Ho, Ho, Ho!

Ho, ho, ho!  Merry Christmas!  Thanks for all those who participated to make our Secret Santa week successful.  I thought it was wonderful that students were able to fill buckets just by writing a little note.  Presents, wrappings, ribbons and gifts are appreciated and delightful, but acts of kindness and friendship form memories and withstand time.  Our buckets are brimming this week!

This week in our Language Arts block we will be discussing the question, "How can people help animals in danger?" This morning we talked about different ways we can each make a difference including, controlling litter and pollution to help animals stay alive.  Keep animals habitats safe, and learning more about animals in our habitat.  We're excited to learn more ways to protect animals.  To go along with this question, we will be reading the story A Symphony of Whales.  In this story, a young girl is gifted with the ability to hear whale songs.  One night, she dreams that her sled dogs lead her to whales- and the next day they do.  But the whales are in trouble...Our purpose for reading this story is to find out how people can help these whales who are in danger.

Our weekly comprehension skill that we are focusing on is Generalization.  When you read ideas about several things, you may see how they are alike in some way.  You can make a general statement  about all of them together.  We will be looking at text this week that can help model and explicitly teach this skill.

In math this week, we are continuing on to introduce new multiplication patterns with x4 and x6.  Please continue to work on fluency at home with multiplication flashcard homework.  Besides reading over the break, please take some time while in the car, while sitting at the table, etc. to practice facts.  Starting in January, I will be sending home weekly progress reports for multiplication fluency.  Good luck students!

We will be having our Polar Express Day this Friday beginning at 9:30 with a delicious brunch (and hot chocolate of course!)  provided by our volunteer moms.  After brunch, we will be watching the Polar Express, singing in music class and finishing up some holiday crafts.  All students are invited to wear pajamas and slippers on Friday for our Polar Express Day.  If the weather permits, we will be going out for recess, so please bring along a pair of shoes to replace slippers.

Have a wonderful holiday, stay warm, enjoy your time together and create a memory.  Merry Christmas!