Week of Oct. 18

This has definitely been and interesting and busy week!

On Monday, our Morning Message included counting the number of words and letters in the sentence; finding all the letters we've learned (m, a, s, p); and finding all the popcorn words we know (I, can, we, the, like, a). Here is a picture of the finished product:



On Wednesday, we had our very first RIF (Reading Is Fun-damental) book distribution. The organization provides money for a free paperback book for every child at Nicklin, and Mrs. Hopkins puts on a blast of a party to celebrate! Enjoy a slideshow of some pictures of the event below!

Customize your own free digital scrapbooking design

Also on Wednesday, we had our second "Mystery Food Tasting Day". This is where we are served a fruit or a vegetable, many of which are new to us. Everyone tastes the food, and then writes about their experience in their journal. Today's food was broccoli. Some liked it:

And some didn't:

"Mrs. K., this is me puking!"

On Thursday, we practiced making patterns with our math manipulatives. This is a great thing for you to practice at home with your child. Make patterns with coins, crayons, or anything you can find around the house. Look for patterns while you are out shopping or at the park.

A free digital slideshow by Smilebox

This week's focus in Language Arts is on the letter Pp. We have met Pippa Pig:

Our newest popcorn word is a. We are also learning to write P and R in handwriting. We read a funny story called The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, by Steven Kroll. It's all about a house mouse and a field mouse who discover and unknowingly take care of the same pumpkin. Be sure to ask your child about how they work things out when they find out about each other!
After we read the story, we compared the two mice, Clayton and Desmond, on a Venn Diagram:


Then Mrs. K. brought in the biggest pumpkin she could find, and we estimated its circumference by cutting our own lengths of string. This is how it came out:

8 guesses were too long, 8 guesses were too short, and 2 guesses were just right (OK, I cheated - I measured and cut mine before the kids came that day!). But Marissa was the only student to guess the length of her string perfectly! Way to go, Marissa!

In Math, of course we are working on patterns and estimating. I have also been assessing your child in the areas of number sense (counting, reading, and writing the numbers), colors and shapes, and sorting and graphing.

With all of the assessments and other activities going on, we haven't had much time for Science this week - we'll pick it back up after assessments are over.

Have a great week!