Look how we have grown!
Reflection is the willingness to learn about yourself. What have I achieved and what else do I need to do?

Assembly Read Aloud:

The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

OK is turned on its side, upside down, and right side up to show that being OK can really be quite great. Whether OK personifies an OK skipper, an OK climber, an OK lightning bug catcher, or an OK whatever there is to experience, ok is an OK place to be. And being OK just may lead to the discovery of what makes one great.

Additional Titles:

If Kids Ran the World by Leo & Diane Dillon

Cookies by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

I Like Me! by Nancy Carlson

What I like About Me! by Allia Zobel Nolan

Activities:
Look how students have grown. (i.e. Look back at samples of work, Quick writes, handwriting, self portraits, etc.)
A Memory Book can be used to reflect upon the past year.
Thinking back to the beginning of school, what was I not able to do that I can do now?
What do I remember about meeting my teacher, friends, etc. for the first time?
How did I feel about going to school or riding the bus?
What did I want to learn and have I achieved that?
How have I grown as a person and as a member of the WOS community?

We just began our Place Value unit in Math and the children seem to really understand how important numbers are. Today we compared two numbers to see which is greater. We listened to an adorable poem about an Alligator who loved eating the greater number. The children LOVED it and it really helped them to understand this concept using the symbols. Check it out!

Girl Sorting Recycling

Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22nd. Earth Day is a reminder of the huge job we have of saving our planet 365 days a year!

Watch the video below to learn about “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”and read the suggestions to find other ways you can “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” everyday!

1. Change a light
Replace a regular bulb with a more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb.
2. Drive less
Walk, bike, use public transportation like a subway, bus or even car pool. Talk to your parents about considering a hybrid, or alternative fuel vehicle. And keep your tires inflated properly.
3. Recycle more
Think before you throw away trash. Recycle instead. Cut down on how much you throw in the trash, which ultimately ends up in a landfill. And be sure to take e-waste, like computers, cell phones and hazardous waste to a special recycling facility.
4. Avoid products with a lot of packaging
When it comes to your shopping habits, consider buying products that are better for the environment or that are made from recycled materials, and have less or no packaging. And when it comes to food, support local farmers markets.
5. Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Install a low flowing shower head and wash a full load of clothes in cold or warm water.
6. Adjust your thermostat.
Moving your thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer can save a lot of energy. And ask your parents if your local utility company offers alternative power like solar power. If so, consider switching.
7. Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
8. Turn off electronic devices
Simply turning off your TV, DVD player, stereo, and unplugging your iPod and cell phone charger when not in use, will save you thousands of pounds of CO2 a year.
9. Spread the word
Talk to your friends, family and teachers. Teach them what you’ve learned and make your house and school as green as possible. Think of ways to raise awareness & educate others, create fund-raisers in your local community to make a change.
10. Go Green
Work to make these changes in your daily life so it becomes second nature.

In the video below, Ms. Kolesar’s class suggests more ways we can “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”!

Try This!

• Play My Garbology! My Garbology is an interactive game that teaches about sorting garbage for recycling, reusing, and composting. Sort garbage into four bins according to where you think each piece of garbage should go.
• Have a fashion show! Create an outfit from materials that were destined for the trash! Below is an example of how much fun it is to”Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”!

Be flexible! Flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Assembly Read Aloud: Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

Gerald the giraffe longs to dance, but his legs are too skinny and his neck is too long. His knees buckle whenever he tries to twirl. At the Jungle Dance, the warthogs waltz, the chimps cha-cha, and the lions tango. “Giraffes can’t dance,” they all jeer when it’s Gerald’s turn to prance. But there is one little creature who believes in Gerald. “Everything makes music,” the cricket explains, “if you really want it to.” So Gerald starts swaying to his own sweet tune.

Books:

Zoom by Istvan Banyai

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

You might have had your hopes up that your mommy packed you a meatball hero with an ice cream sandwich on the side for lunch, but don’t get upset if it turns out to be a PB&J with some carrots. You’ve got to change the plan, and be flexible. Sing along with Ernie as he sings the Change The Plan Song!

Last week in the library we had all the ingredients of a mystery! First, we discussed a real mystery involving the stolen statue of the Lorax from the home of Dr. Seuss located in California. Discussing this real mystery, allowed us to use detective vocabulary such as “clue”, “crime”, “red herring”, “detective”, “evidence”, “mystery”, “suspect” and “witness”! Watch the news broadcast below.

Now that our detective skills were warmed up we were ready to solve the mysterious happening in the William O. Schaefer Library! Four of Dr. Seuss’ beloved characters were suspected of creating a mess directly inside of the library door! View the “Crime Scene” images below.

The students and I were extremely upset to find such a disrespectful mess in the library. We knew we needed to get to the bottom of this crime, but first we had to read each character’s alibi!

Yertle the Turtle alibi: It was 4:00 and I was baking some homemade bread. When it was finished, I took some bread over to my friend Hop On Pop. I asked if he wanted to go to the mall, but I got a text from Fox in Socks and Starbelly Sneetch asking if I wanted to go to the movies. My mom said I could go to the movie, but his mom said he had to do homework. He tried not to show it, but boy, was he mad. I had to leave Hop On Pop to make it to the movie on time. I told him if we had time, we’d stop by the library after the movie to hang out with him.

Starbelly Sneetch alibi: It was 5:00 and I heard a knock on my door. It was Fox in Socks. He came in and I turned off my music and put away my iPod. We played at my house until we got bored. We decided it would be fun to go to the movies. We texted Hop On Pop and Yertle the Turtle to see if they wanted to come, too. Everyone came to the movie except Hop on Pop. After the movie we couldn’t think of what to do so we walked around. We thought we might stop by the library to visit Hop On Pop. It started to rain as we walked so we stopped at Fox in Sock’s house to pick up some blankets to keep us dry on our walk.

Hop On Pop alibi: It was 5:00 and I know because I was looking at the clock when the doorbell rang. It was Yertle the Turtle. He had brought me some homemade bread! He asked if I wanted to go to the mall. My mom said, “No. I had to work on my homework at the library.” Yertle the Turtle got a text right after that asking if we wanted to go and see the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. Bummer. I really wanted to see a movie and hated that I had to go to the library instead. Yertle the Turtle left to meet everyone for the movie. I headed to the library with my homework. My animal report was due on Monday and mom said I couldn’t do anything fun until I was finished with the report. The fun thing was that everyone came by the library after the movie and told me all about it. They had a great time. At 8:00, everyone had to head home. I had about thirty minutes left of homework, so I told them I’d have to stay around just a bit longer…

Fox in Socks alibi: I was sitting in my room when my mom came in and said when I finished my chores I could play. I decided to go over to Starbelly Sneetch’s house to play. We thought it would be fun to go to see a movie and texted our friends to see if they could come, too. When the movie was over we went by my house to get some blankets because it was raining and we didn’t want to get wet. Then, we headed to the library to visit Hop On Pop because he was doing homework there. At the library, I looked for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. I really liked the movie so I thought I would like the book.

Students gathered round the crime scene to take notes, discuss clues and look for evidence! Any accusations made MUST be backed up with evidence from either the crime scene or the suspect’s alibi!

So, I guess you want to know who did it!

Hop On Pop was guilty. Hop on Pop was mad he could not go to the movies with his friends. Instead, he had to go the library to work on his animal report which was about bees, bears LOVE honey! Many of you good detectives figured it out when you saw the pencil beside the nonfiction book, “All About Bees”!

Well, he was sitting in the “Honey Bear” rocking chair when his friends came to visit him after seeing the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” movie. He was so excited to see them, he jumped up and knocked the chair over! No one bothered to pick the chair up because they were so excited talking and telling Hop on Pop all about the movie! While his friends were at the library, Yertle the Turtle wanted to read “All About Geckos” and Fox in Socks wanted to read the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book. Hop on Pop said he would check the books out for them.

After his friends left the library, Hop on Pop noticed they dropped their movie tickets and forgot the blanket that was keeping them dry on the walk to visit him! He got mad when he realized he had missed such a good time with his friends! He turned and pulled all the Jan Brett books off the shelf! He was so frustrated that he still had so much work to do on his animal report that he ripped the “All About Geckos” book and threw down the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” in a fit of anger! Hop on Pop left the library.

Evidence: All of the other characters visited the library to visit Hop On Pop and they did not say anything about something being wrong in the library. It all happened after they left!

Thank you all for being such great detectives and supporting your theories with evidence! This was a tricky mystery!

Thank you to the Everything Library blog for inspiring and creating this fantastic mystery!

Be proud!

Pride is the feeling of happiness that you get when you or someone you know does something good, difficult, etc. You can have pride in your country, school work or friends.

Assembly Read Aloud: Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy and has buckteeth and a voice that sounds like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor. But armed with the encouraging words of her grandmother, Molly Lou confidently confronts the class bully at her new school. A not-to-be missed story for the less-than-perfect part of everyone!

Books:

• Crafty Chloe by Kelly DiPucchio and Heather Ross
• Only One You by Linda Kranz
• The Land of Many Colors by Rita Pocock
• The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio
• I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
• A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
• Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
• Little Bear’s Little Boat by Eve Bunting
• Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• Me I Am! by Jack Prelutsky
• Zero by Kathryn Otoshi
• Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy and Kimberly Shaw-Peterson
• I’m Proud to be Natural Me! by Marlene Dillon
• I’m Terrific by Marjorie Weinman Shar

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy and Kimberly Shaw-Peterson

How can Ralph be so mean? Lucy is one of a kind and Ralph loves to point that out. Lucy’s defining moment comes when Ralph truly needs help. Because she knows what she stands for, Lucy has the courage to make a good choice. This charming story empowers children to always do the right thing and be proud of themselves, even when they are faced with someone as challenging as Ralph.

Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Spoon has always been a happy little utensil who loves his family. But lately he’s been feeling down. He thinks his friends Knife, Fork, and Chopsticks have it so much better than him. He can’t cut like Knife, he’s not as useful as Fork, and no one thinks he’s cool and exotic like Chopsticks.

The Goo Goo Dolls and Elmo Sing Pride

The 100th day of school was a huge SUCCESS! Many children came in dresses as if they were 100 years old! ADORABLE! I challenged the children to write 100 words they know. They designed their own “100” glasses. We also had to write things in 100 seconds such as smiley faces, stars, their names, and the alphabet. Their hands were tired but they were still smiling. We then had an Olympics which we had to do jumping jacks, jumps, hops and balance a book on their heads for 100 seconds. They were exhausted but had a blast! I think our favorite part of the day was the Red Carpet Event with Mrs. Yelin’s class. It was too cute watching many of them dance down the red carpet.Love these children! Enjoy the video!

Be persistent!

Overview: Persistence is the continuous effort to do or achieve something even when faced with obstacles.

Assembly Read Aloud: The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

The girl has a wonderful idea! She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!? But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right.

A Visitor For Bear by Bonny Becker	Leo the Lightening Bug by Eric Drachman	Try and Stick With It by Cheri J. Meiners
Flight School by Lita Judge	Long Shot: Never to Small to Dream Big by Paul Chris	Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

The Very Busy Spider written and illustrated by Eric Carle

I Knew You Could! A Book For All The Stops In Your Life by Craig Dorfman

Below is a fun little animation that illustrates persistence!