Peek at the Week of December 19-23

The excitement has been building all month for the holidays!  Friday, December 23rd will be an Early Dismissal schedule.  This week we have a couple of fun things planned. 

On Wednesday we will have our Holiday Breakfast at 9:30.  Thank you to teh Batsons for providing the bagels; the Nawrockis for the cream cheese, butter and jelly; the Bocks for the fruit salad; the Schlein/Kroenleins for the juice;  and the Millers for the cups, napkins, plates and forks. 

 At the breakfast we will do the Grab Bag.  Your child will come home with a gift.  Homework on Wednesday night is to write a thank you letter to the person whose gift you opened.  Thank you for sending in the $10 gifts.

On Friday morning we will join the rest of the school at the annual sing-a-long.  The entire school only gets together twice a year, so this is a fun time.

Homework
Monday 12/19
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 12/20
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Character Present (you can choose your favorite story book character)

Wednesday 12/21
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Write a Thank You note to your grab bag gift-giver

Thursday 12/22
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Review for tomorrow's spelling test.

Have a wonderful Christmas...see you in the new year!!!

Highlights of the Week December 16

• It was AP's birthday this week. (Miss D.)
• We had our Cookie Party yesterday.  (RH)
• We all brought in different types of cookies.  We all took 1 of each cookie.  (MF)
• At the cookie party we watched a short Alvin and the Chipmunks video.  We drank hot chocolate with candy canes, marshmallows and a cake ball.  (MK)
• We had a vote to see which movie we were going to watch.  (MF)  Snoopy got 3 votes and Alvin got 15 votes.
• We learned about a holiday called St. Nicholas' Day.  It is on December 5th.  Kids in parts of Europe leave their shoes on the windowsill so they can get candy. If you are naughty, you get a devil doll.  (EC)
• In Sweden, they celebrate St. Lucia's Day.  They have a parade and the girls have to wear white robes with a red sash and a crown of candles.  (RH)
• The boys don't have to dress up for St. Lucia's Day.  (CH)
• This week our classroom elf, Jingle, showed up the day after we read his book and went to his website.  So far he has hidden on the flagpole and in an old basket above the cubbies.  (BS)
• We started a new tradition for Fun Fridays.  If we have time at the end of the day, we will play Bingo.  (AP)
• If we play today, I will be the Bingo caller because I won the last game last week.  (SS)
• MF was the first person to win at Bingo.  (MF)

Cookie Day!!!

We had a great time at the "North Pole Bakery" today!  Our classroom was smelling delicious all day long.  I hope all the families enjoyed the treats!

Elf on the Shelf

Today we read a great book called "Elf on the Shelf" by Carol Aebersold and Chandra Bell.  We are waiting for our classroom elf, Jingle, to appear in our room.  For now we will have to just enjoy visiting Jingle's website.

Peek at the Week of December 12-16

This Thursday afternoon we will have our much anticipated Cookie Exchange Party.  There are 20 students in the class, so please make sure you send in at least 20 cookies.  Thank you in advance to the Demarks for the cups & napkins, the Nawrockis for providing the hot cocoa mix & marshmallows and the Patricellis for the candy cane stirrers.  Each child will be bringing home a BIG plate of cookies.  They will get to eat 1 cookie with their cup of cocoa here at school.  It should be a fun time!

Our little tree has a few presents underneath it, but will look even better when all the grab bag gifts are in.  Please send in the grab bag gifts this week.  (The actual grab bag 'game' will take place next Wednesday, December 21 at our breakfast party.)

Reading Workshop:  We have been enjoying many winter/holiday themed books this month.  We have been paying careful attention to the characters in our books and noticing what they say, how they act, things they like/dislike, etc. 

Writing Workshop:  Our Realistic Fiction books are all published and look great!  We have been enjoying reading each other's stories and can't wait to bring the hardcover books home to share with our families.  Our focus for December is writing persuasive letters.  We will start this week.  The children will be expected to think about something they want and will have to come up with reasons to support their idea.  We will be writing to Miss Judy in the cafeteria telling her what new lunch item she should consider offering;  Mr. Rechi & Mr. Foreshaw to tell them an idea we have to make our school even better; Santa convincing him that Rudolph deserves a job and also a letter explaining how good we have been.  It should be interesting to see the reasons that the students develop.

Math:  We took our Unit 4 assessment last Friday.  We will begin Unit 5 this week.  This week's topics are:
-Writing related addition stories
-Using the "Turnaround" fact to add
-Adding 1,2 or 3 to a teen number
-Finding parts equal to a given total
-Adding more than two numbers

Homework
Monday 12/12
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 12/13
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Math:  The Jolly Family

Wednesday 12/14
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Bake your cookies!

Thursday 12/15
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Review words for tomorrow's spelling test.

Have a great week!

Computer Zone

Let's try out this holiday themed math game.

There is also a Christmas word search puzzle to try. And you can also try the Hanukkah word search puzzle too!

Highlights of the Week December 9

• This week we went to the Maritime Center.  (CC)
• At the Maritime Center we got to touch stingrays. (MF)
• At the Maritime Center there was a shark tank.  There were scuba divers.  Their names were Chris and Scott and Santa!  (BS)
• We saw a movie called "Born to be Wild".  It shows how elephant and orangutan babies are taught how to be wild.  (CH)
• The animals need to be kept wild so that they will not be in danger when they go back to live in the wild jungle.  (SS)
• In the movie there was an elephant whose tail got bit off by a hyena attack.  (RH)
• The movie was shown at an IMAX theater.  IMAX means Image Maximum.  (MF)
• The movie screen was as big as a 6-foot building. (MK)
• At the Maritime Center we saw jellyfish.  There was also a giant toy boat that kids can play on.  (MF)
• In gym there was a substitute teacher.  His name was Mr. S.  We got to play Sit the whole time.  It was super fun!  (AP)
• In gym we played hockey.  (MF)
• For our warm-up we used hula hoops.  (SS)
• In art we made pictures with leaves.  (RM)
• In music we played the wood blocks.  (AM)
• In music we played with the popsicle sticks to make patterns.  (BS)
• In music we played the triangles.  (KB)

Peek at the Week of December 5-9

It was nice meeting with you last week at conferences.  If you still have the report card envelope at home, please sign it and sent in back to school.

I sent home a 2-sided memo last week about our two classroom holiday celebrations.  The Cookie Exchange will be next Thursday, December 15th.  The Grab Bag gifts should be sent in by next Friday, December 16th.  The Grab Bag will take place on Wednesday, December 21 at our Breakfast Party.

This Thursday is our field trip to the Maritime Center.  We will be seeing many exhibits and animals and will also get a chance to see an IMAX movie.  We will be eating lunch at the Maritime Center, so please make sure your child has a lunch packed.  It is easier if it is a "brown bag" lunch so that everything can be thrown away so that your child will not have to keep track of their lunchbox after lunch.

Homework
Monday 12/5
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Winter Word Work (a few new choices have been added to the 'menu')

Tuesday 12/6
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Winter Wreath Story Problem

Wednesday 12/7
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Snowman  Story

Thursday 12/8
1.  Read for at lest 10 minutes
2.  Review for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Highlights of the Week December 2

• In gym, we played hockey in the gym.  (ED)
• We played Sit for the warm-up. (AP)
• In gym we didn't have to run around the gym.  (MF)
• When we played Sit, is was hockey sit.  (BS)
• In music we made patterns with popsicle sticks. (KD)
• Some kids in our class went to see the 'Science Genie'.  He put a cup in gas and the cup melted.  (MF)
• The Science Genie put electricity in a pickle.  The pickle started glowing.  (MK)
• The Scientist put a sock in a bottle and he lit it up with fire.  The sock exploded.  (JN)
• The scientist had arches.  He pushed a circle on the track.  The circle didn't make it, but the square did.  (MF)
• He put a hole in a potato and it launched like a rocket.  It hit the door. (MF)
• A storyteller  came to our school.  He told a story about a dog and a bunny.  (CC)
• He also told about a girl who went into the forest.  (ES)
• He changed his voice to match the characters.  (RM)
• The storyteller asked us what kind of animals had horns.  (MF)  He asked us to name vegetables.  (EC)
• Some kids got their hardcover books published.  (BS)
• We illustrated our hardcover books with details.  (AM)
• Some kids brought in their brother and sisters' hardcover books to show to the class.  (AP)
• We got our new report cards.  Our parents came for conferences.  (SS)
• AM was a great captain.  (Miss D.)
• We switched seats for the new month of December.  (KN)
• MK and EC were the Citizens of the month of November.  (RM)

Peek at the Week of November 28 - December 2

Parent-Teacher conferences will be held this week.  Tuesday through Friday will be Early Dismissal days for students.

Please sign and return the white report card envelope.  You may keep the actual report card.

A two-sided memo will be in your child's backpack today explaining our two classroom holiday celebrations.  The Cookie Exchange party will be on Thursday, December 15th (no homework the night before!).  The class breakfast & grab bag will be on Wednesday, December 21st.  The memo has all the information.  Please keep the memo for future reference.



Homework
Monday 11/28
1.  Read for at least 10 mintues
2.  Fall Word Work

Tuesday 11/29
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Sentence Scramble

Wednesday 11/30
1. Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Fall for a Good Book Report

Thursday 12/1
1.  Read for at least 10 minutes
2.  Review for tomorrow's spelling test

Have a great week!

Peek at the Week of November 21-25

This will be a very short week of school.  Full days on Monday and Tuesday and a 1:30 Early Dismissal on Wednesday.  There is no school on Thurday and Friday. 

There will not be any Words Their Way lists or assessments this week.

We will celebrate Thanksgiving in our classroom with a Pie Party on Tuesday 11/22.  Thank you to the families for sending in the apple and pumpkin pies.

Thank you for sending in the Maritime Center money...our class is all set!

Progress Reports (aka 'Report Cards') will be coming home with your child this Wednesday.  If your child won't be in school on Wednesday, please email me and I'll try to send it home soorner.

No written homework this week, however, reading each evening should still be happening.

Have a wonderful & safe Thanksgiving Weekend!

Cranberry & Pumpkin Tasting

This past Friday we had a special class party.  Some of our moms brought in cranberry juice, Craisins, cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread, pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin pie.  We watched a short video clip that showed how cranberries are harvested.  It is an interesting process!

Darien Historical Society Trip

We had a great time at the Darien Historical Society.  We learned what life was like for the children and adults who lived in Darien during the "olden days".  

Apple Tasting Day

Back in September we had an apple tasting party.  We tried apple cider, apple juice, apple sauce, apple chips, apple pie and apple bread.  Yum!

Autumn Mystery Readers

We had some terrific Mystery Readers visit our classroom this fall.  Do you recognize any of the people in these photos?

Highlights of the Week November 18

• This afternoon we will have a cranberry and pumpkin tasting party.  (AM)
• We will try cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie and pumpkin seeds and cranberry juice and pumpkin bread. (AP & MF)
• We saw an author in the library.  She is a friend of Mrs. Fiordelisi from TLC.  They met in yoga class.  Her book is called "The Magic Within".  (EC)
• Today is BB's birthday.  He is sick.  (BS)
• It is Mr. Bartold's birthday.  (EC)
• MK was the captain this week.  (MF)
• In Writing Workshop we drafted Realistic Fiction stories.  (CH)
• We practiced writing our upper and lower case letters.  We are going to try our best to make our work nice and neat.  Miss Dineen says, "If it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing it well."  (Miss D.)
• In Reading Workshop we learned about what characters do.  This is called character's actions.  We can learn about a character by how they act.  (KN)
• We got new book shopping lists.  Everyone is going to try to read harder books and series.  (KB)
• In gym we played Castle.  (JN)
• In art we finished our pictures of our bedrooms.  (SS)
• One day ago we had art.  It was the last time to finish our art project.  (MF)
• Two days ago we played 4-Corners in our room.  I won the last round.  ED won the first round.  ES won the second round.  (MF)
• We will take a spelling test in a minute.  (RH)
• Soon in writing workshop we are going to publish 1 story.  (KN)

Scholastic Book Orders

If you are interested in ordering from this month's Scholastic Book Order, please place all orders online (or send in the order slip & check) by this Friday, November 18th.  I will submit the order over the weekend.