It's April!

Our first week back to school after Spring Break was filled with new activities! On Monday, we enjoyed going to see “Ferdinand the Bull.”  We learned a new math game called “Racing Bears.” We began our new inquiry on the 100 years MPI has been in Manoa. Lastly, we began to collect items for our portfolio, showing how we’ve progressed since first semester.

This week in math, we reviewed counting and recording a number of cubes, creating different patterns using cubes or pattern blocks, and counting on up to 15 (Collect 15). “Racing Bears” is a new math game that helps us practice counting (1-6), introduces addition (by having 1-4 bears move the total number), and teaches strategy (Which bear should be moved to collect the counter?). If you are interested in learning how to play this game, let us know, and we’ll be happy to send a game board home. Your child will be able to explain the rules and objective of the game. We’re also practicing “one more, one fewer,” becoming familiar with the concept of adding one or taking one away.

Our new inquiry project focuses on the 100 years MPI has been in Manoa. We began by telling the students that our school was first built 100 years ago. We asked, “Before the school was built, what do you think was here in this spot?” The concept of 100 years ago is difficult for the children to understand. We tried to explain by remembering an MPI alumnus whom we met earlier in the semester who celebrated his 106th birthday with us – “How do you think he lived when he was six years old?” We reminded them of an observation walk we took in January, tapping into our five senses – “We heard cars on our walk. Do you think we would have heard cars 100 years ago? What sounds would you hear?”

The students spent two days writing and/or thinking about what they thought Manoa was like 100 years ago. We introduced the words “theory” and “hypothesis,” explaining that at this point, we really don’t know what Manoa was like 100 years ago. We can make some guesses now and do some research to find out. As a class, we compiled a list of all the students’ ideas:

Dinosaurs lived in Manoa 100 years ago. There were horses and carriages. Schools were different and students were different. Maybe there was a football/baseball/soccer field, basketball court, or pool. There were brick houses. There was a man/a girl/a boy.

Working either independently or in a small group, each student will develop their theory and find out if their hypothesis is true. We’ve begun asking them questions, like the ones below, to help them:

How did dinosaurs live here? What did they eat? Why aren’t they here now?

How did they build the carriage? What did they use the horse and carriage to do?

What did the students look like? study? play? What materials were used to build the schools?

What games were played? What materials were used to build the field/court/pool? Were the games played the same as we play them today?

How did the people get the bricks? How did they build the houses?

What did the man/girl/boy look like? How did he/she dress? What materials were used to make the clothes?

The students will be asked to write and draw their answers. They will design and possibly build/create their ideas of past Manoa. As the students begin to ask and answer these questions to develop their theories, we expect to come up with more questions, which may then lead to more ideas of what Manoa was like.

We’re updating our progress portfolios by completing our space inquiry reflections and gathering our work from each step of the inquiry process. We’re also collecting a writing sample from January-March. We’ve grown so much as writers since writing the journals in our portfolio from last October and November. We were able to add to our “Good Writer” web, which also shows that we’re improving as writers!

REMINDER! Newsletters and family learning activities will now be posted on Fridays. If you subscribed to the blog, you will receive an email notification when the blog is updated.

If you have any recyclable items we can use in our art center, please send them with your child. Items need to be stored on a shelf in our classroom, so please, no bulky items. Suggested items include paper towel/toilet paper rolls, styrofoam pieces, and fabric/wallpaper squares. Thank you!

Everyone looks forward to the Guest Reader on Friday afternoons. If you are interested in coming into the classroom to read to the children, please contact Sabrina Ako.

Parent volunteers are such a help and blessing to us, especially when projects arise. If you are able to volunteer your time (no skill or experience needed, training provided), please contact Sabrina Ako.

The new set of Family Learning Activities has also been posted. Some items have been removed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go back to them and complete the activity. Remember, these activities are optional; please enjoy them, as your family’s schedule and available time will allow.

Our Students-of-the-Week are BH  and DJ. Please bring in things you would like to share about yourselves. Everything needs to be able to hang on a bulletin board. Parent volunteers or teachers will assemble the board as the items come in to school. Every child will be “showcased” for at least one week.

The following dates show when the new bulletin boards will be assembled for display. The initials of the Students-of-the-Week are listed after each date.

4/9 – BH, DJ (Items may be brought in from 4/2)

4/16 – RJ, GK (Items may be brought in from 4/9)

4/23 – JM, TS (Items may be brought in from 4/16)

4/30 – LY, WC (Items may be brought in from 4/23)

If your child missed his/her week, please still send in some items for display. We would like to give every child an opportunity to share about him/herself! Our friends love to learn about each other!

Posted on April 4, 2008 10:07 AM | Permalink