Boosterthon Camp High 5

We have been blessed with having the Boosterthon on campus and excited about our fun run coming up on Thursday. I just wanted to take a moment to get all of you excited for Boosterthon! Boosterthon has a few different parts.

1. Fundraiser- Yes it's a fundraiser that encourages physical activity. If you didn't know students collect pledges (either a flat rate donation or a dollar amount per each lap ran). Money donated goes towards a few different things. 1) Boosterthon donates back into the community. (Similar to a TOMS philosophy) Last year they donated over the door basketball hoops to children in hospitals- once a student raised enough money to get the basketball hoop prize, they donated a set amount to a hospital. This year they are donating meals to the community. If a student meets the lunch box prize, then they have earned enough donations to in return donate 5 meals back to the community the school is in. 2) The school designates an area of need that the fundraiser money from Boosterthon will go to for the school. Last year our district choose technology like iPads, this year we've selected reading materials!

2. Character Education- MY FAVORITE PART! This pairs up with Leader in Me so well also. The traits for Camp High Five are: Friends Respect Others, Friends Don't Bully, Friends Shout Out Strengths, Friends Stick Together, Friends Show Sportsmanship. Ask your child more about these traits and how they relate to LIM!

3. Health- money is raised via a fun run! Students will run 30-35 laps on a track that is about 1/16 of a mile. Each lap is themed: dance it out, air guitar, raise the roof, rodeo, etc. Each team huddle students learn different stretches and how a good character is living healthy also.

If you'd like to donate to our campus, you can do so at this link. If we don't invest in our children's education then how can we expect change in the future? https://funrun.com/sponsor/e866101f5b6485e55ffafc79bd755439a0839829

For more info on Boosterthon, visit: http://www.boosterthon.com/

Outdoor Challenge!

For the last 10 weeks of school (so this starts NEXT MONDAY- 3/31/14) cut out technology and encourage your family to do outdoor activities instead- at least during the school week. I know rain will come since it's spring, so I will include rainy day suggestions as well. I encourage you to share the experience in the comments of how this goes for you during the last 10 weeks of school.

Outdoor Learning

Saturday I spent the majority of the day outside, I even did my grad school work outside. With all this nice weather coming our way it had me thinking of just how much kindergartners and elementary aged students just prefer to be outside. Really most of our world's biggest minds did a lot of their work outside.

Reflect with me on some of the great leaders of our past:

Henry David Threau- a naturalist and abolitionist who wrote about the wrongs of slavery and the world around him. Some of his most famous pieces include A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and (Thoughts from) Walden- were written while in nature, as was most of his work.

Robert Frost- I think we all remember having to memorize The Road Not Taken... recite with me "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both. And be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth..." I will forever associate that poem with Mrs. Geiger's 8th grade English class.

Nathaniel Hawthorne- The Scarlet Letter goes into such rich detail about the nature in the state of Massachusetts that when I visited Vermont over spring break, the drive from Boston to VT just made all the imagery in Hawthorne's writing alive. I could just imagine that patch of woods next to the river, tucked away from civilization being where Hester Prynne lived. Visiting Boston for the first time over spring break, I could see the book come to life as I walked The Freedom Trail. (I know it wasn't set in Boston, but the buildings are the same.)

Abraham Lincoln actively played outside and taught himself everything he knew. He educated himself so well, while absorbing nature that he was able to become a lawyer and the president.

George Washington was a great leader and soldier, but first and foremost was a farmer and surveyor. He knew the land, understood it, and felt he was one with it. His bond with nature forged his character!

During the Renaissance in both Europe and our own Renaissance periods, people were often found outdoors working because it yielded so much more production.

Most ivy league and well established universities are surrounded by nature and have extensive grounds that they keep. Year round you find students sprawled across the yards of those universities in study groups, independent study, in self expression, or even my own university had a stump that people could stand on and freely express anything they wanted from that stump. 

Examples of those who actively believed in learning through nature or doing work outdoors lead to more productive work is extensive. This philosophy of learning stems from Maria Montessori- http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/History-of-Montessori-Education/Biography-of-Maria-Montessori.aspx- , an educational theorists who (very simply put) believed learning should be done at the learner's pace through exploration. This is largely why in my classroom I don't require students to work in a dedicated place- yes we have tables and they do have assigned spots, however they only go to those areas when they are being redirected or it is a whole group learning time. The remainder of our day students may complete the tasks I give them via free roam (that's what we call the period of independent/ partner/ small group tasks). Only if they don't meet our agreed upon contract rules for this period can they be asked to go to a preassigned area. This rarely happens though! It's unique. It's challenging. It's EXTREMELY chaotic. However, I've seen so much improvement in my students this year that seems to be a direct result of the process. They are most importantly more responsible because they have to be or the privileges are revoked.

SO, I am about to begin a series of blogs based on outdoor learning. This learning will be structured but out of your control- so if you like holding the reigns take a deep breath and just try to experiment with me! We are creating leaders! We are creating independent children! We are creating deeper thinkers! So, with these blogs to come there is a challenge involved... can you handle it?

Challenge: For the last 10 weeks of school (so this starts NEXT MONDAY- 3/31/14) cut out technology and encourage your family to do outdoor activities instead- at least during the school week. I know rain will come since it's spring, so I will include rainy day suggestions as well. I encourage you to share the experience in the comments of how this goes for you during the last 10 weeks of school.

Leader in Me: Upper Level Book List

Upper Elementary Book List

Habit 1 - Be Proactive:

·         “Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher” by Bruce Coville

·         “On My Honor” by Marion Bauer

·         “Someday a Tree” by Eve Bunting

·         “Salt in His Shoes, Michael Jordan: In Pursuit of a Dream” by Deloris Jordan

·         “The Real McCoy: The Life of an African-American Inventor” by Wendy Towle

Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind:

·         “Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus?” by Jean Fritz

·         “Lucy Mastermind” by Alan Feldman

·         “Eddie, the Incorporated” by Phyllis Naylor

·         “Bobby Baseball” by Robert Kimmel Smith

·         “The School Story” by Andrew Clements

Habit 3 - Put First Things First:

·         “The Week Mom Unplugged the TV’s” by Terry Wolfe Phelan

·         “Irving Black’s Strange Snack” by Roz Rosenbluth

·         “Esperanza Rising” by Pam Munoz Ryan

·         “The TV Kid” by Betsy Byars

·         “Justin & the Best Biscuits in the World” by Mildred Pitts Walter

Habit 4 - Think Win-Win:

·         “The Butter Battle Book” by Dr. Seuss

·         “Dragon Stew” by Tom McGowen

·         “Law of the Great Peace” by John Bierhart

·         “The Checker Players” by Alan Venable

·         “Hiawatha, Messenger of Peace” by Dennis Brindell Fradin

Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood:

·         “Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd” by Mame Farrell

·         “Witch of Blackbird Pond” by Elizabeth George Speare

·         “Rules” by Cynthia Lord

·         “Veronica Knows Best” by Nancy Robinson

·         “The Bully of Barkham Street” by Leonard Shortall

Habit 6 - Synergize:

·         “The View from Saturday” by E.L. Konigsburg

·         “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline L’Engle

·         “Ruby Holler” by Sharon Creech

·         “The Chalk box Kid” by Clyde Robert Bulla

·         “Chicken Sunday” by Patricia Polacco

Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw:

·         “The Mysteries of Harris Burdick” by Chris Van Allsburg

·         “Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen” by DyAnne DiSalvo Ryan

·         “The New Kid on the block” by Jack Prelutsky

·         “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein

·         “Wind in the Long Grass: A Collection of Haiku” edited by William Higginson

Leader in Me: Elementary Level Book List

Check out these books to read that are all about the habits! Should you ever buy me or another teacher a book these are all great ones to give.

Elementary Book List

Foundational Principles

·         The Empty Pot—Demi

·         Ruby the Copycat—Peggy Rathman

·         Character Education—McGraw-Hill Children Publishing

·         Hi New Baby—Robie H. Harris

·         How Leo Learned to Be King—Marcus Pfister

·         Somebody Loves you, Mr. Hatch—Eileen Spinelli

·         Oops, Sorry—Richard Morgan

·         The Falling Leaves and the Scarecrow—Steve Metzger

·         The Cap—Frank Shaffer

·         Building Moral Intelligence—Michelle Borba

·         Eggbert, The Slightly Cracked Egg—Tom Ross &Rex Baron

·         One Smile—Cindy McKinley

·         Chicken Soup for Little Souls--The Goodness Gorillas—Lisa McCourt

Emotional Bank Account:

·         Chrysanthemum—Kevin Henkes

·         Have you Filled a Bucket Today?

Habits:

·         The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Habit by Stan and Jan Berenstain Bread and Jam for France by Russell Hoban D. W., Picky Eater by Marc Brown

·         Berenstain Bears and Too Much Teasing by Stan and Jan Berenstain

·         Sam Who Never Forgets by Eve Rice

Paradigms:

·         Frederick by Leo Lionni

·         Smoky Night by Eve Bunting

·         Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber

·         Stone Soup (any version)

·         Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

·         Miss Toggle’s Beautiful Blue Shoe by Robin Pulver

Circle of Influence:

·         Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni

·         Mirette and the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully

·         Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

·         Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt

·         The Empty Pot by Demi

·         Pinduli by Janell Cannon

Habit 1 - Be Proactive:

·         Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

·         The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

·         King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood

·         The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle

·         The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

·         Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon – mission statement ideas?

·         My Many Colored Days—Dr. Seuss

·         Oh, the Places You’ll Go—Dr. Seuss – mission statement ideas?

·         Willy the Wimp—Anthony Browne

·         Hatchett—Gary Paulsen

·         When I Feel Angry—Cornelia Maude Spelman

·         Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day”-Judith Viorst

·         Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

·         Enemy Pie (Reading Rainbow book) by Derek Munson

·         The Recess Queen-- Alexis O'Neill

·         Don’t Laugh At Me -- Steven Seskin

·         I Like Myself! By Karen Beaumont – mission statement ideas?

·         The Pout-Pout Fish-- Deborah Diesen

·         Inch by Inch—Leo Lionni

Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind:

·         The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

·         Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats

·         Click, Clack, Cows that Moo by Doreen Cronin

·         Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle

·         Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams

·         Simple Pictures are Best by Nancy Willard

·         Chicken Little

·         Wake Up Henry Rooster

·         The Great Serum Race—Debbie S. Miller

·         Song: Listen Before You Leave—Fred Penner on Happy Feet CD

·         The Hundred Penny Box—Sharon Bill Mathis

·         How We Are Smart—W. Nikola-Lia

·         Miss Rumphius—Barbara Cooney

·         How Full is Your Bucket?

·         The Carrot Seed—Ruth Krauss

·         Mirette on the High Wire—Emily Arnold McCully

·         Suoerdog: The Heart of a Hero by Caralyn and Mark Buehner

Habit 3 - First Things First:

·         Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London

·         The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone

·         The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

·         Alejandro’s Gift by Richard E. Albert

·         Jamaica’s Find by Juanita Havill

·         Dear Children of the Earth—Schim Schimmel

·         The Slapshot Star—Gloria Miller

·         Hurry up, Franklin

·         Pancakes For Breakfast—Eric Carle

Habit 4 – Think Win-Win:

·         Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni

·         The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

·         The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

·         The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle

·         Let’s Be Enemies by Janice May Udry

·         Dinofours: It’s Snowing by Steve Metzger

·         Amos Steig—Amos & Boris

·         Something From Nothing—Phoebe Gilman

·         The Black Book of Colors—Menema Cottin-Rosana Faria

·         Chrysanthemum—Kevin Henkes

·         Horrible Harry’s Secret—Suzy Kline

·         The Moccasin Goalie—Roy Brownridge

·         Lillie’s Big Day—Kevin Henkes

·         Nine Gold Medals—David Roth (Poem)

·         A Box of Crayons—Shane DeRolf (Poem)

·         The Legend of the Bluebonnet—Tomie DePaola

·         Smoky Night—Eve Bunting

Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand then to Be Understood:

·         Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

·         The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

·         The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

·         Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

·         Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino

·         Arthur’s Christmas by Marc Brown

·         Miss Toggle’s Zipper by Robin Pulver

·         The Island of the Skog—Steven Kellogg

·         Grandfather Counts—Andrea Cheng

·         It Looked Like Spilled Milk—Charles Shaw

·         The True Story of the Three Little Pigs—Jon Scieszka

·         Alejandro’s Gift—R.E. Albert

Habit 6 - Synergy:

·         Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall

·         Swimmy by Leo Lionni

·         A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

·         Clifford’s Spring Clean-Up by Norman Bridwell

·         How the 2nd Grade Got $8205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty by Nathan Zimelman

·         Chicken Sunday—Patricia Polacco

·         The Biggest Snowman Ever—Steven Kroll

·         The Gigantic Turnip—Aleksei Tolsoy & Niamh Sharkey

·         Ox-Cart Man—Donald Hall

·         Frederick—Leo Lionni

Habit 7 – Sharpen the Saw:

·         Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

·         The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

·         Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems

·         Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by D. B. Johnson

·         Me I Am! by Jack Prelutsky

·         An Ant’s Day Off—Bonny Becker

·         Incredible You—Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

·         The Three Questions—Leo Tolstoy

·         Owl Moon—Jane Yolen

·         Henry Hikes to Fitchburg—D.B. Johnson