Well, that was a short week!
Reminders and things to know
Exclusion day is coming up on February 15. Please be sure your child's vaccination records are up-to-date!
Report cards are coming home on Tuesday, February 7. Please be sure to look for them!
Valentine's Day: Ms. Black has requested, and I concur, that we do NOT have Valentine's Day parties this year, in an effort to stay focused on learning and making up for all of those lost days. We have finally settled back into our routine, and we have much to do! On that Tuesday, students MAY bring Valentines (if they choose to bring them, they must bring one for each person in class--we have 27 children total) if they would like. Students will have about twenty minutes at the end of the day to deliver and enjoy them. We will do some writing about Valentine's Day, as well as some reading about the history of the holiday. Thank you for your understanding.
Upcoming week
Language Arts
Spelling: A new unit, with new words and concepts. Please click here for the word list and concepts (or click on "Spelling Words" above anytime you like).
Writing: We will continue our work on small moments stories, inspired by Owl Moon, a beautiful picture book by Jane Yolen. Students are working on their own small moment they brainstormed, centered around a special moment with a parent or other loved one. Students will "zoom in" on a particular moment to add even more detail, to bring their writing alive. We should make it to publication by the end of next week, hopefully!
Reading: We will be reading about the biblioburro of Columbia. We will also learn about the experiences of a National Geographic photographer helping a boy whose sheep herd was destroyed by a speeding truck.
Math
We will finish up our subtraction unit, focusing on story problems involving subtraction.
Content area studies (Social Studies)
We will continue to learn about communities around the world, and the ways everyday people help each other. We will also begin the production of some of Aesop's fables as several small plays. We would love to have you come watch on the afternoon of Friday, February 24, in our classroom, if you are able to! More details and an invitation to come in the next week or so.
Week in review
Language Arts
Spelling: We wrapped up unit 7!
Writing: We started "small moments" stories, and worked to start with a general feeling or moment, and then elaborated from there.
Reading: We read proverbs about helping, as well as a folk tale and more fables.
Math
We worked very hard on subtraction with regrouping. Part of the challenge is taking the time to slow down and see if we even need to regroup. Students showed a LOT of growth over the course of the week, and I am confident we will all get it in the next week or so.
Content area studies (Social Studies)
We enjoyed some painting to accompany our proverbs, and also played a lot of catch-up with our reading unit.
