4B Rocks!

This post is a tribute to class 4B!

This year we have worked together as a team.

We have taken risks, tried new things, and grown as a class!

We have looked at the world from an upside down perspective!

We have used our bodies to stretch, dance, skip count,

and play games.

Even the teachers have done crazy stuff this year! (remember our carnaval party??)

The year is coming to an end.

There is no doubt we will miss each other.

Let`s remember all of the wonderful times we have

shared this year and be grateful for each precious moment

we have spent together. 4B ROCKS!!!!!!

I love you guys!

Ms. Anne

Family Day on May 10th

On May 10th, the Pan American School will be hosting a special event called, Family Day. We will invite your parents into the classroom for 30 minutes. During this time, we will sing the song, Circle of Life, from the Lion King .

We will also give our parents a small flower that we plant in science class. We will decorate the pots with lovely messages and art.

We will also write and memorize "Where I am From Poems" to read out loud to our parents. I posted the "Where I`m From Poem" that I wrote in February as an example. We will write poems and add family photographs to the final product. Think about adding your poem to your blog!

Love,

Ms. Anne

Where I'm From

I am from herb gardens, patchwork quilts, and peppermint tea.

I am from cobblestone streets

(limestone layers, and pebble paths.)

I am from morel mushroom forests,

Purple violets, and dew-soaked crab apple leaves pointing me toward fairy dwellings.

I am from black eyed peas and butterscotch cookies

From Mae Helen and Kate.

I’m from activists and educators,

From traveling troubadours and Saturday night waltzes.

I’m from biscuits and iron skillet cornbread.

From the wooden flutes my father plays to the oak trees my mother plants.

I’m from the hand-written poem that hangs from my grandfather’s adobe wall.

I searched photo albums of bald temper tantrums and ocean trance dances.

Rhythmic Brazilian beats underneath Iowa soil, surfacing in

Mississippi bayous and full moon

look outs over Mount Geronimo in New Mexico.

Anne Haggerson

February 18^th, 2009

Rainbow in Barra and a SURPRISE!!!

I have a surprise for you tomorrow morning. It involves sharks and swimming in the ocean. Are you ready???

I saw this rainbow in Barra on Thursday morning. I was driving to the ferry boat to go to "Morro de Sao Paulo" and this stunning image appeared in the sky. Did you see it, too?

Listening, Empathy, and Understanding

The discussion topics at our community meeting yesterday were attentive listening, empathy, and understanding. Here is what we learned:

• It is important to listen with your eyes, ears, and heart.
• Look at life from another person’s perspective.
• Pay attention to body language and tone of voice.
• Only listen when it is important and interesting.
• Ask other people to explain their point of view.
• Ask classmates, parents, and teachers how they feel and really listen to their answers with your eyes, ears, and heart.
• Emotions are natural.
• It feels good to tell others how you are feeling.

How to Respond

Acknowledge what that you heard by saying, “What I heard you say was…” or by nodding your head and saying, “I understand how you feel.” You could empathize by saying, “I am sorry,” or “I can't imagine how hard that must be.” Sometimes people just want to get things off their chest and need someone to lean on and talk to.

Shoes

Put yourself in another person’s shoes. Are you a good listener? Do you seek to understand others and then be understood?

Talkative or Quiet?

Do you talk too much? If so, try listening more and asking more questions. If you are really quiet, try speaking up and sharing how you feel with others.

Our School Assembly

Pedro has started choreographing the dance we will perform at the assembly at the end of the month. Luanna has also started decorating poster boards to describe feelings and emotions. Luanna wants to share how to express "I feel" statements with the entire school. What can you do to help prepare for the assembly? What ideas do you have for the assembly at the end of April?

Love,

Ms. Anne

Community Meetings and "I feel statements"

We finally started our weekly classroom community meetings. Our classroom meeting takes place on Tuesday mornings from 8:45am-9:25am. We gather around in a circle, give each other specific compliments, discuss our problems, talk about ways to "cool down" when we are angry, and share our feelings.

Every classroom full of 22 fourth graders is bound to have problems! It is important for us to bring any issues we are having to the community and brainstorm solutions. So far, students have started to use "I feel" statements in the classroom and calming methods when they get upset. It is important for students to be heard when they use an "I feel statement." So, the person they express their feeling to needs to respond by saying, "What I heard you say was that you feel_______when I _______." and "Ok. I will stop."

Yesterday, we listened to a song about loneliness and emotions. The main idea of the song is to find healthy solutions when you feel angry such as telling someone how you are feeling, writing your feelings down in a letter or in a journal, drawing your emotions through art, or dancing your emotions through movement.

In April, our class will be responsible for the assembly. Our topic is "empathy." The song we learned yesterday and the skills we are using at the classroom meeting will help us present this idea to the entire elementary school at the end of April. Empathy means sharing and understanding another person's feelings.

Here are some questions to think about:

1) Have you ever tried to put yourself in another person's shoes when they are sad or lonely and imagined feeling what they are feeling? Were you able to understand them better after listening to their story?

2) What are healthy ways you deal with strong emotions such as: loneliness, anger, sadness, frustration, and fear?

3) Have "I feel statements" and the classroom calming methods helped you recently? Please comment!

Carnaval

4B had an exciting carnaval celebration in the classroom this year. We turned the classroom upside down on Thursday during the last period of the day. It was a blast! We turned the volume up and listened to all the top carnaval songs from famous Bahian artists like Ivete Sangalo and Timbalada. We made a train around the classroom, played limbo, jumped over a broom, and danced on top of the tables. Everyone was sweating, laughing, and smiling. It was a great way to begin the carnaval break!

Keeping a Journal

Over vacation, I assigned students the task of keeping of journal to document the sounds, tastes, colors, textures, dialogue, and people that surround them.

One of my students gave me a journal as a Christmas present. It is a bendable rectangular book with a pink snakeskin cover. I took the book with me to a farm I visited near Ilheus.

Every day, I took around 10 minutes to jot down notes and record the daily events. I loved the way the book felt in my hand while I wrote.

I even drew pictures of people I found to be interesting and added adjectives to describe them. I will use my journal to help me write a book in the future. Keeping a journal has helped me remember and document all of the incredible moments I have experienced during my vacation. It has also been a way for me to relax, draw, create, and simply enjoy life. I can only imagine how wonderful it will be to read this journal in 20 years from now and realize what an amazing vacation I had swimming the in the river, climbing trees, and eating bananas! I am also looking forward to reading my students' journals!