I love watching things around me change on a regular basis in the spring. Each day I find new flowers blooming or trees showing traces of new leaves opening.
The kids in our class are also changing by the day. Their growth in so many areas seems to happen before my eyes. Our discussions are so much deeper and the level of their thinking astounds me. We have spent a lot of time in the past month or so working in discussion groups. We began by simply sharing a thought while the others listened. Now we can share a thought and others connect their thoughts and questions together to form discussions that deepen their understanding about a topic. The students have surpassed my expectations in every way. I can teach students information, but that is not nearly as useful to them as being able to have a productive conversation with others where they can not only share what they know, but listen carefully to learn from another's perspective.
Another sign of spring is how quickly the next weeks will pass and how the end of the school year is just around the corner. There always seems to be so much content to cover before the year ends. You can help at home by having your child well-rested and ready to learn when coming to class. Here are some topics we are covering right now:
Math- Double digit addition and subtraction
Reading - Longer and harder books and keeping track of the story
Writing/Science - Experimenting with force and motion and writing lab reports
STEM - Habitats and Slide show presentations
Report cards are coming up and should be coming home on 4/20. If you have any questions about your child's report card or progress, please set a time up with me so we can go over things.
I hope you had a restful spring break and are ready for the next stretch!
Karey Kirk
