The shortest month is packed with the most special occasions! It can be dizzying!
We started the month kicking off the Winter Olympics. It was exciting to share the array of sports that these games would bring. We previewed the games with a few clips from the sochi games. We all agreed that luge and skeleton were slightly insane, snowboarding and skiing were exhilarating, and figure skating? Well as heard while watching, "How do they keep from getting dizzy?!"
We did a scratch art project of the Olympic Rings. We started by laying down heavy color blocks which would be covered in black paint, then scratched off in the shape of the rings when dry.
Mrs. Franklin brought in a beautiful piece of art that her husband did using the same technique! He was inspired by seeing the lights in the port of Olympia.
In addition to theme related crossword puzzles and word games, we also graphed the different sports into the 3 categories of sliding, snow, and, and ice.
Valentine's Day was our next celebration.The children shared valentines with one another, and then we created valentines for our families and friends.
100th day of school followed the next day! We thought about all the things we did not know 100 days ago, including new classmates! We had 8 stations each with 100 objects. The children were challenged to design something using these items within the period of a math rotation (about 20 minutes.)
We have been doing some "quick writes;" an opportunity to focus on writing in short amounts of time without the need to feel like a piece is finished. Children often struggle to get thoughts on paper. This technique frees them from the worry of getting "finished." Whatever they can do in that time is accepted. It is similar to math fact fluency checks. It is hoped that each quick write is a little bit longer. Our first one was after reading a story about magnets, and we shared anything that we knew about the subject.
Speaking of math facts fluency, we are enjoying tracking our progress!
Our classroom is a community, and it is important to communicate with each other. We have Share Meetings where we share our thoughts and feelings. The children speak directly to each other, asking for changes or giving compliments.The person with Talking Turtle speaks while everyone listens.
Our month ended with a popcorn surprise! Kelpman Construction sponsored our Popcorn Day, and just like that, we had a celebrity in our midst! Thank you, to the Kelpman Family!
And now we are in March. The year will move very quickly now. Hang on to your hats!
Important upcoming dates:
- This Thursday, March 8th- Book Swap
- This Friday, March 9th-No School for students Teacher in-service.
- March 16th- Animal Reports due.
- March 23-Snow Make up day.
- March 30th-1/2 Day before Spring Break-Dismissal at 12:35.
- April 9th- School resumes
Happy Days!
