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Weekly newsletter from 1/2 class

Posted March 9th, 2010 by Stacia Farabee
Categories: 1/2 | No Comments »
Dear Parents,

Another week has flown by! We have been very busy learning and enjoying each other.
Please take some time to visit our room to see the Matisse drawings the children have done. They are gorgeous! Every single day our kids impress us with their talent and ability to transfer knowledge. You can check them out on the bulletin board in our classroom. We were pleased that the artwork made an impression and not just the Oglethorpe cafeteria!
The History Museum was wonderful. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. The children got to see many authentic tools and weapons. They also got to touch different game equipment and fur. The discussion about the many purposes these things had was meaningful and rich. They were so impressed with the Muskogee legend The Great Ball Game that we ordered a class copy. You may want to check it out from your local library to read together.
On Wednesday Jami Vance, our intern, was here all day. We really lucked out getting her. She worked with many children one-on-one learning math and literacy. Her warm demeanor and competence has allowed us to lower the teacher/student ratio and be able to spend more time on individual instruction. She has agreed to substitute in the future after she fulfills her required master’s hours for Oglethorpe!
The trip to Spivey Hall was fantastic. The musician was unbelievably talented and introduced the children to many different instruments. Almost every child in our class had a chance to perform on stage! Please check your email for a photo Joy sent from her phone.
We have decided to cancel the trip to Fernbank Museum on March 31. Instead, we are going to go to Little Shop of Stories in Decatur. They are going to give us a tour of the shop and explain how the various genres of books are arranged. After that they will be doing a read aloud. If you have already paid for the Fernbank trip, we will apply your $7.00 to these new ones. We have also added another trip for that week to The Wren’s Nest. More information about that trip will follow as we get closer to the date. Suzanne is looking for parent volunteers to drive and chaperone for both trips. A special thanks to Chad, Sabrina’s dad, and Ted, Alek’s dad, for agreeing to accompany us to Sensations. Also, if you are able to volunteer in the classroom during the weeks of March 22-26 and March 29-April 2, Suzanne would really appreciate it. Please let her know your availability as soon as possible.
March dates to look forward to:
March 10 – TELLUS Museum – $8March 24 – Sensations – $10March  30 – The Wren’s Nest – $6March 31 – Little Shop of Stories – $10 (This will include a book for each child!)
Have a terrific weekend. Warmly, Suzanne and Joy

News from the 3/4 class

Posted March 9th, 2010 by Stacia Farabee
Categories: 3/4 | No Comments »
Hello everyone. We hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s sunshine like we did. We wrapped up our day with poetry (and a little playing) in the park.
Now, down to business! We are having a pizza party this Friday. The students worked so hard to raise money for Haiti and for the class funds that we had to treat them. Please be sure to send your child with a fruit break. We will provide the pizza.
The weather has been a little tricky lately. Our room can get very hot because we have so many windows. Students are hot, then cold, then hot…please help them dress in layers. This will also help outside. Also, because it is going to start getting warmer please make sure your child has a water bottle. I would recommend one that is at least 16 oz then they don’t have to keep filling up. This is very important on PE days when they are outside. The mercury is going to keep rising and we need to keep our children hydrated!
Heat-up days have become a problem. Lunch time is only about 30 minutes and some kids are having to wait almost 10 of that for the microwave. I know some students almost demand that you all send warm up lunches, but we are going to have to stick to the “days” we started in the fall. Here is the list:
Monday/Wednesday: Christopher, Lexi, Alexis, Pete, Cyrus, Eva Tuesday/Thursday: Maria, Zander, Amaia, Kade, Max Thanks for understanding.
We have a wish list:
Sanitizing Wipes (Clorox)
Copy paper
Cheese sticks
Z-bars
Peanut butter and Crackers (either separate or pre-made)
Plastic cutlery (we are out and they are not bringing them from home)
The children are yet again complaining of hunger. These kids LOVE to grow. Please make sure you child eats a big breakfast as many are ready to eat again by 9 am. We would like to have some snacks on hand for those days when one fruit break is just not enough. :-)
Field Trips:
Spivey Hall Thursday March 11 (we still need a parent volunteer!) $5
Pizza Friday March 12 no charge
Sensations Wednesday March 24 $10
The Wren’s Next Tuesday March 30 $6
Little Shop of Books $10
This is a grand total of $31 for the month. We will cancel Spivey hall if we do not have a volunteer to go with us.
Thanks!
Mindy & Kristen

Sunny day in Springdale Park

Science in the 1/2 Class

Posted March 9th, 2010 by Stacia Farabee
Categories: 1/2 | No Comments »

Check out the 1/2 class dissecting a pig today!

The 3/4 Class got wild about snow yesterday!

Posted March 3rd, 2010 by Stacia Farabee
Categories: 3/4 | No Comments »
Oh my goodness do these kids LOVE snow! Their excitement is so wonderful. Wish you all could be here to hear their snow chatter. :-)
Stay warm!
The 3/4

Taking a break to enjoy the snow fall

News from Pre-K

Posted March 3rd, 2010 by Stacia Farabee
Categories: PreK | No Comments »
We are deep into the Deepening stage of our unit.  As we explore with our senses we discover things about ourselves along the way.  Some of the Pre-K are enticed by the opportunity to get gooey and others prefer to keep clean hands!  You will see photos of us from last week and this week.  Remember to show your children these pictures to help them discuss with you ways that they have connected to color and shape through our explorations.

We are deep into the Deepening stage of our unit.  As we explore with our senses we discover things about ourselves along the way.  Some of the Pre-K are enticed by the opportunity to get gooey and others prefer to keep clean hands!  You will see photos of us from last week and this week.  Remember to show your children these pictures to help them discuss with you ways that they have connected to color and shape through our explorations.

IJ and TG were amazed when they discovered that they matched their beds!

TG made gray and IJ made the color of his shirt.

CK, SD and CK explored color hues and shades.

AG and JC explored color hues and shades.

MM and DJ had mixed emotions about the goop!

IJ read to CK and DJ.

TG and CK drew their plan for building.

The magnet blocks pulled the Pre-K together! This group of children worked together to make a home for the animals.

AM and KC made bear families.

SD sorted noodles by two attributes, color and shape.

Using our senses of taste and touch, we combined white(powdered milk) with brown(peanut butter) to make edible play dough.

AH made a play dough flower.

JF and CG worked with Goop. We focused on what happens to a color when you add white.

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