Marybeth & R.J.’s Class Notes

Earlier this week we set a firm end date for our sea lore projects. This has kicked off a flurry of productivity as the children, sew, paint, illustrate and craft their way toward their end goals. Simultaneously we have begun to shift our focus toward the next phase of our work - nonfiction stories of the sea. We had a wonderful first discussion about what history is and comments from eager participants included things like, “History is telling a story about something old,” “It is something we should know about - it is important,” and “History isn’t now because we changed it to make the world better.” The children have been tasked with thinking about why people study the past and we encourage you to engage them in this conversation before they share their thoughts next week.

The cold weather has led to more time indoors and lends itself to curling up with wonderful books. We are well into our newest read aloud, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. This classic novel stands the test of time as the children are highly motivated to learn the secrets of these unusual rats and whether or not the Frisby family of mice will survive farmer Fitzgibbon’s plow!

As we approach February we have begun to think about Black History Month. As part of our reading workshop the oldest children in the room have each selected a biography in the “Who Was...” series to read and reflect on in their journals. They are exploring the genre of biography as they learn about African American leaders and innovators.

Since the fall the entire Hayground community has been shining a spotlight on kindness through a series of all- school gatherings and campus projects. In our classroom we will take advantage of Valentines Day to further consider what love and kindness look like within our community.