Festivals of Light--- Kwanzaa week

After a nice Thanksgiving break we are jumping right into our new theme: Festivals of Light. This week we are focusing on Kwanzaa. We were surprised by our Elf on the Shelf.  The children voted and named him Peppermint.  He has managed to surprise us every day....the kids are so excited to discover his new location. He has been on the on the easel, in the Christmas tree, behind the Kinara and even made a bed with Kleenex.....no telling what clever spaces he will explore next week. 

 In our language arts block this week Miss O'Connor has continued guided reading & the book in the bag program. It is amazing the progress your children have made since the beginning of the year. We also talked about what the setting means.  We can't wait to show you their progress!!!  Mrs. Sansale has guided the children in their Handwriting Books with chalkboards to practice the letters L & K.  We also worked on telling parts of sentences in our grammar books.
 
 

In math we have introduced double digit addition as well as place value. For double digit addition we pulled dominoes and worked on double digit addition facts.  Some kids even learned how to carry.  They will learn that more in second grade.  We used the iPads to scan different double digit addition problems.  We showed our work on a piece of paper and then scanned the problem with the iPad to check the answer.  It was so much fun!

 Place value is a very abstract concept and can be difficult for first graders to grasp.  Your children are doing a great job. It is important to know that each number has a place and a certain value. For example, 27 is not just a 2 and 7, it is 20 (2 groups of 10) + 7 (ones). The learned how to write out the problems in expanded form.  It is a fun concept to teach. We will visit place value the rest of the year.

 
During Social Studies this week...we introduced Kwanzaa.  The children watched a video clip learning all about the traditions and we worked in our theme notebooks.  We also read Kwanzaa words and learned all about the Kwanzaa principles.  We learned about the Kwanzaa symbol corn/Muhindi.  This Kwanzaa symbol represents children.  The families regardless of whether they have children place ears of corn on the Kwanzaa mat in recognition that we all are collectively responsible for the care, welfare, and development of children.  We made our very own "ears of corn".

CHAPEL LESSON & CHALLENGE:  PAY IT FORWARD...

TNT: We made our very own Kwanzaa place mats.  We weaved them and it was so much fun!

Spelling: Phonics Skills: controlled vowel /or/, or, ore 
form, more, store, sort, long, fort, corn, horse, born, storm
Christmas, winter, angel, presents
??? your choice

Hands on Science: The children did an experiment with the teachers using food coloring, sugar, cups, spoons and water.  The experiment tested the density with sugar water.  It showed in all the different colors.

Computer Lab:  We used a program called Dance Mat Typing.  It is a great website to help your children with keyboarding and finger placement on the computer.  The link is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr 
We also played on www.abcya.com.  We worked on Base Ten Bingo & Base Ten Fun.  This helped with the place value concept.

Reminders:
Scholastic Book Orders online are due December 8th!
Christmas Program: December 12th@9:15am
Christmas Break starts December 20th-January 5th.
No School January 5th- P.D.Day!
Classes resume January 6th

Enjoy your weekend! Love, Melissa & Maeve