Reading Workshop

This week we've reviewed
1.  How to choose a JUST RIGHT book. 
     This is a book that's read with at least 97% accuracy. 
     It's a book that I am interested in, can talk about and read smoothly (like I talk).

2.  How we CHECK for UNDERSTANDING when we read
     We can give ourselves a "pop quiz"
     We ask, "Who was in this part?  Where were they?  What's going on in this part?"
     We can also ask, "What do I think about this part?"

     We can also retell the story across our fingers
     (and go back and look at the pictures if we are unsure of the next part)

3.  What we do when we get to the TRICKY parts
     We look at the pictures
     We look at the beginning sound
     We ask ourselves, "What makes sense?"
     We ask, "Does it look right?  Does it sound right?"

CRAFT FAIR 2010 @ WCS

Saturday, October 30th, 9am-3pm...

Please come out to support the kids at Williams Cone School this Saturday. We are having a huge craft fair with many talented artisans selling their wares. 

We are having a "kid-made" art sale as well as a 50/50 raffle, bake sale and soup/bread sale (come for lunch).  Proceeds benefit arts enrichment at the school.

Book Fair, Basket, Brownies

Greetings.

1.  The Book Fair will be in town until Friday.  You may send money to school with your child or visit Thursday evening.  If you send money, t is helpful to specify the book you'd like them to buy, or if you don't want them to buy pencils/posters/erasers, please note "books only." (pretty sure that's a run-on sentence)

2.  Thank you for the basket donations received to day.  Our theme is Building.  Legos, Bendaroos, K'Nex, amd more fit into this category.  Donations are still being accepted, and will be for another 2 weeks, I believe.

3.  The class is working toward a brownie reward.  Yum.  They are close.  I'll let you know when the big day is.  Ask them how they earn "glass globs."

We Laughed!!!

So, today, we had a funny thing happen...a fly was distracting me while I was reading A Chair For My Mother.  He landed on the pages...so...I slapped the book shut!  When I opened the book, there he was, dead as dirt.  We saved him and mounted him on our wall (like a hunter) under tape.  Then of course, we had to have discussion of what it meant to be a fly on the wall.  We'll be writing a shared story to recount these events.  I'll post it when we're done.  Happy Day.

SkippyJon Jones

Did you hear?  We had CAKE!  Yum.
Mrs. Solebello, a retired WCS teacher, volunteered to read to the class...and bring a theme cake.

A fire drill interrupted our special reader.
Never a dull moment.

Mrs. Solebello shows the class where SkippyJon Jones goes when he goes into his closet.  Building background really helps increase comprehension.

The captivated audience.

Scarecrow Sunday!

The Botanical Gardens in Boothbay is hosting Scarecrow Sunday.
There are so many neat things for families to do in Maine.
http://www.mainegardens.org/calendar/scarecrow-sunday
Maybe we'll see you there...

Fire Station Open House

Topsham Fire Station
Monday, October 4.
4-7pm
 You have to go if you've never been. 
My kids always love this.
Topsham Parks & Rec Fall Brochure

Also might try to hit Pumpkinland this weekend...
Good Fall Maine Fun!
PUMPKINLAND
The class also found it funny that, my Nolan, wanted to go to a place called Candyland.
Think about it...Storyland, Pumpkinland, Candyland.  Funny.