Happy Winter Vacation!

We hope your winter break is off to a wonderful start and you are enjoying some special time with family and friends. Here are some highlights from our week.

Watching Happy Feet with our third grade Reading Buddies:

 Enjoying Extra Choice time with special toys from home:

 Playing Word Wall Word Bingo:

Enjoy our class gift, Magna Tiles:

We wrapped up our Science Unit on Light and Shadows. Here are some of the things we have learned:

• ·     Light comes from the sun, the stars, flashlights, electricity, hot stuff.
• ·     Light is important because if you don’t have any light, you couldn’t see.
• ·     Light helps us live because it helps trees, and flowers and plants grow. Light helps trees grow and we breathe air that comes from trees.
• ·     If we didn’t have light we couldn’t do things like homework, seeing, play basketball, find things, go places, read regular books, see pictures, see your food, watch tv, or play laser tag.
• ·     Shadows come out when the sun or moon are out.
• ·     You need a source of light to make a shadow.
• ·     The light from the sun comes something blocks the light.
• ·     The shadow is the dark space from blocking the light.
• ·     When we put the light close to the block, it gets bigger
• ·     G- If you put the flashlight on top you get a small shadow.
• ·     When you put the flashlight on the side it gets longer.
• ·     When you change the angle of the light, the shadow changes.  …
• ·     When you put it on top, the shadow gets shorter.
• ·     You can change the shadow by moving yourself or moving the light.
• ·     Reflecting is when the light bounces off of something.
• ·     Shiny things make light reflect, light CD’s, spoons, crystals, mirrors, whiteboards, diamonds, and glass.
• ·     Things that can let a lot of light shine through: windows, plastic bag, plastic wrap.
• ·     Things that let some light through: tissue, dryer sheets, wax paper.
• ·     Clear things let a lot of light through.
• ·     Things with little holes or things that are thin and kind of clear can let some light through. 

CONGRATULATIONS 1MC

We filled our Marble Jar! Now its time to celebrate! We have done lots and lots of Smart Thinking and acts of Bravery to fill this jar. This required lots of teamwork and self- control for the children and we are very proud of this accomplishment.

The children suggested ideas and we voted. Here are the winning party details:

*Movie

*Bring one toy to play with at extra choice time

*Cotton Candy

  

LOGISTICAL NOTES:

If your child would like to bring a toy, please be sure it is clearly labeled with your child’s name and does not have small parts that could get lost or broken. Please keep super special, valuable toys at home. Toys will stay secure in backpacks until choice time.

We will select an appropriate rated G movie to watch on the Smart Board. Students will have an opportunity to read or draw if they lose interest in the movie.

I will try my hardest to find cotton candy. We will enjoy a small amount during one part of the day. I will bring another treat for children that do not like cotton candy. If you have dietary concerns about cotton candy, please let me know. Please send a regular healthy snack. Lunch will happen as usual. 

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IMPORTANT DATES

·      Friday, December 21^st: Winter Vacation begins at 2:20 pm. This is a full school day. Lunch is served.

·      Wednesday, January 2^nd, Classes resume, full school day.

MARBLE JAR CELEBRATION!

We are very close to filling our Bravery & Smart Thinking Marble Jar. Children have been able to put marbles in the jar following smooth transitions, positive group work, and group teamwork. This is a huge accomplishment that we have been working towards since October. The class has really worked hard at building a caring community. In celebration of this, we will have a celebration, likely on Wednesday. We will talk about ideas for this celebration once we fill the jar. Celebrations in the past have included pajama days, movies, pizza party, extra choice time or recess…. We will talk as a class about these options and vote on 2-3 ways to celebrate. We will start fresh filling a new marble jar after our celebration.

COLD WEATHER and SLIPPERS

We will go outside for recess every day, unless it is raining. As the weather gets colder, please be sure to send appropriate outdoor clothing. This currently includes sweatshirts, jackets, and sometimes rain boots. In the winter, this will include heavy winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, boots and snow pants.

Also, during the chilly boot-weather months, it is an option to bring slippers (with rubber, non-slip soles) to school. This will make for easy indoor-outdoor transitions, and give a warm and cozy feeling to the day. Your child is welcome to bring slippers (labeled with his or her name) and leave them in the classroom rather than take them home every day. We will have a place in the classroom to store slippers instead of leaving them in cubbies overnight.

   

If your child is missing a jacket or sweatshirt, please check the school Lost and Found, across the hall from the Main office.

MATH

Last week, we looked closely at nickels. We began adding pennies and nickels and practiced counting by 5’s. We will continue to practice these skills this week. We also wrapped up learning a new logical thinking game. Out Math Specialist, Ms. Boss, has been teaching small groups a first grade version of the game Set. This game challenges us to think critically about shape, color, and numbers.

WORD WALL WORDS:

Last week’s words:  

with     that     this      she      he

Last week, we will focus on words with CH, SH, TH, and WH. We talked about how the “h” changes the sound of the letter.

I am attaching a complete list of the Word Wall Words so far. Please keep this list at home and review these words with your child.           

SCIENCE

During projects this week, we are exploring what objects reflect light. We are also observing that shadows take the shape of the objects that block the light. We are showing this by creating silhouettes. Children have written clues about themselves to help. See if you can find your child. (All silhouettes will be complete by the end of this week.

CRYSTAL Recipe

We had so much fun making crystals last week. Many families were interested in the recipe.  I tripled this recipe for each child to make sure we fully submerged the pipe cleaners.

    * 1 cup boiling water

* 3 tablespoons Borax powder (sold in the laundry detergent aisle of most grocery stores)

* Glass Jar or other container (with a mouth wide enough to fit your pipe cleaner shape)

    * Pipe cleaners

    * String

    * Pencil (or popsicle stick)

1. Mix 3 tablespoons (one at a time, making sure each tablespoon is dissolved before adding the next) of borax to 1 cup of boiling water and stir until dissolved. (Some Borax will settle at the bottom of the jar, but solution should appear cloudy at first)

2.Bend a pipe cleaner into the desired shape, then tie a string to the pipe cleaner and tie the other end to the middle of a pencil.

3. Immerse the pipe cleaner in the borax solution and then place the pencil across the top of the glass or cup. The pipe cleaner should be suspended in the middle of the cup without touching the sides or bottom.

4. Allow the solution to sit overnight. Within 24 hours, a thick layer of "snow" crystals will have formed on the pipe cleaner.

Variations~ use colored pipe cleaners or add food coloring to Borax/ water solution

DINO STOMP

Also, by popular demand, the DINO STOMP link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGA1rYOrbUo&list=PLFhoJmwi7NPutVuDrWOC7FOYNyT9DvAfH&index=14

or just go to Youtube and search for “Koo Koo Kangaroo, Dance-A- Long Video, Dinosaur Stomp”.

COMMUNITY

The Devotion Calendars were picked up this afternoon. They will be sorted and delivered this week.  It will be wonderful to see the final product. Following vacation, we will learn about how much money we raised and what that money will be able to buy. If you missed the chance to pre-order calendars, you can still stop in the office and purchase a calendar.

VACATIONS and APPOINTMENTS

It is very helpful for us to know ahead of time if your child will be out of school. Please let us know if you will be taking a trip and missing school or if your child will be coming in late due to an appointment. 

ASK YOUR CHILD…

These questions can be conversation starters to discuss the week in school.

·      What is your favorite Gingerbread story? Why do you like that story the best?

·      What are some things you or the class has done to earn a marble?

·      How much money would you have with 3 nickels and 2 pennies?

Weekly News

IMPORTANT DATES

·  Friday, December 21^st: Winter Vacation begins at 2:20 pm. This is a full school day. Lunch is served.

WELCOME SMARTBOARD

After a whirlwind day on Tuesday, our SmartBoard was installed. We hit the ground running and have used this technology for 2-3 activities a day, including: attendance, math games, viewing presentations, and the ever-exciting “Dino Stomp” dance! We are still learning the ins and outs of this technology so some activities go more smoothly than others. But the children love seeing things on the big screen and it is especially fun to come up to the screen and move things around. Stay tuned for more updates and activities.

FAMILY BREAKFAST

We will celebrate all of the great work in 1MC with a family breakfast in January. The breakfast will be held on a Thursday morning from 8-8:45. This will be an opportunity for your child to show you around the classroom and to share their great work with you. Any important people (parents, grandparents, siblings, babysitters) are invited. If you are unable to attend, please let us know and we will be sure to invite a special teacher for your child to share his or her accomplishments with. (Exact date to be confirmed and a breakfast sign-up sheet will also follow).

COLD WEATHER and SLIPPERS

We will go outside for recess every day, unless it is raining. As the weather gets colder, please be sure to send appropriate outdoor clothing. This currently includes sweatshirts, jackets, and sometimes rain boots. In the winter, this will include heavy winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, boots and snow pants.

Also, during the chilly boot-weather months, it is an option to bring slippers (with rubber, non-slip soles) to school. This will make for easy indoor-outdoor transitions, and give a warm and cozy feeling to the day. Your child is welcome to bring slippers (labeled with his or her name) and leave them in the classroom rather than take them home every day. We will have a place in the classroom to store slippers instead of leaving them in cubbies overnight.

   

If your child is missing a jacket or sweatshirt, please check the school Lost and Found, across the hall from the Main office.

THANK YOU

A big thank you to Roy and his family for sharing Dreidels and Chocolate coins with us. We had such a fun time learning about this Hannukah tradition and playing the game with partners. Many children who were familiar with the game made excellent partners for children just learning the game.

MATH

We continued working with word problems and practicing our addition and subtraction skills this week. We also began to explore U.S. coins, starting with the penny. For projects, we observed pennies closely using a jewelers loupe (a magnifying tool). We notices the details of the coin. We also discussed that a penny is worth 1 cent, so it you have 5 pennies, you have 5 cents, or 3 pennies = 3 cents. We will learn about nickels this week.

WORD WALL WORDS:

Last week’s words:   no  come    kick     black    clock

This week, three of our Word Wall Words have a ck at the end. We learned that these two letters stick together to make the “k” sound.  

This week’s words:   with     that     this      she      he

This week, we will focus on words with CH, SH, TH, and WH. We will talk about how the “h” changes the sound of the letter.            

SCIENCE

During projects last week, we explored the different materials that light can or cannot show through. On Friday, began to learn about shadows by reading MoonBear’s Shadow. We discussed that in order to make a shadow you need a light source (like the sun or a light) and an object to block the light. We also used the SmartBoard and the website: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/light_shadows.swf to explore what happens to the size and shape of a shadow as the light source moves. This week, we will continue to explore shadows and how shadows can change.

COMMUNITY

The Devotion Calendar went off to print on Friday. We should receive finished calendars at the end of this week and they will be distributed at the beginning of next week.

Devotion Calendar order forms went home this week. Order forms can be turned in to the classroom or the main office. If you need additional order forms, just let us know. Calendars for $5 each and all profits will be donated to Heifer International.

Last week, we read Beatrice’s Goat, which illustrates how giving one goat to one family can impact a whole town! During projects, students discussed and illustrated ways that on goat helped Beatrice’s family in big ways! Beatrice’s family got milk to drink from the goat. They sold the extra milk to other families and earned money. The goat also had 2 babies that Beatrice’s family sold to other families in their village. With that money, Beatrice’s family could buy clothes and supplies so that she could go to school. They also made enough money to replace their straw roof with a steel roof to keep the rain out.

VACATIONS and APPOINTMENTS

It is very helpful for us to know ahead of time if your child will be out of school. Please let us know if you will be taking a trip and missing school or if your child will be coming in late due to an appointment. 

ASK YOUR CHILD…

These questions can be conversation starters to discuss the week in school.

·  How did the goat help Beatrice’s family?

·  What songs did we sing in Music class this week?

·  What was your favorite activity on the SmartBoard so far?