Challenging Our Math Brains

 Sometimes during Number Corner we come up with equations to match how many days we have been in school. This is a great way to challenge every growing math brain, whether our equation for day 16 is 

16 + 0

100-84 or

5+5+5+1

We use our days in school grid to help us create equations.

Look at all our great equations!

Workshops

After assessments were completed, we were finally able to start our workshops!

We learned that we'll have a workshop for each subject that we learn. 

We started studying what strong writers and readers do during Reading and Writing Workshops.

Check out our writing focus!

We have reading focus, too! We loved reading to our partners.

When we work hard in workshops, our brains grow stronger!

Our First Reward

 We earned our first ten frame full of BEAK Awards! (BEAK stands for Be Excellent, Awesome Kids)

Each time we receive a compliment or reach a goal, we can earn a class BEAK Award. We keep track of these awards in a ten frame.

When we have a full ten frame, we can trade that in for a special event for our class.  One day we brainstormed possible rewards. The following day we voted as a class on our morning message. Each student got 3 sticky dots to vote with and use however s/he wanted.

We marked groups of ten as we counted up the votes. 

Pajama Day was definitely the favorite! We quickly earned another ten frame and were able to bring stuffies in a few days later, as well!

Equity and Equality

I am trying to help Room 408 realize that we are all different learners.

We have different goals.

We have different needs.

We have different brains.

That doesn't mean one is better than another, but it just means that some need different kinds of support.

I helped them understand this with a band-aid lesson.

First, someone shares a story about when they hurt their elbow. I put a band-aid on their elbow.

Then, someone shares a story about when they hurt their knee. I put a band-aid on their elbow.

Finally, someone shares a story about when they bumped their head. I put a band-aid on their elbow.

By this time the kids get a bit confused. Then I tell them that even though I gave everyone the same thing in the exact same way, it didn't help all of them.

What I did was treat everyone equally. But to be fair, everyone doesn't get the same thing...fair means that everyone gets what they need to be successful.

Finally, I share this picture:

This sparks a great conversation about how because our brains and/or bodies are different, we may need different things to help us be successful.

Number Racks

 Today for math we made a tool that we will be using all year long: our number racks.

Number racks help us think about numbers in terms of fives and tens so that we can be more efficient mathematicians.

There was a lot of thinking as students in Room 408 made sure their number rack had five red, five white on each string. I also heard a lot of teaching conversations as each child helped another as they double-checked to make sure their racks were accurate.

What great mathematicians!

Our Choices are Important

 In the classroom we have created some living charts that are reminders of how we agree to take care of ourselves, take care of each other, and take care of our place/materials. We are well into school and are still adding ideas each day! This fine tunes how we want it to be in our classroom so we can reach our hopes and dreams by working hard and helping our brains grow.

We have been reading some great books to stimulate conversations about this.

One of my favorites is Each Kindness by Jaqueline Woodson.

This is a story about a girl who isn't kind to a new classmate. She realizes too late that she won't have a chance to make things better. It's a great conversation starter about being kind no matter what.

When we read this book, each time the main character is unkind I crumple a little bit of a paper heart. At the end the heart is all crumpled and we try to smooth it out...we realize that we can say sorry and try to make things better, but when we are unkind there are still wrinkles on people's hearts. 

Another well-loved and impactful book is If Everybody Did by Jo Ann Stover.

This is a great book for realizing that if one person does something negative, it might not seem like too big of a deal. But if everybody does that thing, it can have a big negative impact.

Calming Glitter Jars

 We spend a lot of the time at the beginning of the year discussing big emotions and ways to help us regain self-control. We take breaks, do deep breathing, use our Safe Zone, and practice positive self-talk.

We love this video about calming those big emotions:

 

 Another way to help us calm is our glitter jar. We made special calming glitter jars with warm water, glitter glue, and food coloring.

We shook them up and took deep, calming breaths while we watched the glitter settle. I have never heard them get so quiet!

Parents, maybe consider setting up a Safe Zone at your house as a place for calming. You might add a mirror for viewing emotions, comfortable seating, a stuffed animal, or calming fidgets.  Now you can add your glitter jar!