Nearby Nature!

This month in Nearby Nature we learned about deer.  We learned about what deer eat and how they are connected to other living things in the woods.  We also had the chance to look at deer skulls, a deer pelt, and even a deer leg!  Then we learned that deer can leap more than 20 feet at a time...amazing!  We tried to leap like deer and most of us only got to 4 feet!  Thanks Jackson and Christine for coming in this month!

In Writer's Workshop, we continue to work on Opinion Writing.  We are working on stating our opinion and backing it up with a clear reason.  This week we had fun reading a book called Duck! Rabbit! In this story we had to decide if the character was a duck or a rabbit and then write a reason for our opinion.  What did your child decide...duck or rabbit?  Make sure they tell you why!  We also wrote about our favorite Essential Arts class.  Each child chose P.E., Music, Library, or Art and then wrote why they enjoy that class.  We have a lot of friends who like Art!
  

We have also been busy reading three more Red Clover Books this week:  Counting on Katherine, The Day You Begin, and Hawk Rising.  After reading these three, we did some opinion writing about the book we liked best from the week.  Many children enjoyed Counting on Katherine.  Be sure to ask your child about his or her book choice from the week!  Next week we will read three more!




In Reader's Workshop,  we continued with literacy stations and are excited to start our small reading groups and practicing reading strategies with our just-right books next week!  We also learned about how patterns in the books we read can sometimes have a break in the pattern.  We practiced using sound power and picture power to help us when the pattern changes.  Ask your child to show your some of their reading powers at home this weekend with their books in their book baggies.  We also read a new Scholastic Let's Find Out Magazine about Frogs this week.  We learned about the life cycle of frogs and that tied into a new song they learned in music!

   

In math, we worked with more 3-D shapes.  We played a game of I Spy in the classroom and looked for spheres, cubes, rectangular prisms, pyramids, and triangular prisms.  This would be a great game for you to play at home too! We also played a 2-D and 3-D Shape Bingo Game, listening to the attribute clues about each shape.

   
Jocelyn, our school nurse, came for a visit to remind us about good hand washing practices.  She read us a story about hand washing and then we had the chance to practice.  She squirted an orange paint-like liquid on our hands (pretend germs) and we had to do our best hand washing to get it off.  Then she checked each of our hands with a black light to see if any of the "germs" were still there.  We had some great hand washers in here....she couldn't find any "germs" on their hands after washing.  Way to go!
 

Lastly, you will notice a new addition to our Friday Folder: Baggie Books!  Each Friday, your child will bring home 2-3 books that are at his or her "just right" reading level.  These are books that they can read mostly independently, but may need a little support at times.  Please have your child read these books multiple times over the weekend and then return them in the baggie on Monday.  I will refill the baggie and send more books home next Friday.  Thanks for supporting your child in this reading adventure!