Book Spine Poetry

 One more thing about books, though I am sure it won't be the last! I heard a lot about book spine poetry and while I like reading books on my I pad, I still enjoy a good old fashioned book. Here is something different to do with your book collection. The possibilities are endless  - and children's book titles work just as well! I hope you give it a try and please feel free to share your creations!

The Importance of Reading

Each time I walk by the library I enjoy seeing our students cuddled up in a corner with a book. On Friday for example, our 5^th  graders read together with their Kindergarten buddies. Both groups look forward to this hour all week. The older students carefully choose books that their kindergarten buddies might enjoy and read to them in German. We are lucky enough to have a library stocked with books for every interest and ability level. One skill we work on with students is how to recognize and choose a good book. We all know this takes some practice. I see students picking up a book, looking at the title and the cover, reading the summary or asking a friend for a recommendation. If we are lucky, they find a series they like and continue reading all the books in that series. But what do we do when they finish the last book?  I see that as a great problem to have!  Here is a web tool that can help you and your child find a book you might be interested in based on previous preferences. The following is an example for the author Astrid Lindgren Literature Map . Just type an author’s name and see what the tool suggests. Enjoy!   

 
This coming Friday we will celebrate "Read Across America" in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday. A perfect reason to read with the whole family.

Happy reading!

Why?

Can your child drive you crazy by asking "why" all day long? The reason children ask this question is because they have a curious, inquisitive mind that is never ever satisfied with your answer. This is how they learn. When they get older, they sometimes loose their interest in asking questions and would rather get to an answer quickly. Our job as teachers (and parents) is it to keep their natural curiosity alive so that they can continue to learn for their own benefit and not because we ask them to.
So next time they answer a question for you, why not turn around and ask them "why"? Even a simple math problem can turn into an activity of higher level thinking skills - thanks to the power of "why". Our upcoming science fair is another great opportunity to foster curious minds. There is still plenty of time to explore!
If you are interested in learning more about how you can take this to the next level, follow this link.
Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom's Taxonomy- is one of the tools teachers use in the classroom to develop questions on differentiated levels.

100th day of school

This week we are celebrating the 100th day of school. 100 days of learning and growing here at GSP! But learning is not limited to our students here at GSP.
A famous Chinese proverb says:

“Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back"

In that sense we as teachers are taking Feb 15 to hone our skills. In the morning, grade school teachers will continue their work on our curricula, which focuses on Sachkunde (social studies and science) and we will learn together about applications of a competency based curriculum while preschool and kindergarten teachers will participate in a workshop with focus on early childhood development. In the afternoon we will all work together on our communication and writing skills.
I personally can say that I learn something here every day. I learn from our teaching team how to be a better teacher, I learn from our students by seeing the world through their eyes and I learn from you as parents through our ongoing conversations.
Let's make sure we all learn something new every day!

Welcome!

There's always a first time. Welcome to our new GSP blog of learning adventures!
As we are approaching the 100th day of school I want to try something new for us.
Those of you who got to know me a little over the last 1 1/2 years know how much I like to talk technology. Like most of you I juggle work, my kids' busy schedule and just plain life on a daily basis and I am continuously trying to find better ways to communicate.
So here is something new to help our community members experience more about what happens on a regular basis: Our own GSP blog.
I am hoping to share insights about daily life at GSP, special events and interesting ideas about what we all can do to support our children in becoming better learners.
This is work in progress and I am asking for your suggestions and comments to make our learning community even stronger.
Until next time.
Herzliche Gruesse,

Stefanie Amann
 

Ahh Science!

Have you been to the science lab lately? Our 5th grade students are growing a variety of crystals and are learning about solutions. In the science AG this week, the students were exploring different forms of erosion. Here students are working together to create ocean waves that will slowly erode the pretty beach that Frau Ramadan and Frau Wester had set up - all for the advancement of science!
When I talked to the students they were eager to share the experiments and what they found out. Throughout their time in the lab they learned about the process of scientific inquiry, how to follow written instructions, observe and draw conclusions - all skills that we are focusing on in our classroom, too.
If you are interested in trying a little science experiment at home, try this recipe for quicksand ooze and see hands and toys disappear Quicksand Ooze recipe