Hello Everyone!
We have had a wonderful week! We have been diligently watering our Lima bean seeds hanging in bags in the window. Some kiddos have even spotted the first roots and stems coming off of the seed as its seed coat peels away. Very exciting! We have also been trying to bring one of the compost piles on campus back to life. We have been collecting any fruit and vegetable scraps at the end of lunch and putting them in the compost pile, along with some water, in hopes of creating richer soil to plant our plants in. If you would like to try starting a compost pile at home with your student, here is an easy "how to": http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html An easy writing component could be to keep a compost journal where the student observes the compost once a week and records what they see happening. We are going to be starting to explore what human rights are this week, beginning with a game that explores the difference between a want and a need. This might be an interesting conversation to extend at home as well, as it is a complicated idea. In math, we began with a fun measuring activity from the Georgia State Curriculum, which served as a great get to know you activity with Patrick's class on their first day with me. I will be doing some math assessments in the next few weeks to get an idea of where all the kiddos are. In Reading we read an great book called "The Curious Gardener." I love this book, and highly recommend rereading it with your child (if they are the type of kid that likes to reread stories). In the book, a young boy transforms a city by planting a garden (a great tie in for both plants and activism). Announcements: Don't forget our Math Meet Up next Wednesday (Sep 3rd) at 3:00pm in my room. I am looking for some parents who are willing to donate some potting soil. We are working on improving the soil in the compost pile, but it may be some time before it is fit to use. If any of you would like to buy our class a bag or two of potting soil for us to plant in, we would put it to good use :) Don't forget that you need to keep your kiddos with you when you are on campus. Thanks! Dear Core 2 Parents,
I had such an amazing time meeting all of you on the first 2 days of school! I feel very lucky to get to work with such a vibrant and dedicated bunch of educators! I have a number of business items to get through this week, so I am going try to get through them as efficiently as possible :) Work Journal Schedule for First Semester: Work Journal #1 due: Friday, October 3rd Work Journal #2 Meeting (same as Parent Educator Conference #2): September 24th (all day) Work Journal #2 due: Tuesday, December 2nd Work Journal #3 Meetings: Monday, December 1st, Tuesday December 2nd, 2:00-3:00 pm in Patrick’s room Remember, Work Journal meetings are mandatory and you need to reach out to me for a make-up meeting if you are unable to attend. General Calendar for DVIA: http://davincischools.org/pdfs/DVIA_calendar_14-15.pdf Math: I hope that you have had a chance to start exploring Task #2! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, as I would love to support you in making this work for your family! Link to overall Georgia State Curriculum: https://www.georgiastandards.org/common-core/pages/math-k-5.aspx Link to the specific Unit we are covering for Work Journal #1 (1st grade, unit 4): https://www.georgiastandards.org/Common-Core/Common%20Core%20Frameworks/CCGPS_Math_1_Unit4Framework.pdf Math Meetups: I will be holding math workshops one Wednesday a month. These will be an opportunity for us to come together and share math ideas and resources. It will also be an opportunity to troubleshoot the curriculum and differentiate it as well. The first one is Wednesday, September 3rd at 3:00- 4:00pm in my classroom. Birthdays: I have decided that this year, if you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday in class, that we will do this this through books! If you want to (and this is in no way a requirement) you are welcome to contact me before your child’s birthday and set up a time to come into class and read the class a book. You are welcome to purchase a book for the class, or just bring a favorite from home to share with the class. I am hoping that this is a fun way to celebrate, without getting into the complications that food brings J Power Point: I have added the Parent Educator Conference PowerPoint on the “resources” page of my Digital Portfolio. Here is a list of books that we have read this week: Great Estimations, by Bruce Goldstone Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School, by Herman Parish The Alphabet Family, by Eva Montanari I hope that you have all had a wonderful beginning to the school year! Please let me know if you have any questions! Robin Hello to all of the Core 2 Families out there!!
I am beyond excited for the first day of school on Monday/ Tuesday! I am looking forward to all the fun that I have planned for your kiddos, and to meet all of the home educators at the Parent Educator Conference. It is going to be a wonderful day of getting to know each other and diving into another lovely year at DVIA :) I hope everyone is feeling well rested after summer break and ready to embrace a new school year (but if not, don't worry we will get you pumped up!) I have updated my Digital Portfolio (http://robindigitalportfolio.weebly.com) to include both of the year long content guides and Work Journal #1 (found on the "Learning Goals" page), along with our first Project Overview (on the "Projects" page). If you are new to Da Vinci, please do not stress over these documents. I will be going into more detail on all of them during our time together on Monday/ Tuesday. Speaking of which, I will be spending an hour of the day with the parents during the Parent Educator Conference, and during that time I will be going over all of the important info that you will need for Core 2. New families also have an opportunity to meet with me again after school at 3:30pm in order to ask questions etc. I am truly looking forward to this time with all of you! I will be talking in more detail about math at the Parent Educator Conference, but I wanted to let you know about an upcoming workshop that I am offering. I am going to be offering monthly Math Meet-ups, on one Wednesday a month this year. The first one is Wednesday, September 3rd at 3:00pm in my classroom. These meet-ups will end up being whatever you as parent educators need them to be, but this first one will be a more comprehensive breakdown on the math curriculum that we will be using this year. We will be going over how to use it, ways to supplement, and ways to make it the "just right' level for your kiddo. Needs: One of the projects we are doing early in the year involves avocado seeds. If your family eats avocados, could you wash and save the seeds and bring them to our class as soon as possible? We would very much appreciate it!! We are also in need of old blankets or sheets that could be used to sit out on the grass, picnic style, during lunch. Any donations are appreciated! I look forward to seeing all of you next week, have a wonderful weekend! Robin |
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February 2017
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