October 5, 2012

Looking for Insects in our Four-Winds Lesson (Thanks, Parent Volunteers!)

October 5, 2012

Dear Parents,

We have been scientists this week! We began our study of the Human Body. We learned a lot about bones, we learned about germs, and today, we had 4-Winds where we caught and observed insects. We remembered that a bug is an insect if it has 6 legs. It’s a spider if it has eight legs, and a slug isn’t any bug at all. Ask your child what insect he or she caught.  Try at home: lay a sheet under a bush and shake the bush. It’s fun to see what interesting creatures fall into your sheet!

In Mrs. Powers’ 1^st grade math class, students are using buttons to learn all the combinations you can use to make 6 buttons. In Mr. Bolger’s 2^nd-grade math class, students are doing the same thing, except they are reviewing combinations that equal ten. Next week, they’ll be moving on to combinations (to learn automatically) to 20. Another thing second grade math students  learned was: does an odd plus an odd equal  an even?  (We found that when we put an odd number of little squares together, it’s impossible to make a rectangle.  There is always one extra square.   But if we make two  odd-number arrangements, like 3 square plus 3 square, the extra little square in each of those “arrangements” can find each other so that everyone has a partner.

And when everyone has a partner, you know the sum of those two arrangements will be even. Ask your child about Clock Partners (Bolger’s Math) .

A note about homeowork for  both classes: Mrs. Powers and I will be sending home weekly math games for you to play with your child. Please feel free to adjust the directions so they work for you. For example, you don’t need to laminate game boards and you can use dice instead of making a spinner. And if your family is wiped out on Wednesday and just can’t do the homework,  send in a note, and we’ll gladly work it out.

Sharing: our sharing next week is Who do I admire? Please help your child think about someone they admire – preferably a family member or a friend – someone they really know.

I have introduced the idea of “admiring” someone. You might have a chat with your child about it too. Children may bring in a picture if they wish or some other item to represent the person they admire. Suggestion: explain who YOU admire, but then ask your child who they admire without giving them a suggestion. It’ll be very interesting and empowering for you to let them decide. Ask them to come up with three reasons for admiring (wanting to be like) that person.

Some other things we learned this week:

Clockwise vs. Counter-clockwise and how long it’d take to get to the moon if there were a long bridge that could reach it, and if you didn’t stop to eat or sleep. (A: about 9 months –the kids had guessed about 18 year.) One student offered this: “well, I know that it takes 9 years for a rocket to get there, so I figured I’d double that, and that’s how I got 18 years.”

Volunteers: Now that October is underway, we are ready for classroom volunteers! If you have expressed an interest in coming in, I’ll contact you in the next few days to set up a time. If you haven’t spoken with me yet, please email me, and we’ll get you in here.

Final Request on Friendship List: Jessica Lamorey, our Room Mom, is putting together our 2012-2013 Classroom Friendship List. Please tell us ASAP if you do not want your email or phone number on our friendship list.

Have a great weekend, everyone. The air smells so good, the leaves are gorgeous, and don’t you just feel like you want to roll around in the wet grass? 

Mr. Bolger