Decemburrr!!

Owl-Ways Learning. . .

Gingerbread

This week we wrapped up our unit on gingerbread. We read spin-offs of different gingerbread tales such as:

 

  

During centers, we wrote about our favorite version and why. Here's are our results:

Weather

Since the beginning of the school year we have been collecting data about the weather.  We track the conditions and temperature each day. December has been a very chilly month thus far!! After the student checks the temperature, they look at our color coded thermometer to see which color correlate with a temperature range.  

For example anything below freezing is a "White" Day. Or anything above 81 degrees is a "red" day. 

We've had 6 white days so far!! A great conversation starter at home with your child is to ask them about the temperature and/or colored day. I look forward to some more yellow and orange days! 

Addition

Before and after vacation we will learn about addition. Topic 6 focuses on joining groups and deciding how many there are in all.  This week we've learned strategies for adding groups, such as, using pictures or counting fingers. After vacation we will use the plus sign (+) and equal sign (=) to write number sentences about our joining groups.  After our unit on addition we will send home some flash cards for your child to practice their fluency in adding 0-5. 

Here are some of our Decomposing Trees to get us in the holiday spirit!  

Teacher Talk. . .

Community Circle

Mrs. Johnson came to our Pod on Wednesday to talk to the students about Heroes and Heroism.  She asked the students, "What Heroes do?" "Who are heroes?" and "How can you be a hero?" The students turned and talked with a partner about their thoughts and then shared as a whole group.  Mrs. Johnson read a story called, Everyone Matters. 

 

Holiday Traditions

On Friday, December 23rd our class will celebrate their collective efforts with a movie day. We will watch the Polar Express to go along with our Polar Express festivities on Thursday, December 22nd. Next week will be a busy but fun week! We will research about holiday traditions around the world and even make a craft for each holiday. If you or your family has a special holiday tradition or holiday you'd like to share, please let me know. We love to have parents come in and talk about their culture or even read a book! 

Emergent Readers

You may have noticed I did not send home an emergent reader this week to practice.  I apologize. The students have been working on their reader in school and went home Friday. Next week we will be back into our routines and reading a book called, The Little Elf. It is a perfect accompaniment to this time of year.  I will look forward to videoing more brave volunteers next week! 

Paper Bags

If anyone has any extra paper grocery bags, Room 5 would love some! We will use them during our Polar Express Day. You can send them at anytime. Thank you in advance! 

Upcoming Events. . .

Polar Express Day...Thursday, December 22nd 

*Students can wear their Pjs!*

Movie Day... Friday, December 23rd (Class Reward)

Winter Break....December 26th- January 2nd. (NO SCHOOL)

Read! Read! As Much As You Can!

Owl-Ways Learning. . .

Compare & Contrast

Our two week unit on gingerbread kicked off this week.

 Each day this week we read a different gingerbread tale.  After reading, we discussed the characters, setting, repeating phrase, and ending. We mapped out each story's elements on the base of a gingerbread house display.  

Home Connection Questions:

-Ask your child which story was their favorite?

-What was the setting?

-Who were the characters?

-What are the steps to making gingerbread men?

Check out our Classroom Display:

Fundations

This week we learned the letters, sounds, and of course signs for the letters E and R.  We've learned all of our vowels and more than half the alphabet! Students are continuing to use their letters and sounds correspondence for writing and reading. Students are also making the connection between learning sign language and being able to sign their own names!! 

Ask your child if they can sign their own name? 

Check out a sneak peak of our magnet board work:

Whole Body Listening

Ms. Greene came on Tuesday morning to introduce Whole Body Listening.  She used Mr. Potato Head to facilitate the listen and discuss what a person needs to listen appropriately. We will reinforce this concept in our classroom, especially during morning meeting and whole group instruction. We encourage you to use the phrase, "Whole Body Listening" at home with your child.  

Teacher Talk . . .

Holiday Shoppe

On Monday Room 5 will visit the Holiday Shoppe.  What is the Holiday Shoppe? Students will have the opportunity to do some Holiday shopping for their families at school.  The PTO sets up tables of items ranging from: Key chains, small toys, scarves, journals, etc. Students can bring anywhere between $1-$10 to use for shopping.  

Helpful Hints and Recommendations:

1. Have a plan! 

This helps speeds up the process and narrow down the endless possibilities. 

Discuss with your child who or what they can buy.  

The purpose is for students to select some items for their family members, not necessarily for themselves.

2. Set a Budget!

Seems Silly, but necessary!

We've found in the past if you send your child with $5.00 they will want to spend every penny. So think about how much you want your child to spend. 

3. Labeled Bag/Envelope

If you are sending in money please label the bag or envelope with your child's name and room number. 

Finally. . . 

Please Remember this event is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL.

Library will take place later in the week due to the Holiday Shoppe. 

Tis the Season for Healthy Habits!

We are continuing to enforce hand washing and sanitizing in our classroom.  However, germs are still being spread quickly. We are working hard to disinfect and sanitize the classroom. 

Donations of tissues, hand sanitizer, or disinfectant wipes are greatly appreciated.

Thank you to those parents who have already donated to our classroom. We really appreciated!!

Upcoming Events. . .

Holiday Happenings

As we near the winter break more and more events and special occasions pop up in our schedule. 

Wednesday, December 14th. . . Community Circle.

Friday, December 16th. . . Viewing of the 4th & 5th Grade Holiday Concert.

Thursday, December 22nd. . . Polar Express Day! Wear your PJs!!

Classroom Snap Shots:

Happy Birthday Sid!!

Preparing for Winter

Owl Ways Learning. . .

Hibernation 

Our class is continuing to become very extinguished researchers! Each time we begin a new topic we ask students to share their schema, prior learning, about the subject.  Then we use different resources to gain more understanding and new learning to add to our chart.  Our researchers use books, pictures, and even videos to gain new learning. Brainpop is one of our favorite resources. 

Check out all of our new learning: 

Emergent Reader

This week we read: Where Will That Arctic Animal Go?

Check out our brave volunteers: 

OWLS (Centers)

After Thanksgiving is the time students should be on their way to being independent workers.  The routines and expectations have been explained, modeled, practiced, and are quickly becoming second nature! 

Here are some snapshots of them in action! 

Teacher Talk. . .

Fair is Not Always Equal
Mrs. Greene's lesson this week focused on Fairness.  She talked to them about what fair looks like and read them a story.  She compared fairness to someone needing glasses.  Someone who has needs glasses to see is given glasses because that is fair.  Everyone having a pair of glasses is not fair, especially if they don't need glasses to see.  

The students worked on an activity about fairness and what each individual person or even animal needs to get through their day.  Students looked at different animals and added the things they need. For instance, a pig needs mud and a fish needs water.  That is fair because they both need those things.  The fish doesn't just get mud because the pig needs mud. 

We will continue to practice these skills and have these conversations about fairness.

Class Reward
Room 5 has done it again! We've earned many compliments about our behavior from other teachers and staff members in the building. They are VERY impressed by Room 5! To celebrate we've selected to have a stuffed animal day! Students may bring in 1 stuffed animal of their choice. The stuffed animal should be able to fit in your child's backpack and cannot make any sounds/music. Don't forget to celebrate their accomplishments! 

Scholastic Book Orders

December Book orders are due December 9th. If you are purchasing books for a gift please let me know and we can arrange special pickups. So far we've earned a lot of a free books for our classroom and even some small prizes from your orders, so thank you!! 

Upcoming Events. . .

Polar Express

On December 22nd Kindergarten will be participating in a Polar Express day! We will wear our Pjs and listen to the Polar Express story read by a special guest! Kindergarteners will participate in winter activities during the morning.  It's a fun day and we look forward to it! 

We are looking for parent volunteers to help out on the day of the event. If you are interested please fill in and return the slip sent home ASAP! 

Winter Break

School will be closed from December 26- January 2nd. School will be back in session on January 3rd

Penguin Chant
Have you ever seen a penguin come to tea? 

Check out our shake break from the week: 

Happy Birthday Sophia!!