By Gosh, it’s Golly!
Dear Parents,
We hope you enjoyed your long, relaxing Labor Day weekend with family and friends! We jumped right back into learning on Tuesday without missing a beat.
We bid a farewell to Oswald, as the kids completed their workbook on his fascinating odd animals and said hello to a new friend, a dog named Golly! Golly loves rummaging for food in garbage cans and he’s always hoping to find something in Cass’s leftovers, silly dog! With the introduction of Golly, the class has been learning to write upper and lower case G’s, as well as learning the /g/ sound. They’ve come up with some clever words for our board: goodness, gardenias, green, gold and gown! On Thursday we constructed green garbage cans with Golly and on Friday we spent time finding words that start with the /g/ sound to fill our garbage cans. We also made hats with big floppy ears so that we could all look like Golly for a day 🙂
The class has also been really focused on math this week, as we continue learning about geometry. I worked on introducing 3D shapes such as rectangular prisms, triangles, cylinders, and spheres into the lesson, as well as talking about corners and sides to each one. I had the children play a quick game with me where we each walked in a line down the sides of the rug or within the classroom and when we bumped into one another, well, there’s your corner! They had a good laugh over that activity.
In social studies this week Mrs. Barlow taught the class about maps and compasses. We started off the lesson by learning each direction (Never Eat Soggy Wheat, right!) and played a quick game of Simon Says by having the kids hop on one leg or tiptoe to each labeled direction in the classroom. The best part was having the kids all use a real compass as we went on a walk around campus! Did you know Wood Acres has a giant compass rose in the quad? It was a fun learning excursion and we all took turns guessing what direction our compass would say as we rounded each building. On Friday afternoon, after a quick recap of maps, Mrs. Barlow and I brought out a floor size piece of yellow paper and had each child help create a map of our classroom. It was really fun to see their interpretation of our classroom. We’ll keep it hung up in case you’d like to pop in and see it!
Last week in art we finished up our spaceships, which we’ve displayed on our bulletin board out front. We thought it would be a great addition to our geometry lesson too! Be sure to stop by to see your child’s spaceship, they are all so magnificent! Once the Autumn board goes up, we’ll be sure to send those rockets home for display! The kids are still working on their fine motor skills in Technology with Mrs. Butcher by using the mouse. Friday’s lesson focused on moving specific states within our country to their proper place on a map- it was tough, but they all did such a great job! If any of you are interested in the games Mrs. Butcher uses in class, please let us know!
And, in case you haven’t heard, WE BEAT MR. G IN THE CLAPPING GAME AGAIN! I’ve never seen so many giant smiles that early in the day! He tried to trick them by clapping faster and even quieter, but nothing can escape this crew, that’s for sure! We’re all hoping for a three-peat next week, so stay tuned 🙂 Mr. G introduces a new instrument each week and this time, the kids all got a chance to play maracas, which was a huge hit!
In other exciting news, our class completed putting together their Mr. Potato Head which meant everyone got to bring a stuffed animal to class this week! We use the Mr. Potato Head to encourage the class to always do their best and to stay as focused as possible when at our specials each week. Each day a new piece is added and when completed, we let the kids vote on what they’d like to do (pajama day lost with landslide 12-2 vote). Mrs. Barlow and I were so excited for them and I know they appreciated having a little snuggly friend in class to learn right along with them.
Before I go, there are two important reminders:
Picture Day is coming! A pink note went home this week about picture day on OCT 3. You can turn your form and payment into myself or Mrs. Barlow and we’ll make sure it’s hand delivered to the front office.
Also, if you haven’t, be sure to sign up for parent-teacher conferences on September 24-25! I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to speak with each of you and your child’s journey in learning at Wood Acres.
And last, but certainly not least, the word of the week is: GLADIOLUS!
With love,
Ms. Porto and Mrs. Barlow
