat!" and "Don't let the Pigeon Mow the Lawn!"
What a fun way to celebrate reading!!!

Ask me all about Pigeon and Duckling!!!  They are two of our favorite Mo Willems' characters.  We have been reading Pigeon books all week.  Today we made pigeon and Duckling finger puppets and acted out the stories.  Madison said, "It makes the characters come alive!!!"
Before we used our puppets, we made a big chart to help us analyze the characters' behaviors.  (So we would know what kind of voices to use!)   We shared our ideas and made sure that we used the word  "because" and gave evidence from the stories.  
We had some amazing ideas!  Mrs. Woodington thought she had walked into a 6th grade classroom!!!  :)

Ask me all about our new doorbell!!!  When you walk in our room we have a sign that says "It's time...to Rewind!"
Over the next few weeks we will be doing a lot of reviewing.  This week we concentrated on capital/upper case letters.  We have had fun doing Wet, Dry, Try, working with magnetic letters, and constructing letters with our wooden pieces.  We even took a Capital Quiz!!!  We are so smart!!!
Of course, even though we are rewinding....we are still doing a lot of our favorite thing....READING!!!!!

Ask me all about my day!  I will tell you about the new read aloud we are sharing.  It is called Lady Lollipop, by Dick King Smith.  I will tell you about the tadpoles and the informational video we watched on the Smart board.  I will tell you about Mo Willems, our new mentor author, and his silly characters, Pigeon and Duckling.  I will also tell you about our new math game, "Three Strikes and you are OUT!!!"
But shhhhhhhh...... I can't tell you all about our special Mother's Day surprise!!!!

Ask me all about my afternoon!!!  We spent the  end of the day with our first grade friends so that the in-coming kindergarteners could visit our classroom.  (It was fun to hear all of the little voices next door.  They were so loud!!!)

Ask me all about Mo Willems!!!!  He is a wonderful author!!!   We started looking closely at his work today.  We read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and we laughed and laughed!  
First, during Readers Workshop, we read it just for fun...enjoying the language and the illustrations.  Then, during Writer's Workshop, we reread it, like writers.  We looked for special things that Mo did as a writer.  We noticed that the whole story is told using speech bubbles.  How cool!   Then we went off and tried the same thing.  It looks easy, but we worked really hard!! 

Ask me all about the new members of our classroom!!!  We have tadpoles in our Science Area!!!  We are going to get to take care of them and watch them grow into Frogs.  How cool!
Today we shared what we already know about frogs/tadpoles and what we want to know.  Then we read an informational text about taking care of amphibians.  We know that our new friends are at least a week old because they do not have external "feathery" gills any more.  We are writing in our science journals about everything we observe.  Being a scientist is so much fun!!!
We owe a special thank you to Mrs. Johnson's fourth grade class at James Morris for sharing some of their tadpoles!!!  THANK YOU!!!!!

Ask me all about our whole school meeting!!!  Today was Warren School's first Community Share! Kindergarten was asked to share their fabulous work with Eric Carle!!!  
First Mrs. Woodington rang the bell. Then we all gathered on the carpet in the reading room.  We were very excited and a little bit nervous to stand up in front of all of our friends.  We shared everything we learned about author/illustrator Eric Carle.  We told them how we were just like him.  Then we shared some of our projects and writing.  We felt just like teachers!!!  It was so cool!!!