We had another great week last week in the 4/5 class! It was nice to have another 4 day week to help everyone get adjusted to coming to school each day.
We spent this week focusing on families, houses, and our names. We read several Kevin Henkes books involving starting school and some of the challenges that come with trying new things. We created a class chart counting the letters in each of our names and comparing it to the main character of our first book “Chrysanthemum”. We found that she had the most letters in her name, but everyone’s name is just right for them. We also had fun decorating popsicle stick people to be our new “student sign in center”. Each morning, your child can find his/her popsicle stick person from the basket near the calendar and place it inside the envelope on the board with their name. We will try this for awhile and see how it works. Please let us know if your children enjoy this.
Many children were loving using scissors to cut yarn hair for their people, so we put out “cutting trays” several of the mornings as fine motor practice. We made family pictures using our fingerprints and framed them with popsicle sticks. These will be displayed later this week. The children also used collage materials to make houses and everyone’s is very unique! Sally brought in some homemade bubble solution and we had fun using the beaded bubble wands that we made outside together. Story time Bob, a longtime friend of the school, came on Thursday to share some stories and playtime with the children, and we also had a very successful fire drill. Show and tell on Friday went so smoothly, and the children were polite and patient while their friends shared their special items. When we got to the playground, we had a special surprise visitor, Sally’s pet chicken was there! Many of the children enjoyed feeding and talking to it.
This week we are starting a camping themed unit and have lots of fun activities planned. If you have any empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls, please leave them in the basket outside our classroom door. We have noticed that several of the children have shown interest in spiders and insects, while others are enjoying building things and drawing what they make. We will continue to observe the children and soon let them take the lead in where our learning will go.
Thank you once again for sharing your delightful children with all of us!
Sincerely,
Hannah, Wynne, and Shelby
