Science Alive came to visit!

On Thursday afternoon we had a really special treat from our PTA - we had a Science Alive classroom visit! The Science Alive staff brought animals right into our classroom so that we could look at them up close! Our students remembered a lot of animal information from our science units this year, so it was a wonderful learning experience for them. Thanks PTA!

This week we read "Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter and made a list of character traits for Peter. We finished up our oviparous animals science unit, and your child will be bringing home his/her  oviparous animal booklet. Next week we will begin a new science unit - insects!
We had fun making bird's nests to eat - we used "mud" and "sticks", jelly beans and Peeps - they were wonderful to eat!

In our social skills lessons this week, we talked about fair ways to play. We discussed sharing, trading and taking turns and practiced doing those things during Center Time. We learned how to solve a problem with a friend by following these steps: Say the problem, Think of Solutions, Explore the Consequences and then Pick the best solution. We will practice and work on these steps this spring for all kinds of difficult situations. You might like to write down these steps and help your child use them at home too.
One of our students built a little slide for our fairy door - we were excited to find a little note from them that said that they had a blast playing on it! They've left us some nice treats this week too!

Our final Parent Support Group meeting will be next Wednesday, April 23, at 6:30. We will meet in our classroom - I hope many of you will be able to join us! 

Now we are 15!

A new friend joined our class this week, and everyone made him feel welcome. We have a full classroom of 15 students, so room 113 is a very busy place! Perhaps your child has talked to you about our number system -we each have a number and this is how we line up, and how we sit at group time. Knowing exactly where our place is has helped to reduce some of the commotion we were experiencing during transitions. It has also been a great way to practice odd and even numbers and counting in order.

We have begun to talk about oviparous and viviparous animals -the kids love these big words! Ask your child to give you examples of each, and ask them to explain why! You might be surprised at how smart your child is!  (Here is a hint - humans are viviparous.) On Monday we found eggs by the fairy door - inside each egg was an oviparous animal!

We have been working a lot on the concept of following directions. This is not easy for many students because we are often asking them to do a task that is challenging, or to transition to a task that is not preferred, or to change a behavior that has been a pattern. We actually try to give children a lot of practice with this skill - each time a direction is given, we have another opportunity to learn and practice. This skill becomes the basis of so many other learning opportunities for children. If you notice a 2 on your child's note, you will know that we are working on this with your child. It does not mean your child is "bad" or a "problem" - it means that we all need to work on that area. We review the rubrics for all behavior areas and the notes every day, so children are aware of what each number means. We want to be sure that they know what "following directions" looks like and sounds like so that they can shape their behavior. Thanks to all of you who are also working on this at home!
The playground is thawing, but is still very wet and muddy. Please make sure your child has boots for recess, and extra clothes here at school to change into. We are happy that spring has arrived, but we know the appeal of mud and puddles!
I hope you all have a wonderful Spring Break Week. I will miss the children, but I know they will love being able to get outside in the nicer weather! When we return from break we will finish up our oviparous animal study, and then get ready for insects!   Paper report cards will come home on Wednesday April 16.