A busy winter week!

On Monday we had a little hot cocoa party to celebrate the great work we had done! We had mini marshmallows, little candy canes and a tiny do-nut with our cocoa. It was yummy and fun! 

We also read some stories about deer and made a red-nosed reindeer to take home. 

On Tuesday we worked together to create this beautiful winter village, and then we wrote about our families in our journals. 

On Wednesday we used some paper we had painted and sprinkled with salt for a snowy texture, and created a winter forest scene. We added special snowflakes on Thursday...our room looks cozy and colorful!

Our Holiday Breakfast was a lot of fun on Friday morning. The boys enjoyed eating together, and opening their gifts from us...these books are theirs to keep. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful, peace filled holiday with your children and families. I am so grateful to work with such wonderful children and families - thank you for your continued support and help. 

When we return on January 6, we will have a student teacher with us for 6 weeks. Miss Mattson will be joining us as she completes her special education student teaching. After February break, she will move to a high school program. We are excited that we will be able to share our wonderful classroom with her! 

Gingerbread stories

This week we read all types of "gingerbread" stories. We enjoyed the sly fox and we loved hearing how the gingerbread girl was able to outsmart him in one of the books. 

We have really become readers and enjoy book boxes (sometimes with partners) for longer periods of time each day. 

We worked hard on some snowmen globes and we made gift tags for our special family gifts!

Thanks to all of the parents who came to parent teacher conferences - I loved being able to share with you all of the wonderful learning and growth we see in your children!

***Next Friday, December 20, we will have a Winter Breakfast in our classroom. This will be our Holiday Party - it isn't necessary to send anything in except a hungry boy! 

December fun!

We have been busy this week with some December and holiday stories and crafts. Our classroom looks cozy and bright!

We are learning a fun new poem...

We have really incorporated the "group plan" into so many parts of our day, with great success. The boys enjoy creating a group plan, along with pictures of expected behavior, and I notice that when they do they are much more successful. This would be a good thing to try at home, especially with extra holiday activities that are often challenging for our students.

We continue to take turns with being the morning greeter - many of the boys have added "compliments" to their friends during this time! 

We added a new coping skill, "Move On" to our board. Many times children have difficulty "ending" a period of upset. "Move on" is a reminder that the problem is over, and we can get back in the green zone where we will feel much better (more comfortable). Staying upset is uncomfortable. This is something kids do for themselves - the focus is on helping them identify when they feel better. 

We worked on another type of deep breathing with Miss Kelly. 

We went to an assembly about empathy, using some of the Second Steps Curriculum - our class did a great job! 

***Our class will have an opportunity to go to the PTA Holiday Gift Shop on Tuesday, Dec. 10. A note was sent home on Tuesday about this. This is optional, but we are glad to take children down to shop if they wish. 

***A paper copy of your child's report card will be sent home on Dec. 11. We have an early release 1/2 day on Dec. 12, and Parent Teacher Conferences are in the afternoon and evening of Dec. 12. I look forward to meeting with you all then!

Our Field Trip to the WL OEC!

We had such a perfect day for our field trip to the WL Outdoor Education Center! It was a beautiful day for being outdoors, too! We are so appreciative of the WL Foundation for Excellence who was so generous with the mini grant that helped fund our trip today. 

Ms. Char drove us on the school bus. 

We learned about the tracks that different types of animals make in the woods. We were very careful when we touched the bear!

We looked for signs that birds had been eating here...we saw empty corn cobs and saw some feathers. 

We hiked into the woods ... all of the boys remembered the "group plan" we made and stayed together in our group. 

We even found some old deer bones in the woods! That was an exciting discovery! 

We learned how different animals are able to camouflage themselves to hide from predators. 

We worked with a partner to camouflage some potatoes and hid them in the garden - then we looked to see if we could find them again. 

 It was a fantastic trip, full of learning and friendship! When we returned to school, we drew our favorite part in our journals. 

Pilgrims and Native Americans

We learned more about the Pilgrim voyage on the Mayflower and how the Native American Indians helped them during the first difficult winter. We looked at pictures of the Mayflower and talked about how long 66 days would have been for that difficult journey. 

We enjoyed time with our friends this week during Center Time. These are great opportunities to use calm words, share, take turns and compromise. 

In our social skills lessons we worked on identifying emotions and looking at faces and bodies for clues. This week we looked at pictures of children who were happy and sad to notice things like smiles/turned down mouths and turned down eyes. Children who accurately identify emotions tend to be less aggressive and have improved social interactions. I am really happy that our students are beginning to resolve problems with calm words!

We have been having some extra fun acting out a book with music called, "A Soup Opera". We take turns with the different characters and costumes - ask your son to tell you about this funny story! 

We have been working on this poem this month - many of the boys know it by heart! 

** Our Field Trip to the WL Outdoor Education Center is Monday! Send a bag lunch and drink and dress for inside and outside activities. I will take a lot of pictures for you! 

**Please remember to send boots, snow pants and gloves or mittens for recess, and shoes to wear inside and into the gym. We go out to recess every day, and the boys want to enjoy the snow. You may also want to pack extra socks to change into if feet get wet. 

**Conference Day is on the afternoon/evening of Dec. 12 (this is an early release 1/2 day of school). Please schedule a conference time with me on skyward...or write me a note about the time of day that would work best for you, and I will go in and schedule one for you. Much thanks - I'm looking forward to seeing you that day!