News for December 11

I apologize for being away for three days this week, due to sickness. But Room 204 was back to doing amazing things by the end of the week!

In math, the students finished the geometry unit. They used what they learned to create 3D figures using straws, magnetic shapes and snap-together pieces. As a group, the class worked together to make a HUGE icosahedron, a figure with 20 equilateral triangle faces. We figured out that it also has 12 vertices and 30 edges.

The class started a new project...creating a Lego City! First the class brainstormed the type of buildings typically found in a city. Next each child chose a building to create out of Lego pieces. Then each child began to write a story, using their Lego City building as the setting for their writing.

 The students finished up editing their glovetopus chapter books this week. I will be typing these stories and the children will make proper books out of them. We also spent a lot of time writing letters for our school-wide Holiday Mailbox activity. The student are practicing what they know about proper letter writing and addressing envelopes.

The children learned about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. They learned about the history of this celebration and the food and activity traditions associated with it. We cooked potato pancakes (latkes) and every student helped to grate the potatoes. The tradition is to eat these pancakes with applesauce and they were delicious! The children also learned how to play the traditional game of dreidel (a spinning top).

We learned some holiday songs this week in preparation for the school's traditional Holiday Sing-a-long next Friday. So far, we reviewed Frosty the Snowman and The Dreidel Song.

Books read aloud this week:

The Latke That Couldn't Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket
I Have a Little Dreidel by Maxie Baum
Frosty the Snowman by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson