LEW Newsletter 2-18-2017

Hello all on this sunny Saturday!

We had an incredible time at Dodge on Thursday. All the children got to explore the grounds and they spotted tracks, a deer, coyote remains, golden rod galls, and muskrat lodges.  Some students jumped in hay, made homemade butter, kissed horses, dissected owl pellets... it was a wonderful way to cap off the week and the first and second graders are already looking forward to returning next year. Huge thank you to our chaperones for joining us! If you happen to have any photos from the trip, please share them with me and I can share them with all of the families :)  

Lessons this week

First Years

- Measuring animal tracks

- Stamp game subtraction of four-digit numbers, without borrowing.

- Writing about a favorite gift (these were great stories)

Second Years

- Seven triangles of reality (there are seriously only seven! Ask them if they can remember which types of triangles are impossible to make)

- Bar graph word problems

- Writing about a favorite gift

Third Years

- The commutative property of multiplication

- Owl study writing

- Classifying invertebrates

Volunteer opportunities

1. Flowers: Bringing in fresh flowers weekly or biweekly for the month of April and/or May.

2. Food for Gex: we're looking for volunteers to bring in food biweekly for our bearded dragon for March, April, May and June.

If you're interested, please sign up here.

We truly hope you all get the chance to enjoy your long weekend together. It was a gift to be able to spend quality time outside with all of your children at the Nature Center, and just so you know, Dodge is open to the public! If you are interested in taking your family (I highly recommend it), then just check out their website and schedule a visit! 

http://www.dodgenaturecenter.org/

All the best and more,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Information for Field Trip to Dodge TOMORROW

Hello Families!

We're all very excited for our trip to Dodge Nature Center tomorrow. Here's what I told the students (I just missed the bussers and Big Canoe Kids, so this will be the first time they hear this):

*Please bring appropriate outdoor clothing - boots, snow pants (more for mud and slush rather than snow), jackets, gloves, and hats.

* NO BACKPACKS necessary tomorrow. 

* Bring a lunch. Please only pack foods that don't need to be microwaved.  

* It should be a short ride to Dodge, so the students will not need activities or books for the ride. 

If you could help prepare your child for tomorrow and go through this list with them, we would greatly appreciate it.

Should be a fantastic trip. Have a wonderful night. 

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 2-10-2017

Hello LEW Families!

It was nice to have a full week. It feels like it has been a while. This gave us time to meet with all of our specialists in the afternoon for art, music, and handwork. Detailed portraits, guitar playing, drum beats, and knitting ... beautiful things to witness the children practicing and mastering.  

Also, next week on Thursday, February 16th, Lower Elementary will be taking a field trip to Dodge Nature Center. We've been preparing the children by studying and focusing on topics they will be exploring further at the center. Each group will get to do 2 activities. Here's what they'll be doing at Dodge:

- First years will be focusing on reptiles and amphibians and studying animal tracks and signs. 

- Second years will be focusing on milk makers and animal adaptations.

- Third years will be dissecting owl pellets and learning about winter survival.  

We started the tradition of going to Dodge Nature Center last year and the children that attended are very much looking forward to returning.  

Lessons from the week

First Years

- Constructive Triangles

- Animal tracks work session

- Verb Grammar Box

- Mammal Study

- Rocket Math +

Second Years

- 7 Triangles of Reality

- Animal Adaptations work session

- Preposition Grammar Box

- Platyhelmithes (flatworm study) 

- Rocket Math +

Third Years

- Owl Study

- Our connected waterways models (ask them to present this to you!)

- Invertebrate Classification

- Skip counting practice by 2, 3, 4, and 5 (it would be great if you could help them practice this at home - just up to x 10)

Reminders and Announcements

We hope that you will all make it to the Soiree tomorrow night at Como Dockside from 7:00pm-10:00pm.  Thank you all so much for your generous donations for our homeless shelter basket. It's getting packed and ready for the event. It promises to be a fun time! A parent and occasional substitute teacher, Heidi Grayden-Kangas, wanted me to put the following Great Gathering on your radar. You can sign up at the Soiree - event likely to sell out. Click below for more details...

Hair Braiding and Hair Do Party

Enjoy your weekend!

Warm regards,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Calling for Flower Donations

Hello again!

I just noticed that we don't have anyone to bring in flowers for our classroom for February. They definitely bring that extra something to the room and it would be a shame to not have some colorful flowers around to help us get through the doldrums of winter.  If you're interested in helping us out in February, just let me know. I also noticed some other months are available. You can sign up here.

Enjoy your weekend!

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 1-27-2017

Dear LEW families,

We hope that all of you will get to enjoy the long weekend together. If you get the chance, the A1 show "Migra" will be performed at the Mixed Blood theater this weekend. It was completely written, directed, and produced by the A1 community.  Check the GRS website if you'd like more information.  

Today, our community had the opportunity to reflect and think on our classroom beliefs we wrote together at the beginning of the year - namely:

1. "We believe we should be kind and help one another."

2. "We believe that our classroom should feel safe and peaceful."

3. "We believe in our work and that we should be allowed to focus on our work." 

We had a really nice discussion about how it feels when our beliefs are being followed and what gets in the way of our beliefs being followed.  It was not surprising that the students had many of the same observations as the Guides. It is the job of the community to follow our beliefs and it is indeed the Guides job to make sure that the beliefs are being upheld. We'll be using a system school-wide (Sam will be sending an email out with more information) that will make it very clear when a behavior goes against our community's beliefs and very clear what the consequence will be for that.  Last thing I'd like to say about this discussion, is that we are coaching the children to understand the meaning of "consequence."  A consequence is not synonymous with a punishment. A consequence literally translates into "what comes after." Erik used a nice example - "When you pour water into a glass, then the consequence is that the glass is full of water."  Basically, we want the children to understand that we are all here to support one another, that all behaviors (appropriate and inappropriate) have consequences, and that is not a bad thing - it's just a fact. If you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to contact us. 

This week in lessons:

First years:

Study of the U.S.A. part II - learning about animals that live in different parts of the country

Stamp Game Addition Word Problems

Absorption Experiment (which paper towel is the quicker picker upper?)

Bird Study

Second years:

Liquid Density Experiment

Bead Frame Multiplication Word Problems

Cursive Practice

Fundamental Needs Chart

Third years:

Our Connected Waterways

Checkerboard Multiplication (Some are creating their own HUGE checkerboard)

Fundamental Needs across Cultures

Study of a Nation Interest Project

Upcoming:

GRS Soiree at  Como Dockside - February 11th

The Soiree is a Great River tradition and a way for us to fundraise for opportunities that are important to our mission as a school.  This year, we will continue our tradition of creating Homeless Shelter Baskets. During the Soiree, people will bid on the basket, the proceeds will go to GRS, and the person who places the winning bid may donate the basket to a charity of their choice. Please have your child bring donations by February 3rd. We could still use items - our basket looks pretty empty at the moment...

Here are some donation ideas:

- soap

- shampoos/conditioners 

- socks

- hair brushes

- toothbrushes

- toothpaste

- floss

- wash clothes

- deodorant

- great clips or target gift card

- diapers

- baby powder

Feeling fortunate for all of you,

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 1/13/2017

Hello LEW Families,

Greetings and hope you're enjoying the fluffy stuff outside as much as we are. The children have been sledding, building, and sliding to their hearts' content and we are so grateful that we've had the chance to make the most of it (i.e. no indoor recess this week!).  

The work continues on and the children are diving right in...

First Year Lessons:

- Triangles by side

- Introduction and work with stamp game +

- Verb

- Continuing to work on classification

- Rocket math +

Second Year Lessons:

- Curved figures

- Stamp game x

- Continuing to work on animals and plants from different North American biomes

- Creating cultural folders (ask which culture they're focusing on!)

- Rocket math -

Third Year Lessons:

- Rounding to the nearest 100 and 1000

- Double digit multiplication with the checkerboard

- Triple digit multiplication with the checkerboard 

- Study of a Nation (lots of progress here!)

- Rocket math -

Event coming up...

GRS Soiree at  Como Dockside - February 11th

The Soiree is a Great River tradition and a way for us to fundraise for opportunities that are important to our mission as a school.  This year, we will continue our tradition of creating Homeless Shelter Baskets. During the Soiree, people will bid on the basket, the proceeds will go to GRS, and the person who places the winning bid may donate the basket to a charity of their choice. Please have your child bring donations by February 3rd. 

Here are some donation ideas:

- soap

- shampoos/conditioners 

- socks

- hair brushes

- toothbrushes

- toothpaste

- floss

- wash clothes

- deodorant

- great clips or target gift card

- diapers

- baby powder

Enjoy your three-day weekend!

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Reading Buddies & Thursday Folders

Happy New Year!

Hoping the transition back to school has gone smoothly for all of you. Now that we're getting back into the swing of things, we're hoping to get reading buddy volunteers back for our early readers.  The times we do reading are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1:00-2:00. If you are interested in continuing to be a reading buddy or to get started, please just let me know or sign up on the LEW volunteer opportunities google form.  

Also, if you haven't done so already, please make sure your child brings in their Thursday Folder. Work is already being completed will be ready to send home soon!

Finally, thanks for sending all of your children to school with all of their winter gear. It looks like we may not go to the park tomorrow (very low wind chill), but we will still try to get outside for a little recess on our playground.

Stay warm out there!

Warm regards,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori