Pilgrims and Native American Indians

We have been learning about the Pilgrims and their voyage on the Mayflower. The voyage was 66 days long and was very difficult.

We compared life long ago in the Pilgrim village, the Wampanoag Indian village, and in our lives today. We made our own butter by shaking whipping cream really hard and we ate it on crackers - churning butter was a job Pilgrim children often had to help do.

We read books, watched videos to show what life was like long ago, and created many art projects to enhance our learning. 
We also chose Native American Indian names to put on headbands that we created. Each day we focused on a specific behavior or goal and were able to earn a feather for it. 
We had fun with Miss Marlowe and her turkey song!

We learned about a new coping skill called "Give it a Try". Our students often show some resistance to new things, or things that might be challenging for them. We want to encourage them to try things, even if they are a little hard for them. It is an important skill because real learning will require trying and practicing lot's of new things. 

We also worked on some social skills lessons about focusing attention and ignoring distractions so that we are able to learn new information and complete our work correctly. 

****** Please remember to sign up for a conference time in Skyward for Conference Day - December 14. My time slots are all for 30 minutes. If you already have a REED or IEPT scheduled with me that day, your time has been blocked out for you. Please let me know if you need any help. I look forward to meeting with you.****

Weather is getting chillier - be sure to send in hats and mittens for recess. 

Cold and flu season is here. Please talk to your children about washing hands and not touching/picking noses. If your child is sick or throwing up, they need to stay at home - our day is really busy with a lot of demands, and sick children need to be at home resting and recuperating. 

We LOVE the Pigeon!!!

We have enjoyed reading "Pigeon" books by Mo Willems all fall. Last week we decided to write some short stories about a pet the Pigeon wanted. We drew great, detailed pictures to go with our writing. We also made Pigeons, voted to decide if we thought the Pigeon should get a pet, and wrote about pets we would like to have ourselves. We can't wait to read more books by this funny author! We have begun to send our Pigeon book bag home with a different student each week - we hope you have fun when the Pigeon comes to your house!

We are also beginning to read various Native American legends and tales. This week we read "The Loon's Necklace" and "Rainbow Crow". Both tales come to us from the Woodland Indian Tribes near the mid-western part of the United States.

We worked on a new coping skill this week - Express your Feelings/Use Calm Words. This is challenging for our students when they are already upset, but is an important self regulation skill. At home you can prompt your child to use calm words when the need help or want something. 

In preparation for Veterans Day, we used our Scholastic News to talk about our military service men and women. We wrote about one of our own student's dads in our journals! 

Halloween!!!

Everyone had a blast in their costumes today! We loved being in the parade and eating wonderful snacks at our party. We especially loved playing at our centers in our costumes! 

Enjoy trick or treating - your children were all wonderful today! 

A few things to remember:

    * No school next Tuesday, Nov. 7

    * Send warm clothes for outdoor recess

    * Practice putting on and taking off coats and hats at home to build independence 

Big Pumpkin!!!

Thank you for coming to see our performance of "Big Pumpkin". It truly was a special day for our classroom, and we are so glad you were there to share it with us! I think we all felt very proud of our students/children!  Here are some pictures of our wonderful cast:

Tomorrow we will begin a new science unit about nocturnal animals. We will be making a special book about some of these animals.

Our Halloween Parade will be on Tuesday at 10:15. Children may bring their costumes to school - we will help them put them on for the parade. If you would like to send something in for the party, we will be glad to eat it! Tuesday is also a 1/2 day of school. 

Owls and Wild Things!!!

We read the book, "Where the Wild Things Are" and created wild things of our own. This art activity involved doing a lot of our own cutting - our hands got a real work out! We also created Max, the boy in the story who was sent to his room by his mother. We drew pictures of how we look when we are wild things - we talked about what zone Max was in when he was naughty and sent to his room. 

We also did a little owl mini unit and read some great owl stories to inspire our writing and art. We learned the word "nocturnal"... we will revisit that word again next week when we talk about bats. After reading the book, "Owl Babies" we created Sarah, Bill, Percy- the baby owlets in the story. We wrote factual owl information in our journals. 

Next Thursday, October 26, is our classroom performance of Big Pumpkin. The show will start at 2:00 - you will want to arrive early so you are seated in the classroom. Our students are so excited to perform for you - I think you are going to love it! We'll have treats afterwards! 

Halloween (Tuesday, October 31) is a half day of school. We will have our school costume parade at 10:15, followed by a simple classroom party. If you would like to send in a snack or drink for our party, please send me a note - thank you! 

Pumpkins, feedback and the Color Fun Run!

We read many stories about pumpkins this week and had a lot of fine motor practice with tissue paper and paint when we created pumpkins. Art activities are great ways to strengthen muscles and develop eye hand coordination. 

We had our first visit from Miss Marlowe for music therapy - she will come to our class each Monday for singing and music!

We work hard at the social work table with Mrs. Schnieders each week. Her lessons help support our progress with learning coping skills, handling challenging feelings and strong emotions and learning how self regulation skills. 

We have been working on the concept of "accepting feedback". Many children struggle with accepting information from adults - and often display upset feelings when feedback is given. We learned that feedback is friendly and helpful - when someone gives us feedback, they are trying to help us do something better or easier. We need to listen, stay calm and give it a try! 

We were very excited for the Color Fun Run today! This class is always so friendly and fun-loving - the had a blast!

Last Friday was School Picture Day! We think we're a pretty great looking class!

We ended our apple week by cooking and grinding apples to make applesauce. We thought it tasted pretty wonderful! It sure smelled yummy!

We learned about a new coping skill called The Coping Skill Tool Box.

We encourage children to use the coping skill tool box when they need to take a quiet break. We use a 5 minute timer and children choose one item to use - we have squishy balls, putty, etc.  Some kids benefit from having a coping skill tool box at home too. 
We read about scarecrows and fall leaves this week. We made some very fun scarecrows and enjoyed painting leaves and creating leaves out of tissue paper. We added some painted squirrels too! 

Next Friday, October 13, will be the Loon Lake Fun Run. This is a fundraiser for our PTA. The children will all get a T-shirt and we will run outside for a short time. 

On Tuesday, October 31 we will have a half day of school. Our Halloween Parade will be in the morning, followed by a short party. Children may bring costumes to put on for the parade. If you would like to send in a simple treat or drink for our party, just let me know. The kids like cheese and crackers, fruit, yogurt, cookies etc. Much thanks!