The snow is finally starting to come down, a little bit anyway! When it does, there is no need to send the children to school dressed in their snowpants. They can bring them in a bag (a reusable grocery bag works great). The children will go outside everyday unless it is unusually cold. If they are wearing their snowpants they are permitted to go on the grass. If they are not wearing them they are only allowed to stay on the blacktop. Please make sure that your child's name is in all of their gear. Many times the children do not recognize their belongings. If you have extra set of snowpants and would like your child to keep a pair here instead of carting them back and forth each day, just write me a note and I will keep them until the Spring.
This week we have been practicing # order in our math lessons. We have been focusing on the # before, the # after, and the # in between. While doing this we have been concentrating very hard on # formation and trying not have any 'backwards alerts'. I see improvement, as they say "Practice makes perfect!" We have also been focusing on the vocabulary more, less, and greater than.
I am continually amazed each day in our Writer's Workshop. All of the children are doing a good job of getting sounds down for the words that they are writing. We have continued writing narratives, 'true' stories. In our writing we are learning to include who, where, what and how we felt about what happened. This is a lot to think and write about, that is why our unit goes to the end of January!
We discussed 'getting ready for winter' this week - both how people
do so and the different things that animals do. We learned many
interesting facts about some of the animals that live in our area and created a
project concentrating on the chipmunk.
On Wednesday we participated in the district's 'Hour of Code'. We learned a bit about what a computer programmer does and did some coding/sequencing activities to see how important each step in coding is. We had a fun time!
Today when Mrs. Palaygi came into our class she spoke with the children about 'I messages'. They go something like this: "I feel ______________ when you ______________. Please _____." The children did a great job practicing these messages. We will continue to reinforce using them throughout our day. To go along with this, the children are working hard on using kind words/actions with each other each day. When they 'get caught' doing so, their name gets put into a bucket. At the end of the morning and again at the end of our day names are pulled out and a special certificate is sent home. It is our goal for everyone to get at least one each week! So far, so good!
Thank you to Dexter's Grandmother for being our Mystery Reader this
week!
BCSD Holiday Food Drive - Thank you to all who contributed! We collected a great deal of food!
Conversation Starters:
- What are some animals that stay around the area in the winter? (cardinal, bluejays, deer)
- What does a chipmunk like to eat? (berries, seeds, worms)
- Does a bear hibernate all winter long? (No, they are light hibernators which means that if is it a warm day, they may wake up and go outside their den to look for food before going back to sleep.)
How You Can Help:
- Be sure to label your child's outerwear. Please practice with your child getting their snow gear on by themselves.
- Continue doing the Monthly Activity Guide and weekly Homework Journal with your child. When doing the journal, be sure to do all that it asks. Some of the children are forgetting to do the writing piece.
- Please do the Family Tradition page for our class book with your child and return it by next Wednesday.
- Read daily with your child. Visit the public library!
- Practice addresses and phone #'s with your child. They are super at their birthday's now!
- Please remember to send sneakers to school for your child to put on if they are wearing boots to school that day. If it is a P.E. day and they do not have sneakers, they cannot participate in the P.E. class.
Looking Ahead:
- Someone Special Reminder: Drew Fabian
- Letters reviewed next week: Yy, Yellow Yak; Zz, Zeke Zebra
