Kattre's Korner
Learning together. Growing together.
As Spring Break has hit, us teachers begin to feel the pressure of the school year winding down and summer approaching. The greatest thing about that feeling this year, is knowing how positive and enthusiastic my second graders are! As I panic to wonder how I will get all of the lessons in, these seven and eight-year-olds are the calm to my storm. I say "bar graphs", they say "AWESOME". I say "Let's set goals", they say "WE CAN'T WAIT!" I am so proud to have a class that works so well together and always tries their hardest to be their best! Below are pictures of our new personal goal thermometers. I told you all last week how we set a classroom goal to earn 900 food packets, which saves 4 lives. Now they are each keeping track of their own Power Points, which we will decide soon how to use. Each week they will fill in how many they have earned, which they seem pretty excited about. In math, we have been learning about data collection and analysis. We have explored tally charts, picture graphs, and bar graphs. On Thursday, the students got to work with a partner to create their own surveys. They came up with the question they would ask 10 classmates, what the options would be to choose from, and filled in the bar graph accordingly. To complete the lesson and see what information they gathered from their survey, they created questions to analyze the graph, and then answered those questions and shared with the class. A big part of the partnership was that both people in the team shared the duties of asking the question/recording the data. Everyone was involved in the process and they worked so well together and should be proud of themselves for their hard work and patience! Great job Krew! The last thing I wanted to share with you all is that I've been trying to tie in opportunities to learn throughout our entire UNICEF bracelet journey. On Friday, we saw where we were on our food packet goal thermometer (450 food packets), and that we needed 75 more packets in the last week in order to add the next section to the chart. Cole did a great job of showing his classmates how to add 450+75 in order to find out at least how many food packets we needed to have in order to add that next section. We found out that we needed 525 food packets, and with 538 actual packets earned, we were able to put on the next step!! If you get a moment to congratulate your child on their hard work, perseverance, and determination, please do that. They SO SO deserve it!
Have a great break, everyone!!
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I've noticed lately that our bracelets have started to fizzle out and not have as much excitement as they used to. To try and counteract that today, we talked about why we are taking steps. What the steps are doing for ourselves, and for others across the planet. Then we also talked about how important it is to each a nutrient-filled breakfast each morning. How IRON helps our bodies and brains, and that the food packets we are taking steps to earn are FILLED with iron and other nutrition. To show them exactly what iron is, and where it can be found, we did a little experiment. We used a few different brands of cereals to try to figure out which one was the healthiest, and the best food for our brains and bodies. A healthy cereal (and breakfast in general) should contain iron to help give us energy, increase red blood cell counts to fight infection, and to feed our brains! We compared Fruit Loops (25% iron), Honey Nut Cheerios (25% iron), and Total - Whole Grain (100% iron) to see which we could prove was the healthiest. When we placed a flake of Total cereal in water and placed a strong magnet near it, the flake was ATTRACTED (notice the punny title of this post) to the magnet and moved towards the magnet!! That wasn't enough proof for these 2nd graders, though. Next, we let a cup of three types of cereals soak in a gallon bag of warm water for 15 minutes. After the time was up, can you guess which cereals looked pretty much the same, and which one was nearly completely broken up? (We wondered as a class how that must take a long time to break down in our bellies, then.) I placed a magnet under the bag and swirled it around for 20 seconds, then tipped the bag up, and slid the magnet above the 'soup' mixture. To our amazement, there was BLACK IRON that came up from the muck and PROVED that this cereal was full of iron to fuel our growing, learning bodies. I'll leave you to ask your kids how the Cheerios and Fruit Loops reacted ;) If you look closely at the picture of Ireland, you can see the iron (black) above the liquid that we pulled out with the magnet. Something else that was exciting for the kids this week was when they went to Mrs. Droessler's room for science. They are learning about plants and insects, and this week the shipment of worms came in. They are LOVING their time to hang out the Mrs. Droessler, learn new things about science, and hold worms!!! Check out these scientists!! They are having so much fun!! Going back to UNICEF bracelets, and reigniting their passion for taking steps... I decided to inspire them more by rewarding them for the impact they are having on the lives of others. We came up with a goal to earn 900 food packets by the end of the school year. That means we will have saved the lives of 30 children!! As of today, we are at 501 packets, so we are over half way there!! We talked about what we would like to earn for ourselves for working so hard and being empathic towards others, and the kids decided that a pizza and karaoke party is what they wanted to earn. I will be sending forms home soon to gain permission for substituting lunch one day near the end of school if (when) they reach their goal. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you feel uncomfortable with this. They would still be invited to Kattre Kafe to eat their own lunch while everyone else eats pizza. Here's the goal chart that I made this week to help the kids stay motivated. Each 75 packets the kids earn, we will put a new sliver of red on the chart. We are close to puttin on another next week! We have about 12 weeks of school left, so as long as they get a sliver of red every 2 weeks, we are GOLDEN! It would be great to even reach 1000! The last thing I want to mention is that we are learning about being a good citizen in social studies. We've talked about the three types of communities (urban, suburban, and rural) and all the things that good citizens do in those communities. We've talked about how we should follow rules and stay safe, how we can motivate others, and help others in our community. In an effort to show empathy, compassion, and explore the community around us, we were thinking of having a small food drive to collect food and take to a local food pantry. I've gotten the o.k. from Mrs. Reuter to even take a quick field trip to deliver the goods we will collect to a food pantry in town. There will be a note coming home shortly with more details, but I wanted to give you a heads up so that if you have any nonperishable items you would like to donate to our food drive, then you could maybe set the aside for our collection. Maybe as "homework" the kids will have to do a little "spring cleaning" of your pantry and they might find things that they could add to the food drive. Please stay tuned!! Have a great weekend!
~Mrs. Kattre To celebrate Dr. Seuss and his birthday, we had a 'Read In' day. Everyone got to wear their pajamas to school and we spent an hour reading Dr. Seuss books to ourselves and our friends. We also did some Dr. Seuss related activities to help learn more about the impact he made on books today. Friday, for our Bucketfilling assembly, everyone got to dress up as Dr. Seuss or their favorite character from one of his books. That's a cute bunch of kids, right there!
Nothing too out of the ordinary has been happening in class lately. We're just hoping to get to have a 5-day week sometime soon so that we aren't in school until July! :) Although, with these sweet faces, it wouldn't be so bad!! Enjoy a few pictures from our Valentine's Day party. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday night and keep your fingers crossed for a 5-day week! :)
Can you believe that we are already a week into February?! It continues to blow my mind how quickly this year is flying. On January 21st, we had Mrs. Lowe's 3/4 multiage friends come to visit and read us their informational writing that they have been working on for months. They did an amazing job and taught us so much! During some of our cold days while we were forced to stay inside, the kids go to get creative with our new inside recess toys. We also practiced some quiet mindfulness to relax at the end of the day. Mrs. Julius' 3/4 multiage came to read their informational writing to us on January the 24th. It's so fun and inspiring to look up to older students as an example of hard work. Lastly, here is the Valentine's Day party note I am sending home today. Happy decorating!
We had a busy, fun-filled week leading up to Christmas break. First up, we had plaid day on Monday... Tuesday, was a very eventful day. In learning about holidays from around the world (including, the United States, Germany, Australia, and Africa) we wanted to learn more about what our friend Arianna and her family celebrates. Her mom, Sultana Amin, so graciously came into our room, shared facts about Ramadan and Eid, and brought in some of Arianna's favorite dishes from their celebration. Everyone respectfully tried the dish, as well as some Turkish Delight, and many came in for seconds! Thank you, again, Sultana! We are very lucky to have had you visit our classroom and help our class be more understanding and accepting of other cultures! Tuesday afternoon we bussed to the high school to practice for our Christmas program. If you had a chance to make it out that night, you would have seen the kids do an AMAZING job! The rest of the week was a giant blur, but we managed to stay plenty busy making gifts, having fun, and learning. I hope you all liked what your littles made for you and that everyone had a Merry Christmas! See you in a week! :)
These last two weeks have been busy within our classroom. Between this and last week, we said goodbye to three AMAZING methods students that were doing their practicum hours in our classroom 3-4 days a week. They were a huge help and got to meet with many students daily. During guidance class this week, Mrs. Allen was talking about finding a strategy that will help in calming ourselves down and also focusing on things that calm our hearts. The strategy she taught them this week was to blow on an imaginary cup of hot chocolate with a long breath and to let out a long slow 'MMMMMM' to calm our bodies and minds. They did a great job of thinking about things that make them happy. Aaliyah's were family and steak! :) Amen, sister! We have also been busy working on Christmas gifts! Here are some clues, but no asking them what we're makine! It's a surprise!! Next week we have some festive dress up days! I imagine we will get some great pictures!!
Monday: Plaid Tuesday: Glitter and Gold Wednesday: Red and Green Thursday: Festive (Think anything Christmas print) Friday: P.J. DAY!!! Have a great Friday and a relaxing weekend! Hey everyone! As this time of year usually comes with a list of things to do a mile long, I've been finding myself continually busy. Between personal life, school at Westview, and grad school, I'm trying to manage my time wisely without sacrificing any of the previously mentioned areas of my life. As you've probably noticed, I haven't been doing the best job of that since it's been a month since I last posted on here. Conferences, (for both my husband and myself) family get-togethers, and homework of my own has kept me from being able to sit and focus on updating the blog. SO! Here's what we've been up to... In anticipation for Veteran's day Mrs. Reuter came into our classroom and read a book called The Wall. They did a great job of showing their principal respect as well as answering questions about the story and talking about empathy. As we walked into the gymnasium for a Veteran's Day program we crossed the veteran display which from one direction showed the loved ones of our students/faculty that serve/served in the military and from the other looks like an American flag. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Last month, we received the materials from BOTH of our Donor's Choose campaigns. The first to arrive was our UNICEF Kid Power Bracelets, which the kids have been THRILLED about. Mrs. Brogley came and took pictures/recorded the unboxing event. Here are some pictures: I'm sure I've told most of you how these bracelets work, but in case I haven't here's what's most important: Every 25,000 steps our class takes collectively earns a RUTF (Ready to Use Therapeutic Food) Packet. In short: it's a super-nutritional peanut butter. It takes about 30 of these packets for a child who is malnourished to be able to gain enough weight to return home to their parents. So far in our first month, wearing the bracelets a total of 18 days, the kids have taken over 3.5 million steps. That means we've earned 140 RUTF packets which have LITERALLY saved the lives of FOUR children. After another day or two we'll have enough steps taken to earn another 10 RUTF packets which will help to save a fifth child! It still blows my mind every day that the kids are so empathetic and are continuously taking steps at their spots or while waiting in line to earn extra steps for the day. These bracelets have taken a group of 20 students who are already so thoughtful and helped them to show that it's capable for children to think beyond themselves and to help others. We also received donations for indoor recess activities that will enhance imaginations and creativity. These games can be played when we have inside recess due to rain or extreme cold. You can tell that they are pretty proud of their creations! The last thing we did this month was pick out and take home our free book, which was donated to them so that they could build their library at home. I hope that the kids are enjoying getting to take these home and keep them! Please let me know if you feel this program was/wasn't valuable for your child! I'm sorry that it took so long to get these updates on here, but between conferences and Thanksgiving November seemed to have come and gone in a FLASH. I hope you and your families had a wonderful month. It's hard to believe that we only have 3 weeks until Christmas! I'm not wishing time away because each day with these kiddos is a blessing to me and I'm very grateful to be able to spend my days with them!
Have a week everyone! Just a few pictures of the morning so far to brighten up your day! As part of our new mission to save lives through UNICEF, we've been very active on their website doing fitness video brain breaks. Check out this video (click the link) to see what that looks like! As part of Wednesday math centers, the kids get to explore with geo boards. This is what Zimo and Symir surprised me with. 'Ms Kattre' and 'Love'. :) We also got to celebrate our good behavior with a PJ and movie day. Last week we got to do one of my favorite science lessons where we 'make soup' but accidentally add an ingredient too early and need to seperate the soup mix in order to fix it. (It takes every bit of my 'acting' abilities to not crack a smile with their panic-struck reactions, but I am able to convince the kids that we have made a huge mistake and MUST fix it for the soup to turn out.) Within the soup mix there are lima beans, pinto beans, mung beans, rice, and corn meal. The kids worked SO well together and were super excited to come up with the idea of using screens to sort out the different sized particles of solids. Here are some pictures of the kids working within their groups. You can tell in the 'after' pictures that they are VERY proud that they were able to seperate them out. |
Mrs. KattreI'm a 7th year teacher, with a family of three. Join me on this journey as we learn together and grow together. Archives
October 2019
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