Getting Ready for March Madness!

     There is a lot of excitement in the air for the beginning of March.  Not only will it hopefully bring warmer weather or at least weather that will allow the kids to get outside, but it is also the start of our Picture Book March Madness! 
     For the past few weeks, the kids have been getting ready for March Madness by reading a variety of fiction and nonfiction picture books.  They have been exposed to a lot of great picture books and have been taking some notes about each book.  Next week, we will take the 32 picture books and begin the "MADNESS." 
    Each day books will be going "head to head," and the kids will get to vote for their favorite.  We will start with 32, then narrow it down to 16, 8 and then the final four.  By the end of March, we will have the favorite picture book of our class!
     Be sure to have your child update you on our picture book "bracket."
    

Snow Fort Math



     The kids were so happy to be at school on Friday!  Not only was it a delayed opening, but it was Valentine's Day and our Snow Fort Day!  It was such a great day full of fun, lots of laughs, and teamwork!

 

     On Wednesday, the kids were given a project in math to create a snow fort for a "Winter Celebration."  They were going to be builders of these snow forts, so they needed to use what they had learned in math to help them determine the dimensions of the forts.  Like real builders, the kids need to meet certain criteria for their fort.  They needed to create a fort with 2 rooms, a walkway, and a shed (for snowballs of course)!  After creating their design on grid, the kids figured out the area and perimeter of each room, walkway, and the shed. They were going to put what they learned in math to work in the real world! 

 

     It was so awesome to see all of the great teamwork that went into creating the snow fort design on Wednesday.  The kids were "talking" math while having lots of fun with their classmates!

 

     On Friday afternoon, the builders went outside to start their forts.  Armed with snow block makers, small bins, and their plans, they set out into the freshly fallen snow behind our classroom.  The small groups got right to work.  Some groups realized that they needed to adjust their space and dimensions of their fort because of the space that they had chosen.  Many groups came up with a "system" for making snow blocks as quickly as possible.  There was so much teamwork happening in the snow on Friday afternoon. 

 

     It was so much fun to see the kids having so much fun on Friday, but knowing that they were learning and applying area and perimeter problems in the real world! 

 

     Some kids talked about coming back to finish their forts over vacation! 

 

     I hope everyone has a great vacation!  Stay warm!

All of the builders hard at work!

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day!

Next Friday, February 14^th, we will exchange cards for Valentine’s Day.  I am attaching a class list if your child would like to bring in cards for the students in our class.  I just ask that you don’t send in any candy/unhealthy snacks so that we can follow the food policy in the student handbook. 

If you have any questions, please let me know.

 

 

Sam

Bella

Michaela

Caitlin

Lily

Ryan

Cliff

Emma

JJ

Kal

Fiona

AJ

Matt

Riley

Sebastian

Sarah

David

Charles

Abbey

                                                       

Working with Your Child at Home...

I know parents sometimes are looking for activities that they can do with their child at home to reinforce what is going on in school.  I have put together a list of some ideas that you could have your child try at home.

Reading:

• As  you know, it is so important for students to be reading at home.  Getting any extra "dose" of reading ultimately helps them become better readers.  Reading can be done in quick "bursts" as well.  For example, while waiting at the doctor's office, while driving to the store, when waiting for a sibling's practice to end.  There are many times where your child can try to fit in reading!

• Talk about books with your child.  When reading with your child it is great to ask them about what is going on in their book.  Having a discussion about their favorite/least favorite part, about the characters, setting, funniest/scariest part are great ways for your child to think about books.

• Reading picture books, comic books, and magazines count as reading!  Taking a break from reading chapter books can be motivating for some children.

• Join a book club at the library!  This a great way for your child to become motivated to read a book and then have a discussion about it with their peers.

Writing:

• Your child is more than welcome to go onto Kid Blog and blog about their weekend or any topic that is of interest to them.  The more they get their ideas down, the more proficient writers they will become.

• Have your child "storytell" about the favorite part of their day.  Storytelling frequently helps a child add details and elaborate.  These are two traits that we look for in writing.  Students need to be able to "talk it" before they can "write it."  So the more talking they do about an event or story idea the better....usually!  :)

Math:

• Practice math facts daily.  Practicing on an app or computer game counts too!

• Try to weave math into their daily life.  For example, if you bake 23 cookies and there are 4 kids, how many cookies will each person get?  Will there be any cookies left over?  Tying division into everyday situations helps kids to understand that math is all around us!