Book Club and Thanksgiving

The latest, greatest fad in literacy class is to write books. This fad has led to great things: gaining a passion for writing (I hear groans when it's time to put our Writers' Workshop folders away,) learning how to give positive feedback along with constructive criticism, having a desire to edit our work and forming a Book Club!

The Book Club has been meeting after school on Tuesdays. The student leaders are learning leadership skills such as setting up an agenda and sticking to it, giving encouragement to club members and setting a good example. Oh, and bringing a snack! 

BOOK CLUB

Hurry! Sign up today!

Two boys' excitement is contagious!

This week's agenda

The student leaders with one of their "books"

Our theme this week was "I am thankful for...."

Ready, set, write!

An important part of club is sharing our work.

THANKSGIVING

On Wednesday of Thanksgiving Week the Seabury lower school community gathers for our traditional Thanksgiving feast of classroom-made snacks. 

This year the Navigators made fancy acorns. 

We had a special guest, Mrs. Towne's mother, who showed us her Hardanger needlework.

We gathered together and each shared what we are thankful for. 

Our eclectic feast served by our wonderful staff

We have much to be thankful for!

Differentiation: How Grades 1-3 Do Math

This is a video that highlights Seabury's hallmark of differentiation. Our class is set up to be George's Diner and the  Navigators and the Spirits have been invited to come to the restaurant and order off the menu, within budget of course! Be sure to notice how ability levels are set up, how engaged the students are in a real life situation and how much mathematical thinking is going on.

A Trip to 1376: Camlann Medieval Village

In order to truly experience the Middle Ages one must hop aboard the Seabury school bus, travel for an hour and a half and go back in time to the Camlann Medieval Village, a living-history museum that portrays rural England in the year 1376. 

"Hail and well met!" Roger and Christina greet us at the gate to their village. They show us around and explain how self-sufficient and ingenius the people of the time period are. Verily, it is so!

The homes are made of wattle and daub and are much sturdier than our homes today even though they are made without a single nail. Plus they are cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

This is the "wattle" part of the building. The daub is made of straw and clay.

Muriel, the sheep

Sheep are a must have in the village. 

They provide wool, parchment, meat and milk.

 If we were children living in the village we wouldn't go to school--we'd already be learning the work of our fathers and mothers, in this case blacksmithing. 

"Welcome to the Bors Hede Inne. Tarry and feast!" 

The boar's head

The restaurant is beautifully painted with scenes from the Middle Ages and has arched ceilings to hold up the stone walls.

We see plain clothing from the early Middle Ages

and ornately decorated clothing owned by the nobility of the later Middle Ages. The people liked to show off the fine fabrics they owned. 

We learn that the armor from the Middle Ages is much different from the armor of the Renaissance. 

 

Getting our bread trenchers (plates)

Here comes the ploughman's dinner: bread, roast polish sausage, a big chunk of cheddar cheese (named after a local village,) vegetables, fruit and a spiced juice drink. 

Juice is poured into our drinking bowls.

Methinks I am hungry!

Prithee, pass the cheddar?

Dinner is ready!

Arranging her plate 

Eating her plate!

It's polite to use our fingers. 

Tis most splendid!

For our listening pleasure, Roger sings a minstrel song accompanied by the lute. 

Fair thee well! Time to get back on the bus and go thither back to 2014 and Seabury School (and electricity and forks and cars and the Internet and school work....)

Perchance we will meet again!

The Language of Math

We usually start out our math class with a real life, open ended activity and work in groups of 2-3 to figure out how to tackle the problem. We have recently been learning how to make reasonable estimations and have had fun going through the book Great Estimations by Bruce Goldstone. (Thank you, Ms Becky--our librarian, for pointing out this book to us!) Using the strategies shown in the book, we are becoming more and more accurate in our estimations. 

The task set before us on one day was to estimate how many elbow macaroni noodles come in a packaged box of macaroni and cheese. The students were to:

1. Make a "wild" guess.

2. Make an "educated" guess (using the strategies shown in the book.)

3. Figure out the exact answer (if time--but so far the process has been more fun than finding the exact answer!)

As we worked together, I recorded all the mathematical thinking I was hearing. 

I was impressed by what I heard:

• the incorporation of proper math terms
• using addition and subtraction in context
• asking for tools around the classroom that would be helpful
• asking each other questions and listening to the answers
• logical strategies and explanations
• collaboration terms
• thinking out loud
• comparing and contrasting with other groups
• politeness
• "light bulb" moments

The results haven't always the same but sometimes the process is just as important. 

Ms Becky, does our library have this book, too?

A Spooooktacular Halloween Party

     A spooooooktacular time was had by all in the Navigators class. We wore creative costumes, had fun decorations, joined Mrs. Wollum and the Seabury Costume Parade, said cheeeeeese for a long time as our Paparazzi parents snapped photographs, decorated our treat bags, went fishing for lots of goodies, had moms, a grandma, a grandpa and a little sister join us and even had one of our dads join us from the other side of the world via Skype, a dad who is stationed in Qatar (the last picture.) Thank you to all who helped make our party happen. We appreciate you!