Final Friday!

Welcome back to our final blog of the 2014/2015 school year!

I want to start off by saying how much I've enjoyed working with your children this year and for many it has been the past two years.  What a joy it has been for me to watch them grow both academically and physically.  It has been my pleasure to be a part of their education.  I wish each and every one of them, nothing but the best!    

• Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.  Walt Disney
• It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.  Albert Einstein
• You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  Dr. Seuss- Oh, The Places You'll Go!

We had our last green slip drawing of the year!  I gave out fewer here and there plus no "sweeping-class-ones" where everyone got one, so those who received one liked their odds.  The number this time is seven slips.  The reason is because we had two repeat winners, Kaden H. and Hannah L., so I drew two more!  Congratulations to the following . . . 

Bayle B.-kindergarten-responsibility

Hannah L-kindergarten-responsibility

Kennedy B.-first grade-responsibility

Caden K.-first grade-cooperation

Kaden H.-second grade-problem solving

Madeline J.-second grade-problem solving

Aerianna W.-fourth grade-responsibility

I'll end with a blog filled with pictures, good times and quotes!  As I mentioned in a previous blog, please send an email if you're interested in the folder of pics from your child's class.  Thanks and have a great summer!

Kindergarten Math:

Let's go invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday.
~Steve Jobs

I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.
~Helen Keller

Fourth Grade LA:

There are some people in life that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and live just a little bit better.

There are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.  ~Thomas Edison

Fourth Grade Math:

Friends are the most important ingredient in the recipe of life.






Second Grade LA:

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.

Real friends are always going to be there by your side, even at times when you tell them to leave.

Second Grade Math:

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.  The important thing is not to stop questioning.  ~Albert Einstein

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.  When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

Third Grade LA:

Friendships is the hardest thing in the world to explain.  It's not something you learn in school.  But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.  ~Muhammad Ali

If a problem can be solved, why worry?  If a problem cannot be solved, then worrying 

will do no good! 

Marc Allen

Third Grade Math:

A friend who understands your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.





Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions.

First Grade LA:

A positive attitude may not solve every problem, but it makes solving any problem a more pleasant experience.

A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.
~Elbert Hubbard

First Grade Math:

"a problem well put is half solved." ~John Dewey

A best friend isn't just someone who's just always there for you.  It's someone who understands you a bit more than you understand yourself.

"Orange you glad it's SUMMER!"

Yours in education,

~Mrs. Koedyker

Finishing Up Friday!

Welcome back!


Sorry for the delay in getting this to you.  I like to have it finished by Thursday and that just didn't happen.  It's that crazy time of year!  Next week will be our last week of High Ability classes.  Everyone, including myself, are very sad about that.  There's lots of paperwork to finish out the year, plus determining the groups for next year's third graders.  We will determine those before the end of the school year.  Letters will go out for those that qualified and those that did not.  Current kindergarten, first, and third will be in for next year.  Fourth grade will be determined by WIS according to their requirements.  We pass on all our data to help them with their decision.  It may be wise to inquire for next year, just so you know the possibilities for your child.

• Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget.  (FRIENDSHIP)

Sumdog:

The phenomenon continues through all grades!!!  We now know how to add their friends to their page.  I did the kindergarten class for them.  Fourth grade I've seen so sporadically, that I've made a list that I will share with them next week.  Second through third have taken care of their own.  Adding your friends is important because they can buy each other a gift using their own coins.  They are loving it!  They go to their "house" and then "gift".  It shows them a list of their friends then options for buying things.  When they go into their "house", it will show a gift, once they click on it, it opens to reveal what was bought and from whom.  Please email me if you have any questions on this.  I have a student who said this is right up there with Mind Craft!  How great is that??!?!?  I know my son loves to play it too.  You can even chose to play "world" or play "class".  If you select play class and no one comes in during the allotted time, then you play robots, lol. 

Many work hard to set records on a particular game and make sure that I click the drop down box to show our school's top scorers.  It also shows their avatar next to the score and the kids enjoy seeing them.

I check their scores regularly and not only can I see who is playing, but more importantly . . . their accuracy, strengths and weaknesses.  It's a great tool to have!

Kindergarten Math:

On the first day we did the 100's chart.  They were given a series of 15 clues to shade in different numbers.  The end result is a picture of some kind.  This was the first time doing this, so we did it together as I projected mine onto the whiteboard.  For example, numbers between 12 and 92 with a two in the ones place.  It was a fun challenge for all.  

The second day was in the lab playing Sumdog.  I showed them how to buy things with their coins and also how to gift a classmate.  If you would have walked by the computer lab, you would have thought there was a party going on.  The were so excited to play on their own alongside their classmates. 

Fourth Grade LA:

 We finished up our novel study on The Brixton Brother's with a game of Jeopardy!  Many studied up on the book in preparation for those tough questions they were promised.  Unfortunately those questions were asked when they were not up there.  They did know their stuff!  We had fun categories like "Baddies" and "The Crime Itself".  I even had them dispute a few facts.  They went to their books to double check.  Great!  

Fourth Grade Math:

Like I said, due to ISTEP testing, I haven't had my fourth grade classes very often.  We took time writing down their friends' code.  Then I gave them a day in the lab to compete.  They haven't done this yet.  With being all together in one place, they can agree to go into the same game and go against a classmate which makes it much more enjoyable!

Second Grade LA:

This group went ahead and pushed through their testing last week.  They wanted to get all their work out of the way, so that they could relax and have some fun this week.  I was unable to get this group into the lab because it was taken for testing.  We went ahead and used the Smartboard which makes Sumdog a lot of fun!  

Second Grade Math:

We spent both days playing Sumdog.  We used the Smartboard to play as a team then one day in the lab.  Here they are splashing paint balloons on our avatar to be the first one covered.  You can see the problem they need to answer first at the top.  Many have their favorite games, but I took time to expose them to many others.  I have a few who have played every one and have a distinct opinion of each.

Third Grade LA:

We are almost done with the movie Alice.  We'll for sure finish up next week.  It's been a nice way to end the year after reading the book and comparing.  They also had time to play Sumdog against each other.

Third Grade Math:

As you can see by my group, they really enjoy competing against each other on Sumdog.  They would ask out loud if there's anyone who wants to go into Junk Pile.  Then they would coordinate their clicks so that they were versing each other.  It was fun to watch.  

First Grade LA and Math:

Both groups took turns in the lab as well as on the Smartboard playing Sumdog.  This group is particularly kind with their coins.  They often gift their classmates a chair, hat, ball, etc. to just name a few.  It's contagious because after they receive something, they are ready to return the favor.  

Yours in education,

~Mrs. Koedyker

Frugal Friday . . . on a Thursday!!!

Welcome!

• Most people do not listen with the intent to understand.  Most people listen with the intent to reply.  (Stephen R. Covey) (ACTIVE LISTENING)
• Patience is not simply the ability to wait-it's how we behave while we're waiting. (Joyce Meyer) (PATIENCE)
• Picture right is for RESOURCEFULNESS
• Look for 3 things in a person-intelligence, energy and integrity.  If they don't have the last one, don't even bother with the first two. (Warren Buffet) (INTEGRITY)

In the past, I have sent parents the pictures that I've taken over the school year.  I've stored them in folders along the way.  If you'd like the folder for your child, please let me know.  For example, I'll just send you the second grade LA folder with all of the pictures.  I've taken more than what's shown up on the blog too.  Warning:  I may have mixed a few of them up, lol!  You may get a math in the LA or even the wrong grade in there.  Just not sure. . . As a mom, I know getting a glimpse into their world is priceless and appreciated.  Just send me an email letting me know and I'll send the folder to your email after we've wrapped everything up. Thanks!

Wanted to share a picture of how our Math Masters' Wall finished up.  As you can see the colors are all mixed up which is great!  It just means that the students pushed passed what they were expected to for their grade level.  My kindergartners got acclimated with just taking a timed test and did really well!  I had first and second graders on multiplication and third and fourth on division, exponents and beyond. . . .  They all worked so very hard and I couldn't be more proud!  

Here's a key for the colors of the squares above.

red = fourth grade

orange = third grade

yellow = second grade

green = first grade

blue = kindergarten  

Has your child logged onto Sumdog at home yet?  There's a few in each grade that have yet to log in, but I can see that others have really taken to it.  After we play in class, I select the "Your classmate's best" drop down box and they enjoy it when their name is listed.  It shows the top scores for all students at Yost (yes, the phenomenon is catching on across the school!) and not just their grade level.  Also, I just discovered how they can play against other Yosties.  I know many have attempted this at home with no success.  On their page to the right, there's a button that says Play world.  If they click that, they can select Class or Robot.  Choose class.  It will wait so long for a Yostie to show up, if not they will play against Robots instead, lol.  I'm sure there's much more we can learn about Sumdog and I'll share when I do!  What a great way to have fun learning and to refresh those math skills!

Kindergarten Math:

We finished up our most of story problem worksheet before moving to the Smartboard.  Since I've met with my kindergartners for such a short time, I wanted to introduce them to this great technology! We have a giant white board in our room that I can use with different programs.  It's basically a giant touch screen they interact with.  They each took turns writing the problem on the board.  It even knows what color they have in their hand by which pen they select.  How awesome is that!  After they each got a chance to use the Smartboard, we took turns playing Sumdog.  Due to an absence, one student had yet to see how this neat program works, so we had to show him!  It's hysterical how excited this group gets when we're stacking garbage on Junk Pile.  It's so funny to watch them as it wobbles!  Congratulations to Attix for passing his plus 2's and Camren for passing plus 4's!

Fourth Grade LA:

They are still ISTEPing, so this was my one and only day to see them.  We had some quiet time to read from our Brixton Brother's book.  I'm sending the book home with them to finish up, so that we can play a jeopardy game with questions from the novel.  I put some real doosies in there!  They were excited to finally finish it at home.    The latter part we played Sumdog.  This was the first time for many since our time has been sporadic.  I sent their login information home.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Fourth Grade Math:

Did not see due to ISTEP testing and scheduling changes.

Second Grade LA:

We finished up our persuasive group write.  Jointly we came up with supports that commercials can't always be trusted.  We reviewed how to use transition words in their writing.  We also went over the rubric on what would be expected on the post assessment.  I originally had it scheduled for next week, but they chose to take it Tuesday, so we could ease up a bit next week.  I left about five minutes to introduce Sumdog to our last few.  For some reason our smartboard wasn't cooperating, so we had to use my mouse and coordinate who was next.  Great team effort by all!

Second Grade Math:
We moved from the Sudoku puzzles onto word problems.  They were tough and some looked at it as impossible.  With pictures and a little coaching they started to see that they could solve it.  For example, seven cats each caught seven mice that each caught seven bugs . . . how many cats, mice, and bugs are there all together?  They got lots of practice with these because each one stayed with a consistent number.  Tough stuff.....  The next day they explored Sumdog in the lab with the new things we've learned.  
  

Third Grade LA:

We finished listening to Alice before launching into the movie.  We launched into a discussion about Lewis Carroll's ideas for the book.  He ended with a letter to every child who loves Alice.  It helped bring the book into perspective.  We are now watching the movie while taking note in our Venn diagram.  I started them off with a few similarities and differences, but for the most part, they are doing this on their own.  I've had a few run out of room which is fantastic!

Third Grade Math:
We finished up our unit on decimals and fractions by playing Think, Pair, Write, Share.  After putting them into two teams, I gave them several problems to solve.  For example, in the number 1234.567 the number 3 is in what place?  What I love most about this activity is the coaching that goes on.  They each get time to solve it on their own, but when they pair together and see someone has a different answer . . . they coach.  We've built such a community in here all year long, that that's exactly what happens.  They don't just have them change to the correct answer, they teach their classmate how to get the right answer.  Not only is the student learning who had the incorrect answer, but the one who knew it will understand it more because he's able to verbalize it.  Now THAT'S why I do what I do . . . plus many, many more!  Congratulations to Jack for passing improper fractions, amazing!

First Grade LA:
We finished up our unit on hieroglyphics.  They were very interested to learn all about it!  We took time to fill in our KWL chart after reading a book and watching a short video clip.  They enjoyed hearing about the Rosetta Stone and how it connects to hieroglyphics.  They each were given time to fill in the L part of our chart for what they learned.  I also gave them a chance to log on to Sumdog in the computer lab.  They were individually able to explore the many wonderful games available.

First Grade Math:

Unfortunately due to early dismissal we only met one day this week.  I signed up the lab and gave them each time to explore Sumdog on their own.  I have two first graders who've yet to login at home, so they had a chance to try many of the neat games out.  We also had each add them to their friend list.  We now know how to play other Yosties!

Wow, only two weeks left!

Yours in education,

Mrs. Koedyker