Hi JK Parents and Friends!
Science and Math:
We studied all things Winter and received perfect scores on our Brain Pop Quiz! We talked about the difference between migrating and hibernating. We also studied the tilt of the Earth and talked about the equator and how the closer countries are to the equator, the closer to the sun, and therefore warmer!
Fine Motor:
The children completed a guided drawing of a snowman. We built snow people outside and loved sledding! The snow was so deep on the playground. I have never heard more laughter and playing. It was so much fun.
We completed another set of self portraits. I modeled the activity by drawing a portrait of Mr. Bailey. The children loved it. :).
We read A String of Hearts and many other Valentine's Day books and talked about the kind things Valentines do for each other. We are all each other's Valentines in JK! The children painted hearts, the beginning of a Valentine's Day Project! They love to paint.
We are beginning round three of assessments as we talk about all they have learned with their literacy and math, as well as social emotional learning. It's amazing to see their progress through this challenging year, however unorthodox it has been. They wrote numbers to 20 and practiced specific letters in their names they needed to improve. If your child is having problems counting ie getting "stuck" on a particular 10's transition, please help us and them by repeating the number in succession over and over. For example, what comes after 39? 40! 37, 38, 39, ....40. Continue to count from a few numbers back until they are comfortable remembering the transition.
We celebrated Ground Hog Day by making Groundhogs that pop out of their hole to either see their shadow (6 more weeks of bad/cold/winter weather) or to not see their shadow (earlier spring) yahoo! They practiced their coloring and scissor skills as well as social skills as they all made friends with their peer's groundhogs as well. :). It looks like the Groundhog did see it's shadow-boo! We learned about these sweet creatures, who are also known as a Wood Chucks or Whistle Pig.
We wrote stories after reading, The Big Snow. The children chose a favorite part of the story to build their own stories and illustrated them. I loved watching them draw woodland animals. Their squirrels were much better than mine. :)
We played in the deep deep snow on the playground and traveled to many different worlds through our imaginations!
We designed and decorated (paper) Valentine's Day Cookies and carried them on trays to trade with friends as we added, subtracted, and made groups of ten. The instructions were that each cookie had to be different. We decorated a "half dozen" so they learned that a dozen is 12 and a half dozen is 6. They all said they would order a dozen instead of a half dozen next time they were in a bakery. :). It was a great "Everyday Math" activity; they had the BEST time playing with their cookie trays! We also watched a few cookie decorating videos during lunch time and they were incredibly focused and enjoyed the amazing skills of the decorators.
Don't forget to bring a white box or a box you cover in white paper for our Valentine's Mailbox decorating on Monday! Please cut a hole in the lid or top large enough to fit stuffed small bags/Valentines through. No need to decorate them at all as we will do that Monday!
Next week is a short week so we will send rest time things home Thursday. They are only using their sleeping bags three times per week with the two short days, so we will just send those home every two weeks. NO SCHOOL on FRIDAY for Teacher Professional Development Day, and NO SCHOOL MONDAY, in honor of Presidents Day!
Happy Birthday to another wonderful five year old! We loved celebrating Alexandra's Birthday!
There's lots of love in JK. :).
Ms. Massey
