Wednesday

     This morning, we tie dyed shirts! The kids were so very excited to "design" their own by choosing how their shirt was sectioned off and what colors they got to add to their shirt. Some did stripes while others did swirls. They are soaking in the dye and will be washed in a couple of days and brought back to school.
     Part of why we tie dyed shirts is because of Celebration. Celebration is coming up on the evening of June 7th. This will take place at the Hollins theater where Arts Festival was performed last Friday(by the way... weren't they AWESOME!?). More details about Celebration are coming in Quick Notes, but one thing I will share is that our class, along with Ruth Ann's and Sharon's classes are going to sing a song, Animal Boogie, to you. I ask that your child wears their tie dyed shirt to Celebration. We will not only brighten the stage with our endearing personalities, but with our brightly colored shirts as well. Celebration begins at 6pm and we're on stage first.
     A special thanks to Katrina (Ethan's mom) for spending her morning with us helping us tie dye and read to us. Also, thank you for the donation of materials needed for this project! We couldn't have done it without you! :)

Rainy Monday

     On this rainy Monday, we continued in our study of seeds. After Lily lead us through morning meeting, we sprinkled grass seeds like glitter to create our names. 

We threw the left over seeds into one of our sand bins. I think tomorrow I'll bring in popcorn seeds and sunflower seeds to add to a couple other bins.  They had a good time discovering the differences between sand and seeds.

We also read Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens. This book is about a hare that tricks a lazy bear into letting him have the bottoms of all of the plants (which are root vegetables), the tops of the plants (which are non-root vegetables), and the middle of the plant (which in the story is corn).

 We talked about the differences between root vegetables and seeds we eat. We then did a chart of sorts. Each child came up a picked a picture out of a bag and we as a class decided which side it belonged on. 

   Ask your child what kinds of seeds and roots we had pictures of today!

As the rain continued, we got out the watercolor paints. This, I tell you, makes them all squeal like pigs in mud. Many of them decided to paint flowers. Here is one:

We painted flowers last Thursday as well.  They are all hanging up in our room. Come check them out!

Please be sure to have your eyes on Quick Notes for the next few weeks. A lot of activities are going on and details will be in Quick Notes. A look ahead at our schedule:

• Tuesday and Wednesday (May 15th and 18th) - Our LAST rehearsals for Too Much Noise. Please make sure your child is here and on time if possible.
• Thursday, May 17th - DRESS Rehearsal at Hollins. Please make sure your child is here and on time, we will be leaving almost immediately when the bell rings to walk to Hollins. 
• Comfortable walking shoes should be worn.
• Friday, May 18th - ARTS FESTIVAL! The children's artwork will be on display and the children will perform Too Much Noise on stage at Hollins. If possible, please have your child wear shorts. They will be wearing a costume(a t-shirt) over their top half, but need shorts for the bottom half. 
• Comfortable walking shoes should be worn.
• Dismissal is at 1pm from Hollins University. We will not be returning to campus. Because of this, please pack a disposable fruit break. Children do not need their bags/backpacks. Any that make their way to school will have to have a sleepover over the weekend! :)
• After your child performs and they return to the audience for the next show, they may go sit with you. To avoid any panic attacks I may have, PLEASE make sure that I know you have your child. 
• Monday, May 28th - NO SCHOOL
• Wednesday, May 30th - We're sponsoring BAKE SALE! More details to come! 

Please remember to pack your child a spoon if it is needed for their lunch. We're out of spoons! Thank you for sending in additional spoons and paper towels! :)

Wednesday

We started right into our last big unit of the year after Max lead us through morning meeting. We began a study of seeds today. We began quicker than I had intended(I had originally planned to begin next week), but it was because yesterday during fruit break, Max shared radishes with us that he grew in his garden. This lead to a whole discussion of what radishes are and where they come from. Today, we looked at packages of seeds and predicted what the seeds would look like. They predicted that cactus seeds would be pink and prickly, that green bean seeds would be really really long and green. Before we opened them up, we played a matching game with them. Upon opening them, we discovered that they are mostly all very small and dark. The green bean seeds were large and there were Moonflower seeds, which were also fairly large. We compared the different seed types to one another and to roots that we eat. We took a closer look at a radish - Ethan brought one in today, complete with it's leaves. We read The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and The Little Flower Seed by Sarah Fisch.

During buddies with Betsy's class, we planted seeds of our choice (there were 11 different varieties) into a pot that we'll bring home once they've sprouted that can be planted. Our buddies also got to plant seeds. Be sure to ask your child what seeds they chose to plant! 

Couple of things:

• I have received the $5 needed for the El Rodeo Lunch from a few, but am still needing the others. El Rodeo money is due tomorrow, 5/10. Thanks!
• Calling all troops! We only have one spoon left and one roll of paper towels left for the remainder of the school year. If you're able to donate one more package of spoons or roll of paper towels, please send them in with your child as soon as possible. Thank you so very much for all of your contributions this year!! 

Fun at Hollins

     Wow! It has been a while! We have been busy in the classroom working on new math workshop projects and extending our literacy centers. We have also completed our Arts Festival art projects. They are so proud of them and I think you're all really going to love them.
     Thank you to all of you for your flexibility in rescheduling your child's conference with me. This past conference is my favorite one, for you get to really see all of the progress your child has made at school this year. You too see that at the last one of the year, but they are much more bittersweet to me, for I have to say goodbye. I am so very proud of all of your sweet children.
     In honor of Strawberry Festival, we walked to Hollins this morning with the other Early Learner classes and got to enjoy a shortcake and some time outside. We stopped by the creek on our walk back for a little fun. Below are a few memories from this morning. I hope to see everyone at the festival tomorrow! I'll be in the volunteer booth, so stop by and say hi!

• To celebrate everything we've learned in Spanish class, we are having a picnic lunch from El Rodeo on Friday, May 11 with the other Early Learner Classes. Half-day students are invited to stay until 1pm. Your child will order in Spanish to Elena and will receive one taco, one quesadilla, chips, and salsa. Drinks are not included, so please pack a drink as usual. The cost is $5 cash per child. Please send in money by May 10th in your child's folder. Since we have so many things (bake sale, lunch a month, pizza, etc.), please label the cash sent in for El Rodeo. If you're able, please join us for the fiesta! Parents will need to bring their own lunch.

Quick one today!

Very quick post today! I've been up to my ears in strawberries getting parents signed up for the Festival. If you haven't signed up for your 12 hours, please go here to do so! I'm the volunteer coordinator, so please let me know if you have any questions!

Tomorrow, April 25th, the early learners are going to the United Methodist Home to sing to the residents. We'll be leaving school by no later than 9:30am and will return at 12pm. If I need your child's car seat, I've written you a note. If I haven't written you a note, they'll be riding on the activity bus in a 5-point car seat.


Thanks!

Thursday

     For those of you who haven't heard, I'm back! :-D I am so grateful for all of your wonderful emails concerning my mother. I'm happy to report she is finally on the mend and should be coming home within the next 4-5 days. I was so excited to catch up with all of your sweet children(who seemed to be bursting at the seams to see me too!). We took it pretty easy Tuesday to allow us all time to adjust to being back together. Yesterday, we worked in literacy workshops practicing(or should I say almost perfecting) our names. We also had buddies with Betsy's class where we made cards for wounded soldiers. They said things like "Get well soon" and "Thank you for serving our country."

     We started a new unit in Math Workshop today. We have embarked in the adventure of Numeration 1-5. Numeration is discovering and understanding the "manyness" of numbers. We'll be working on the "manyness" of the numbers one through five. They will explore number families, learn to recognize numerals for each number and practice simple operations. Understanding that a set remains the same no matter what its configuration is an important part of children's conceptual understanding of number value. Addition is the union of sets. Subtraction is the inverse of addition, or the taking apart of sets. We started today with a simple activity. I gave the children a baggie with a vertical line drawn down the middle and two small blocks. We discovered that no matter how many were on either side of the line, we still had two. I then gave them each one more block. We then discovered that 1 and 2 make 3, 0 and 3 make 3, etc. We continued this through with up to 5 blocks. 

     Things you can do at home to extend this unit are simple. Encourage your child to count things like dinner plates and glasses(up to five). Point out numerals in everyday life. Look at phone numbers, addresses, license plates, road signs, etc. Another fun thing you can do is look at past photos of your child when he or she was one, two, three, etc. Words we'll be learning and using frequently include: adding on, counting on, minus, plus, zero, one, two, three, four, five, addition, equals, number, subtraction.

     Tomorrow, middle school students will be coming to our room to practice face painting for Strawberry Festival. Don't be surprised if your child comes home as a strawberry! We also have a fun afternoon planned to celebrate Maryn's birthday. This will include a special treat at lunch, so your child may not eat everything packed tomorrow. 

     Next week, I'l be sending out conference rescheduling forms. Thank you all for your flexibility and understanding. 

     

Monday

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."  - The Lorax

     We started out our morning with morning meeting and signing in. We then scurried off to our first of many Arts Festival rehearsals. During these rehearsals, the children practice their part of the performance coming up in May with Ruth Ann's and Sharon's classes. They work with both Kim and Louise to incorporate both music and drama into their part. After rehearsal, we had time for fruit break and fruit break recess. Afterwards we had music class and sat down to listen to the wonderful story of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. We talked about why the trees and water and earth are important not only to us but to animals as well. We then talked about little things we can do to help our earth. Tomorrow, we're having a school-wide Zero Waste Lunch. Lots of you already pack zero waste lunches and our earth thanks you for that! I know it can be difficult, but I encourage you to try tomorrow. Your child will also be coming home with a baggie of "Truffula Tree Seeds." They're a baggie of Nerds Jelly Beans that fit the spirit of The Lorax perfectly. I did talk to the kids about how we can eat some seeds(like popcorn, sunflower, strawberry, etc.), but they may insist on planting them instead!