4th Graders Cast Their Votes!

This was the week that all fourth graders who read at least 3 of the books nominated for the Rhode Island Children's Book Award got to vote for their favorite! Students -- not adults -- select which book will win the award each year. (To learn more about the award, please visit http://www.ri.net/RIEMA/bookaward.html.)

Today I counted their responses, and at our school the winner was Adventures in Cartooning! I will send our totals to the committee, and they will add up all the votes from across Rhode Island. The winner of the award will be announced in March...stay tuned!

Here are the complete results for Ashaway School:

(Number of Votes) -- Book Title

(9) - Adventures in Cartooning

(5) - 11 Birthdays

(4) - Umbrella Summer

(3) - Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

(2) - Dying to Meet You

(2) - Kenny and the Dragon

(2) - The Magic Thief

(2) - Wishworks, Inc.

(1) - The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

(1) - Never Smile at a Monkey

(1) - Redwoods

(1) - Tricking the Tallyman

(1) - Wild Girl

100th Day of School!

Wow! On Friday our students were celebrating the 100th day of school...where did the time go?? Extend the celebration by visiting this list of the Top 100 Books for Children at childrensbooksguide.com! Of course there are lots of book lists out there, but I like the mix of classic and modern titles you'll find here. We just read Tikki Tikki Tembo in second grade this week as we began our exploration of folktales. As always, the students loved it!

Don't forget that you can request any of these titles at your local public library; just go to the Ocean State Libraries search page. If your local branch doesn't own the book you want, you can log in with your library card number to request it. If any library in the state owns a copy, it will be sent to your home library -- for free!

Scholastic Book Fair!

Ashaway School Welcomes the Scholastic Book Fair!

This past week the students of Ashaway School visited the Scholastic Book Fair! Our PTO, who runs the event, kicked it off with a fabulous (and free!) ice cream social for all who wanted to stop by and visit on Monday night. After enjoying a delicious Cold Stone Creamery sundae and saying hello to Clifford the Big Red Dog, students and parents had the opportunity to get a jump on their shopping! (To see pictures, go to our picture gallery at http://kmman.magix.net/album.)

Throughout the rest of the week, students visited the book fair. Each class had a time scheduled to go to the foyer which was set up with lots of displays. I am excited to say that a portion of the proceeds from the book fair will go toward buying some new books for the library, and I was also able to select some titles right off the shelves! (And yes, Callie, I did request a copy of Finally!)

It was a terrific week, and I loved watching the students' excitement as they discovered books they were eager to read. To all the PTO members who worked hard to make it happen, and to the many families who supported their efforts, I send out a great, big THANK YOU!! :)

Shapes and Flakes!

This week our kindergartners practiced their shapes using a fun website called Make a Flake. I used the Smartboard to demonstrate how to navigate the program and use the "scissors" to cut shapes out of the on-screen paper. With the click of the mouse, the paper unfolds to display their original design!

Before the students went to the computers, we reviewed some of the shapes they've learned in class with Mrs. Smith: parallelogram, triangle, trapezoid, square, rectangle, and rhombus. (The program only lets them cut straight lines, so circles were out!) See if your child can identify the shapes I cut out in the example above. If you'd like to see what this snowflake looked like when unfolded, scroll down to the bottom!

The students had a terrific time sharing their creations with each other, and even Mrs. Smith got in on the fun!

Evan proudly declared, "I made a trapezoid!" Can you find it? What other shape did he cut?

I hope you like the pictures, and please let me know if you give this fun program a try. Enjoy!

Doing the "Bookie-Lookie"

Our kindergarteners have begun selecting books from the shelves in the library! They have been learning that books in a library are organized and how important it is to put books back where they belong so they don't get lost in the collection. To help them do this, they are learning how to use shelf markers. It's really important that they remember to put the shelf marker in the spot where the book came from before removing the book from the shelf. We've been enjoying a fun song that helps them remember to do this. It's called the "Shelf Marker Song", which was written by Jackie Mims Hopkins, but the kids call it the "Bookie-Lookie"! If you have a kindergartener at home, ask him or her to sing it with you. It might sound silly, but they really love it and it really does help them remember what to do!

THE SHELF MARKER SONG

(sung to the tune of the Hokey Pokey)

You put your shelf marker in.
You pull a book right out.
You look through the pages to see what it's about.
You do the bookie-lookie to make sure the book's just right.
That's what it's all about!
You do the bookie-lookie! You do the bookie-lookie! You do the bookie-lookie! That's what it's all about!

ALL Ashaway students should be able to tell you what each student is doing correctly in these pictures!

’Twas Holiday Vacation

(Or: How to Keep Your Kids’ Minds Occupied and Your Home Intact Over the Holidays)

~Stacey Greene Wicksall

‘Twas holiday vacation for two whole weeks long,
And mommy and daddy wanted nothing to go wrong
The presents had been chosen by relatives with care,
In hopes it would save them from losing their hair!
But children were zipping and zooming about
“We’re bored, we’re bored!” they exclaimed in a shout,
So mommy looked at Daddy with a twinkle in her eye,
“I have a solution that money can’t buy!”
And bundling their children they decided to go
To the public library (in spite of the snow).
They pulled in the lot and opened the door
Creative Corner had begun with room for two more!
They heard a grand story about a mean, ugly Grinch
And created a craft; it was all such a cinch!
They beamed with pride over the things they had made,
Then dashed to the wall with the book shelves to raid.
“Look, here’s Junie B. and Artemis Fowl
These titles will keep us busy for a while!”
The parents let out great sighs of relief
Children reading books meant an end to their grief!
And back to their home they soon did travel
With a stack full of mysteries to soon unravel
So when this vacation at once came to an end,
They brought back the books they’d had out on lend.
When back at the school the kids they did chatter,
Of books they had read all about matter!
And the teacher exclaimed with the utmost delight,
“Joy over reading is a wonderful sight!
It will bring your learning to a commendable height,
So tell me the tales that you read before bed,
Or share that adventure still swirling in your head.
Reading is the best gift you gave to yourself,
Lasts longer and better than one from an elf.
I wish happy holidays to each one of you
And may you read many-a-book all the year through!”

We're Crazy about Clickers!

I am very excited to announce that our school now has a set of "clickers"! These electronic devices allow students to respond to a question by pressing a button. Their answers are recorded by the teacher's computer, and a special program keeps track of each student's response. Rather than calling on students to provide a verbal response to a question, the clickers allow every single student to respond (even the shy ones!). Plus, the clickers eliminate the problem of students answering a question based on a cue received from another student. Best of all, the computer program gives the teacher and the students immediate feedback. With one click, the correct answer is revealed along with information about how many students selected each possible response. This allows the teacher to review the answers with the class and re-teach as necessary. (And of course the students love them because they feel like they're on a game show!)

This is the very first week I've used them. These pictures are from Mrs. Breault's first grade class, but I have lots of ideas on how I can use them in the other grades, too! :)