Dear Parents,
We've participated in a lot special events over the past few weeks. Our visiting author, Shirley Rinker, taught us about why she became an author and how she comes up with her book ideas. Her children are her biggest inspiration. Mrs. Rinker shared funny stories about her children that captivated the audience. The following day was our Camp Rivershire field trip. The rain didn't dampen our fun, the kids had a great time pretending to camp. They spent time in their tents making shadow puppets and reading their books, sang songs around the campfire, ate S'mores, and ended the trip writing post cards to mail home. Thanks so much to our parent volunteers (Mrs. Abern,Mrs. Beatty, Mrs. Horak, Mrs. Saenz, and Mrs. Tosyali).
This past week the children attended the Journey Back in Time assembly. This was a fantastic hands-on experience that allowed the children to play with toys from long ago, use the washboard and ringer to do laundry, pan for "gold", grind corn into flour, make biscuits and corn cakes with dough, card wool using wooden paddles to make friendships bracelets, and shave using a brush and butter knife. I took so many pictures to share with you and, sadly, I cannot... I uploaded the pictures on to iPhoto from my ipad and deleted them. Friday morning I spilled coffee on my laptop and broke it.:( My computer is being mailed away to see if it can be fixed. In the meantime, these photos are lost. I am so sad about the whole experience!
We've been busy learning about Laura B. Sprague and what life was like long ago. This coming Thursday, April 23rd, our class will attend the Little Red Schoolhouse in Deerfield. It's an actual one room school house! Right next door to the school is a log home, so the children can see what a house looked like from long ago, as well. To help make this an authentic experience, your child is invited to dress in old fashioned clothes. A letter about this was sent home earlier in the month. Please let me know if you have any questions. It doesn't even have to look like the real deal--boys can tuck jeans into long socks, girls can wear dresses or skirts. Please don't worry about sewing or creating an outfit, unless you really want to. A few parents expressed interest in attending this field trip. Parents do not attend this trip but thank you so much for the offer! The Diabetes Walk and special Worm Project are open to volunteers.
Friday, April 24th, is our Diabetes Walk. If you are interested in walking with us, please meet our class in the gym at 9:40. Our walk will start at 9:45. On Friday the children tried on their t-shirts to see if they fit. I'll pass them out on the day of our walk. I haven't checked the forecast yet but will think sunshine!
In math we've been learning about subtraction. We've read a handful of stories and acted the subtractions problems out. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons was a favorite.
I sent home the sight words from April: of, was, and, there, give, little, that, have. If you read through theses flashcards with your child, and your child does not know them, please add them to your child's word ring.
Next week we'll be ending our How to Writing unit and will focus on Persuasive writing. Friday was our writing celebration. The art project I ordered from Oriental Trading Company was not shipped in time, so we'll make the craft when it arrives. The kids didn't seem to mind. Outside games and food were enjoyed by all of us.
On Friday I also taught the first lesson on ways to stay safe using our Second Step curriculum. Dr. Adler emailed you a note explaining this unit, but please let me know if you have any questions and/or concerns. The first lesson taught the children to always ask a grown-up first and went over the Never Never Rules (never touch sharp objects, never ride wheels without a helmet, never cross the street without looking, never touch guns, never play with fire, and never take medicine without asking first.
Over the course of all this action, we welcomed Ram and his family to Sprague School. The boys gave out a big cheer when they learned our new student was to be a boy. They really are outnumbered by the girls.:)
Thanks so much for all your support at home. Have a wonderful week!
Becky Clay
We've participated in a lot special events over the past few weeks. Our visiting author, Shirley Rinker, taught us about why she became an author and how she comes up with her book ideas. Her children are her biggest inspiration. Mrs. Rinker shared funny stories about her children that captivated the audience. The following day was our Camp Rivershire field trip. The rain didn't dampen our fun, the kids had a great time pretending to camp. They spent time in their tents making shadow puppets and reading their books, sang songs around the campfire, ate S'mores, and ended the trip writing post cards to mail home. Thanks so much to our parent volunteers (Mrs. Abern,Mrs. Beatty, Mrs. Horak, Mrs. Saenz, and Mrs. Tosyali).
This past week the children attended the Journey Back in Time assembly. This was a fantastic hands-on experience that allowed the children to play with toys from long ago, use the washboard and ringer to do laundry, pan for "gold", grind corn into flour, make biscuits and corn cakes with dough, card wool using wooden paddles to make friendships bracelets, and shave using a brush and butter knife. I took so many pictures to share with you and, sadly, I cannot... I uploaded the pictures on to iPhoto from my ipad and deleted them. Friday morning I spilled coffee on my laptop and broke it.:( My computer is being mailed away to see if it can be fixed. In the meantime, these photos are lost. I am so sad about the whole experience!
We've been busy learning about Laura B. Sprague and what life was like long ago. This coming Thursday, April 23rd, our class will attend the Little Red Schoolhouse in Deerfield. It's an actual one room school house! Right next door to the school is a log home, so the children can see what a house looked like from long ago, as well. To help make this an authentic experience, your child is invited to dress in old fashioned clothes. A letter about this was sent home earlier in the month. Please let me know if you have any questions. It doesn't even have to look like the real deal--boys can tuck jeans into long socks, girls can wear dresses or skirts. Please don't worry about sewing or creating an outfit, unless you really want to. A few parents expressed interest in attending this field trip. Parents do not attend this trip but thank you so much for the offer! The Diabetes Walk and special Worm Project are open to volunteers.
Friday, April 24th, is our Diabetes Walk. If you are interested in walking with us, please meet our class in the gym at 9:40. Our walk will start at 9:45. On Friday the children tried on their t-shirts to see if they fit. I'll pass them out on the day of our walk. I haven't checked the forecast yet but will think sunshine!
In math we've been learning about subtraction. We've read a handful of stories and acted the subtractions problems out. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons was a favorite.
I sent home the sight words from April: of, was, and, there, give, little, that, have. If you read through theses flashcards with your child, and your child does not know them, please add them to your child's word ring.
Next week we'll be ending our How to Writing unit and will focus on Persuasive writing. Friday was our writing celebration. The art project I ordered from Oriental Trading Company was not shipped in time, so we'll make the craft when it arrives. The kids didn't seem to mind. Outside games and food were enjoyed by all of us.
On Friday I also taught the first lesson on ways to stay safe using our Second Step curriculum. Dr. Adler emailed you a note explaining this unit, but please let me know if you have any questions and/or concerns. The first lesson taught the children to always ask a grown-up first and went over the Never Never Rules (never touch sharp objects, never ride wheels without a helmet, never cross the street without looking, never touch guns, never play with fire, and never take medicine without asking first.
Over the course of all this action, we welcomed Ram and his family to Sprague School. The boys gave out a big cheer when they learned our new student was to be a boy. They really are outnumbered by the girls.:)
Thanks so much for all your support at home. Have a wonderful week!
Becky Clay