Week of 12/3

You will be receiving a note regarding your child's Nutcracker part, and what s/he should wear for the performance in this week's Wednesday envelope. Please let me know if there are any problems with gathering up the various clothes needed-- most girls will be wearing leotards, and most boys will be wearing dark pants and either a light or dark shirt. Hopefully, if there is a clothing item you do not have, you can borrow it, as I do not intend for you to have to buy anything.  Girls-- I have several leotards of my daughter's that can be borrowed.  Again, the performance of the Nutcracker will be at 1:45 on the 20th. I only know of one student who will not be at school on that date. Please email me ASAP if you will not be in town for the performance!

On another Nutcracker note, I am in need of a few people who can help with make-up and costuming on the day of the show. You will come into the classroom at about 12:30 and call children back one-by-one to get them ready for the stage. Please email me if you can help with this!

Thank you for diligently signing up for the helper spots for the beginning of 2019. There are still 20 spots left for those who are interested in joining us for centers. Please see the Sign-Up Genius (link in email) to sign up.

Language Arts
Our sight word this week is you. We will be finishing up our unit on owls by having the children write what they've learned about owls. Children will work with me in the writing center to write a sentence or more of owl facts. This will be our first attempt at informational text. Though it may look something like "An owl is noktrnl." (translation: An owl is nocturnal.) that is the expectation right now. Sight words are spelled correctly, but other words are spelled phonetically. Thank you for encouraging your budding writers in the writing process by not over-emphasizing spelling at this time.

Math
We are finishing with 2D & 3D shapes this week and will begin Module 3: Comparison of Weight, Length, Capacity, and Numbers to 10. We will be looking at length this week. Children will be measuring the height & width of things around the classroom as well as comparing the length of different strips of paper. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

STEAM
This week, our class will participate in an exciting movement called Hour of Code. Students have become very proficient at coding using apps such as Kodable and last week, they did an amazing job with CodeSpark. This week we will be writing code for our Bee Bot, and using the Osmos again to do Osmo Coding Jam.  We will also do some "off the grid" programming using a game called "Hopscotch Coding." We are excited to be a part of this global movement!

We have an Art Vista lesson on Wednesday. Please contact Kassie if you can help with this.

**Please remember to send in your child's Blue Bag on Monday.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Hiromi), Daily 5, Centers (Jenny & Elena)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Sarah & Kassie)
Wednesday: Art Vistas (Kassie & ???), PE with Coach Justin, Blue Bags Go Home
Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Ellen & Belinda)
Friday: Story time with Grandma Gail, Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Chris H. & Mary)

Upcoming Events:
12/3-12/7: Hour of Code/Computer Science Week  
Thursday 12/13: Be Seen & Heard Assembly
Thursday 12/20: Nutcracker Performance @ 1:45
12/21-01/04: Winter Break
Monday 01/07: School Resumes
Friday 01/18: Professional Development Day: No School
Monday 01/21: Martin Luther King Day, No School
Thursday 01/31: 100 Day
02/18-02/22: President's Week Vacation