Sept.21- Sept. 25

2nd-3rd Grade Explorer News

Theme:Empathy

C.A.R.E.S. Our students are starting to put what they’ve learned about the brain into practice. They are recognizing how and why characters do and act the way they do.This week we tackled the value of empathy.

Where in the World?  These projects are so awesome! The amount of support and effort is apparent! Thank you for supporting these kids in this activity. Everyday I see a sense of pride and excitement. This week we traveled to  Riverton, Vermont, Cape Cod, Scarborough, Maine, and Ogunquit, Maine.

Third Grade Dictionaries

Mr. Coburn from the Rotary brought all third graders their own dictionary. We had a great time exploring this fantastic tool. It’s not just a dictionary but so much more. We found the longest word, looked for the most populated states, and learned that states have mottos, state birds, state flowers, etc. Mr. Coburn gave us some extra dictionaries for our classroom. We are learning to use them for the Word of the Day. Of course these are their books to take home and have for reference. They can keep them at school if they would like.

Word of the Day: The goal is to “thicken” our vocabularies this year. 3-4 days a week we have a Word of the Day. These words are either words we use regularly, curriculum based, or word study related. Third graders will be using dictionaries with these words. They practice using guidewords to locate the Word of the Day (in an efficient way). They also note whether a word is a noun, adjective, verb, etc. They use each word in a sentence to show their understanding of the word and practice their sentence structure.  Second graders are building a vocabulary book. They record the words, write their definition of the word, and draw a picture to help remind them of this word.

        efficient, accurate, empathy      

Nature Trail

On Friday afternoon, our second graders joined Mrs. Susmann’s class for our first trip on the nature trail. This trip was our introduction to the trail and how we will use it as a learning laboratory in 2nd grade. Mrs. Susmann and I will be taking second graders out often together for writing and science learning opportunities. Our third graders will be joining Mrs. Wagner’s class to do some similar learning along with their 3rd grade peers.

Notes and Reminders

Check out the blog….

    turcotteexplorers.blogspot.com

3rd Grade planner homework is a daily check in. Parents don’t forget to initial in 2 places.

2nd graders- Homework due Friday.

Oct. 12-13   No School (Columbus Day and Inservice)

Signs of Fall

Our Week in Photos

A week of photos.....

Establishing book nooks and Read to Self. This is one component of the Reader's Workshop we are building.


Balloon Breathing-  slowing down to focus on breath (hoberman's sphere)


Where in the World

Weekly News 9/14- 9/18

Sept.14- Sept. 18

2nd-3rd Grade Explorer News

Theme: Responsibility

C.A.R.E.S. This week we focused on the routines we’ve been building, our personal responsibilities for ourselves, and the classroom community. We continue to shape our class rules and agreements for cooperation.

Where in the World?  This was our first week of student shares! I am so impressed how prepared and interesting each presentation has been. Early this week learned about skiing in Brighton, Utah, a fun vacation spot called Hampton Beach, NH,  the many fun places to explore at Groton State Park, a special home right here in Berlin, and a special place in New York!   

Caponata:

In preparation for open house, we harvested some really good looking eggplants, peppers, oregano, and onions from our amazing school garden.  Together we chopped, stirred, and prepared a quite tasty italian (sicilian) style appetizer spread. Ms. Dawkins and Mrs. Vanderlip both came and assisted us through the cooking process. Many kids tried it...and liked it!

Second Grade “Idea Notebooks”: On Wednesday, I brought my treasure bag full of journals and personal “Idea” books I have written and collected through the decades. Yes, there are lots of them! I read parts and shared all kinds of my “Ideas” I have written down through my life. The kids got a real kick out of the fact that when I was in elementary school my high scores on Super Mario Bros. were highlights of my day! I shared with them my “bucket lists” and how each one I have full-filled is it’s own small moment story. They want to hear them all! The enthusiasm! AH HA…. Writing is so AWESOME! That is when I presented them their own ‘IDEA” notebooks. I dumped my sticker collection on the floor and they went to town decorating and personalizing their own special Idea Notebook. Then came the begging for extra time to write! So now we’ve launched! These will be tools we will use all year to make lists, take notes, collect seed ideas, tiny topics, collect memories, and write down all their hopes and dreams.    

Notes and Reminders

Now I have a class email list. Thank you to everyone who filled out my survey. I will send home email class news with links to our blog.I have posted photos on the blog. Remember...the fun” spicy” version of class news and events will be here.

3rd Grade planner homework is a daily check in. Parents don’t forget to initial in 2 places.

2nd graders- Homework due Friday.

Oct. 12-13   No School (Columbus Day and Inservice)

Coming Up…. Where in the World Projects, math homework begins (Mrs. Singh), more on Geography!

Blog Update:    turcotteexplorers@blogspot.com

WELCOME FAMILIES!

Our Explorers Have Been Busy!!!!

Here are some highlights of things to see.....

      New Lunch Cards                              Mailboxes                    Book Boxes

      Where in the World Books              Where in the World Project        

      2nd Grade Idea Books                        3rd Grade Writer's Notebooks

      2nd-3rd Grade Smarties                     Cooperation Posters              

       Hopes and Dreams


 And much more......

       SIGN UP TONIGHT (EARLY)  FOR PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES IN NOVEMBER                  
     

3rd Graders Kick Off Small Moment Writing!

Our third graders have their Writer's Notebooks in hand.  We have made a list of our Do's and Don'ts with our Writer's Notebooks. We have read examples of other third grade writers. So today, we got right to work on our first small moment story!

Making "Sicilian" Caponata

Just what is this dish?

Caponata (Sicilian: capunata) is a Sicilian eggplant dish consisting of a cooked vegetable made from chopped fried eggplant and seasoned with sweetened vinegar, with capers in a sweet and sour tomato sauce.

We picked, chopped, and sauted this delicious appetizer for Thursday night's potluck. Everyone chipped in. Tomorrow we'll sample it with crackers! Try it yourself... recipe following photos!

Eggplant Camponata

CHOP IN SMALL PIECES and saute on hot plate:

2 onions

2 eggplants

1 bell pepper

4 cloves garlic

1/2 lb mushrooms

1 c olive oil

PUT IN CROCK POT all day:

sauteed mixture

2-6 oz cans tomato paste

4 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 c  black olives

2 TBSP capers

3 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp pepper

The Weekly Scoop!

Sept.7- Sept. 11  2015

Weekly News:

Theme: Assertive

This week we moved onto the letter A for being Assertive. A big part of 2nd and 3rd grade is learning about ourselves and then figuring out what we need to be successful and ready to learn.  To be assertive, requires us to be honest with ourselves and each other. While 2nd graders explored this theme through read alouds and  picture books, third graders built on their experience through examples and real authentic opportunities to practice asserting themselves. Another big part of this element of the C.A.R.E.S. philosophy is speaking up when you see things that are not right or others be treated disrespectfully. We all need to support and take care of each other.  

Where in the World?  We launched a big literacy project this week. Each student is signed up to share about a  favorite place they know well. They are asked to plan and prepare a share that answers 5 guiding questions about this special place...

           WHERE is your place on earth?

           WHO else goes to this place?

           WHEN do you go to this place?

           WHAT do you do at this place?

           WHY is this place important, or WHY do you go there?

Students are encouraged to bring up to 5 items to share that go along with that special place. Photos, rocks, pic collages, souvenirs, special toy from that place, clothing item, sample, a book, postcard, journal,  a map, drawing, etc.

This daily share becomes a writing topic for the whole class.We are working on sentence formation, details and elaboration, and editing. We will complete our “Where in the World” literacy project over the next several weeks and learn a little bit more about each person in our class.

Brain Science: Getting Focused

We started learning some strategies for calming our amygdala. Mrs. Turcotte shared her Hoberman sphere as a tool to help the class practice “balloon breathing.” Many of us use and practice taking deep breaths when we are feeling stressed, maybe frustrated, or anxious. Taking a breath is a good way to PAUSE before we react in any situation. We make better choices when we can use and access our Prefrontal Cortex (PFC “wise leaders”) to make decisions. Mindful breathing is a good strategy to "get there."

Third Grade Writer’s Notebooks: “Happy New Year!” We are celebrating a new year living our “Writerly Life.”  Third graders chose and decorated their Writing Notebooks for the year. This will be an important place for them to compose true stories and important writing ideas. Together as a group, we came up with Third Grade Writing Notebook Do’s and Don’ts. We set some goals and now we are off…

Read to Self: The goal this time of the year is to get everyone reading during the day. For now, we are doing this separately at each grade level. There are different needs. Third graders are building stamina, practicing selecting text, and their own book nooks. Meanwhile, 2nd graders are practicing using their new classroom library, selecting text with purpose, experimenting with different book nooks, and working on building some structure into quiet reading. I am very encouraged for the enthusiasm for reading with my new second graders. The idea of setting a reading goal for the day has caught on like wildfire. One student did it and everyone saw how proud he was that day. Now everyone is doing it! Success is like popcorn here in the afternoons!

Notes and Reminders

Now I have a class email list. Thank you to everyone who filled out my survey. I will send home email class news with links to our blog. I have posted photos on the blog. Remember...the fun” spicy” version of class news and events will be here. I will be attentive to the few parent requests to keep their child’s photos out of or off of  media sources (ie. blog). I have checked these forms in the office.

3rd Grade planner homework is a daily check in. Parents don’t forget to initial in 2 places.

2nd graders- Homework due Friday.

All beginning of the year office forms need to be returned. A few are still lurking out there.

The Community Potluck and Open House is next week!  Come share the bounty and see the classroom that has transformed these first weeks of school!  

Upcoming Events

September 17th Community potluck and open house 6- 7:30pm

Coming Up…. Where in the World Projects,  a garden visit, cooking project #1

3rd Grade Homework Planner

Third graders are all using these homework planners to write down daily assignments and record their reading minutes. Parents, don't forget to initial reading minutes and that you saw their assignment list.

Look at ALL the extra reading happening here!

Teaming Up To "Think" Out How Cooperation Will Work

Problem Solving

Solutions

August 31- Sept. 4,  2015

Weekly News:

Theme: Cooperation

“How can we all support each other in reaching our hopes and dreams?” “What kind of an environment is going to be Safe, Respectful, and Ready for us all to learn?” “What procedures do we need to have in place?” “What will they look like in our class?”

We started to build our acronym C.A.R.E.S. This week it was C for Cooperation.  Everything we did involved cooperation. Group projects, “Think, Pair, Share,” games/ greetings (4 corners, Rumplestiltskin, loggers greeting, sharing spaces, etc.), and practicing transitions. Many authentic teachable moments presented themselves.

Classroom Library: It is open and in full use. Second graders spent most of the week getting to know the systems and just what kinds of books are in their classroom. Little tests were given each day to practice putting the books in their proper places. After all, ‘READING IS THINKING” and every book has it’s place for a reason. Most third graders are looping this year and the new kids are catching on quick, they have some great teachers! Third graders focus is building their reading stamina. 

FYI: Most books can be borrowed for homework. I ask that one at a time go home and returned before borrowing another. Later in the year, it might look a little different

Brain Science: Getting Focused

We are learning about 3 parts of our brain that are important in thinking, in dealing with our feelings, and learning new things. We’ve begun using (and understanding) words like amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus! Our amygdala keeps us safe. It is our security guard (lock). Our prefrontal cortex (P.F.C.-our wise leader) controls decision making, focus, attention, and allows to use those high level thinking skills. The hippocampus (memory maker) is a storage vault of memory and learning.Our goal throughout the year is to help our young learners to find ways to calm their amygdala under stress when there is no danger, strengthen their ability to focus by getting information to their PFC efficiently, and store important information in their hippocampus.

Notes and Reminders

Our class BLOG has been added to the BES Website. This will be another place folks can go to keep abreast of news in our class. The actual web address is turcotteexplorers.blogspot.com

Thank you to the few parents that have completed my survey. It is not too late! Next week, I’ll be sending the newsletter through email with blog update links….the “spicy” version.

3rd Grade planner homework is a daily check in. Parents don’t forget to initial in 2 places.

2nd graders- Homework due Friday.

All beginning of the year office forms need to be returned.

Upcoming Events

September 7   No School Labor Day

September 17th Community potluck and open house 6- 7:30pm

Coming Up…. Where in the World Projects, Mindfulness, and Writer’s Notebooks