Pulling Weeds for Seeds!

Hello Room 128 Families!

With the coming of Spring (or is it already here?) and in preparation for a unit about seeds, now is the perfect time to start weeding out our garden plot. We have one whole plot (behind the portables to the east of the school) to garden - which we will begin doing the 2nd week of March!

But first, the plot has to be cleared out of all the overgrown loveliness!  If you're interested in getting down and dirty with your kiddos at any point this week after school, please contact me (jwalker2@pps.k12.or.us) and I can connect you with other interested families as well as some gardening tools to help you out. Once the plot is cleared, we as a class will begin turning the soil, tilling out rows and planting our seeds for what we hope will be a bounty of a salad by the end of the school year!

March Volunteer Calendar

Dear Parent Partners:

I have posted the March Volunteer Calendar on the pages section of our classroom blog.  Please e-mail me (jwalker2@pps.k12.or.us) with any changes that need to be made.  Thank you for volunteering your time! Cheers, Jennifer

Taiko Drumming

Hello Families -

We just had our second (of four) taiko drumming session today.  The kids are loving it!

They began by learning a bit about the geography and culture of Japan.

Then, they were introduced to the instruments - how they were made, what they were made of, etc.

Finally, they got to play the drums! Today, they were introduced to more types of musical instruments - when you have a moment, ask your child what he or she likes best about the drumming sessions!

Art is a beautiful thing!

Hello parent partners -

The auction projects are now proudly on display in the Forest Park lobby and they look fantastic!  It offers us the gentle reminder to RSVP to this very special event, the Forest Park Elementary School Foundation Auction on Saturday, February 27th.

The deadline to RSVP is next Friday, February 19th.  We would love to see all of you there! Thank you for your ongoing support of the school and our classroom, Jennifer

Bring valentines to school by tomorrow!

 
Hello parent partners -

This is just a gentle reminder to please have your children bring their valentines to school by tomorrow so that they can distribute to our valentine bags. I have also been informed by some of your kiddos about the "treats" they will be bringing for Valentine's Day.  Please do not send treats or candies with the valentines as I have some sweet treats already planned for them!

Thanks for your continued support! Jennifer

February Update...

Dear Parent Partners,

It has been a busy first week for us as a new community in Room 128! We are getting to know each other and learning how to work together so that we can all learn while having fun at the same time.  We’re heading full force into the month of February.  Our room will be very busy with activities, holidays and projects.  Here is some more information…

Reading
I am really enjoying the small group time I have with the kids! It enables me to discover the reading successes your readers are experiencing as well as some of the challenges they would like to work on. Our literacy centers are still focused on winter themes but will also incorporate some of the upcoming holidays such as Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Chinese New Year and February as a whole as Black History Month.

Writing
I am very impressed with the writing happening in this classroom! The kids are excited about writing and love to share their stories – building blocks for a successful writing program.  Our author study continues into the month of February.  With Ezra Jack Keats, our writers have learned about using punctuation, varied vocabulary and dialogue to make their writing more interesting. Next up: we will explore the writing of Mo Willems (personally, one of my favorite authors!).

Math
Between kindergarten and 1st grade math, we have been exploring concepts of measurement as well as number sense, including story problems (which extend to our literacy centers!). At the end of the month, we will begin Quilt Squares and Block Towns, focusing on 2- and 3-dimensional shapes.

Science
We are wrapping up our Constructions unit.  The children had so much fun and were quite adept at building sturdy brick walls and bridges. Pictures and captions will be posted in the classroom soon!

Social Studies
We continue to focus on our behavior goals each week.  The goals of: keeping a quiet body, listening well to others and doing one’s personal best are important for us to not only practice but reflect upon.  The kids offer great insight on what it takes to accomplish these goals as well as offering real life examples.  Have you had a chance to discuss with your child? Each week, each child chooses a goal on which to focus.

February is a very busy month for social studies! We will take a break from Science so that we can take a more in depth look at Chinese New Year, President’s Day, Black History Month and, also, Japan.  We will be studying Japan because we will be doing a Young Audiences Artist in Residency program called “Taiko Drumming”. 
 
Art
Thanks to all of you on the home front for assisting in the creation of the beautiful family valentine hearts! They are proudly on display outside of the office so I hope you have a chance to admire.  Monthly self-portraits will continue.  This week, we will have a special art project as Talk About Trees will be helping our class to make their own paper!  We will also have many accompanying art projects to go with the abundance of themes that February provides.

A final umbrella thank you to all Room 128 families! I feel so welcome by kids and families alike.  I am grateful for this opportunity and for the support that you have kindly offered. Please do not ever hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns. Happy February! Jennifer