The Dino and the Frog - written and illustrated by Amelia , Quinn, Oliver G. Oliver S. Sophie, Grace

Once upon a time there was a Dino, he saw a Frog. The Frog was hopping over. Seeing the Frog hopping and enjoying himself, the Dino felt a little jealous, because he couldn't make all those jumps.
Suddenly, the Dino started bragging and said, "Ha, I can run faster than you." The Frog was listening quietly, while the Dino wouldn't stop boasting. At this time the Frog got quite annoyed and angry. He then said, "Well , in that case, shall we have a race?"
Meanwhile, a Rabbit was watching the whole scene from afar. He says, " I will be the judge, you can race to the river and come back." The Dino says, "It's a deal."
The judge Rabbit shouts and says, "On your mark, get set and go!"
So the Dino starts running fast, and the Frog is hopping steadily about 6 miles behind. When the Dino turns back, he can't see the Frog. So he says to himself, "That Frog will never catch up and I am feeling hungry." So then he goes over to a farm nearby and starts eating plants. He eats and eats, until he can move no more. He then turns back and still does not see the Frog. So he says, "Oh! I feel lazy and sleepy, after that big  feast. I am going to take a nap." Then he sleeps and sleeps. He is dreaming about him holding a trophy and everyone cheering and throwing confetti and saying "Go Dino go..."
Meanwhile, the Frog is is hopping at a steady pace. He goes by the river, comes back. As he was about to step on the finish line, he hears the judge Rabbit say, "Bravo you made it!"
The Dino was looking in disbelief, far behind him.
                                                     THE END

Morals from the children-

Do not brag    /  Be happy with what you have  / When you are doing something, do not race and try to finish , but do your best!

Oh, what a joyous moment!

I couldn't have asked for a better moment!
My children have been working hard on units/ tens/ hundreds/ thousands ( the decimal system). I am delighted that they have understood their place values very well. Some also have great number writing skills, while others are improving and working diligently. This morning I introduced number scroll writing. They first started writing units ( ones), then tens. After they completed one decade, they had to glue another strip and so on. Seeing how their number scroll was growing longer... and longer..and eventually wider as well, especially, when they came to the hundreds, they were getting such a kick out of it.  It was delightful to see how much the students were enjoying themselves. They were completely absorbed in what they were doing! They would not stop! Periodically I would quiz them about the numbers they were writing. For example,  I would say, "You are writing 13, how many tens are there, or how many units?" It was delightful to watch them being so involved; pausing to think, and then moving on to write and glue their strips.
I just stopped for five minutes and was observing the joy, in them. This is what they all had to say:  "Oh, math is so much fun." "I do not want to stop, can we PLEASE do this every day?" "Oh, my goodness, I can't believe how long my number scroll is." " When my mom comes to pick me up, I am going to show her my math work." "Can I just go on writing my number, and not go for recess?"

What more could a teacher ask for? :)

It tied in so well because the older students were doing similar activities in math as well, at their level, outdoors. (They were doing scientific notation, measuring on the side walk.) So, when they came to invite our class to come observe them, our children were simply thrilled!

Math: Overview of the Base Ten System ( variations) / enjoy

March: book study / author / illustrator / Aesop's Fables

Aesop's Fables (borrowed from Wikepedia)

Aesop's Fables or Aesopica refers to a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC. His fables are some of the most well known in the world. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today. 

There are so many wonderful authors to choose from. I decided to choose Aesop's Fables because 

 children can discover Aesop's wit and wisdom. They can make connections to the animal characters, whose adventures teach them wonderful life lessons. Each story concludes with a moral that captures the stories theme, still as relevant to children today as it was to the ancient Greeks. I will be reading different versions of Aesop's Fables retold by different authors from around the world. My favorite is from four time Caldecott Honor-winner Jerry Pinkney. His spectacular pictures reflect the singular skill and insight of the fables' original author; through them, one can touch the wisdom of Aesop reaching across time,  from almost 2,600 years ago. 

The children will explore the stories in different ways, including developing their own stories. Our children will make fables on their own or as a team project.

The older children will read fables to the class and then lead a discussion on what values each one of them learned. Parents are encouraged to ask about the moral value and lessons about human virtue.

This is a theme that allows us to develop our skill in language arts, history and culture, and social understanding. Who knows what else the children will discover and bring to our studies?

As a little girl, I loved reading Aesop's Fables, and for the longest time I would remember how very clever the crow was to quench his thirst by adding stones into the pitcher! Another favorite was "The North Wind". I am confident that by the end of this month, our children, too, will have many favorites and will remember them for the rest of their lives

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What can you do with fingers/ toes and shaving cream?

Multiplication by fives and tens!

Learning to write and read!