Learning About Thailand #Culture #Thai

We were so lucky to learn some Thai and learn about Thailand!  Everyone even learned how to write their names in Thai--So beautiful!!!  We wish our friend good luck as she heads off to new adventures in New Zealand!

Link to slideshow: https://sharalike.com/s/pDqX

Harvesting The Garden With Chef James #Gardening #FarmToSchool #Harvest

We LOVED gathering tomatoes from the garden!  We may have eaten a few...  :)
Everyone was excited to see their tomatoes in the salad bar!  Thanks Chef James!

Link to slideshow to see it BIG: https://sharalike.com/s/pDJt

Breakout! Library Skills Immersive Game in Fourth Grade Enrichment Library Classes

This is a guest post from our library media specialist, Beth Redford.

Over the past week, RES fourth graders searched for clues, solved puzzles, and practiced their library skills while playing a Breakout immersive game in their enrichment library classes. Our fabulous enrichment teacher, Darcie Rankin, adapted the "Breakout from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" game that was originally created by Amy Williams. The game was particularly good for practicing how to look up books in the library's online catalog, and how to find nonfiction books on the shelves. More information about the original game and the Breakout model of gaming and education can be found at the Breakoutedu website (scroll about 2/3 of the way down the page to see the original Breakout from Mr. Lemoncello's Library game).

Mrs. Rankin put together the video below, of the fourth grade classes during their Breakout game days. Thank you Mrs. Rankin for always bringing so much creativity and engagement to the library!

Dorothy Canfield Fisher reading program for #resvt fourth graders #vted

This is a guest post by our library media specialist, Beth Redford.

Fourth graders intent on their

Dorothy Canfield Fisher books!

Welcome RES fourth graders and families to the 2016-2017 Dorothy Canfield Fisher reading program!

The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award is Vermont's Children's Choice award for books. The award has been in existence since 1957 and is open to Vermont students in grades 4-8. Grade 4 students at Richmond Elementary School are encouraged to participate in the program by reading or listening to the age appropriate DCF titles that are in the library's collection. Other titles from the list can found at the Richmond Free Library.

Grade 4 students who read or listen to at least 5 of the selected books from the list by early April, 2017 are eligible to vote for their favorite in the state-wide program. They will also receive an invitation to our world-famous DCF Pizza Party!

More information about the program is below, or please contact Mrs. Redford if you have any questions or would like more information.

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Reading List 2016-2017 by bethredford on Scribd

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award website from the Vermont Department of Libraries

Why Begin The Year With Poetry? #Poetry #TeachThroughTheArts #GetOutside #Mindfulness

Our writer's workshop began this year with a focus on poetry.  I always start the year with poetry because...

*it builds confidence and stamina in each writer.

*it allows kids to play with writer's craft in a less structured genre.  This freedom gives them space to really understand each craft and how to use them in meaningful ways--in poetry and beyond!

*it allows us time to build our writing community where we find strength to share our writing and learn how to give thoughtful feedback to our friends.

*it's fun and allows us to get outside to gather inspiration!

We are now ready to dive into the writing program with confidence and excitement! I can't wait to see how my writers continue to grow and flourish!

Link to video: https://animoto.com/play/niV8WoaJ0n8irT0llGdnOA

TerraCycle at RES! @TerraCycle @BagItMovie #RESVT

Did you know that we TerraCycle at RES?  Not only does TerraCycle help the environment, we also earn money for the Richmond Food Shelf with every item we TerraCycle! Today at assembly, we learned about items that we can TerraCycle at RES!

Need inspiration?  Watch this movie trailer!


Watch this video to learn more about TerraCycle:


RES TerraCycle Information: http://terracyclerichmondvt.weebly.com/

Here's a list of ALL the items you can TerraCycle at RES! Your kids are bringing a paper copy home today! You can also find this information on the school website!
Find a place to hang it up in your home as a reminder!

FOOD

Drink Pouches and Straws (Capri Sun type) (No drink boxes)

Granola/Energy Bar Wrappers (foil-lined) 

Cereal Bags (bags inside the box)

GoGo Squeez and other healthy squeeze pouches, including baby food

Entenmann’s Little Bites wrappers

Bear Naked Packaging

OFFICE SUPPLIES

Pens/markers/highlighters/mechanical pencils (no regular pencils)

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Pumps and triggers from soaps and detergents

Air Freshener cartridges, plugs, packaging and flexible film

DENTAL/PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Toothpaste tubes and caps

Toothbrushes (and the boxes and packaging they come in)

Floss containers

Mouthwash bottles and caps

Deodorant containers and caps

Hair care packaging (shampoo/conditioner bottles and caps, hair gel tubes)

Skin care packaging (lip balm tubes, face lotion bottles, body wash containers, hand lotion bottles)

Cosmetic packaging (lipstick cases, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, eyeliner cases and pencils, concealer sticks and tubes, foundation bottles)

Modern Mindfulness @ModMindfulness #mindfulness @soryuforall @CMLearning

Every morning, we begin our day with mindfulness.  We use a program called Modern Mindfulness where Soryu Forall leads us in exercises that help us to focus and become more mindful.

Yesterday was a very exciting day because Soryu and his friends spent the afternoon with us!  We practiced mindfulness together, applied our listening skills to our work, then reflected on how mindfulness helps us every day!  It was an incredible way to end our day together!

Soryu and his friends joined into our writing lesson!  We used our mindfulness skills to illustrate what we heard in the music that surrounded us.  We then wrote delicious words to describe each other's art.  Today, we used those words to create poems! 

We ended our time with Soryu by reflecting on what mindfulness is, how we use it every day, and how mindfulness can enhance our daily lives.


Thank you to everyone from Modern Mindfulness for spending the afternoon with us!

Exercising With Alli @HemmettHealth @jratey #Spark

Alli Bologna, from Hemmett Health, came in to teach us THREE NEW EXERCISE ROUTINES!  We were so excited to see her and to move our bodies together!

Thanks to Alli and Hemmett Health, we are incorporating more focused & more intense movement breaks into our days and loving it!!!

Power Poses @amyjccuddy

We decided to make this poster as a daily reminder...

Not only does how we hold ourselves affect how others feel about us, it affects how we feel about ourselves!  So strike a pose, a POWER POSE!

Watch Amy Cuddy's TED Talk to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc&list=PLUImdtHE8uEAAEcfv_pjCFMAmvMUylc5r&index=2

Discovering Our Classroom Makerspace @woodeeeee @MichaelBerryEDU #Makerspace #Explore

This week students explored our classroom makerspace!  Thanks to donations from Matt Woodside, Michael Berry and Jed Carini, my students got to take apart computers, laptops and a camcorder!  They got to see how things are made and get an idea of how they work!  Students were so inspired we kept exploring throughout the entire week!



Link to video: https://animoto.com/play/QBDoAzX2rG7hT5OPdu1oGg

We Can't Wait To See You At Open House! @amyjccuddy

September 28th

Dinner to Support the Farm to School Program:
5:15-6:00

Open House:
6:00-7:00

Here's a glimpse into our classroom... painting, power poses, and the door that leads into our classroom!

Link to Slideshow: https://sharalike.com/s/pCnt

Publishing Party @TrybalPerform @amyjccuddy #FakeIt'TilYouBecomeIt #PowerPose

I went to a workshop this year lead by Michael and Alexsys Thompson.  They shared with me a wonderful way to start the year, ask my kids who they are and who they want to become.  I decided to do this in place of our usual hopes and dreams.  Students took time to think about who they are today and who they hope to become this year and even far into the future.  

Students were really thoughtful about these questions.  When I read aloud the book, they were supportive of one another and understood that we are all intertwined, and that we have the power to make our hopes and dreams come true and to also help our friends succeed.  We all rely on each other, and that's a really beautiful thing!

We also took time to watch Amy Cuddy's TED Talk ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc&list=PLUImdtHE8uEAAEcfv_pjCFMAmvMUylc5r&index=2 ) about the power each of us has, if we only allow it to shine through.  My students decided the best possible cover for our book was to strike power poses!  We then celebrated our amazing selves and hard work with a publishing party!  Thanks to everyone who helped to make the party even more special by sending in delicious treats!  As you can see in the photos, we had an awesome time!

What is a Verb? #StrongVerbs #Movement #writing #Vted

Today we reviewed how to write a complete sentence.  Because every sentence needs a verb to be complete, and because understanding how to use strong verbs to make our writing more deliciously descriptive is so important, we decided to act out strong verbs! Now we know what a verb is and how to use them in a sentence!  We ended the lesson by going on a strong verb hunt!


Link to slideshow: https://sharalike.com/s/pzVT

Our Morning At The Audubon @audubonsociety #ecosystems #science

Link to slideshow: https://sharalike.com/s/pzCG

Our First Publishing Party!!! @PoorAmy #publishing #math #celebrate

Link to video: https://animoto.com/play/gOT19u3l0VL1sfcqHCTT6A

A Letter Written In Thai #MountMansfieldUnionHighSchool #Culture

I Today, a student shared a letter she received from her MMU pen pal.  It was so incredible to see what Thai looks like and to hear her read her letter aloud.  Students were amazed by how the words looked like a piece of art.  We are so excited to learn more Thai this year.  Ask your child if he/she can remember how to say "hello" in Thai!

This map shows that our friend comes from Northern Thailand, while her pen pal comes from a different region.  We are really excited to learn more Thai and discover more about Thailand!

We Got To Have Recess With Mrs. Mumford'sClass! @marianmumford #SchoolCommunity

It was so wonderful to see students playing with their younger friends and siblings!  It was such a magical recess! We should do this more often!

Students Are Creating Exercise Posters @HemmettHealth @jratey #movementineducation #Spark

Students are creating posters of Alli's different exercises so they can easily do them independently when needed.  We are having so much fun!

                                         
                                                                              

                                                                  

                                                                  

Check Out One Of The Exercise Routines Alli Bologna Designed For Us! @HemmettHealth @jratey #Spark #movementineducation

Here is just one of the routines that Alli put together for us!  She chose exercises that would engage our bodies and our brains!  The routines last about 5 minutes, which makes it easy for us to get up and move anytime we need to!  Thanks Alli, Erik, and Hemmett Health!

Try out the routine at home!!!

Thank You HemmettHealth!!! @HemmettHealth @jratey #Spark #movementineducation

Thanks to Amanda Repp, I had the pleasure of reading John Ratey's book Spark this summer.  Erik Hemmett noticed me reading Spark, which ignited a wonderful conversation about the importance of movement.  Erik was amazing and instantly asked if he could help me create short focused movement breaks that would get our heart rates going and challenge our brains!

We are so lucky, because Erik asked his licensed athletic trainer, Alli Bologna, to design different exercise routines that I could easily work into my day.  Alli came in on Monday and taught us three different movement breaks!  The kids LOVED them!

Not only did she teach us how to move our bodies in a more focused and meaningful way, she also brought gifts!  Hemmett Health ( https://hemmetthealth.com/ )DONATED stretchy bands and sitting balls for every student in my class!  We were so excited, we didn't even wait a minute to start blowing up our new balls!

Thanks to Erik, Alli, and Hemmett Health, my students are going to be healthier and more engaged in their learning!

We can't wait for Alli to come back and teach us some more of her awesome routines!!!

Alli Bologna teaching us some of her fabulous exercise routines:

Students blowing up their new sitting balls from Hemmett Health!


Thank you for everything Erik, Alli and Hemmett Health!!!
                            

LOVE #buildingcommunity #love

Today was a very special day because something magical happened!  A student in our class made a bracelet for every single person in our classroom!  He even made extras to give people options.  We all felt so filled up with love because he made this thoughtful gift for us.  We are all wearing our bracelets with such joy and pride! Everytime I look at my bracelet, I smile and feel full of love.  

Ask your child about his/her bracelet!

RES Students Earned a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Party!!! #PBIS @BenJerryFactory #benjerry

Thanks to everyone for showing their respect and RES pride, we got to eat Ben & Jerry's ice cream for our PBIS celebration!!!  Thanks to Ben & Jerry's for donating all of this DELICIOUS ice cream!  I can't wait to find out what our next celebration is going to be!!!

Link to slideshow: https://sharalike.com/s/pxqF

FLASHBACK! @towarm #PBIS #respect #communitybuilding

Wendy Touchette remembered that this was not the first time she called in my amazing actors to do some teaching.  Take a look at two of our friends who made a video for Mrs. T. when they were in first grade--so cute!

Learning About RES Expectations with Mrs. Touchette! @towarm #PBIS #video

Wendy Touchette came into our classroom to review RES expectations.  She was so amazed by everything we remembered, she asked us to make videos that she could use for teaching.  

Students broke into groups and chose the subject matter they wanted to teach others about.  Everyone did a wonderful job creating videos that will help kids learn the language we use and the expectations we have at RES.

Check out our awesome videos:

Mr. Berry's Video Of Our Morning Together @MichaelBerryEDU #writing #similes

You can go to Mr. Berry's blog to see his beautiful writing about our morning together:
https://michaelberryedu.wordpress.com/2016/09/09/day-37-busy-as-a-bee/

Look Who Made Our Day Even More Special! @MichaelBerryEDU

Our First Few Days Together! #BuildingCommunity #Learning

Link to video: https://animoto.com/play/xFcmpnf7lagGODS3bAeiJg

Rainbow Song #ASL #Sing

As people settled into our classroom, I noticed two boys starting to sing "The Rainbow Song".  We sing and sign this song to help us relax and focus as we transition from one subject to another.  I asked the boys to lead the class, and they did a beautiful job!  It was such a sweet moment!

                                                       

Exploring the #Makerspace at #RES @darcierankin

Thanks to the Rankin family, we have an incredible new makerspace at RES!  We enjoyed exploring the space today and thinking about all the possibilities!