Friday, December 08, 2006

Here are more things we like to read about:

Sydney--—song books, Christmas books, Littlest Pet Shop

John--—song books, Christmas books, car books

Brandon--—rescue heroes, sharks, wrestling

Jesse--—animals, dinosaurs, Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones

Hannah--—Christmas, ice skating, science, math, poetry

Chris—--super heroes, snowmen, Christmas

Tyler--—Sponge Bob, Charlie Brown

Ashley—--Junie B. Jones, animals, Littlest Pet Shop, ice skating, Christmas

YaXi—--princesses, friends, animals

Taylor B.—???

Jamie—???

Brycen—???

(these are pending)

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Our class is doing “Secret Santa.” Each of us picked the name of one classmate to buy a book for. The book should be inexpensive, new or gently used. Here are some things we like to read about:

Noah—--dogs, cats, sharks

Katie—--Magic Tree House, Bailey School Kids, poetry, Junie B. Jones, memory books

Jordan—--math, science, Magic Tree House

Mariah—--dogs, cats, birds

Connor—--dinosaurs, oceans, sharks

Savannah--—fairies, Magic Tree House, animals

Mckayla—--animals, Magic Tree House, poetry, Junie B. Jones

Aubrey—--princesses, ice skating, poetry

Jared—--Magic Tree House, Spiderman, Junie B. Jones

Taylor T.—--animals, princesses, ice skating

more to follow.....

Newsletter 6--2006

2006-2007
Room 302—Newsletter 6
http://room302.blogspot.com

December 6, 2006

Dear Families,

The busy times continue.  But there is a lot of good energy around, and we’re having fun.  Thanks so much to everyone for putting the time and effort into conferences.  I enjoy having the time to sit down and have those conversations.  Please keep in touch if you have concerns or questions as the year continues.
Field Trip
Well, it was interesting.  We only made it as far as Tiger Mountain, and we didn’t even see any tigers.  We got back at 11:00.  All in all, I thought the kids did great.  It was just one of those things.  I was grateful for all of the parent support we had with us.
The good news:  Thanks to some excellent work by our principal, we are already rescheduled to go again.  It seems only fair to offer first chance to chaperone to those who were with us today.  Let me know if that doesn’t work, or if you’d like to be on a chaperone waiting list.  I’ll send more details as we get closer.
Holiday Program
The students are working very hard to get ready for the big show.  The gym is usually packed, and parking is tricky, but it will all be worth it.  The students need to arrive at 6:45 and meet in our classroom.  Then we’ll all walk down together as a class.  After the show, we walk back to the classroom and dismiss to families from there.  It’s the safest way to go.  I’ll be sending home copies of the lyrics for the songs, in case the students want some extra practice.
Holiday Party
On Tuesday, December 19 we’ll be having a holiday party.  We’ll trade books with our secret Santas and build gingerbread houses.  I’ll be assigning each child something to bring from the list of supplies to make the gingerbread houses.  We’d also welcome any treats and/or volunteers to help us create our masterpieces.  Once again, Savannah’s mom has agreed to help me coordinate this.  Contact Kim if you can contribute in some way, or if you can’t send something for the gingerbread houses.
Book Exchange--Secret Santa
I thought it would be fun for part of our Christmas Party to do a Secret Santa book exchange.  Each child will secretly draw the name of another classmate.  Then he or she will bring a new or gently used (inexpensive, non-religious) book as a gift to exchange at the party.  The book should be wrapped, with only the recipient’s name on the outside.  At the party, we’ll exchange gifts and reveal Secret Santas.  
Let me know if you’re unable to provide a new or gently used book for this so that we can make sure to have a present for everyone.  Also let me know if you have extra books you’d like to donate for this.  
Chapter Book
Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe.
We’re also reading Junie B., First Grader:  BOO…and I Mean It! by Barbara Park
Calendar
Thursday, December 7—Connor’s Birthday (     Tuesday, December 19—Holiday Party, 1:30
Thursday, December 7—Jared’s Birthday (     Wednesday, December 20—Early release, 12:15
Thursday, December 7—Mrs. Couch’s Birthday (     Thursday, December 21-Monday, January 1—No school:  Winter Break
Thursday, December 14—Holiday Program, 7:00     Tuesday, January 2—School resumes


Sincerely,


Jeff

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

We put ornaments on the school’s Christmas tree and sang Christmas songs while we were waiting for our turn. A teacher called us up when it was time. We sang Rudolph, Up on the Housetop, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Here Comes Santa Claus, and Jolly Old St. Nicholas. We had fifth graders helping us put the ornaments up on the tree.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

We tried to go on a field trip to see the play called Sorcerer’s Apprentice. We brought some things to do on the way, like reading, writing, and drawing. Some of us did a scavenger hunt. We had a piece of paper that told us what to look for on the way. If you found something, you had to check it off.

But we got stuck in traffic for about 40 minutes, so we didn’t get to see the play after all. We had to turn around and come back to school instead. When the bus turned around, we jerked back and forth because we took a sharp turn where it was gravelly and bumpy. Some people fell out of their seats because they weren’t ready.

We had fun anyway. We’ll be going again in January.

Monday, December 04, 2006

We used new science stuff. We were the first ones. It was fun. We blew air through a plastic tube with a syringe (not our mouths) and discovered ways to use the syringes and the tubes. If we stuck the cap back where it was on a syringe and pushed the plunger really hard, the cap flew off onto the table. Another thing we did was with two syringes. We hooked them together with the plastic tube. When we pushed in the plunger of one syringe, the other plunger popped out. We were careful not to aim them at each other.