Guess My Rule

Here we are playing a game in math called "Guess My Rule". We chose one attribute to sort our objects by (i.e. #of legs or shape) and our learning partner had to guess the rule we sorted by. 

The Hour of Code!

Mrs. Groden introduced us to "coding", also known as computer programming. The Hour of Code was a global initiative held this month to get more kids,particularly girls, interested in coding as a potential career path down the road. We coded using the free iPad app, Scratch Jr.  We used the class set of iPads in the library while Mrs Groden, Dr. Peterson and others assisted. Check out the pictures of us below!

Timothy's Toybox

Last week all the books we ordered for the children in the TTB program arrived. We enjoyed previewing all the titles and then assisted Mrs Paget in sorting and labeling the books for their December 3 delivery to Sharon and Tim Gilbert, the mother-son team who run the program. Thank you for all of your timely contributions and book orders at this time of year. We all felt a sense of pride knowing that we helped make someone's holiday a little brighter!

A few of us wrote labels for each child on the list. We were very diligent about copying the names correctly and helping our peers locate them when they needed them. 

We helped Mrs. Paget find the right books for each child and made sure the name label matched. 

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Here are some of the books we purchased for the wee ones in the program!

The First Thanksgiving by Room 13

                     The "Speedwell" pilgrims ready for their voyage to Holland. 

          King George before delivering his harsh words to the pilgrims.

                                   Narrator number 1 and his helpful sidekick.

                            Be Narrator number 2 and her helpful sidekick!

      Two boats on the move. It took a lot of practice to learn how to maneuver the ships!

                 It was very crowded on the Mayflower. Many passengers got sick. 

                                       Meeting our Native American friends!

                                                             Feast time!

Thank goodness for Squanto, Samoset and Massasoit for teaching us the ways of their land. 

                                  Albuquerque Turkey anyone?

Learning about the legend of the 5 corn kernels and considering what we are thankful for. 

                              We hope you enjoyed our cranberry orange relish!

We had fun at our Thanksgiving activity centers after the play!  We hope you enjoyed the homemade relish.

November Updates!

Hi Everyone,

It was so nice to meet with all of you during conference time!  I enjoy putting names with faces and learning about your children from a different perspective.  I am looking forward to getting back into the routine of teaching as the assessment window for trimester one closes.  Report cards will be sent home on 12.15.14.

We are really looking forward to our play on Tuesday morning at 9:00 am!  Please let me know if no one in your family will be able to attend so I may plan accordingly.  All are welcome as we have plenty of space in the cafeteria.  Our play will last about 30 minutes.  We will all need to be out of the cafeteria by 9:35 am to accommodate the incoming gym class.  If possible, please help us get the "gym-ateria" back in order by returning your chair to the metal chair cart on your way out.  Thank you for your assistance!

Thank you to all the parents who signed up to donate their time or ingredients to our special Thanksgiving related centers.  Please check the Sign Up Genius lists elsewhere in this blog if you have forgotten what you signed up for!  We will be having our Thanksgiving activity centers immediately following the play.  I expect centers to be finished by 11:00 am.  Due to the space limitations of our classroom, only parent volunteers are welcome to accompany us back to the room after the play.  Thank you for your cooperation.

****REMINDER: PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILD BRING IN ONE SMALL CONTAINER WITH A SECURE LID TO CARRY THEIR RELISH HOME IN.  PLEASE LABEL YOUR CHILD'S CONTAINER WITH THEIR NAME.

Thank you to all of you who placed book orders or sent in donations for Timothy's Toybox! To date we have collected $119.00 -  what a fabulous response!  In addition, all the book orders placed us in the highest bonus point earning bracket which means more FREE books for TTB!  This year's list has 60 children ranging in age from newborn - 14 years.  I will be selecting at least 2 books per child utilizing the funds collected from Room 13 in addition to the $107.00 collected at our Family Literacy Night last spring.  The children will assist me in sorting the books by age when the book order arrives.  I will be delivering the books to Sharon Gilbert, director of TTB, during the first week in December.  Thank you Room 13!

There will be NO HW this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday - woot, woot!  Please be on the lookout for information regarding Reading A to Z (RAZ Kids) in your child's booktime envelope on Monday 12.1.14.  RAZ Kids offers many more opportunities for your child to practice reading books at their INDEPENDENT reading level from the comfort of your own home!  Reading levels were assigned based on my recent reading assessments.  Your child will receive a password to utilize this site on Monday the 1st. Please keep it in a handy spot!

Phew!  I think that's it for now.  Please call or email with questions!  Here's hoping the email blast regarding this post reaches you in a timely manner...

Chris Paget

Halloween Memories!

Five Little Pumpkins Puppet Shows

During Halloween week we put on puppet shows for each other with our paper bag pumpkin puppets. Look for your child's puppet in their poem notebook. Maybe they'll reenact the show for you at home!

Halloween Parade

Here are some pictures of us in our costumes. As you can see, we had some repeats!

October News!

Hi Parents - I just wanted to let you know that my October Newsletter is posted on my blog on the home page under the "newsletters" tab. I thought an email blast had gone out last week letting you know this, but I was mistaken.  You can visit my full blog at welcometoroom13.blogspot.com. Please take a moment to read my newsletter, particularly the information regarding the parent volunteer training session THIS WEDNESDAY at 2:00pm.  I am so sorry for the quick turn around. Attendance is not mandatory and all information will be shared via hard copy after the fact. A follow up letter will arrive in your child's home folder tomorrow with more blog updates regarding conference and parent volunteer sign ups.  Thank you for your patience as I have reorganized my blog and gotten it back on track.  Have a great week!

Chris Paget

Fall Projects!

Here are some of our "Dot Day" creations!  We used tissue paper and glue sticks to design original dots and then signed our names.  We then shared them via skype with a class from Texas on  9.18.14.  A big thank you to Mrs. Groden for making the skype session happen!  We cut our dots in half, and sent them off to Texas in the mail.  We are currently waiting for our buddies from Texas to send us their halves so we can pair them up with ours to make buddy dots!

We have been discussing signs of fall. Here are some pictures of things we say 

"Hello" to each fall as well as things we say "Goodbye" to now that summer is over.

We have been learning about Christopher Columbus. Here are some facts we wrote!