Hopscotch!

The mathematicians are learning about numbers 0-10 in class this month.  In our study of the number 8 the students learned how to play hopscotch!

We began class by learning about how to play hopscotch in different parts of the world:

Although there are many versions of this game, we played the one from the United States.  A hopscotch board was taped on the floor of our classroom:

The class had a blast!  This student completed the entire game with no mistakes and was allowed to tape her initials in any hopscotch square of her choosing!  Nice work!

We concluded class by making a hopscotch board of our own using 8 blue squares.  On Monday we will write the numbers on each square using proper number formation.  Good work, mathematicians!

Sentence Writing

Mrs. Goodman has been teaching the readers about proper sentence etiquette this week.  The two areas she has focused on are:

• beginning a sentence with an uppercase letter
• ending a sentence with a punctuation mark, such as a period.

The students reviewed their understanding of sentences by looking through this week's story titled Ants.  The class noted the uppercase letters and punctuation marks present at the beginning and end of all sentences.  Then, Mrs. Goodman split the students into pairs where they worked together to form sentences from cut words on sentence strips.  The pairs did a lovely job of organizing the sentences properly.

The readers concluded their sentence learning this week by writing and illustrating their own silly sentences about ants.  Kudos!

Hunting for Squirrels and Squirrel Food

Last week Miles' 6C class and the 6D students joined forces for outdoor learning.  The children were on a hunt for squirrels and squirrel food on Calvert's campus!

Students tour Molly's Garden  in search of squirrels and squirrel food.

The lesson began with a brief introduction and a tour of many outdoor spaces.  Students utilized clipboards as writing surfaces and colored in a special graph when they had found a squirrel, seeds, acorns, or nuts.

We spotted a squirrel near Castalia...

...and we bet more live in this "squirrel hole"! 

Students gathered on the grass upon completing the graphing activity for a relaxing rest, led by Mrs. Miles. 

Both classes practiced deep breathing and meditation,

and took a brief nap below the Castalia trees.  

This is the view looking up into the trees.  Can you tell that it was a beautiful day? 

6D Adopts a Tree!

The 6D students adopted a tree on Calvert's campus last week.  It is located on the walkway to the Middle School.  We chose this tree because of it's beautifully-colored leaves.  The students will visit and document the changes in this tree throughout the season.

Shower for Baby Armstrong!

This week my students and parents surprised-showered me with love, hugs, and lots of gifts for Baby Armstrong!  The class decorated bibs with special words and presented me with a diaper cake.  Sweet cupcakes were enjoyed by the students.  My favorite part was listening to Mrs. Davis read the book Where Ever You Are, My Love Will Follow You- the words and illustrations were absolutely beautiful!

Opening gifts for Baby Armstrong!

The Diaper Cake!

Time to Decorate!

Thank you, 6D, for this celebration!

XOXO

Mrs. Armstrong & Baby Armstrong

Sight Words

The readers are learning about sight words!  These words are often not phonetic (which means they can't be sounded out) and thus require memorization.  Simple sight words pop up often in the literature that we read in class.

A simple way to practice weekly sight words (and review ones from weeks prior) is to create a sight word book from index cards and a binder ring.  Each reading student has a sight word book that is added to at the beginning of the week and reviewed multiple times by the week's end.  On Friday Mrs. Goodman and I assess the students' sight word knowledge by listening to each reader thumb through their sight word book.

Ample review of sight words is essential at home because additional class time is devoted to other important reading skills.  Sight word lists can be found on this blog under "6th Age Reading Sight Words".  Good luck and have fun!

Making Letters with Our Bodies

The students completed a large motor skill today in preparation for a written instruction of the letters Ii and Oo later this week.  Working solo and later in pairs they created these letters using their bodies.  Can you guess what letter is below? I'll give you a hint- it's in lowercase...