Holiday Happenings for December

HO HO HO   

Holiday Happenings for December!                                

December 1, 2011

Dear Parents,

This month will go by quickly and Christmas break will be here before we know it.  I will need as much help as you can give in the classroom. Please any parents that can give and hour in the mornings 8:30-9:30 or late afternoons from 2:00-2:40 please contact me or just come in.  I have lots of holiday activities that I need help with I am just one elf and will need extra hands in order to pull of the Christmas around the world activities and arts and crafts I have planned.  I am also looking for one or two parents to take charge and set up a party for the last hour of Wednesday December 21^st  from 1:00-2:00. The second gr ade as a team will be planning and providing a Polar Express Morning for the entire 2^nd grade, but the afternoon party hour will need to be parent organized and run...   I have planned one story/game for the children after lunch.  I am asking that each child bring one giant sized wrapped chocolate bar of any kind and we will be reading the Right Family Christmas Story. Each child will get to unwrap and keep the chocolate bar they have at the end of the story. This is always a holiday favorite game and the students get a chance to give and receive.  More info will follow once I have parents to plan the last hour of the day?  Cookie decorating, gingerbread houses, games?

I need parents to sign up or e-mail me if you can help on the following days:

Monday 12/19 I need Art Parents from 1:00-2:40 we will be making frames for our parent gifts that afternoon and gift bags. (just pretend you didn’t see yours)

Tuesday 12/20 from 1:00-2:40 I need one parent to help us Christmas Carol the building we will be singing our own 12 -----of Christmas song that the students will write and illustrate. We will go to as many classrooms as sign up to have us visit and spread our

Christmas Cheer!

Wednesday 12/21 from  12:45-2:00 as mentioned above parent planned and run afternoon party.

Reading: We will be finishing up our Unit on Kindness before the Christmas break.  Our new 6 week unit will begin when we return from the holidays. The new unit theme will be about animals and camouflage.  Like zoologists, students will be studying animals in their natural habitats.  We will “travel” to different parts of the world to observe animals living in various environments and to observe the specialized adaptations they have developed to survive where they live. Students will learn more about animals they already know and become acquainted with many new ones, as they peek into jungles, swamps, deserts, forest, ponds, mountains, and grasslands. By reading the selections in this new unit, students will discover various forms of camouflage, and learn why it is so critical to may wildlife creatures. I want my students to learn that not all animals camouflage themselves in the same way, and not all of the same reasons. There will be much to be discovered on this journey. I am excited about this theme because it is always engaging no matter what the gender of your child. Boys and girls alike are unusually drawn into the theme and there is nothing better than watching their excitement and enthusiasm about reading.  We continue to work on reading comprehension strategies during literature circle time with RT’s help. Ask your child who RT is and what tools he uses to become a good reader?

Math:  We will be finishing Topic 8 adding two-digit numbers with regrouping before the Christmas break.  We are learning new strategies along with the traditional methods of algorithm that give students options of solving problems multiple ways.  Math instruction is moving in the direction of children using critical thinking skills to solve everyday math. I am providing a link for parents to read up on the new math strategies that might give you more insight into this kind of instruction.

http://beyondtheblue.boisestate.edu/blog/2011/11/28/jonathan-brendefur/ (click on podcast)

FYI  we will be finishing Topic 8 the week of December 12^th and I will not begin the new unit until we come back due so please believe you child when they tell you they do not have any math homework the last week before break. We will instead be catching up on Chess lessons and practicing building our facts with automaticity.

Character:  I have to begin by telling you that my own class has taught me the value of teaching character building education.  My students show me their true gifts of character each and everyday and I am amazed by the integrity I get to witness. This month our new virtue is Compassion and Caring for others.  We will begin the sale of our Friendship for Families bracelets Tuesday December 6^th. The entire second grade has been busy making bracelets for sale and the proceeds will go to supports a family at Christmas.  I have been amazed at how many bracelets have come in and many students involved their entire family in the project.  Thank you for your support at home for this project.

Report cards will come home the last day of school before the break. I will not be sending home Friday folders that day so you will need to check your child’s backpack and contact me if this does not make it home!  Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or concerns about progress.  LHedberg@msd134.org

P.S. I would love to hear from parents if you would like me to continue once a month newsletters. I blog and send hardcopies it is time consuming and I think it is valuable for most?? Let me know if you enjoy it and find it informative?

 

I hope you have a very joyous holiday with your children and families see you next year!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hedberg