Week 4!

This was a very busy (slightly exhausting!) week.  Between back to school night, pajama day, bus delays and inclement weather, we were always adjusting and readjusting our plans and schedule.  The students were real troupers and did not seem to mind in the least. 

One of our favorite parts of the week is school store day!  The students receive classroom money each day according to the color they end the day on.  Students save their money all week (sometimes longer) and then are allowed to spend it on up to two items from the school store.  The googly eye rings and stickers are hot items at this point in the year!  As the year goes one, students learn that saving is sometimes better because they can get the larger items like beanie babies and piggy banks.  Students also learn that good behavior is rewarded just as grown ups are rewarded for doing their jobs.  (donations for school store are always welcome :)!!)  Here is one young man deciding how to spend his money:

 In unit study, we finished our unit on fall by learning more about apples and pumpkins.  We culminated these events by making applesauce on Friday!  Unfortunately....the weather interrupted our applesauce plans.  We will have to wait until Monday to sample our applesauce.  Still, the kids loved chopping the apples and they can't wait to have a taste on Monday! 

 

In language arts, we finished our quick review of the alphabet.  We read lots of books by the author and illustrator Tomie dePaola.  We also learned about environmental print (signs we see every day like McDonald's, Walmart, etc...).

In math this week we learned all about patterns.  We became pattern experts!  Here are some students creating and completing repeating patterns.   

  

 

 One thing we do every day in math is laps.  The students walk laps around the classroom while dancing and counting.  With every lap, they grab a cube.  Then, they make groups of 5s with their friends.

 After every table has made "five towers," we all come together and count ALL the cubes.  This is a fun, active lesson that really helps students with their number sense and counting skills. 

Looking forward to next week...

In unit study, we will be learning about the 5 senses and how they help us learn about our environment. 

In language arts, we will be reading books by the author/illustrator Kevin Henkes (one of my personal favorites!).  We are focusing on the letter Ll and will learn the sight words: a, I, the.  We will continue to practice writing labels and work on learning to write lists.

In math, we will recognizing numbers, writing numbers and counting.

Have a great week!