(This is a review of what we did in San Jose this week, and what we will do in Cupertino next week.) Our first classes were great! It was so fun seeing old friends again and welcoming new ones. For both K/1 and 2/3, I read a picture book called Author: a True Story by Helen Lester. Helen had difficulty learning to write as a child. She wrote everything completely backward! However, she overcame this challenge and later became a teacher and a children’s book writer. Her book tells about being an author with honesty, sharing the difficult parts and the great parts, and also a bit about her process. After reading, we discussed all of these topics and our thoughts about the story.
Next, we started on our journals. Returning students are very familiar with this! We do free journaling at the beginning of each class to encourage the children to just get started with whatever they think of and not worry too much about having a great story idea. The K/1 class mostly draws during this time. As they get more comfortable, they start writing words. The 2/3 class will also draw, make lists, write about their weekend, etc. For the first day, I had new students start with an All About Me paper. Then everyone used some story prompts or they could just start with paper if they had their own idea.
The journals stay with me so they don’t get lost, but there will usually be a mini-lesson activity sent home every week. (If you ever want to borrow the journal to look through it or show your ES, etc., just let me know). The next few weeks, we will be working on short poems, and these should come home each week for you to see. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!
