Mr. MJ's Blog

Terwayne is reading Jameson a "just right" book.

We have started Partner Reading this week and the children are off to a great start.  The goals of Partner Reading are simple:

• —to give children an opportunity to work together
• —to give the children an opportunity to learn from each other
• —to promote oral reading fluency
• —to focus on “just right” reading
• —to build confidence
• —to improve on oral language skills through book talks

The procedures of Partner Reading are even easier:

Ramsey is pointing to the words. Cole is listening.

• sit “hip-to-hip”
• one person reads at a time
• use quiet voices
• point to the words as you are reading
• have a book talk when you are finished
• take turns reading

During each session I am looking for Partner Reading Royalty!  Those that are taking Partner Reading seriously, following the procedrues, being teachers and learners can be chosen to be King or Queen of Partner Reading.  Most days it is very hard to decide.

Jeiel is crowning Adiva "Queen of Partner Reading".

B House students taking home the posterboard.

We are all very excited about our B House Autumn Family Celebration that will be held TUESDAY NOVEMBER 24th from 11:30-1:00!
We are excited because B House children will be sharing songs, sharing the desserts that we are baking all this week (4 batches of a Sweet Potato Crisp are ready to go!), sharing our families and our community, but also sharing our Family Projects in a Living Museum format.

These projects went home Tuesday. You probably saw the large piece of white cardboard. I hope that each and every one of you will take the time this week/weekend to make this project a priority and spend some very quality time learning more about your own family. I cannot wait, either, to see all the completed projects and spend some time Tuesday visiting the “Living Museum” and learning so much more about you and your family.

Here is a link to the B House Family Project. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Good luck. We look forward to seeing all wonderful work your family will do together. Projects are due Monday November 23!

B House Family Project – Directions

We very much enjoyed salad day and learning this poem that was just perfect for our work bringing salad from SEED TO TABLE! Watch and enjoy this poem. Listen for the rhyming words and see if you recognize our friends’ voices. Teach your family the hand motions too.

This poem was so easy to memorize once we figured out the rhythm. The instruments are rhythm sticks and the focus was steady beat. We are getting better every day! Enjoy these beautiful children. Thanks again to Jyece and Maria (Happy 11th Birthday Maria!) our CREW!

Please watch this video. Think about how hard our children worked to run a whole mile or more (8 laps around the track is 1 mile!). Your pledges go right back into our classrooms. Pledges are due Friday November 6, but you can send them to school any time!

Here is the latest recording from the Piazza MJ superstar poets. Special thanks to Jyece and Maria from Mrs. Buckmaster’s class for filming and editing. Can you believe how beautiful the leaves are in the background? Do you like roasted pumpkin seeds? Tell us what you think!

‘The Pumpkin Poem’ - by Cole, Thomas, Terwayne, Cheniyah, William

Finally, the slide show is here! Please take some time to watch this slide show with your child. Ask them questions about the process. Ask them about what parts they liked the best. Ask them about what parts were difficult or challenging. But most of all, share these photos with your family and friends. Learning can be so much fun and the faces of Piazza MJ show that here!

Music by Songs of Water – “Mufafa’s Kitchen” (Thanks again Marta!)

Our bountiful lettuce crop

As you can see, our lettuce is ready to pick.  Here is what various contingents of our children have done to get ready for our Salad Day:

•  –Harvested and cleaned radishes
•  –Picked and cleaned herbs
•  –Made a basalmic vinegrette and a creamy buttermilk dressing
•  –Picked the remaining tomatoes in hopes that they will ripen by Monday!

One ripe and two green cherry tomatoes

We will be picking and cleaning our lettuce Friday and then eating Monday at 12:00pm.  Please come and eat with us — there will be plenty of lettuce to go around!

Did you know that we still have peas and other varieties of lettuces growing in our garden?  These are cool weather crops.  We hope they survive a weekend frost warning!   Come visit the Peeler Gardens.  Our children will be happy to give you a tour.

Who is the mystery student? That's a pretty big leaf!

We had a blast today even though the sun was not shining!  Lots of photos to come, but here is a link to our SCAVENGER HUNT.  You can print it out and take it again with family or friends.

Bicentennial Gardens Scavenger Hunt