October Begins

It is hard to believe that October is here and we are beginning our second month of school!  The children are enjoying each other every day and feeling more comfortable in their classroom environment.  If you were to walk into our classroom at any time of the day you would see busy workers spread throughout the room.  We use the workshop model in both reading and math.  The workshop models allows for the children to work in small groups on either individual learning tasks or collaborative learning activities.  While the children are working in their groups I am able to meet with a small group to teach concepts, assess students' understanding or review what we have already worked on together.  It is a productive and fun way to learn and teach!

Our class has support in the morning and in the afternoon.  Mrs. Goodman is with us each morning for about forty minutes and helps the children gain independence in their workshop groups.  Mrs. Whitehouse also joins us most mornings.  She typically works with small groups to reinforce literacy skills.   Mrs. Williamson (Mrs. W) works with us on Monday and Tuesday during our math workshop after lunch. She also fosters independence in workshop groups. Four afternoons a week we are joined by Mrs. Blauss.  She has been working with students on oral story telling this week.  As we move forward she will work with small groups of children to reinforce skills they are learning in both reading and math.  We are fortunate to have so much help in our classroom.  

I found myself thinking about how much the children have already learned this year.  It is amazing how quickly children acclimate themselves to new situations.  While we have enjoyed  a relatively smooth transition to the school year, I know there will be bumps along the way.  I have an art piece in my classroom that states "Mistakes mean you are trying."  We will all make mistakes along the way.  Fostering a positive classroom community allows children to feel safe so that they will take risks, make mistakes and learn.  We are all on this journey together.  I am so happy to be learning with all of you this year!  

Until next time...