The Princess in Black: A Book Trailer @haleshannon #DeanHale #BookTrailer

Namo just finished her AMAZING book trailer for The Princess in Black!  You can see all of the time and care that she put into this film!  Please check out her trailer and then dive into this wonderful book!

Movement Breaks @HemmettHealth @jratey #Spark #MovementBreaks

Thanks to the generosity of Hemmett Health, Alli Bologna came in again this week to teach us even more of her awesome focused movement breaks!  Alli has been creating routines that will help my students get their heart rates up while also working on balance and focusing their minds and bodies.
We use Alli's exercise routines throughout the day when we need to move and get our minds ready for learning.  Students have become so good at mastering many of these exercises, they now do a routine independently when they enter the classroom each morning!  I know my mind and body feels refreshed every time I do this work with my kids!  Thank you Erik & Vicki Hemmett and Alli Bologna from Hemmett Health for making our movement breaks so meaningful and helpful.  We LOVE them!!!

Check out Alli's latest visit:
Make the slideshow bigger: https://sharalike.com/s/pM5L

Below you can see some kids working through one of Alli's movement breaks as they start the day:

(Students come into the classroom at different times, so you will see some kids entering the room, while others exercise, then get to work.)

Another Kind of Hurricane: Author Tamara Ellis Smith Visits Our Classroom @tsesmith #Read #Write #Perseverance

We had the honor of learning about the writing process from local author, Tamara Ellis Smith!  It was truly incredible to hear the amount of years and work that went into publishing her first book!  Her story was inspiring and full of grit!  Tam, thank you for the taking the time to share your incredible journey with us!


Link to video: https://animoto.com/play/94OL9qDTW2BmtplyGsqhig

Research and Digital Citizenship in Fourth Grade Enrichment Library Classes

This is a guest post from our enrichment teacher, Darcie Rankin and our library media specialist, Beth Redford.

For the past several weeks, fourth graders have been learning and practicing research and digital citizenship skills in their enrichment library classes. The scholars are working through a series of three interest-based projects for which they get to choose the topics themselves (see the examples below):

Quote Posters,

Google Documents with freely reusable images and citations,

and Mini Research Projects

In the process of creating these projects, the scholars are learning and practicing these important skills:

• how to find information in a book
• how to find images online that are free to reuse in school projects
• how to create citations for books and online images
• how to use Google Documents and the online tool Recite.com

They are also learning more about topics they are interested in, from East Indian dance to Humvees to legendary monsters and much more! We are very proud of the fourth graders' hard work and perseverance on these projects.

- Darcie Rankin, RES enrichment teacher and Beth Redford, RES library media specialist

The One About The Muskrat! @SuptAlberghini #VTED #write #storytelling

Mr. Alberghini came into our classroom last week to share his love of story with us!  He is an incredibly gifted storyteller!  Mr. Alberghini left us in awe, and inspired to make our stories come alive!  I hope this video captures the heart of his story and the gift that he is to our students; enjoy!

Double Dog Dare: A Book Trailer @lisagraff #BookTrailer #DoubleDogDare #Read

It is so exciting to see all of these amazing book trailers coming to life!
If you liked Absolutely Almost, you are going to love Double Dog Dare!  Check out Liam's awesome book trailer to get hooked on this book!

Wonder: A Book Trailer @RJPalacio #Wonder #Read #BookTrailer

I am so amazed by my student's passion for reading and their ability to share the heart of their books through powerful book trailers!  Here is Sonya's incredible trailer for the book Wonder, by Raquel J. Palacio.

The Terrible Two: A Book Trailer @joryjohn @macbarnett @dorothyslist #DCF #Read

Students have been falling in love with books and learning how to share their passions through book trailers!  Finn is our first student to finish his book trailer, and it is AMAZING!  The Terrible Two is not only a DCF book this year, it is a hilarious must read!

Telling Our Stories #Storytelling #writing

Students practiced telling their stories, getting feedback from their friends on how to make their stories even more deliciously descriptive!  This work helped us sit down and write our stories by heart--letting our thoughts and ideas flow beautifully!

Link to video: https://www.wevideo.com/view/760807072

Looking Deeply At The Ecosystems In Our Forests #NGSS #Science #Interdependence

Today, we explored the forest in our backyard.  I was so impressed by the students' wonder and thinking as they noticed each detail that surrounded them.  A person heard a woodpecker, then noticed holes in a tree, then wondered about the insects inside the tree that called to the woodpecker.  Our morning was filled with many magical discoveries like this one!  We had such an incredible time, it was hard to stop--even with recess awaiting our return!

Make the slideshow fullscreen: https://sharalike.com/s/pKJZ

TerraCycle @TerraCycle #MovementBreak #RichmondFoodShelf

Susan Whitman stopped by to collect our TerraCycle!  She couldn't help joining students who were starting their day with a dance break!  So fun!

Susan left with a HUGE bag of TerraCycle from our wing!  Way to go RES!  

She and Lars just packaged up and sent out 62 POUNDS of items to TerraCycle!  Thanks for helping to make a difference in our world and in our community!  TerraCycle will then give us money that Susan donates to the Richmond Food Shelf! Keep up the great work!

For more information about TerraCycle at RES and what items can be TerraCycled, 

go to: http://terracyclerichmondvt.weebly.com/

This is what 62 POUNDS of TerraCycle looks like!!!

Squishy Pumpkins #focus #BuildingCommunity

Liam decided that everyone needed their own squishy balls!  Thanks for thinking of everyone Liam, and for filling our room with even more ORANGE!!!!

Beautiful Day For An Outdoor Movement Break! #MovementBreak #GetOutside

We decided to take in the sun's energy by taking our movement break outside!  We danced, we leaped and we ran as our ribbons swirled around us!



Click here to make the slideshow full screen: https://sharalike.com/s/pJsq

We Learned A New Food Chain Song Today... #Science #Interdependence #song

thanks to this very talented student!

We Had Visitors!!!

We were so excited to start our morning with these FABULOUS ladies!

Learning About Interdependence: Food Chains #Science #Interdependence #NGSS

Yesterday, we played "Run for the Sun"!  Through this game, we learned how energy flows through a given food chain.  Students saw that it takes more energy to feed omnivores and carnivores than it does to feed herbivores.

Ribbon Dance Movement Break #MovementBreak

When we transition from one subject to another, we like to sing and dance and get our energy out.  Today, Namo surprised us with beautiful dance ribbons we can use whenever we have dance movement breaks! Everyone LOVED using them!  Our room transformed into a swirling rainbow as everyone danced joyfully! Thank you to Namo and her family for helping to make our movement breaks so fun and special and beautiful!

Mindful Message #mindfulness @soryuforall @ModMindfulness

After Soryu and his friends joined us for an afternoon of mindfulness, he wrote my students a beautiful message.  We sat together and read his message and discussed what all of his wonderful words meant.  His thoughts were so thoughtful and powerful, I wanted to make sure I shared them with you.

Please tell your students that they are wise and capable. They have the wisdom to know their goals, the compassion to make those goals help the whole world, and the energy to achieve those goals. Their comments were clear and brave; their art was beautiful and strong. Please help them to grow without rushing. 
-Soryu

A Fabulous Way To End The Week... #GetOutside #Read #Write

getting cuddled up on blankets to read and write together outside!

Link to make slideshow bigger:  https://sharalike.com/s/pGMJ

Taking A Movement Break: Dancing & Singing Our Hearts Out To A Favorite Song #MovementBreak

Estelle Didn't Think One Bathtub Was Enough! #ClassroomCommunity

As you may know, we have a bathtub in our classroom!  This bathtub holds a very special place in my heart and in the hearts of my students.  Students feel connected as they sit closely inside reading, writing and solving math problems.
Estelle saw how much kids LOVED to be in the bathtub; she and her family decided to donate ANOTHER tub to our room, so more kids can enjoy the magic a bathtub has to offer!  Thank you to Estelle's family for making our classroom even more special!!!!!
As you can see, my husband Baptiste, his brother Martin (who is visiting from France) and I went to Estelle's late one night to get the bathtub!  We had a great time!  Toby couldn't believe his eyes when we entered the building!

Link to see slideshow fullscreen: https://sharalike.com/s/pGJK

Bus Stop: Building Confidence & Community Through Improv #Community #TeachThroughTheArts #Joy

For Fabulously Fun Friday, we played a favorite improv game called "Bus Stop".  The afternoon was devoted to building confidence and community while nurturing creativity!  It is so important for kids to learn how to find the inner strength they need to stand up and speak in front of their peers!  As you can see, we also had a really great time!



Link to video: https://animoto.com/play/Cj63VQzfa1T96QnGpJjVPA