Monster Mash video

Monster

Halloween Celebration

What a GREAT day!  It was so nice to see so many parents make it to the parade - I will upload a video of the Monster Mash dance for those who couldn't come :-)

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Applied Design

Today we started to look at the concept of Applied Design through the story, The Three Little Pigs.  The challenge was for the children, as a team, to first Plan, then Build, and finally, Test a house designed to safely hold 3 pigs and withstand huffing and puffing.  They all came up with some neat designs, and they all passed the wind test; however, we realized that in all cases, the wolf could easily walk through the building so it wasn't safe at all.  Part of the process is to try, fail, learn from mistakes, and try again so we will be revisiting this activity and others like it all year as we build upon these important skills.

Creations

These are just some of the creations we saw this week - they are ALL OVER the blog idea and love to ask me to post for them.  Enjoy.

Halloween Celebration

We will be celebrating Halloween on Monday next week.  The classroom will be decorated for Monday morning - I drop hints about this but it is meant to be a surprise when they walk in that morning!  There will be lots of ooey gooey, creepy, spooky things going on - nothing scary, but I do go a bit overboard.  What can I say...I love the smiles ;-)

Costumes can come to school that morning but they will not put them on until after lunch.  Costumes will go on OVER clothing so you may need to dress them accordingly that day.  If there are pieces of the costume that are delicate (fairy wings for example)  you may wish to leave that part out but if you aren't worried about it, neither am I.

Please do NOT send masks or weapons of any sort.

If your child wishes to have their makeup done for this part of the day, please come by at 12:50 to do this.  Otherwise, there is no need for you to be here as they can dress quite independently.

All of this is in preparation for a school-wide halloween parade that happens in the afternoon.  This is the chance for all children to showcase their costumes and show appreciation for others'.  It's a big hit!

We would also like to have a class party that day.  If you would like to contribute some party foods/drinks, please COMMENT ON THIS MESSAGE and then hit "publish" with the item you will be bringing.  This way, everyone can see what we have and what we need.  Suggestions would be fruit/veggie platter, juice boxes (20 students total), chips/cheezies, and perhaps a sweet treat.  If you are creative enough to be able to make something Halloween inspired that would be fun!  Food can be dropped off that morning.

Email me with any questions or special instructions for Halloween costumes!

Thanks :-)

Pumpkins

The pumpkins are coming home today!  Most of them look a little different than they did when they got here.

We used them this week to practice measurement and the use of comparative language (biggest, smallest, tallest, shortest, etc.).

Here are some pics that might help you chat with them about how we used pumpkins today.

Structures

A group of boys are building amazing structures in class that they want to share with everyone.  When building these types of structures, they are practicing concepts of planning, ideating, balance, symmetry, cooperation, and using TON of language throughout.  Only made better by the fact that they are having so much fun, and feeling so proud at the end.

Scholastic

I am sending the scholastic order out on Thursday of this week, so if you are ordering, please submit forms by then.

Thanks!

Pumpkins

Next week we will be learning about and with pumpkins.  To support our learning, if would be most helpful if you could please send your child to school with a TEENY TINY PUMPKIN on Monday.  When choosing  a smallish pumpkin, the most important rule of thumb is that the child should be able to carry it themselves quite easily.

Please note, we will not be carving or decorating them in any way and they will return home the week of the 24th.

Thank you!

Special Visitor

Michael Bortolotto spoke to students today about compassion, kindness, and not judging others by their appearance.  He asked students to reach out to others, including those who appear different in some way, to find out who they are on the inside.  

Michael has Cerebral Palsy and has visited over 3000 schools over the past 20+ years with his important message.  

Loutet Farm

Today we were lucky enough to be able to visit Loutet Farm behind Brooksbank.  This is something we will get to do 5 times this year.  We found lots of different things on the farm like, leafy plants, bees, root vegetables, flowers, and even got to pick some Kale for a healthy snack!

We also harvested seeds from a Sunflower, which we will be saving for the Spring time.