Happy Thanksgiving

Hello! I hope you are all enjoying the break. Don’t forget to read!

I am so excited to get rolling into the holiday season. I have some really great things planned. In social studies, we are going to be doing a “Christmas Around the World” unit. If any of you have experience in another country and would like to share your knowledge, or could volunteer to help with a craft, snack, storytelling, etc.-let me know!

Here is a list of countries I am hoping to spotlight.  If you have an experience with a country or culture not listed, I am flexible. 

Mexico

Sweden

Germany

Israel

Holland

Zimbabwe

Italy

Thank you for your help! Your involvement will enrich everyone’s education, and make your child’s day. I sincerely love your kids and feel so grateful to get to spend my days with them. Happy Thanksgiving!

Miss Jensen

Nov. 15

Hello Parents!
It has been a great week so far. I did a full rearrangement of our classroom and I think it has been great for all of us to have a fresh start. We are working on some really fun things this week and I wanted to give you an update.

Math: We are starting a unit on geometry and will be learning about 2-D and 3-D shapes and symmetry this week.
Reading: We are working on deciphering the "author's message", or moral, when doing our reading. Feel free to ask them about it when doing their take-home reading.
Writing: We started writing a "How to" paper yesterday entitled "How to Cook a Turkey". They are hilarious. I can't wait for you to see the finished product.
Social Studies: Thank you for your help with the ancestor research. I hope it was fun to talk about at home. They have loved sharing stories in class and locating different places on the map.

I look forward to seeing some of you on Friday. Just as a reminder-Ancestor Day will be on Friday from about 12:00-12:30. Each student will get to make a little exhibit on their desk. We are going to be making flags tomorrow that they can display on their desks, but any other props you would like to bring would just add to the fun. Let me know if you have any questions!

-Miss Jensen

Nov. 8

Another great week is already flying by!
I hope you all have seen, or are able to recover a crumpled paper in the bottom of your child's backpack, a paper about our upcoming ancestor day.  Here is a copy of the note I sent home today as well...

Parents,

Over the next few weeks, in combination with Thanksgiving, we will be talking about our ancestors and where they came from.  Please help your child fill out the attached paper and send it back to school by Monday, November 14^th.  Your child will need to be prepared to share the information they have learned with others when we hold our “Ancestor Day” on Friday, November 19^th.  On the 19^th, your child may bring any artifacts, pictures, maps, or other things representing where their ancestors are from.  Your child will be displaying these items on their desk to tell others about an ancestor and the country where they are from.  Parents will be able to come and see the artifacts displayed and hear the information learned on that Friday (November 19^th) between 12:00 and 12:40.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

I hope this is clear. They were all so excited about it when we discussed it today!

Writing

Hello Parents!

I just wanted to explain a little about how our class writing will work.  Each project we do will be taken through the whole writing process-prewrite, draft, revise, edit and publish.  When we finish a piece of writing, I will give the students a chance to grade themselves and I will also give them a grade. In doing this I hope to help them become more aware of their own writing and what they need to be working on.  I will send this little grading sheet home, attached to their rough draft and any pre-writing materials.  This will give you a chance to see how their writing is improving, and where they could use a little help. I will be keeping most of their final copies at school in their writing portfolios.

I have already seen writing improvements since the first of the year, and I hope you can too! It makes me excited!  Let me know if you have questions!

-Miss Jensen