2005-2006 Room 302—Newsletter 18 http://room302.blogspot.com
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Dear Families,
We had indoor recess due to the cold on Friday, and I didn’t quite get this done in time. Still, I hated to waste it because it was about 99% ready, so here it is anyway, for those of you reading email or the blog. Have a great week off.
We had a great week, with lots of stuff happening. Our Valentine exchange on Tuesday was a wonderful culmination and celebration of lots and lots of dedication and hard work by this class full of writers. I think it’s hard to overestimate how great they did, making individual and personal cards for each and every classmate. They had fun doing it, and they had fun reading the messages from each other. All the wonderful treats helped make the party fun, too. Thanks so much to everyone who was able to contribute.
And now we’re looking at a week off. They might just be glad of some time to do other things that we don’t always get time to do, like build, play, draw, climb, etc. so I might not push the reading and writing too hard. On the other hand…here are some possibilities….,
In reading….
It might be the perfect time to plan a visit to the public library. Your King County library card also works at other King County libraries, which can be a lot of fun to visit and explore. And the nice thing is that you can return the materials right here in town, rather than driving them back. It also might be a good time to grab one of your favorite chapter books from when you were young and use it as your read-aloud. I recently read The Boxcar Children aloud to my kids at home, and I almost wish it hadn’t been such a hit, because now Jeremy keeps checking out others in that series and I’m growing rather tired of them. Still….
In writing….
We have paper and notebooks all over the place at my house, but when Jeremy got a new notebook for Valentine’s Day, it inspired him to write. I’m not sure how long that will last, but even if it lasts only a little while I consider the dollar well spent. The other thing my boys are into is Hangman. And sometimes they even stump Judy and I—talk about motivation! All those word games can be great ways to strengthen and extend what they know.
In math….
I’ve written before about the power of games. When my mom was in from Wisconsin, we got out a regular deck of cards and taught my boys how to play a game called 21. It’s also called Blackjack. Let me state right away that this is in no way my attempt to encourage (or discourage) gambling. Some people have strong feelings about that and some do not. But I must say that for our family, it’s a game that we as adults enjoy playing with the kids, and they with us. And the amount of math that happens during the game is tremendous—including counting, adding, subtracting, probability, noticing patterns, number combinations, and probability. They beg us to play—not because they want to practice math facts, and yet they can’t help but practice when we’re playing. And there are many more games that use math. They might be just the thing to fill some of the time during the week off.
Field Trip…
Our trip to the police station was excellent. We had fun and learned a lot. It’s so great that they are willing to take the time and trouble to show us around and talk to us. If you get the chance, you can read more about it on the blog.
Current Chapter Book Read Aloud…
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Calendar…
February 20-24 –Mid-Winter Break Sunday, March 5—Savannah’s Birthday
Wednesday, February 22—Aubree’s Birthday Thursday, March 16—Early Release
Friday, February 24—Kayla’s Birthday Thursday, March 16—Report Cards Home
Sunday, February 26—Lukas’s Birthday Friday, March 17—Snow Make-up Day
Sincerely,
Jeff
