Classroom Meetings - Government, Growing Up and Bo

Moments that Lead to Reflection and Understanding 
The Prairie Racerunner Blog is the perfect space in which to share snippets (Addy's favorite word) from our day. Please see a few of the journal entries or discussions from Thursday's class. 


Daily News: 4-25-12


My Mom is in Washington D.C. She is going to meet Senato Grassley. She is going to talk about health issues of Iowa.


The Tooth Journal: 4-24-12


How: I lost my tooth because I was wiggling my tooth.
Where: In the bathroom at school.
Why: Because I need "gronop" (grown up) teeth. 


Morning Meeting

Diggory went with his Mom and sister on Wednesday to hear President Obama speak. Here are some highlights from that discussion:

• We had to stand for 3 hours. 
• He talked about money  for school and college and stuff, but I don't really remember what he said.
• There were a lot of people that talked before him.
• There was a band there.
• It was close to the hospital.
• He shook my hand. 
• He went like this (demonstrated a head tap) on my head.
• He said "good to see you."
• His hair was cut a lot like mine.
• This is how tall he was (demonstrated by standing on the Author's Chair). 
• It was really awesome.

Please note that as Diggory was talking each child's eyes sparkled. What a grand opportunity to have a first hand account of a moment in time about a true everyday hero - our President. Thank-you Diggory and family. 

Questions and Comments for Diggory from the Prairie Racerunners 
1. Where did he speak?
2. I've been to the hospital before. My brother is there now.
3. How hard did he tap your head?
4. What did he talk about?
5. I've been to Ames before and it takes 3 hours to get to Wisconsin from there and that is where my Mom had to go to college and pay money to get into the college.
6. There was sign on a bakery that said "Bo needs a treat."
7. Did the President bring Bo?
8. Why didn't the President bring Bo? 
9. Do you think Bo gets sick on the plane?
10. Plane is a homophone for plain. Plane is like airplane. Plain. P-L-A-I-N is like I want a plain cheese pizza. 

Changes: Caterpillars and Prairie Racerunners Alike

The Caterpillars Are Molting

Today was all about molting! We took our caterpillar friends on a journey through Writing Workshop and then discovered how their soft bodies grow so big that they have to break through their exoskeleton several times as they work to become the pupa. Friends learned about the various stages of molting and were then on the most attentive hunt for the head capsule (the caterpillar eats the rest of its shed skin). A few caterpillars did molt right before our very eyes today and we could tell because their legs and bristles become quite pale in comparison to their simple eyes. As we talked about this change, we stopped to reflect on how we have changed since kindergarten. Listed below are the responses from our Prairie Racerunner Friends.

Writing fantasy stories about caterpillars
while integrating scientific knowledge about the Life Cycle and our Caterpillar Guests

How Have We Changed Since Kindergarten?

Physical Changes

• I can climb higher spaces
• I have a different backpack
• I climb higher because I'm not short
• Now I eat sandwiches
• I have lost more teeth
• I can do flips off of high spots
• I have lost less teeth this year.
• I don't like ice cream anymore
• I was a lot smaller
• I pick more flowers now
• I am stronger
• I have visited more places

Intellectual Changes

• I am better at math
• I know the meaning of more words
• Now I read chapter books
• I am wiser with my choices
• I am more cautious...I don't fall as much.
• I am a lot smarter
• I am nicer to people most of the time
• I know multiplication
• I don't have anymore pet fish
• I know more about Bush Babies, lizards and snakes. 

Changes that Ms. Brooke Has Noticed in her Friends

• They use statements such as: "I have an idea...", "Here let me help you with that," or "May I introduce myself?"
• They are climbing on the play structure.
• They are playing with a variety of friends.
• They like fantasy writing
• They can identify a word, sentence, paragraph and all appropriate punctuation marks.
• They keep their room tidy and clean
• They use the calendar to answer questions about their year.
• They love to write MORE sentences than they are old.
• They choose Bone and Muscle food first
• They celebrate each other: lost teeth, riding a bike and giggle sticks
• They like to share their stuffed animals.
• They can read the sign-in!
• They can read the Morning Message!
• They write reminders for Ms. Brooke on sticky notes such as: get more tape or text message my Mom.
• Daily News is reflective
• They have grown stronger, taller, and wiser.
• They are problem solvers. 
• They are patient
• They know how to be friendly, speak their mind and get along with all of their school mates. 

A Picture Walk Through Our Week

A Picture Walk Through Our Week

Observing Caterpillars Going through the Life Cycle
Scientists are hard at work observing the changes of their Painted Lady Caterpillars that arrived on Friday. Using a magnifying glass they are looking for frass, molted skin, and watching as the caterpillars sway from side to side, spinning their very important silk. We are anxiously awaiting the caterpillars to form the chrysalis.  

Preparing Caterpillar "Cup" Homes
On Crazy Day, the Caterpillars arrived! Just in time for us to prepare their home with mallow, muslin for hooking their chrysalis, and just enough space and water for a caterpillar or two. The mallow was squishy and smelled, according to our friends, like rotten oatmeal. We are glad that scientists don't use their sense of taste! Here a friend watches as his caterpillar feels out its new home with its prolegs.

Ms. Brooke demonstrates how to prepare the caterpillar's cup home by compressing the mallow ensuring that no loose pieces are on the side that may harm or drown the delicate caterpillars. 

Willowwind Butterflies
We are just so excited about caring for Painted Lady Butterflies that we try to catch the many that we see flying about at recess. Here, friends try to camouflage their hands to look like dandelions.

The Racerunners joined the Cottontails for a trip to the Iowa City Public Library on Wednesday! 

Playing at the Library  

The Racerunners joined the Cottontails for a trip to the Iowa City Public Library on Wednesday! We decided that there was just enough time to enjoy the beautiful weather before we had to catch the bus back. Friends had a lot of fun at the squishy park in the Iowa City Ped Mall. 

 

Patiently waiting for the bus. 

Recess Fun
That's right, at recess our new very favorite game is croquet!
We have been practicing morning and afternoons!

Relay for Life - Crazy Day 
Thank-you to Ms. Christine for organizing our very first Relay for Life fundraising event at Willowwind School. The first event was CRAZY DAY! Friends were able to wear goofy clothes (2 different socks, or a shirt on backward), silly hats, wigs, and crowns, and some friends even died their hair just for the occasion. Ms. Brooke decided with all of the events of the day that her natural hair was crazy enough, but she had fun with her friends who chose to dress up, and was quite impressed with their work at being self-controlled, respectful and prompt with all that was going on! Thanks to Ms. Christine for her great help with this event!

Writing in the Morning
Friends have really been enjoying their Early Morning Writing Workhsop. This gives us time to get our brains thinking, and truly enriches our discussions throughout the day. Each morning, before Morning Meeting, friends have a prompt on the board that they can respond to and add onto throughout the day. This practice was prompted by the Writing Assessment! Friends really enjoyed this quiet time to write and asked if we could start each day as such. We loved the idea! Such mature writers.




















Adding Up Reading Log Minutes
Each Friday afternoon we add up our reading minutes from the week. We look forward to seeing if we reach our goal every week. So far we have 2 weeks that we have reached our goal, and 2 weeks that we have not. This steers our thinking in how to adjust and choose a reasonable yet challenging personal goal and choose classroom goals . Keep up the reading at home!

Our Classroom is Growing
We also welcomed a new friend to our Prairie Racerunner Family this week! What a great time to join our study of the life cycle and join in our Relay for Life festivities. Please welcome her and her family when you see them at the upcoming V.I.P. Day, Willowwind Anniversary Picnic or at the Grey Wolves Documentary Premiere. 

Dear Families,

As April comes to a close, my heart is heavy to think that there are only 25 more school days with these spirited, observant, and curious people. They challenge each day with questions, small noticings and a true heart for what is right in the world. What a gift it has been to watch them grow and change...just like their caterpillars. Thank-you for all of your support and love as the year has progressed. Let's make the best May ever! 

Always, Ms. Brooke

Special Days to Mark on Your Calendar - From the Wolves

A Few Notes from the Wolves (5th/6th grade friends)

Please see Ms. Brooke's Notes in Italics ...

V.I.P. Day

V.I.P. day is just around the corner! Bring a Very Important Person to lunch on May 4 at 11:45 a.m.. Grey Wolves will cater the lunch with the  price of our regular meal ($7).  But because of this special day, previous meals bought do NOT pay for V.I.P day (including unlimited meals). Again the meals need to be bought one day in advance so late buyers will not receive a meal. Thanks again for helping us get one step closer to reach our goal of not borrowing any money from Willowwind or our families.

Thank you for your support!

The V.I.P. Lunch Selection is a yummy Taco Bar, so you, your child and their V.I.P. may enjoy a hot lunch at the start of this special day.

What is a V.I.P.? Any adult or young adult (older sibling, neighbor, grandparent, babysitter) may join your child. They may  like to invite a V.I.P. to see their school, learn more about our yearlong Prairie Restoration, eat lunch and join GD! I can even guarantee that there will be some singing.  Of course, parents and guardians are always super V.I.P. friends. 

Save the Date: Water Documentary

SAVE THE DATE! Join us (the Grey Wolves) for dinner and a movie.  On May 24th, from 5:15 p.m. to appox. 7:30 p.m., the Wolf class is premiering their Water Documentary at Willowwind. The Grey Wolves will also be serving dinner.

This would be a fun family night (and educational)! For each purchased ticket, your family can have dinner, enjoy the bi-annual Burrowing Owl Puppet Show, share some concessions (yum - popcorn) and be apart of the very first viewing of the Grey Wolves' Documentary regarding water sheds in our community. 

Relay for Life: K-6 Students Raise Cancer and Research Awareness

These Racerunners are totally ready for
Crazy Day on April 20th.
Crazy hair, clothes,
socks, shoes ....

A Group Discussion on Cancer and Support

Last week Christine led our Willowwind Friends in a discussion about how cancer has impacted our individual lives, and now our life at school. When a loved one lives with cancer, we can often feel helpless or unsure of how we can support their strong fight. In an effort to empower our community, K-6 friends, and their trusty teachers and staff, have the opportunity raise money for Relay for Life. Christine, our Movement Teacher, worked with friends on various ways to raise money. Please see what the students came up with below, and mark your calendars! 

This is a great talking point if your child has questions about cancer, treatment, or how community members work to support and help each other during difficult times. We are so fortunate at Willowwind to call each other "family" and work together, celebrate together and support each other. 

Relay for Life Events

We are kicking of a Relay for Life fundraiser this week.  We are asking each family to support this service learning project by talking with your children at home about the American Cancer Society.  As a fun was to raise awareness and funds, we will have a series of Silly Fridays.  Students will be asked to bring a minimum donation of one dollar in order to participate.  To conclude the fundraiser, we will celebrate with a Relay Recess at Mercer Park on the last day of school.  Please see the schedule below for more information about Silly Fridays.  

 April 20  Crazy Day: Come dressed in crazy hair and crazy clothes.

 May 11  Character Day: Dress as your favorite character from a book.

 May 18  International Day: Bring or wear an item from another country.

*May 25  Mustache Day: Wear a mustache or mustache related clothing.

*The Burrowing Owls will have Mustache Day on Thursday May 24 since they have a field trip on Friday the 25th.

A Trip to the American Legion

The Prairie Racerunners Visit the American Legion in Iowa City

 Today we had the opportunities to brave the gusty winds and walk over to the American Legion. We were invited to share a special project with our Senior Citizen Friends. There we performed our Reader's Theatre: Past, Present and Future Generations. It was quite a treat. We got lots of laughs and our audience really related to our lines about "packing a lunch," "riding a yellow school bus," and "separate drinking fountains." There was a a collective ahhhh when our friends read their line: "Today we are equal."

Our audience was most impressed with the work that students did in preparation for this event. We talked about our research over Winter Break, our presentations about manners, communication, transportation, clothing and food, and finally, our work to draft, edit and perform their very own script!

At the end of our Reader's Theatre, the Auxiliary group shared how they could relate to our presentation. Prairie Racerunners were able to see how many friends were mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers and even... great, great grandmothers. It was a true moment of connection between adults and children; generations past, present and future.

The American Legion Auxiliary presented the Racerunners with a check for $25.00 to purchase books for our classroom and school, along with a miniature American Flag for each friend. 

P.S. It is clear that since we last read our Reader's Theatre Script friends have greatly improved their fluency skills, noting punctuation and heeding necessary pauses. They should be so proud of all that they are learning and how they are growing each day. 

Racerunners Really "Measure" Up

Volume

Over the last few weeks our friends have been working with volume and mass. Some friends have been working to convert liters to quarts, ounces to pints, grams to kilograms and quarts to gallons. They have explored estimating volume and then testing their hypothesis by pouring water into various sized containers. Friends have also engaged in their own experiences from home: How much orange juice did I drink for breakfast? How much chocolate milk did I have at dinner? Does my family buy a gallon of milk or a 1/2 gallon of milk? Do we use a pint of cream in baking, for Mom's coffee or only for guests? How many ounces of water does a cactus need vs. our garden seeds? Friends have also had to add liters, find the difference and practice multiple stem problem solving through the use of bar models, manipulatives and a variety of operations including addition, subtraction and division. 




Length

Other friends have been working with length and height. We have practiced drawing a start line using a straight edge, measuring classroom materials using craft sticks vs. paper clips, and cutting paper or string using a ruler! Friends have engaged in discussion using vocabulary such as short, shorter, shortest as well as long, longer, longest. These have been great words to add to our vocabulary as we observe spring growth all around us, and anxiously anticipate our Painted Lady Caterpillar arrivals. 






A few reminders...


Friday, April 13th

• Burrowing Owl Cafe on Friday morning from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. Bring a few dollars and join us!

Monday, April 16th

• Racerunners to the American Legion to perform their Reader's Theatre in the afternoon. Don't forget your headgear!!!

Next Wednesday, April 18th 

• We're going to the ICPL with the Cottontails

No School on Friday, April 27th! 

Spring Into ... Calendar Events

Spring Into A Few Reminders and Calendar Notes

Read on to find details of each event. Thank-you!

• Spelling Test on Tuesday, April 10th
• Burrowing Owl Cafe on Friday, April 13th
• 1st/2nd Grade Trip to the American Legion on Monday, April 16th
• No School Friday, April 27th (please mark your calendars)
• Willowwind's Birthday Celebration - A 3 Day Event (see below)

Spring Into Our Spelling Practice

Spelling
We love to practice our spelling words with friends! Here you see us preparing for our assessment on Tuesday, April 10th as we use the iPad, dictionary and white boards to define, write and read our words. Since implementing our new spelling routine and focused word study, students have had positive attitudes and are excited about their scores! Way to go families and friends. Thanks for your support of word study at home.

Spring Means...
Dandelions and Burrowing Owl Cafe

The Burrowing Owl Cafe
On Friday, April 13th from 7:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. the Burrowing Owl Class will be hosting their annual Cafe in order to raise money for their class trip. Please come with your child and stay for awhile to enjoy a homemade treat and a cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa. Beverages and treats range from $0.50 to $1.00. You won't be disappointed in a Friday the 13th Morning started off right with the bright eyes and energy of Willowwind friends. Class will still begin at 8:30 a.m., but if you would like to stay and enjoy with other Willowwind families, please feel welcome. Thanks for supporting this great cause!


Willowwind's 40th Birthday/Anniversary
If your child has celebrated a birthday in the Prairie Racerunner Room you know that we take birthdays very seriously around here! Friends wear a crown, engage in a circle of wishes, and we spend the day authoring a Birthday Book. A Birthday Book is a special piece of literature dedicated to all of the things that we love and adore about the Birthday Person! Well...guess what? Willowwind turns 40 years old this year and it is a big deal! Please mark your calendars for these great events!

Displaying his Birthday Book
Yay 8 years old!

Thursday, May 3rd
2:30 p.m.  - Spring Concert (PK-6th Grade)
7:00 p.m. - Lecture by Rick Ackerly. Check out his great book "Genius in Children: Learnin, Mistakes and Failure: Crafting New Myths for Successful Kids and Better Schools

Friday, May 4th
10:45 a.m. VIP Day Starts for Preschool Friends
11:45 a.m. VIP Day starts for K-6 Friends

Saturday, May 5th
11:00 a.m. Silent Auction
12:00 p.m. Willowwind Picnic for friends, family and alum
1:00 p.m. Alumni Group Discussion

Picnic Pot Luck on Saturday, May 5th

We need shades for spring!

Enjoy some delicious homemade food while celebrating Spring
with Willowwind Friends! Please sign-up at the front desk for a particular dish.

Please look for your last name initial and what type of dish your family should bring! It is sure to be a great time.

• A-E bring dessert
• F-J bring bread
• K-O bring a fruit dish
• P-T bring meat or vegetarian appetizer
• U-Z bring a vegetable dish

Please see Carly's Weekly Notes to review other items regarding the book talk, silent auction and other results of this great Birthday Celebration.

Don't forget - no school on Friday, April 27th. 

Enjoy the 3 day weekend for some gardening catch up, a fun day trip or to just be together. 

Reading with our Preschool Buddies

Baby Chicks, Metamorphosis and Reading with our Buddies

Preschool Friends have been caring for and observing baby "chicks!"

We Love Reading...

Take a look at a few of our pictures from Friday's Reading Buddies. 

As we anxiously awaited reading to our preschool friends, we enjoyed observing their ever growing "chicks!" 

We were really excited to share "metamorphosis" with our preschool buddies. 

Sharing our favorite Strawberry Shortcake Tales

Reading Our Favorite Fairytales

Please mark your calendars for our next trip to the Iowa City Public Library on Friday, April 18th where we will choose more read aloud books for our buddies. Additionally we are looking for books on the Titanic, butterflies, and gardening! Of course, we are always on the look out for a great fantasy. As I told my Racerunner friends this week, I am so proud of their growth as readers! I hear them reading our room, reading with buddies, reading their math and reading independently. 

Daily News has Gone to the Birds

Daily News has Gone to the Birds
Today, in Daily News, Clara shared about her family's trip to the Raptor Center just 15 miles north of Iowa City near Solon, Iowa, located within Macbride's Nature Recreation Center. Clara shared about the birds that were permanent residents of the Raptor Center due to injuries that would make a release back into nature fatal for the birds. She shared pictures of Otus, a Long Eared Owl, Kanati, a Peregrine Falcon, and Spirit, a Bald Eagle. Otus had a broken left wing so she could no longer fly, while Kanati fractured his wrist in a territorial battle. Meanwhile, Spirit, dislocated her left wing and can no longer fly. 


Friends had a great discussion about their own trips to Lake Macbride, the word territory and what that truly means, and how different life must be for birds in captivity (for our educational purpose) and for birds in nature without veterinary care. It was a great discussion! Many friends asked if they could go to the Raptor Center with their families...so be prepared to make a date of it with your family!