I have a very short update for you this week as we are getting ready for the last week of school before our holiday vacation. Our last day of school is next Thursday, December 22nd. (School starts again on Wednesday, January 4th).
I will send home many extra just right books with your child next week. Hopefully, you will find the time to continue reading at home every day. We will not send home our weekly Homework folders, but I will send home a "Vacation Journal" that encourages your child to write and draw about his/her vacation activities. This Vacation Journal is optional, but many students love to chronicle what they do and share when they come back to school. If your child benefits from the reading/writing activities provided in the homework folder, please feel free to print your own reading logs online. I am delighted that many students are trying new ones and I would be happy to check them when we return to school. Don't forget about our KidBlog during vacation. The blog provides a terrific opportunity for your child to stay connected with friends. Thank you!
Next week, on Thursday December 22nd, the whole school will celebrate our warm buzzies again and have another Swarm Party. This time we will have a Pajama Party!! Please send your child to school in his/her pajamas, but make sure they are warm and snug enough for outdoor recess as the children will go outside for their regularly scheduled recess time. Children must wear regular shoes-slippers are not permitted. Please also refrain from sending in stuffed animals and blankets. We already have stuffed animals and pillow in our classroom. Thank you! In additiona to our PJ Day, we will also celebrate by watching the movie "Polar Express" written by Chris Van Allsburg. We will read the book and do various reading activities and on Thursday, we will "board" the train together, wearing our pajamas-just like the characters in the book. At the end of the day, all faculty, staff and students will meet in the gym for a special holiday sing-along.
Lastly, the students and I would also like to have a little celebration in our classroom, so if you can please send in some special treats/snacks for us, we would greatly appreciate that. Please send me an email to let me know if you and your family can donate some muffins, crackers, cookies, juice, and other snacks for our holiday celebration. Thank you.
I wanted to share some special pictures with you this week. There is picture of a a letter from Ms. Beeken to the class. She sent a letter to the students because they cleaned up her classroom after art-class. They did an amazing job and she was so grateful. Ask your child to explain. The other pictures are of our latest reading response activity. As the students read their books and think about these books, they start to recognize the various story elements that make them great. This week, we started creating our own awards for them. The students carefully choose a book that he/she likes and decides on what award should be awarded. The students create their own award by naming it themselves. So far, we have awarded "Best Chapter Book", "Best Detailed Story", and "Best detailed story" awards. Since the students also justify their award and write about why a particualr book deserves anaward, they are finding new ways to connect reading and writing. They are learning to once again read as writers and write as readers. Please visit our classroom for our display of these awards.
Regards,
Maria
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