Ms. Nancy Online

Share narrative writings and discuss. If students haven’t completed this writing, they should do so immediately. See last week’s entry for specific instructions.

Persona poem:

• Think about the masks you made in Ms. Carla’s class
• Writing a persona poem is like wearing a mask; you become some other person or thing and write about what that is like

Oral reading of Timber Snake by Marilyn Singer: notice the word choices and the sounds that are created by these words.  (Handout)

Some ideas to help you start: imagine being the thing or animal. What is life like for you? What are some of the things you like or dislike? Do you make any sounds? Do you have any exchange with other animals? What is it like to be an elderly person or a baby? What about a character from a nursery rhyme or fairy tale? Have you thought what it would be like to be Peter Piper or Cinderella’s ugly step-sister? Think about what it would be like to have an unusual profession (worm farmer, window washer of skyscraper, game show host).

Writing class was productive and we did the following:

• Quick writes–play sounds and have student write about what they hear. What color is the sound you hear? What memory does the sound suggest?
• Sharing of what has been written–alphabet books, wish poems
• Homework: re-visit your poems this week and see if you can improve them by adding more descriptive words or taking out unnecessary words. Illustrate your poem on a separate piece of paper.

New project: read poem by William Carlos Williams This Is Just To Say

• Notice how he uses ordinary language to describe ordinary event
• Short lines about just one event
• Theme: apologizing for something you’re really secretly glad you did
• Students try the technique with an event in their own life

The Locust Tree in Flower

• one word lines
• disjointed
• words look like brushstrokes in a painting–each word adds something to what you see, but it’s not until the end that you know what the whole picture is
• do this as a class collaboration
• Homework: try it on your own!

Preparation for project for next week: make a timeline of your life, highlighting important events you remember (or your parents can help you remember)

In the weeks ahead, I will be recording your student reading favorite poems that were brought into class a few weeks ago. Recordings will be at student meetings or special arrangements will be made for students not meeting with me in the next few weeks.

The date for the bee is February 23rd at 10:00! It will be in the library and all students are welcome to try. We will start with the K students and work our way up through the grades. If you want to enter, sign up at the table outside the learning center or call Nancy.

I’m sorry this class report is late; it’s been a busy week. Here is what we did:

• speaking exercise–focus on inflection at the end of the sentence to indicate punctuation; your voice goes up if it is a question and drops if it is a statement
• sharing of alphabet books–students are in various states of completion; the hope is that they would be completed by the end of the month
• mini lesson on simile and metaphor; students should recognize the difference
• “Because of Winn-Dixie” group was read the first four chapters and given a writing assignment to create a list about someone in their family like the one in chapter 4. In addition, read the next two chapters at home.
• “Out of the Dust” was discussed with the students–a few students have already completed the book; make sure your student has an opportunity to see the mini video on the dust bowl (connect to last week’s log); writing assignment is to imagine that you are the main character writing a journal entry 10 years after the end of the book. What is happening?
• I will collect writings on Thursday.

Since we are all dealing with the difficulty of getting back into the groove of school after a long vacation, the spelling bee will be delayed as we get back into the studying mode. Perhaps it can be held near the end of the month. It will also give me a chance to make sure more of the Orange County families know about it. There will be mini-contests for every ability level, so encourage your student to participate for the fun of it as well as the public speaking opportunity.
http://www.eyedocgreg.com/homeschool/spelling_bee.htm

Cerritos has just informed us that they have openings available for us because Keesha and Margo attended professional development workshops. Thank you to them! I am taking reservations immediately, so please call me if I haven’t talked to you already. Here is what is available:

Monday, December 4, 2006 @ 11:30 (arrive by 11:05) Grades Pre-K to 2

Christmas is here and Franklin decides to have the best party ever! Beaver takes care of entertainment while Bear cooks the food, sampling everything he makes. Fox gathers Christmas decorations for the perfect Christmas tree that Franklin must find all by himself! Students join Franklin and friends as they go on magical adventures with a dancing snowman, a wacky gingerbread bear, and a trio of playful elves. Everyone, including audience members, celebrate the holiday season with lots of singing, dancing, and the Christmas spirit!

Performed with larger than life animated characters (actors in costumes), this musical features beloved Franklin the Turtle and his friends as we see them in story books. The breathtaking scenery gives audience members the impression of turning the pages of a giant story book. Franklin’s Family Christmas Concert is heartwarming. Young students leave the theater wanting to read all of Franklin’s stories! 

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 @ 11:30 (arrive by 11:05) Grades 4 to 8

A Celtic Christmas features stories, music, songs, and dances from the infinitely rich treasure of Ireland’s cultural heritage. The show recreates the joy and innocence of a night before Christmas in a farmhouse. Neighbors gather around a fire on a long wintry night. They laugh, tell stories, play music, and dance to find joy. Long before Riverdance, ordinary Irish men and women knocked sparks off the flagstone floors of their cottages with jigs, reels, and hornpipes and the rafters rang with the fiery music of the fiddle, bodhran, tin whistle, and the mesmerizing ulleann pipes. Along with Tomaseen Foley, gifted dancers and musicians bring to life such a night, taking us back to a time when television and electronic devices were not yet invented. This is an uplifting performance for everyone!

Among all the people in my life that I’m thankful for, I have to say that the families that are on my roster are the best perk of my job. Some jobs are just that, but teaching is a calling and I’m so happy that you and your children are in my life. The extraordinary chain of events that led to this job and to all of you still amazes me. So, thank you for all you add to my life. I trust you will all have a Thanksgiving full of joy and the making of good memories.

If you haven’t visited the Nixon Library, this might be a good time. ”One of the largest such collections ever assembled, A Holiday Festival of Trains features a breathtaking landscape of more than 100 toy trains whistling through dozens of tiny snow-covered villages and wintry mountain passes. Accompanying the toy trains will be a rare display of the Lilly Belle, the miniature steam locomotive built in 1949 by Walt Disney and enjoyed in his own backyard, on loan from the Disney family.”

Since this is right in Orange County, this would be an easy field trip for your family. I say that, knowing that museum trips can be difficult for active kids. The last time I tried this particular museum with my boys, I got a great deal of eye rolling and general resistance to “another educational adventure.” It might have been easier with trains!

Tomorrow is the California Indian workshop! I can’t wait to see all of you. We will be making a headband, a petroglyph and some Indian games. It will be fun!

Watch for an announcement soon about a rhythm/music workshop with instruments donated by Yamaha. Again, this is a wonderful provision from the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. I will be going to the training and picking up the instruments tomorrow.

The Russian Seasons Dance performance was fantastic and if you were there to enjoy it, please write a thank you note I can send to the performers.

I’ve been notified by the host of this web site that it might go down for repair this weekend. So get your writings in before that!

A mother wrote and wanted an online place for her K student to practice math. I found three very good sites that are multi-leveled so you can “graduate” your child as they become more skilled. While I don’t think these are a replacement for the math programs you are already doing, they might be a fun review of skills that would be preferable to the “drill and kill” typical in some texts. Here they are: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime;www.fungame.com;www.learningplanet.com. Let me know how these work for you. The bbc site also has a number of other interesting connections to other subject areas.