Ahoy there, mateys!

Collaboration is the Key to the Future

At this time of year, I like to reflect on the experiences of the past year. Of course, this comes with both smiles and frowns, as memories of triumphs, as well as not-so-good moments come to mind! When asked to write a blog post on the future of education, and what has inspired me about our future leaders, I tend to think of collaboration.

Looping with my classroom, being with them for two years, has been very inspirational to me. However, in doing that, I don't want things to become "stale" in our classroom. I have worked hard to make sure students stay engaged and interested in what we are learning. One thing that I have always believed in is to collaborate. This not only means meeting with other teachers and sharing ideas. This also means that students meet with other students and share ideas! For example, we paired with another classroom this year to learn about a new form of "Web 2.0" technology that would benefit my classroom. Working together with the teacher and the class, our students benefited from all sides. While my class got to record our "Popcorn Week," it also gave us exposure to collaborating - working together and sharing ideas - with others. I will brag that I was rather proud of my class as we hit some of those technology "bumps" you are bound to have, meeting them with determination and spirit, so that it did not "get us down." How proud our class was when we watched the result of our hard work! Knowing that my students, as they continue their education over the years, will be able to meet these challenges head on, as well as being able to work with others (even those that they did not know before they worked with them!), makes me proud and hopeful for the future leaders of our world. I am sure we will continue to meet new challenges with positive attitudes and enthusiasm throughout the rest of this year and into the future.

This post is part of the MAT@USC: Masters in Teaching Hope for the holidays event. Did you have an experience or witness something in 2009 which gave you hope for the future of American education? If so, please see this post for more information on how to share it.

October 5th -9th

This week we will be starting a new math unit. Your child will learn to sort shapes and objects according to one or more attributes. Attributes included are shape, size, color, and thickness.

During unit time we will focus on the season and the life cycle of an apple tree.

On Tuesday, we will have an assembly on wildlife.

Word Study Practice

We have started word study groups! This week we are sorting short i and short a pictures. A practice sort was sent home today. Please have your child cut out the pictures and practice sorting the pictures nightly. I will assess this sort on Friday.

Look Into the Window of First Grade

Click on the image to get a closer look!

Jumping Frogs

Last week we learned all about frogs. Does a baby frog look likes its mother? No, a baby frog is a tadpole. When a tadpole starts to grow legs we call it a froglet. When it no longer has a tail we call it a frog!
Have me read our predictable chart.
A frog can jump.
A frog can swim.
A frog can eat flies.
Frogs say ribbit.