Newsletter: November 19th

 

Dear Families,

I hope you are all enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. The kids sure have. We have a rotation for reading and writing in our classroom garden each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The kids love climbing out the window and finding a spot at the bench, in the grass, or at one of the picnic tables. Soon it'll become too chilly for outdoor reading and writing but we're holding on to these last comfortable days as long as we can.

Speaking of reading, this week we launched our very first book clubs. Last Friday the kids browsed a selection of about nine different titles and selected three they would enjoy reading with a group of friends. From these selections I grouped everyone into book clubs of four to five people. The books being read across the room include: Franny K. Stein, Miss Daisy is Crazy, Clementine, Andy Shane is NOT in Love, and Ivy & Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go. Each day the kids gather around me for a small mini-lesson. Our mini-lessons this week are focused on making predictions as we read. After the mini-lesson the kids go out and read their book club books. On Monday each group met together to decide how much they would read each day. After about thirty-five minutes of reading (first the book club book and then their Independent Reading book) the groups get together to discuss what happened in their reading. This is a great time to share predictions, connections, reactions, and such. The social component of book clubs makes this an exciting structure in our literacy workshop. We'll do many more rounds of book clubs in the future.

In math we have been continuing our exploration of geometry. We've worked to name the differences between 2-D and 3-D shapes (a third direction, depth) as well as count the faces on a variety of 3-D shapes. We've sorted these shapes, drawn them, and played a game or two. We've begun learning the names of some of the more common polygons. These include: triangle, rhombus, trapezoid, and hexagon. Right now we are combining smaller shapes to create larger ones (such as a triangle and a square to make a pentagon). This sort of work calls for the kids to use both logic and spatial abilities. Later, it will provide a strong foundation for some of our work with fractions. 

 

We have also been exploring the world of magnets. The kids have many questions they want to answer. These include...

Where do magnets come from?

Why is there a north and a south pole?

How do people use magnets?

Why are some magnets stronger than others?

How do they stick?

Are there different names for the magnets?

Some of these questions will be answered from books, videos, and discussions. Others will be answered through experimentation. A question we are working to solve right now is "Does the shape of the magnet effect how strong it is?" We have bar magnets, horseshoes magnets, pebble magnets, and disc magnets at the ready to find out. Be sure to ask your child later in the week what they found out!

Chris