Peek at the Week of February 28-March 4

Welcome back to school!  It is nice to think about March beginning with Spring weather (hopefully) right around the corner.

We will be starting some new units of study.  In Writing Workshop, we will begin our 2nd non-fiction writing project called "All About______".  During this unit students will be writing about things they consider themselves experts in.  It can be anything from All About Dogs or All About Hockey or All About Ox Ridge.  During this unit we will be practicing writing in complete, factual sentences.  There will be a big emphasis on adding details so instead of just a few sentences there will be paragraphs. 

In Reading Workshop we are beginning a unit on Characters.  This unit will explore concepts such as: main vs. supporting character, making personal connections to characters, character traits and comparing characters.  We will revisit some favorite character series and will also have a chance to learn about new characters.

Dr. Seuss' birthday will be celebrated this Thursday with a breakfast party of Green Eggs & Ham.  I would like to have children bring in any Dr. Seuss books you might have at home.  Please make sure your name is on the book.  The books will be sent home on Friday.

By the middle of this week we should be starting our second math book.  I know everyone is looking forward to a shiny & new math book.



Homework
Monday 2/28
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2. Winter Word Work

Tuesday 3/1
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Math:  Dr. Seuss books

Wednesday 3/2
1.  Read for at least 15 mnutes
2.  Dr. Seuss Fact & Opinion

Thursday 3/3
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Review words for tomorrow's test

Have a great weekend! 

Highlights of the Week February 18

• 
• AGS was a good captain.  (KE)
• We had a Valentine's Day pizza party. (EW)
• We studied animals in Reading Workshop.  (MM) It is called "Buddy Study" (MC).  In a few minutes we will do our group presentations.  (Miss D.)
• EW will be the next captain.  (CH)
• In Writing Workshop we published our How To books.  (AB)  The books are hanging in the hall on the bulletin board.  (KK)  The older kids are reading our books when they wait for their buses.  (JF)
• We are having a school break next week.  (CH)  Vacation will be really fun! (MC)
• Mrs. Mittelstadt had a baby BOY!  (CH) His name is Michael Eric.  I wonder if Mrs. M. will bring him in to visit. (Miss D.)
• In gym we had a pacer test.  We run laps back and forth and we get 2 chances to get passed the black line. (KK)
• In music we played on the drums.  (AK)
• In art we are making colorful pictures.  You make a Valentine scene but you can't use any words.  When you trace over it with a pencil, the picture appears.  (MC)
• Miss Ward is going to take over EVERYTHING after vacation.  (Miss D.)

Peek at the Week of February 14-18

Happy Valentine's Day!

We will have a great time exchanging Valentine's cards.  We will be having a pizza party in our classroom for lunch on Monday, February 14th.  If your child does not like pizza, please make sure they bring in a lunch.

Next week is our February break.  I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing week.

Reading Workshop:  We will wrap up our unit on Non-fiction by doing a special research project called 'Buddy Study'.  Your child will be working with 1 or 2 classmates to study an animal.  They will be making a poster, creating a list of interesting facts and making up quiz questions.  The groups will do their presentations on Friday.

Writing Workshop:  We are finishing our "How To" books this week.  Miss Ward will be starting the second non-fiction unit called "All Abouts" after break.

Math:  The class is excited to be starting the second volume of our math books after break.  They have been watching their first math book get thinner and thinner each month.

HomeworkMonday 2/14
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2. Winter Word Work

Tuesday 2/15
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Math: Mixed Review

Wednesday 2/16
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2. Grammar:  Ask and Tell About Snow

Thursday 2/17
1.  Read for at least 15mintues
2.  Study for tomorrow's spelling assessment

Have a great vacation...see you again on Monday, February 28th!



Highlights of Week February 11

• GS was a good captain.  (KE)
• AGS will be the next captain.  (EW)
• In gym we played floor hockey. (JF)
• We finished our rainbow tracing project. (MM)
• In music we learned a new song.  (AK)  It's called Oliver Twist.  There are hand motions that go along with the song. (CB)
• In Reading Workshop we read fiction books about Valentine's Day.  (DG)
• We chose our favorite How To ideas and are making them into books.  We are using our best handwriting.  (CH)
• We will be publishing our How To books and maybe reading them to another class.  (KK)
• In math, we practiced counting by 10's.  (AB)
• On Day 100 we wrote all the numbers up to 100.  Groups put together 100 piece puzzles.  (AMS)
• KK will be having her 7th birthday tomorrow.  (Miss D.)
• On the 100th day of school it was Miss D.'s birthday.  (JF)  
• CH brought Hootie back and gave him to HB.  (AGS)

Peek at the Week of February 7-11

I am keeping my fingers crossed that we have a "normal" full week of school.  

We are looking forward to Valentine's Day next Monday.  A list of classmates' names will be sent home this Monday (12/7) to assist your child with their cards. 

This week will mark the 100th day of school.  We will do many activities around the theme of 100. 

Homework
Monday 2/7
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Winter Word Work

Tuesday 2/8
1.  Read for at least 15 mintues
2.  Math:  Be My Valentine

Wednesday 2/9
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Word Work:  Mystery Message

Thursday 2/10
1.  Read for at least 15 minutes
2.  Review your words for tomorrow's assessment

Have a great weekend!

Mystery Reader

AS was happy to have her mom come to our classroom to read a few poems and a book.  It was a great visit!

Animals in Motion

We had a visit from Ioa.  She brought some animals from the Darien Nature Center.  We were able to see how animals move and learned about how an animal's body is specially designed for its environment.  A phrase we learned was "Eyes in front hunt.  Eyes on the side hide."

Mystery Reader

DG's mom and sister came to our class to share a few books.  It was great!