Measurement, Area, Estimation and Data Graphing

Last Friday's math lesson had a wide variety of math concepts included in it. We talked briefly about ways to measure our feet. Then we worked with a partner to trace around our foot with our shoes on. Then we estimated how many square tiles we thought it would take to cover the area of our foot. Then we covered our foot outline with square tiles to see just how many tiles it would take. Finally we graphed the results and had a discussion about what we could learn about the average foot size in our crew. It was a a fun, full, and interesting lesson. Below are just a few photos from the lesson.

Important Dates
12/20 Fieldwork to Pacific Ocean Market
12/20 Winter Party 2:45 pm
12/23 Winter Break Begins  

Joyous Chinese Cultural Center

Today we visited the Joyous Chinese Cultural Center. We experienced many things from the Chinese culture there. We did some paper cutting, made our own dumplings, used calligraphy to write some Chinese characters and did some Chinese dance/martial arts. We also ate a yummy lunch there that included the dumplings that we made. We loved meeting all of the Chinese teachers. We learned so much. Thanks to our chaperones - they were so helpful to have on the trip today. Below is the link to our photo album and a few photos to tempt you to take a look. Chaperones, please add your photos to the album, too. Thanks!

Photo Album

Book Recommendations

I wanted to take a moment to recommend some of my very favorite books. They are books by author/illustrator, Jim LaMarche. I just love his illustrations and stories. They are simple, soft and meaningful. They would make perfect gifts and are great for bed time stories. There are more than I have shown here but these are the books I remember reading over and over again to my daughter when she was little.

Complements of Ten

This we learned a new math card game. We were trying to match pairs of numbers that equaled ten. Some students took on additional challenges and tried to use more than 2 cards to make ten or tried to choose cards that added up to 20. We all enjoyed the game.

We Are Readers!

As a break from our i-Ready testing today, we found a book in our classroom that we really wanted to read and we read and read and read. It was such a calm and soothing part of our day. I grabbed my phone and took the video below. It is only a one minute video but it is worth your time. It will make you smile.

We Are Readers Video

One-Sentence Journals

One idea to help your child practice writing skills is to have them start a one-sentence a day journal. It is a trend that is popular for adults right now. The idea is that one-sentence journals are a great way to keep track of happy memories or to remind yourself of those things you are grateful for but in a short and sweet way. You are more likely to write if you only feel like you need to write one sentence. (Google "one-sentence journals" for more about this idea for adults.) This idea also works very well for kids. Have them pick out a notebook and writing utensil that they really like or give them these items as a gift and ask them to write just one sentence a day. The sentences can be similar to these:

Today I found a blue feather.
I helped my mom bake cookies.
My dad read a chapter of Clementine to me tonight.
I fell off my bike and scraped my knee.
I saw a ladybug in the backyard today.
I learned that hummingbirds can fly forwards, backwards, sideways and upside down today.

The sentences can be on any topic. Doing just one sentence a day can help a child practice handwriting, spelling, spatial layout on a page or line, using punctuation and capital letters correctly and much more. Some children might want to draw a picture or tape an item into the journal as an illustration. Some children might want to write more than one sentence. Anything goes as long as the child enjoys it and writes (at least) one sentence a day.

This could also be a great family idea. You could have a family journal and take turns writing sentences in it. Then you would have a great family memory book. The sooner you start, the more memories your child will collect and the more their writing will improve.

Important Dates
12/6 Fieldwork to Joyous Chinese Cultural Center
12/20 Fieldwork to Pacific Ocean Market
12/20 Winter Party 2:45 pm
12/23 Winter Break Begins   

Sweet, Silly Smiles

One of the most important things to a young child is having a wiggly tooth and/or finally losing a tooth. It happens at different times for everyone but it is a big deal when it happens. Enjoy our silly, toothy and toothless grins.

Important Dates
11/25 Vision and Hearing Screenings
11/27-11/29 No School ~ Thanksgiving Break
12/6 Fieldwork to Joyous Chinese Cultural Center
12/20 Fieldwork to Pacific Ocean Market
12/23 Winter Break Begins