December 13, 2010

Hello Parents!

A few notes:

1) The kids did a great job today presenting our advertisement for our upcoming bake sale. They presented, and then they sang the Horizon Baking Company song to our neighbors in Harmony House. The bake sale, as most of you know, is taking place on Friday -- from the morning sing-along through lunch and after school. We'll be doing shifts.

2) As part of our Economics unit, students, on Friday, did a lesson called, "Camp Mini-Haha" where everyone pretended they were going to go on a camping trip and needed to buy some essential items and some optional items. the classroom was turned into a store. Instead of real camping gear, we had several hundred cards laying on tables depicting, for example, different models of tents for different prices. Students were given $200.00 and needed to create a smart and frugal shopping list including food, a tent, etc.
It was a blast.

3) For our read-aloud book, we are reading a book called Toys Go Out (2006) by Paul Zelinsky. It's a book about a handful of stuffed animals who start out inside a backpack that "smells like a wet bathing suit." Later, Lumphy, the buffalo, gets peanut butter all over him. The stuffed animals debated: Is food on a stuffed animal dirt? "It's just food," says Lumphy. "It's not dirt." "Nope. Food is dirt," says Stingray, "when it's mashed into your fir it's dirt." We debated that question too.

Well, Lumphy is scared to death of the washing machine, not to mention the basement where his stuffed-animal friends tell him there are things like spiders and ghosts and sharks and things. Today we read about how Lumphy hides in the closet in the girl's soccer shoe (head-first) so he won't have to get washed. But, he gets stuck, and now, who knows when anyone will find him and get him out.

Kids shared how they would have this problem turn out if they were the authors. Ask your child how they think it's going to turn out for Lumphy.

4) At-Home Reading: students picked their five books today from our class library to put in their cubbies and read during the week. Many also had a chance to choose two books to sign out and take home. If your child didn't bring home books today, he or she will finish choosing tomorrow. Please help your child collect and bring back classroom books he or she has finished.

5) There will be a half day tomorrow.

7) My apologies for being out of touch for the last three weeks or so . I didn't write during Report Card/Conference time, and then the Bolger family got hit by the bug, and it's rattled through all of us in the last ten days or so. But we're on the mend, now, and I'm glad to be reconnecting with you about all that's happening in here.

Take care, everyone.

David