Hello from Mrs. Sorenson!

Hello! Mrs. Lucier told me that people have been asking about me and the new baby...thank you! I have been enjoying my time at home with Patrick, getting to know him and getting used to being a mom to a newborn again! Will is adjusting pretty well to being a big brother, but it was hard at first. He didn't want to share me! :-)

I plan to visit UMS sometime this week with Patrick, so I will see you soon! Please feel free to email me anytime: sorensone@csdvt.org. I love getting notes!

Here are a few recent pictures...

Mrs. Lucier hung this collage at school, but I am sure that not everyone at home has seen it yet. Some pictures are duplicates of what's posted on the blog... The two daddies on the bottom left are Mr. Sorenson (left) with Patrick and Mr. Marshall (right) with Anna. Mrs. Marshall (second grade teacher at UMS) had her baby two days before me so we saw each other at the hospital. So cool!

We live near the Burlington bike path and Lake Champlain, so we often walk to the beach! Will was at daycare with his friends when this photo was taken!

Patrick loves to sleep during the day, but not so much at night. So, I'm very tired these days!

Will is a helpful big brother. He brings Patrick his pacifier, diapers, and wipes. What a great big brother! Patrick does not like diaper changes!

This is Will's crib, but I put Patrick in there for a picture. Will was not too happy about sharing his bed, but Patrick seemed comfortable! Will loves any hand-knit blankets. This one has some big holes in it because he sleeps with it EVERY night and puts his fingers through the holes.

Just one more...I love Will's expression in this one. It's as if he's saying, "No more crying--I can't take any more!" :-)

Blog Updates...

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Just a quick note to let you know that Mrs. Lucier and I have been in touch several times recently. She has kept me in the loop about what's happening in our classroom. It sounds like things are going very well! I will post some of her pictures and information very soon!

Patrick James Sorenson enters the world!

Dear Students and Families,

I am VERY happy to announce that our new son, Patrick James Sorenson, was born on Thursday, March 11th, 2010. He was born at 7:22 a.m. and weighed 9 lbs, 4 oz. and was 21.5 inches long. Big baby! So, it was a good thing that my last day was Wednesday morning, since I went into labor that evening. The Sorenson family is doing well and is relaxing at home with Patrick's grandparents (my parents).

I hope to visit UMS in the next few weeks to see everyone and show off my new handsome baby!

See you soon!

Mrs. Sorenson :-)

Just a few notes...

Observatory Field Trip: The time has changed due to the moonrise time on April 1st being after 11 pm. Sorry for any inconvenience! See the sidebar on the left for the latest information.

SWR: Due to our artists-in-residence program with the Amidons, we were not able to have SWR as often as usual last week. There will be no new spelling list on Monday--students can continue to practice the same skills and a check-up will be given next Friday (there was no check-up given on March 5th).

Maternity Leave: I am now "overdue" to have this baby. I am going to keep working until he's born. Mrs. Lucier was sick all last week, so this actually ended up working out for the best in some ways! I plan to be at school Monday, and Mrs. Lucier hopes to be there with me if she's feeling better. Thanks for the kind words and well wishes from so many of you! I'm doing fine, and being at school actually helps take my mind off the discomfort of these late days of pregnancy!

2-D and 3-D shapes

Our latest unit in math is all about Geometry. We will have been discussing two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes all week. On Friday, students were invited to create something using a variety of 2-D and 3-D shapes. They certainly showed great creativity!

Nonfiction reading

Students dug into nonfiction last week during Reading Workshop! We began by discussing what they know about the differences between fiction and nonfiction books. They then explored a variety of types of nonfiction during partner and independent reading time. Students also learned how oftentimes nonfiction books do not have to be read from cover to cover--you can skip to certain chapters or sections depending on interests or what you want to learn about. We also talked about how readers sometimes have to decide where to read on the page--nonfiction books often have sidebars, diagrams, and captions in addition to the main text. Exploring nonfiction books will help children understand the structure of nonfiction better before trying their hand at creating All About Books, which is coming up soon in Writing Workshop!

Night Sky Artwork

Students enjoyed some art time in the classroom on Friday. I put out lots of different materials and encouraged everyone to create moon and stars artwork. The results are impressive!

Students used construction paper crayons, oil pastels, and watercolor paint to create the artwork displayed on this bulletin board.

Students loved using black paper and colored glitter glue to make stars. Students will be making more stars with different art materials soon, and I hope to have them create constellation artwork as well.

Students worked together in art class to create this paper mache moon, which hangs in our room.

Everyone has a star hanging from the ceiling, which they made in Mrs. Derry's art class.

Polygons!

Do you know what a polygon is? If not, ask your first grader! :-) Here are the "rules" we learned about 2-D shapes that would be considered polygons:

• They have corners
• They are closed on all sides
• They have only straight edges
• There are no overlapping sides.

With these rules in mind, students worked with straws and pipe cleaners to create their own polygons during math station time this week.

Leave Update

Hi everyone!

It was great to see everyone back at school today! I am still pregnant, which I am sure you have seen and/or heard. My official due date is tomorrow (March 3rd). I plan to teach until the baby is born. Mrs. Lucier will be in a couple of times this week to be a part of our day before she takes over. I plan on returning May 3rd. Your children have been so excited to hear my baby news. I will be sure to put pictures on the blog when he is born.

I hope everyone is doing well! See you soon!

The Amidons are here!

Students were welcomed back by our artists in residence--The Amidons! We started our day with a wonderful assembly in the gym. There was singing, dancing, and lots of happy faces! The fun continued during P.E. today too, and children will be participating in activities with the Amidons all week during their "specials." Remember, our culminating performance is on Friday, March 5th at 6:30 at the Colchester High School. It is sure to be a great family event!

All of the songs were interactive, and many had motions!

It was so much fun to watch everyone get into the action!

The assembly ended with everyone joining in to sing "What a Wonderful World." The Amidons have added motions to go along with the classic Louis Armstrong song. Enjoy listening and watching!