My Philosophy


I believe it is important to create a community where all learners feel safe, respected and have a sense of belonging. It is important to focus equally on the social, emotional and academic needs of students. I strive to meet children where they're at by differentiating instruction, choosing developmentally appropriate activities and providing a balance between teacher-directed and self-directed learning. I value play, the arts, movement, creativity and laughter as important and meaningful parts of the learning process for children.



Friday, September 7, 2012

Red Clover Books!

In Literacy this week, we began our first unit about Red Clover books.  First and second graders are working together for this unit to continue our team building and give first and second graders an opportunity to get to know each other. We read "The Princess and the Pig", "Three By the Sea" and "Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade". For "The Princess and the Pig", 2nd Graders paired up with a 1st grader for a compare/contrast activity with two other Fairy Tales ("Puss and Boots" and "The Sleeping Beauty").  Everyone did a terrific job noticing how the stories were alike and different.  For "Three By the Sea" the 1st & 2nd graders were put into small groups and acted out scenes in the story. This was a lot of fun to watch and see how creative everyone was with their scenes.

We also began our first Math unit this week.  We have been learning about work stations and exploring a variety of math manipulatives.  We have also been learning about coordinate grids and math language.  This week we focused on "Private Reasoning Time".  We also talked a little about "Connections" and "Mistakes and Stuck Points".

It was great to see so many families at Curriculum Night last night.  For those families who were unable to attend, I sent home the Curriculum Night packet in your child's Friday folder. Please let me know if you have any questions.  There is also a reminder about our field trip to Shelburne Farms this Friday.

In addition to our field trip to Shelburne Farms, we have some other special activities taking place this coming week.  Tuesday we will be learning about selling Gift Wrap from the PTO, Wednesday we will have a special Bus Safety Presentation and will also be taking part in the FEED program's sauce making activity.  On Friday we will have our first Hands On Nature lesson.  If you are able to help with the sauce making Wednesday (9 am) please email me or contact Anne Marcoe or Erica Frey Delaportas.  We can use all the help we can get! Also, I am still looking for a couple of volunteers to come in weekly to do fluency with students.  This takes 30-45 minutes and we can be flexible to make it work with your schedule.  Please email me if you think you would like to help with this.

It has been a wonderful week of getting to know your children.  I look forward to their "Me Museum" shares so we can all learn more about each other and continue to build a strong community together.

Have a great weekend!
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