Woodshop, Winter Wellness, Writing and More

Hello Families,

I hope you are all off to a great new year! In class we have been getting back into routines and getting started on some new work.

I am going to be sending home permission slips for your children to participate in our "Woodshop" in the room. Kids will be able to design, model and build creations of their own. We go through an extensive training period where the kids are practicing on cardboard before moving into wood. For the wood part of our project, we'll be needing scrap 2x4s, brace and bit drills, egg beater drills, hand saws, vices and miters. We have some to use in the room but probably not for everyone to use.

Winter Wellness will be starting on January 24th. We'll be letting the kids know what they are signed up for soon. Our class was one of two to get their slips in on time!

In writing, we have started our work on fictional narrative writing. I always stress that to be able to write a story, you need to be able to tell a story. We have talked about how stories can be in written and spoken words, pictures, and video. Two short video stories that I have used are from Coldplay and Of Monsters and Men. The links are below. The main idea is that in fictional stories there are almost always a problem and solution with some bumps in between. I encourage you to talk about it with your kids.

Coldplay Video

Of Monsters and Men Video

We will be getting through the Winter battery of reading assessments over the next couple of weeks. This is when we get to get a more formal look at your child's reading progress. I will try to get that information into the report cards though this will be challenging due to my days I have scheduled to read with the kids not aligning completely with the report card window. In any case just reach out if you have any questions about your child's progress.

The kids have earned their second bonus recess for all of their hard work, kindness and flexibility. They are close to earning a Read-All-Day day. I'll be sure to keep you updated with their progress!

I think that's about it for now. I hope everyone is well and be in touch if you have any questions, concerns or celebrations!

~B