Butterflies!

Or, butterFLY to be more precise. Our first butterfly hatched sometime before we arrived at school this morning. We eagerly documented this change on our observation sheets. We put some sugar water in the tank, but soon we'll set the very first monarch free so it can began its migration south.

Today, writer's workshop was almost magical. Morah Nancy and I looked at each other in awe, as we scanned the room and saw 11 children all quietly and independently telling their stories on paper. Our mini lessons have focused on generating ideas, adding words, and what to do when you don't know how to draw or write something. Everyone has also had a chance to share one of his/her stories with the whole class from the author's seat and receive a compliment from a classmate.

In other news, we have begun to study Rosh Hashanah by focusing first on our own birthdays and how we celebrate them. We read the book Today is the Birthday of the World and looked at some of the ways our Rosh Hashanah traditions are similar to birthday traditions. We are beginning to learn some Rosh Hashanah songs, and began a project to make Rosh Hashanah cards to take home and send to loved ones. We'll also try our hand at blowing the shofar later this week.

In Math, we continue to work on our 10 Little Dot books, and have also been working on patterns in sound and color. Children continue to explore our math manipulatives with great enthusiasm - especially the geoboards.

In Hebrew, the class is continuing to learn Hebrew names and greetings. They have also started to learn about the names of items on the sahbbat table. We'll be able to practice the new vocabulary at our next Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday.

We've started learning the song Walk A Mile in your Shoes which you might have heard at Monday's morning meeting. We're also continuing to practice This Pretty Planet. We hope to master it as a round when we know it a little better. Here's a video of the song in the three way round, led by the composer Tom Chapin.