Kiker's Strength-Based Learning Cohort

Dearest Families, Thank you so much for the overwhelming generosity showered upon us! We are so grateful for the personal gifts purchased for us. We count it a gift to spend our days with your children, and your appreciation of us is icing on the cake.  We wish you a very happy holiday and restful winter break. Can't wait to see everyone in 2017! Best, Jewellyn, Jennifer, and Jennifer❤

Find your grade level below and click the links to learn more about energy! 2nd grade Part II: Light and Shadows http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/light_shadows/play/popup.shtml Part III: Watt's That, Jr. http://energyquest.ca.gov/wattsthat_junior/power/index.html 3rd grade Part I: Geothermal http://energy4me.org/all-about-energy/what-is-energy/energy-sources/geothermal/ Part II: Tiki the Penguin-Energy http://tiki.oneworld.net/energy/energy8.html Part III: Types of Energy http://c03.apogee.net/contentplayer/?coursetype=kids&utilityid=demo&id=16168 Part IV: What is Sound? http://www.sciencekidsathome.com/science_topics/what_is_sound.html 4th grade Part 1: Forms of Energy http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa_pre_2011/energy/heatrev4.shtml Part II: Energy Transfer-- Click  Choose a Topic , then click  Energy https://acswebcontent.acs.org/scienceforkids/index.html

In TEAM meeting, we have focused on prioritization, resilience, and how to have manners as consumers.  In reading, Second Graders remain focused on summarization, taking longer chunks of text and synthesizing it into a neat package. We've continued to work on distinguishing main idea from detail. We wrote several special letters this week as well, taking it from idea to draft to final form. Third Graders are nearing the end of The Poet's Dog, by Patricia MacLaughlin. We've focused on margin notes to show our thinking as well as inference. We also wrote some special letters and responses to literature. Fourth Grade is determined to find out what happens to our characters in Salt to the Sea. We've been summarizing chapters and then seeing how the chapters incorporate into a whole book summary...not easy to do with 220 pages of reading! We've been working on expository. 2nd grade mathematicians explored some new virtual manipulatives and continued to...

http://www.mathplayground.com/making_change.html   Math Game - Making Change www.mathplayground.com Making Change Click and drag the correct change to the counter. More Math Games Money and Time : Making Change supports Grade 2 Common Core Math Standards in ... http://www.funbrain.com/cashreg/     Money Games for Kids | FunBrain www.funbrain.com Calculate the change required from purchases and fill your piggy bank! The more you get right, the more you have. Play FunBrain's Money games for Kids now! http://mrnussbaum.com/cashd/   Cash Out – A Money Game mrnussbaum.com Age Appropriateness: Cash Out is appropriate for kids ages 7 – 12. There are three skill levels and various options to customize the game for the aforementioned ages. http://www.abcya.com/counting_money.htm   Learn to Count Money | ABCya! www.abcya.com Learn to Count Money | Children practice counting money by clicking and dragging bills and...

Hey, computer scientists! Click the link below for some coding activities. https://code.org/learn

Explore the site below: Kids in Business KIDS IN BUSINESS! Your table is getting an article, poster, set of thin markers, and set of thick markers. Read the article as a table. As you are reading, each person should  write down answers  for the questions below: Who started business? What is it? Is it a product or a service? How did they go from idea to product? Who do they sell to? Where do they sell? How do they tell others about their business? Who helped them? Who benefits from the product/service? You will now, AS A TABLE, create a poster about this business to teach the others in our classroom about your article. Use pencil first, and trace in marker. Your poster should have LARGE and NEAT printing and should contain all the information from the questions above. HAVE FUN!

Welcome back! After a week of rest and rejuvenation, we've been back to work full force! We've flipped our blocks around and are enjoying a new rotation, and our project block looks different as well. Our Third and Fourth have been working hard learning specific traits and strategies in leadership roles as well as taking some time to master some important skills in math. Our Second Graders are prepping their financial knowledge as they embark in creating a good or service for Market Day later this month. In reading and writing, each grade has been working on entries for their personal anthology, as well as refining grammar skills. Spelling Groups are up and running, and we are spending time in our independent books building fluency and stamina. Third Grade has begun a new novel, The Poet's Dog , by Patricia MacLaughlin. Fourth Grade continues on their journey through East Prussia in Salt to the Sea.  It's been exciting to examine the books through both a reader ...

This week our schedule had us learning in many new ways! Fourth Grade took a walking field trip to HEB and learned some nutritious ways to shop and where things in the store were located. We are more knowledgeable consumers now! Fourth also had the opportunity to stretch with our first writing benchmark. We worked hard on Thursday, expressing our thoughts in written form! Third Grade practiced and performed Kiker's Rendition of "Schoolhouse Rock!" We enjoyed watching them Friday! As Third Grade was in final rehearsal, we had the chance to learn about the people and events in the PTA. We've compiled a book of thank you letters from Second Grade and Expository pieces from Fourth to present to the PTA Board at their next meeting. It was exciting to find out their roles, and the wonderful things they do here at Kiker. Second grade investigated how heat affects matter by melting various solids. We observed and described the properties that change and the prope...

Your assignment for the next two days is on the link below. Work together with your partner to complete it. Know that we will be presenting our work at a Kiker PTA meeting next month! :) Attitude of Gratitude

We eagerly participated in our Student Council Elections. It was exciting to exercise our citizenship in our Kiker Community! We also enjoyed a fabulous concert by our Kiker Keynotes in recognition for the sacrifice and bravery of our country's veterans. Book Fair has been in full swing, and we've picked up some new reading material! Second grade has been conducting an author study of Kevin Henkes and learning to watch for signposts in his work. Signposts are places where the author has placed events where we need to stop as readers, notice what's happening in regards to our character, and ask ourselves questions to comprehend deeply. We've been drafting a new sensory description poem for our anthologies. Third Graders have finished up our novel, A Long Walk to Water . It was amazing to feel our reading/learning community come together over this book! They are forever changed by knowing the incredible journey of Salva Dut, and the scarcity of water resources in Af...

When you have completed your workbook pages, click the link below to review about the states of matter: http://www.abcya.com/states_of_matter.htm Then choose a Matter Game (or two!) from the site below: http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/changes-in-matter-games.html

Hello, scientists! Click on the links that match your grade level below. Use the websites to learn more about heat energy. Make sure you  read all directions! 2nd grade Part I: Experimenting with Solids, Liquids, and Gases http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/solid_liquids_fs.shtml Part II: Kitchen Materials http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/science/changing_materials/play/ 3rd grade Part I: States of Matter: Changes in State http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX4372644d6e7071506f5b77&t=States-of-Matter Part II: Solids, Liquids, and Gases http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/changing_state.shtml  4th grade Part I: BBC - Changing State http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/changing_state.shtml Part II: Crickweb - Changing State **Scroll down to the picture that says "Changing State" and click on it.   http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2science.html#changingstate Part III: Condensation   http://www.w...

Click to Run

This week, Halloween started us with a burst of energy, and we've been working those mindful muscles the whole week long! It's been helpful to remember that when we are feeling excited, tired, or even just distracted, we can get back on track by mindfully breathing or wiggling our toes! We also were assigned The Pledge this week, and we enjoyed being up on stage leading the Kiker community. We documented the events of this upcoming month in our Agenda calendars, so if you weren't able to take a peek, it's got important reminders for the next few weeks. We are working on a small mandala to help us unwind and focus on what we are grateful for, and Mrs. Mangels read us a wonderful book, Chopsticks , to help us see problems as opportunities! In project, we are preparing for our Keyhole Garden build. We've been creating spreadsheets, learning about healthy soil composition, and digging deeper into the idea of scarcity, it's causes, and it's consequences. We...

This week was full of exciting things, but our culminating event was Track and Field! Thanks to the PE department for planning such a fabulous event, and thanks to all who came out to help. In reading and language arts, we continued our novel studies, spelling and grammar centers, and poetry. We developed our envisioning skills by reading and writing descriptively. In social studies, we channeled our inner cartographers and applied our knowledge of map features to create our own maps. Second graders loved making maps of their desks. Third graders used a digital tool to create maps of the Kiker playground, and then used an interactive map to create their own map quiz for a classmate. Fourth graders put together an intricate overlay map denoting Texas regions, rivers, and major cities. In math, fourth graders continued talking about multiplication and ways to represent this concept with multidigit factors.  We are becoming more confident with area models, p...

SBLC Cartographers, use this interactive tool to create your quiz: http://nationalgeographic.org/education/mapping/interactive-map/ Create your own map here: http://pbskids.org/catinthehat/games/mappingtool.html If you finish, practice your map skills here: http://nationalgeographic.org/education/multimedia/interactive/maps-tools-find-sunken-treasure/ http://justkidsgames.com/play.php?TreasureHunt

In class, Forrest project block will access the Google Slides: Why do Keyhole Gardens Matter?

Use the link below to choose two symbols to include *symbol name *2 facts *quick sketch http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/symbols/ image courtesy of Wikipedia

Thanks so much to all for taking the time to meet with us this week. We are sharing conference notes and are working to get back to you each about any specific concerns or needs that you expressed. If we haven't made contact yet, we will -- it's been a busy week! Thinking about the goals we've shared, the kids have been actively goal setting and thinking about how to make changes that will help us continue the growth trajectory we're on. We've been talking specifically about small changes (like where we sit, our body placement, and moving distractions aside) to ensure that we have optimal focus and attention. We have talked about what we practice (rehearse) becomes habit, and that makes all the difference in our learning (performance). In project, we are discovering information about Keyhole Gardens in preparation for building and planting our very own right here on Kiker campus. Where were they started? Why? What is a Keyhole Garden? How is it different? ...