Stanford testing is over and homework is back in full force!
We have added a new element, two reading passages for the week, to have the children work on their comprehension. The reading log is in addition to the reading passages since they are pretty short. Let the children read the passage and then try to answer the questions on their own, sometimes it might take several re-readings before they get it and that is perfectly o.k!
We started our new planner this week,
Ch-ch-changes: When matter changes, it affects the world around us. We have been discussing solids, gases, & liquids! Our activity today entailed observing and recording as a solid turned into liquid over the course of the morning.
Journal Helpers Needed! The February calendar has been posted on the bulletin board. Please consider helping out for 30 minutes (VIPS approved please).
Feb. 3rd: Progress reports
Feb. 4th: 12:30 dismissal,
no Extended Day
Feb. 15th: Holiday, Presidents' Day
Lots of playing and learning! We've been playing lots ... lots of math games that is! The kids sharpened their addition skills by rolling a pair of dice and adding the numbers. They then recorded the data and created a bar graph of the sums they rolled. A second game they played is Base-10 Exchange. The first team to get to 100, based on the roll of a die and exchanging ones for 10s, is the winning team!
We came up with a new way of blowing up balloons, presenting the Automatic Balloon Blower! Everyone had a blast as they mixed a solid (baking powder) with a liquid (vinegar) and created gas to blow up the balloon. It's all about MATTER in this planner and it has been a blast so far.
We started something new this week: Writer's Workshop. This activity consists of a specific writing prompt for all the children, so it's not free writing like during morning Journal. Today's prompt was received by many giggles, and I heard a lot of giggling during the actual writing. The kids have a list of required items on a checklist that they must have, for example, proper punctuation, correct spelling of words that have been on a Spelling List, etc.