Dear Moms and Dads,
Boiled liver, honey glazed snails, and fried snakeskin were the lunch choices
I told the children on April Fools Day. Some of them didn’t realize that it
was a joke at first and became a bit unsure of whether or not they really wanted
to have hot lunch. You might want to ask your child the schedule that was on the
board for the day as well. It was quite unique!
If you’re a vole, you better watch out because an owl can hear you moving
underground! Yesterday we had another Four Winds lesson with Mrs. Aiken, Mrs.
Bolger, Ms. Ransom, and Mrs. Magill. This month’s topic was about owls. We saw
a slide show a various kinds of owls along with hearing the calls they make. The
most interesting part for the children was examining the owl pellets and making
a collection of bones.
In math this week, the first graders continue to work on capacity. They have
been exploring how many cubes various containers can hold. While doing this
exploration, some people felt the taller container would always hold more
because it was tall. We found out that this is not always true. A short wide
container can hold more than some taller containers. We have also been working
on numeracy skills using counting ropes and number lines. For example, I ask the
children to show me 42 beads on a 100 bead counting rope. Another activity with
the number lines was to start on 4 and count on by intervals of 10 and record
the numbers landed on(4, 14, 24, 34, 44, 54,…)This allows children to
experience patterns when using numbers.
The second graders have been involved in a multiplication project in math
with Ms. Hartshorn. They actually found out how many holes there are in one of
the ceiling tiles using multiplication. They also found out how many classrooms
it would take to make one million holes. You might want to ask your child to
tell you more about this.
We have also continued our work on motion and forces this week with wheels
and paper cups. We found out which direction a paper cup rolls down a ramp and
why it rolls in a particular direction. We are also exploring how adding weight
to the cups can make a difference.
In or library session with Mrs. Allison, we voted for our favorite Red Clover
Book. She borrowed a ballot box from the town hall. We’ll know next week which
book was the favorite for our school.
During the week of April 14th, we will be giving our kids the
Gates MacGinitie Reading Test. This is a nationally normed test. It measures
word knowledge and comprehension. This test is one more tool to add to our
collection of assessments to show your child’s progress. As always it would be
helpful to make sure your child has a good breakfast and plenty of rest to
prepare for this test. We’ll do our best to make sure your children feel
comfortable and have a positive experience with this testing situation. We tell
the children the only thing we want them to do is to try their best. There may
be things they do not know and they may not finish all of the test items in the
given time. We emphasize that this is fine as long as they stay on task and try
their best.
April is National Poetry month. Your child will pick out a poem to memorize.
I’ll be sending home a copy of the poem for him/her to practice at home. Once
he/she memorizes the words, we’ll work on using expression in our voices and
possibly facial or hand motions to help portray the poem’s message. Your help
at home with this project is appreciated. We’ll recite our poems to our
learning partners and possibly Ms. Barone as well. Of course we’ll share them
with each other in the classroom as well.
Here are some questions to ask your child this week:
What treat did Chase’s mom bring for us? (maple syrup and donuts) Two
children in the class indicated that they had never been to a sugarhouse
before. If you would like directions to a local sugarhouse in Moretown,
please let me know.
Are the feathers on top of an owl’s head ears? (no)
Can an owl turn its head all the way around? (no)
What new book is Mrs. Orr reading for read aloud? (Babe The Gallant
Pig)
Can you spell your spelling words for me? (check the backpack for a
spelling word activity sheet such as write your words small, fancy, and fat)
What is happening in the book you are reading for literature circle
group?
Tell me about what you are working on in math.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
April 4th: Ms. Moore, our tooth tutor at Moretown School, will
visit our classroom.
April 9th: Early Release Day
April 10th: Library make up day (return books on this day)
Week of April 14th: Gates MacGinitie Test
April 14th: We will walk over to the Moretown Library for National
Library Week activities with Mrs. Bentley at 12:20
April 14th: School Assembly at 2:15
April 21st-April 25th: School Vacation
Below are some photos of your children involved in various explorations this
week. I’ll type "The End" after the last one so you’ll know when
you’ve seen them all.
Enjoy your sharing time.
Sincerely,
Kathi
Measuring capacity of different containers.
Covering up numbers from 1 to 100 and telling what numbers
are covered based upon numbers before and after or counting patterns such as
33,43, 53, ____.
How much does this container hold?
Keeping track of the number of counters needed to fill the
container.
Carefully pulling apart owl pellets.
Displaying what we found in the pellets.
See the bone I found!
Do you see a skull and a jawbone?
This is fun after all!
I found something, too!
Look at this bone!
I found a skull.
Hmm, I wonder what’s in here?
Here’s another bone!
We are examining these pellets very carefully.
What is in here?
Our Red Clover Party with Mrs. Allison.
Voting for our favorite Red Clover Book!
Reading in the story tower during library class.
That’s the end of the photos for this newsletter!