This week we finished up our unit about day/night and nocturnal animals. Your child will bring home his/her nocturnal animal art pages to show you. We will begin our social studies unit about the Pilgrims and the Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving. We will learn about the voyage on the Mayflower, and what life was like when the Pilgrims arrived in America. We will read many Native American legends this month, choose our own Native American names, and earn feathers for our headbands.
We started a gratitude chain last week -look how long it is already!

We spend a few minutes each morning talking about what we are thankful or grateful for. You would be amazed at the many non-materialistic things your children mention!
The coping skill we are working on is "How big is the problem" -we have been talking about how it is smart to match our reaction to the true size of a problem. We are also working to understand that there are times when we will all be in the blue (sad, tired, sick, hurt), red (very upset, out of control, extremely agitated) or yellow (confused, annoyed, frustrated, jealous) zones, not just the green zone (in control, ready to learn, calm).  Coping skills are the tools that we can use to help us get back to the green zone. I have seen several students show that they can do this lately!

Big News!!! We are working on a performance based on the book, "Bear Snores On". We will work hard on it for many weeks, but we plan to perform for you at 2:00 on Tuesday, December 16 in our classroom. I hope that many of you will be able to come and see our performance and join us for a little reception afterwards. All family and friends are welcome!

Our field trip is on November 19 - we are going to the Outdoor Center to learn about birds and trees. Your child needs to pack a sack lunch and drink that day. We need you to return the permission slips that are coming home this week.
Parent Teacher Conference Day is next Thursday, November 13. I look forward to seeing you then!