We had a short week to get things rolling in Temescal Creek.  Jackie and I were very excited to welcome our new cohort.  Old friends were reunited and a brand new friend joined our class.  The room was abuzz with enthusiasm while the children reconnected after a long break. Our first Morning Meeting started off  with a greeting that involved sharing about our summer.  It sounds like lots of adventures were had!

Our first day involved a scavenger hunt that familiarized students with the campus.  In groups of four, they met Andie, our new front desk manager, measured how many footsteps it took to get to the nearest bathroom, collected flowers for classroom vases and discussed what they thought the words “Follow the Child” mean in the labyrinth.  One of our goals this year is to build and improve group working skills and this activity got us off to a good start.

The Bridges Math curriculum began with brainstorming what it means to be a community of math learners. Following this interactive discussion, we refreshed the students understanding of graphing and using glyphs to represent data.  Students used a legend to make a personal glyph that represented which size math group they prefer working in, how they like to record mathematical thinking, their favorite time of day to do math work and how they feel about math overall (either like or love!).  Today, in small groups, we sorted our glyphs and created bar graphs.  You’ll see two of our graphs in the photos below.  Next week we will transfer our data to a bar graph for our math notebooks.

During Super Science and Art we searched the campus for all types of leaves. We used them to make leaf rubbings.  The students were very excited and engaged in this process and in my humble opinion, their work is quite beautiful.  The artists exchanged thoughtful tips and were fantastic at sharing materials.

Each year begins with talking about our hopes and dreams.  Hopes are something we want to strive for this 3rd-grade year.  Dreams are bigger, lifelong goals.  Some student goals were learning to write better, learning more division, making new friends and going to the park for recess.   Dreams included starting a business, rollerblading to school, traveling to Japan and one kid wants to have so much fun that he explodes with happiness.  We look forward to sharing these at Back to School night.

Throughout the week our class spent time going over school-wide expectations, snack/lunch routines, and new playground rules and regulations.  We learned the flow of our Morning Meeting and Number Corner lesson.  We learned some chant style greetings and how to end our day with a Peace Circle.  There is a lot to learn when you begin in a new classroom and the 3rd graders are absorbing it all really well.

Friday began with an all-school Assembly.  We sang a call and response song lead by our music teacher, Owen.  Afterward, we played a giant game of Coseeki lead by the 8th graders and jumped for joy over bubbles.

We hope you have a wonderful and relaxing long weekend.  Please check the blog regularly for upcoming events, a summary of what we’ve been learning and to volunteer for classroom jobs.  Thanks for sharing your awesome kids with us!

Emily and Jackie

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