Taking Care of Each Other

Some of our older kids really wanted to organize an egg hunt at school, so they put the call out for plastic eggs and things we could put in eggs. One of our kindergarteners actually kept a tally as the eggs came in from different families. They worked to fill the eggs, and when the morning of the planned hunt arrived, I mentioned at our morning meeting that I was feeling nervous. The children wanted to know why, and I told them that every egg hunt that I have witnessed involves kids crying. They talked about some of their past frustrations and disappointments with eggs hunts, and they came up with a series of rules that they felt would keep everything fair and everyone happy. Everyone could find 4 eggs. They split the group in half, with half of the kids hiding eggs in front of the school and the other half hiding them behind the school. Everyone then looked in the area where they hadn't hidden them. If some kids were having trouble finding eggs, other kids offered clues or played warmer/colder to help. They were proud when they could help someone find an egg they had hidden. Tears did happen near then end when one of our PK kids was sad about what he had gotten in his eggs. Lots of other kids jumped in and offered to swap with him, making him feel supported by his classmates.

The whole experience was what I want for our kids. The chance to come up with ideas, make a plan, change things as the plan unfolds, and work to take care of each other throughout the process.

Morgan's PK and K Class

* Worked on the number 21 and figured out different ways to make 21

* Started to learn about blending letters/sounds

* Had an egg hunt

* Colored hard-boiled eggs with the big kids

* Dug in the sand for toy dinosaur bones!

* Made some beautiful paintings

* Worked on our letters and showing kindness by making cards

* Enjoyed the nice weather

Tracy's 1st and 2nd Grade Class

In math, we are continuing to find ways to break numbers into their tens and ones (or in the case of some of our students thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones). For our blue books kids, this thinking is crucial for solving multidigit addition and subtraction problems. For our red book kids, they are starting to see some of the same patterns, noticing when the ones and tens digits are changing or staying the same depending on the problem. Both groups benefit from practicing their single digit addition and subtraction math facts. The more automatic these become, the easier all of the more complicated math becomes. Try practicing a few each time you're driving in the car. Let your kid quiz you sometimes to switch things up or play "Beat the Calculator" to see if you can solve them faster than your kid can solve them with a calculator.

Everyone was happy to share their animal diaries at our publishing party and then bring their books home to enjoy. We talked about some of the challenges and joys of making a final copy.

Theresa's 3rd-5th Grade Class

The week before break they celebrated the completion of history pieces. The kids worked hard to ask questions, organize ideas, and present their ideas about the Civil Rights Movement. The kids were justifiably proud of their hard work and enjoyed the chance to share their stories with the Country Classroom community at our publishing party.

For the next 4 weeks, we are going to put away the computers and the long pieces, and make sure that everyone's understanding of sentences and paragraphs is solid.

In math, the 4th and 6th graders are continuing in their workbooks. The third graders, however, have finished the whole year's curriculum. New books have been ordered for them, and they will begin tomorrow.

All of the kids are also beginning new reading books. Some of the kids are reading "Walk Two Moons." Other kids are reading "Ember" and other kids are reading "The Twits." We have been reading a lot of non-fiction lately. It will be refreshing to take a dive into some good stories.