The Christmas season is definitely in full swing now! We have been busy this week doing many fun things for the holidays, such as making our Nativity, working on our Christmas gifts, and building our stamina for the Jingle Jog! On top of this we are continuing to do all of our normal curriculum! Our class has been busy but still soaking in the joy of this season!
Important dates:
December 16: 9 a.m. Jingle Jog (more information below)
December 19: Christmas chapel 9 a.m.
December 20: Christmas party and last day of school before Christmas break
January 6: First day back at school
Additional information:
Jingle Jog! Our class will be jogging on December 16 from 9:00-9:30 am. If you would like to cheer the kids on, please come to the gym. Students may wear comfortable clothes for running (Feel free to dress in the Christmas spirit or add some Christmas accessories) We will wear our gym shoes for the jog. This is a mini fundraiser for our sister school in the Philippines. Look for a note from Mrs. Miller this week with more information.
If you signed up to donate items for our Christmas party, other than the sugar cookies, could you send them to school by this Friday, December 13. This will help immensely in preparation for our party the following Friday! Thank you in advance!
Thursday Afternoons: On January 9 all students will begin to attend on Thursday afternoons. If you want to add any additional afternoons please let me know at this time! I am looking forward to having two afternoons with the entire class!
Curriculum:
Bible: This week we started our study of Luke 2. We learned about the angel who came to Mary to announce the coming of our Savior . We talked about how life changing this is to us now! We then started our nativity project. We are also working hard on our verse, Luke 2:6-7. “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Word Wall Words: This week we learned is and like.
Daily 5: This week I was able to work with everyone at least once. We now have Daily 5 up and running and are learning to work independently, it has been fun to watch their growth in this area. Please take time to read the books that come home with your child in his/her book bag on Friday and return it on Monday! If they struggle, encourage them to use the pictures to help them decode some of the words. This is an important step in the reading process. Everyone should be bringing their word wall word books home and our books from the leveled library will start to be coming home as well!
Writing workshop:This week we drew and labeled stories from our Thanksgiving breaks. Next week we will work on making lists
Phonics: This week we emphasized beginning sounds. I got into the Christmas spirit for this and pulled some items from a stocking and had them write down the first sound in the item I pulled out. They did AMAZING! When you are at home take time at dinner to ask them sounds they hear at the beginning of words on your table, such as fork, spoon and plate. They love this and will be so proud to share their knowledge with you!
Math: This week we noticed that teen numbers have one group of ten in them. We worked on filling out ten frames and doing some simple addition. During our math centers we wrote math equations on our whiteboards to match pictures in our math books.
Up in Lights: This week Knox Lucas was up in lights. Knox’s mom came and shared all about him. She also brought his favorite Bible and read us the Christmas story. Knox is an absolute joy to have in our classroom and is always making us smile. His joy for life is contagious!
Afternoons: Being so close to Christmas the afternoons were a little different from the norm this week. We were able to make Christmas trees, which are on the wall in the hallway, and we started our Nativity project. In addition we were still able to enjoy snack, recess, play and quiet time! I really enjoyed having the whole class stay the entire day on Tuesday! So fun to watch everyone participate together during play! What an incredible group of kids!