Winter Gear

Have all of you been stocking up on new outdoor winter gear for the kids?  Please remember to mark each item in some way with your child's name.  This will make getting ready for outdoor time SO MUCH easier for everyone.  Have you ever seen a dozen pair of black snow pants hanging up side by side with most of their owners debating whose is whose?  I have. Trust me... things get ugly pretty quickly. 

"What size do you wear?" "I don't know."
"Do your snow pants have suspenders?" "Last year they did."  "What did my Mom get me this year?" (Do they really think I go shopping with them?)
"What color mittens did you wear today?" 
"Mittens?  Did I wear mittens today?"

You get my point.  Please, please, please help us out & get this part done before the first snow.  The kids & I really appreciate it!


We are having such a busy week!

Social Studies:  
Thank you so much for doing the Long Ago & Today homework with your child.  Everyone was so proud to share what they did at home with the class.  It really helps them begin to see that the world has changed.  This week we are learingn about the Native Americans, Christopher Columbus, and some of the first American settlers.  We will be making a time-line throughout this unit to help the children understand the passage of time.

Writing: 
 We are studying the author's craft by taking a look at different ways authors make their stories interesting.  Here is a picture of what we've noticed about George McClements' Night of the Veggie Monster.  

Math: 
This week we are introducing analog and digital clocks.  They will need to know how to tell time to the hour on both types of clocks for this unit, but I encourage you to start talking about time with your child at home.  These every day, authentic conversations really help the children's understanding of clocks grow quickly.

Word Study:  
Everyone should have received their child's PicCollage about verbs on Tuesday.  They had so much fun acting these out and working collaboratively with one another. Here are some snapshots I took of the children working on this project:

Reminder:  There is no school on Friday.