I can’t believe this is our last blog of the year and our last week with this amazing group of about-to-be middle schoolers! This time has gone by in a flash. I (Ms. M) have only been here throughout this one year and it’s been such a joy that I will really miss coming in to see these bright young people, I can’t imagine how Mrs. Eaton and Mrs. Parker feel having spent two years with them!
This past week we spent most of our time working on projects that bring together many of our skills at once. In math, we continued to design and research our playgrounds, imagining factors such as cost and scale of the space as well as safety of the items. Our mathematicians are keen to fit all that they dream of in their playground safely in their space and have been collaborating with partners to come up with the best laid plan. In literacy we used all our of poetry smarts to analyze a poem and had a special type of discussion called a Socratic circle. This was an engaging way to share our thoughts on the poem while also practicing being an active participant. Our poets have worked on their final 4th grade writing by reimagining a poem by Mr. William Carlos Williams, originally shared in the poetic novel we read, Love that Dog. Mr. WCW’s poem, “A red wheelbarrow”, led us to think about how important “the small things” are in our lives, from which we started to think about what was really important to each of us. Students wrote beautiful pieces about how “so much depends upon…” a soccer ball, a big brother, Nepal, a dirt bike, me, a little gray cat, my family, and a window sill, to name just a few. Students published their pieces with illustrations and shared them outside in the gazebo for our first “4th grade Mosaic Poetry Slam” on Friday morning. I think we all really loved this project and seeing the students’ commitment to their poems when they were given so much choice of what to write after “so much depends upon” was fantastic. One student was heard saying “I didn’t think I would like this because I didn’t think I would be good at it or it would be fun… but writing this is a lot more fun than I thought!”
Again we had a few changes to our schedule this week for a variety of end-of-year events. We were able to see wonderful performances by our 3rd and 4th grade chorus and our 4th grade beginner band. It’s clear how much time and perseverance these students put into studying and practicing music. On Wednesday, our students also had a presentation and question and answer session with 5th grade teachers and 5th grade students while our new 3rd grade students came in to meet their teachers and get to know Mosaic. It’s exciting to see a new group of students and think about what’s to come next, but like I said before, definitely bittersweet to see this group grow up!
We’ve been carrying out the 4th grade tradition of writing fun activities on a slip of paper, putting it in a balloon and popping one each day to do something special in our last few days together. There have been popsicles, an outdoor classroom, extra reading time, special water balloon/ice balloon activities, extra morning meeting games and extra recess just to name a few so far. We have five more days of finishing up and popping balloons so we will see what comes next!
This Thursday afternoon we will have our Mosaic Staycation with crafts and activities. Thank you to parents who have signed up to help out. On Friday morning at 8:30 we will have our 4th grade Moving Up Ceremony in the auditorium. Families are welcome to join us that morning and back in our classroom for a special snack and sharing of heartfelt letters students have been writing to each other for the end of the year.
The best way parents can support their children’s learning throughout the summer is by giving them opportunities and encouragement to read, read, read. Reading anything will truly help students keep up with their skills. We also encourage continuing to practice math facts for fact fluency. Lastly, students need to get outside, play, and learn from the world around them.
Thank you for sharing your children with us. It’s been wonderful to teach and learn from them. We wish you all a restful and adventure-filled summer. Come back and visit us!
