Wednesday

Hi parents,

We had a great day today! But before I go into that, I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to talk with your children about the Magnet Invention project! The students came into class this morning excitedly talking about the ideas they'd discussed with you. I was happy to see that everyone seemed to have a much clearer understanding of what they're going to build, and from what I've heard, the ideas all seemed pretty feasible too.

We will probably start building the inventions next week. In the mean time, if you have any cardboard you were planning to recycle, please consider donating it to the class! 

This morning, the students worked on their "Polymon" handbooks. I forgot to mention this in the blog yesterday, because there was no blog, but the students have started to design little creatures based on 2D and 3D shapes. They have put their creations in their own handbooks. Polymon are very similar to Pokemon, but with a polygon twist. Students must identify attributes (vertices, sides, faces, etc.) for each 'Polymon', and also write a bit about its special powers. So far they've been doing an amazing job of this!

We had a lot of work period time this morning too.

In the afternoon, we had Daily 5, Music, and more work period.

Please remember to send back your field trip forms as soon as you can! And if you are interested in volunteering, please let me know by email, or through the field trip forms.

Have a nice night,

Zac

 .

Basically sums up the work we've done this week. BONUS HOMEWORK: What material could Magnemite be made of?  (3 possible answers)

Monday

Hi parents,

We had a nice day today, but I was sorry to see so many empty seats! I wish the speediest recoveries to our many students who were feeling under the weather today. The class felt a bit lonely today, although it was undoubtedly quieter than usual.

In the morning, the students wrote in their weekend journals and practiced spelling words. We went over last week's math problems together as a class, and talked about shapes, sides, vertices, and and perimeters. 

The students went to Music, and then came back for more work period.

In gymnastics today, the students got to use all of the equipment, including the climber! The kids loved it, as usual. We even had some new equipment arrive, including a ramp and a big crash mat.

At the end of the day, I introduced our new math project - the POLYMON handbook! Yes, it is a Pokemon pun.  Basically, the students will be creating their own 'polymons', which are creatures derived from basic 2D and 3D shapes. They'll create handbooks to showcase all of their creations and describe their attributes. We watched a little bit of Pokemon at the end of the day, so that everyone would get the idea. But don't worry, Pokemon will not become a regular part of our school day, as much as I would like it to. I'm really excited to get started on the project tomorrow!

Have a nice night,

Zac

PS: Remember that TWIN DAY is this Friday, January 24! I'll talk with the class more about it tomorrow, but planting some ideas at home would definitely help. :)

Spelling Words - Week of Jan. 19

Spelling List A

Luck	Tuck	Truck	Stuck
Duck	Bucket	Snuck	Lucky

Spelling List B

Rest	Test	First	Last
Worst	Honest	Almost	August

Good luck!

Thursday

Hi parents,

Today we ended the school week on a good note! In the morning, the class learned about using capitals and periods in sentences. They wrote some simple statements about magnets. After that, we learned about Stephen Hawking from a very interesting Guest Reader book, and watched a quick video about him too!

The students designed and drew 'floor plans' for a fantasy school, using only basic shapes. They had a good time with this one.

In the afternoon, we did an extended Daily 5 session, the spelling quiz, and then I gave the class some free choice time. They've done so much better since our rough day on Tuesday and I think they earned it. :)

Please keep in mind there is no school tomorrow! I don't think our school website's calendar had indicated that before, and unfortunately that's also the calendar I use to keep track of things, so I was also pretty mixed up...

Have a nice weekend!

Zac

Wednesday

Hi parents,

Today was a great day for our class, so much better than yesterday, I am feeling incredibly relieved. :)

In the morning, Ms. Infante read the students the book "The Best Part of Me". We had a class discussion about how different body parts, like hands, feet, eyes, etc. help us to do the things we love. The students had to choose one body part that they were thankful for, and respond to the prompt: "The best part of me is...." They did an excellent job with that task. The room stayed quiet and everyone was on task.

After that, we did a really fun activity to test the strength of magnets. Each student was given a magnet wand, and asked to draw it in their sketchbook. The catch was, the had to draw it as a "magnet wrestler", and give it a tough wrestler name. Some of my favourite names were: "Destroyer", "Destruction", "Fireball", "Legend of Science", and of course, "Miss Nice".

Then, the students used their magnets to compete in a series of head to head 'magnet wrestling matches', in which one magnet tried to take a paperclip away from the other magnet. Whichever magnet was able to take the paperclip more frequently (we usually did best 2 out of 3) was deemed the stronger magnet. The winners of the first round advanced to the next round, and ultimately, "Steve" was crowned the strongest magnet. I sent everyone a picture of the tournament brackets on SeeSaw earlier, so that's what that was about.

In the afternoon, we had Daily 5, Music, and a very thorough and quiet classroom cleanup.

All around, I feel like the students are adjusting well to the changes I've made since yesterday. Nobody seemed too upset by the limited work choices, and the overall noise level was quite a bit lower than I've seen over the past few days. Hopefully tomorrow and Friday go just as well. :)

Have a "Cool" night,

Zac

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRH-Ywpz1_I

Homework Alert: Make at least one Mr. Freeze Quote.

Tuesday

Hi parents,

Today was a rough day for the class, so this blog might sound a bit complain-y. But that isn't my intention! I feel like when we have days like today, I end up being overly strict with the class, and I feel like many students end up going home feeling frustrated, as though they're being blamed or punished for things they didn't do. I hope that you can have some conversations at home about how things have been going at school, and how much I truly appreciate all the students who have consistently been kind, helpful, and responsible at school!

Vandalism Rant

One of the reasons I've been kind of upset with the class is that a lot of classroom supplies are being vandalized or taken. I'm finding marker and pencil scribbles all over the shelves, whiteboards, and desks. Even some of my personal books which I keep behind my desk have been scribbled on with marker. Today I found a ruler that had been snapped in half, and covers that were ripped off of new books. Finally, a huge number of our erasers have gone missing. We've actually went through our entire year's supply already, which is around 100 erasers!

So that has been very disheartening lately. The students' listening has also been lacking, which is probably a result of staying inside all day, but it's still been a challenge. 

The Plan

A Montessori classroom functions when students are able to make responsible choices for themselves, and since this has not been the case lately, we're going to have to go back a few steps. School might feel a bit more traditional over the next few days, while I help the students remember how to use their time responsibly during the work period. I'm going to be reducing the number of responsible work choices available to students because I've noticed that things like Lego, Magnets, and Board Games seem to just generate mess and noise. I think we'll go back to just quietly reading, writing, and drawing when work is completed. I know that might feel a bit boring to some students who have become accustomed to using our fun materials when their work is done, but I feel like it will be easier to maintain a peaceful classroom environment when students are limited to more independent and calming activities.

We will still be doing all of our regular classroom work as usual! 

Thank you all for your support and understanding. I hope that kids will still enjoy school, and being in my class, even without some of the fun things that used to make it unique.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Monday

Hi parents,

We had a bit of a crazy day, which is pretty typical for a 'blue day' where the kids don't get to play outside. That being said, the students did some great work on their journals, spelling, and math this morning. This week, we're starting to look at 2-D shapes. 

HOMEWORK ALERT:

Draw the following shapes:

a) PENTAGON 

b) HEPTAGON

c) DECAGON

This homework is worth 2 Dojo points. :)

The students also had music in the morning.

In the afternoon, we did Daily 5, Gym, and a bit of the classic Math Game "Classroom of Doom". Unfortunately, the room got way too loud and we had to stop early. :(

We ended the day with birthday cupcakes!

Have a nice night,

Zac

Spelling Words! (Week of Jan. 12)

Spelling List A

Fun	Run	Sun	Stun
Lunch	Spun	Stunt	Unlucky

Spelling List B

Jump	Bump	Stomp	Slump
Camp	Lamp	Swamp	Stampede