We've been here for 102 days of school!

We have a new classmate! Now our class has 13 wonderful students in it!

We celebrated the 100th day of school on Wednesday, and continued to work on our animal research projects, science notebooks and animal artwork. We learned about the different ways animals protect themselves and how some animals disguise themselves from predators. We also learned that baboons are omnivores - they eat vegetables (leaves) and meat (fish and bugs). Many of us are omnivores too!

In our social skills lessons this week we talked about how to calm down anger. We learned that when we have a strong feeling, we need to Stop, Name our Feeling, and Breathe. These things can help our body feel calm - deep breathing helps to lower our blood pressure and heart rate, which calms the body. We learned a little poem too:

       Stop, Breathe, Think it through

       Make a Choice that works for you!

We are also practicing following directions the first time they are given. Often times children develop some avoidance behaviors when they hear a direction. These behaviors can quickly become habits that interfere with learning and socializing - we suggest that our students say, "OK" when a direction is given and then try to comply. We are always there with praise when we see those attempts! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We learned about animal habitats this week, worked in our science notebooks and on our animal research, and had time for some great animal art projects! We read a great book titled "Actual Size" and used a tape measure to really see how big some animals are. We enjoyed holding our hands up to a print of a gorilla's hand.

We learned that it took 3 boys to equal the length of a Brown Bear! (13 feet)

Our loom has been a big hit -we find that weaving is very relaxing and easy to do. We enjoy using different yarns, ribbons and even strips of cloth to weave with.

In our social skills lessons we talked about how to recognize when we are feeling frustrated, and what we can do about it. I have been impressed with how often the children refer to their brains, and how they can use their pre-frontal cortex to help think through a problem and find a good solution, instead of just reacting.

On Monday, following mid-winter break, we will welcome a new kindergarten boy to our classroom!

We have had fun delivering all of our valentines cards this week, and had even more fun opening our cards up at our party! We enjoyed many yummy treats - thanks to all who contributed!

We've been working on animal research!

We have been working so hard on our animal research projects! Students read to find out what their animals eat - are they carnivores, herbivores or omnivores? We read a book about animal teeth, and learned that different teeth do different jobs. We read to find interesting facts about our animals and to learn what kinds of coverings they have on their body - feathers, fur, scales?  We are writing down all of our new learning on special paper....we hope to share these with you in a few weeks! This is something new for our students, and we are really exercising our brains!

Of course, we also found time to decorate our Valentine's mailbags - they look great! Your child only needs to sign his/her name on his/her card - we will deliver a card to each mailbag. You cannot believe how much our students enjoy opening all those cards on Valentine's Day!

Please remember that students go out for recess - they need gloves, hats, boots, and snow pants. You may send extra dry socks - feet often get cold and wet at recess. Sometimes our classroom feels chilly, so it is great for kids to bring an extra sweatshirt or hoodie to leave here.  We also welcome boxes of Kleenex and Lysol type canisters of wipes for tabletops -  thanks!