Tuesday, November 13, 2012

This Week in Mr. Bolger's Class

Hello, Parents!

This is an odd week because we will have a field trip tomorrow and Ms. Schwartz and Mrs. Rodliff will be field-tripping on Thursday. Also,  I will be out of the classroom on Friday (we'll have sub). So, I thought I'd send home a quick note each day rather than wait 'til Friday to report on the week:

Field Trip tomorrow to Shelburne Farms: check the weather and dress appropriately. We leave at 8:50 a.m. and we return at 2:00 p.m. Chaperones, you  may join us on the bus if you'd like.

Home-School Journals went home today. Due back on Thursday. We read a picture book about Plymouth Plantation, and they wrote to you in their journals about something that stood out for them. For your response, it might be nice if you thought about the pilgrims and wrote down something you, yourself, really wonder --- like, "I wonder how long it took them to come across the ocean?" or, "I wonder what they did if they got a bad cut and needed stitches?" or "Since there weren't any telephones or international mail, I wonder if they ever saw their friends (back in England) again?" or "I wonder, if they knew there would be people there already (Native Americans)? and were they afraid the Native Americans might be mean to them?"

No homework this week for Bolger Second-Grade Math (we are covering the material in class).

First graders do have math homework this week. It's due on Thursday.

Bolger Fundations: we just finished a unit last week, so we won't start a new one until after Thanksgiving. We will, instead, focus -- this week and next -- on handwriting.

Math today in 2nd grade: we are practicing counting easily by tens -- starting with something like 33 and going all the way up to 133.  Kids put up three fingers, then they "flashed" ten fingers and said, "thirteen". Then flashed ten more and said "twenty-three," ... all the way up to 133. Try it with your child. Today, lots of kids jumped from 73 to 93. Kids often have trouble going back and forth across 100. Practice at home!

We also read a great picture book called, "Edward and the Pirates" The kids loved it. Ask your child.
Ask your child, too, about the Splinter Cat in the Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles.  He is a cat-in-the-hat kind of figure. A little fun and a little not-trustworthy. He has tricked Lindy into going to his place, and he has lulled her to  sleep.  What we don't know yet is that because she is so smart, he is trying to trick her to keep her and her brothers from reaching the Whangdoodle -- the mystical king of Whangdoodle Land. It's a little-bit Wizard-of -Ozish.

If your child read in a reading group today, he or she may have a book to read in his/her backpack. Please send it back tomorrow.










Look at the cool designs on Ananya's hands.
It's called "henna."

Have a nice night, Everyone.
Mr. Bolger and Class