This week we studied contractions during our phonics and spelling time. I can't remember which blog I found this on last year, but I loved the idea of becoming "Contraction Surgeons" as a class. I found it really helps the kids understand why we have contractions and how to actually make them.
We talked about how surgeons have to mark their patients before surgery, so we had to cross out some letters we'd be taking out of our "patients." Then the surgeons cut their patients open, so we would have to cut our letters out of the words. Then surgeons stitch their patients back together, so we'd have to use "bandaid apostrophes" to put our contractions back together. The kids loved it! We got gloves from the nurse and used lots of hand sanitizer to keep the germs away before we went into surgery. I was glad to announce that all of our students passed contraction surgeon school. They loved it, AND they learned! Yay!
We talked about dental health quite a bit this week. We read books about it, researched it on BrainPop, and had lots of personal experiences! After learning about dental health, we created these toothbrushes.
Our class also read Dr. DeSoto, always a favorite. After we read the story, we talked about some character analysis. Then to make a connection the story, the kiddos thought about what creature or animal they would want to work on if they were dentists. I also had them think about what they'd give to that creature or animal as a prize afterward. These turned out so cute! I put them all into a class book.
During writing, we worked on personal narratives about a time when we lost a tooth. First, we created a Flow Map to think about the specific details we wanted to write about (where, when, how, etc). Then we used the Flow Maps to create a story that we illustrated afterward. I was very impressed with how these turned out. I think it's pretty funny that as an adult, loose teeth gross me out so much! Just seeing them wiggle around when the kids push them with their tongues. Eek! I remember being so excited as a kid, but all my class knows I can't stand it now!
We also celebrated Lunar New Year this week. We talked about how it's usually referred to as Chinese New Year, but since a lot of other people celebrate it too, we would call it both. We read stories, researched on PebbleGo, and talked about our own personal experiences with the holiday, too.
We had lots of fun researching our zodiac signs and finding out what it meant about us. We realized it would be the Year of the Dragon when these firsties are graduating high school... in 2024!? My stars, that seems crazy when I graduated in 2006. Yikes! We also made some very pretty lanterns and decorated dragon headbands.
Today is the first day of the Year of the Snake! As they say in Vietnamese, "Chuc Mung Nam Moi!" which means "Happy New Year!"
Friday was also my birthday, and I have to say this was one of the best yet! Some of the kids brought me presents, my next-door teacher friend made a Texas sheet cake (yum!) and Ms. McCormack bought me a Nothing Bundt Cake (double yum!), I got flowers, AND one of the moms threw me a surprise party! I'd like to give a big shout-out to Mrs. W for always surprising me with her kindness and thoughtfulness. She brought cupcakes, juice boxes, and balloons. I felt extra-special all day. :) I've been so blessed with such wonderful kids and parents this year. I'm feeling a little sad that it's February already!
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