Hello Room 108 Families,
Well, I think our stretch of nice weather is officially over. Looking ahead, the weather is starting to get colder. As a friendly reminder, we still go outside as long as the feel-like temperature is 20 degrees or over (precipitation depending). Please make sure you are sending your child to school with appropriate outdoor weather clothing. These items include:
- A heavy coat
- Gloves
- Hat
- Scarf
Please teach your child how to zip their coats. This is a skill that this age group should be starting to do independently. This weekend, I encourage you to take the opportunity to teach your child to zip their coats. Please do not do this for them; simply teach them how. The only way your child will learn is by trying their best to do it on their own!
What Did We Learn About This Week?
We had a short week, but that did not stop us from learning! We did not learn a new letter due to a short week. Instead, we took an imaginary trip to an amusement park. It all started when I asked the students about roller coasters. Some students have been on them before, and some students have not BUT have seen roller coasters before. They excitedly talked about their experiences and what they looked like.
We pretended to go to Cedar Point and ride some roller coasters! As the students rode the roller coaster, they shouted out things they noticed about the roller coaster.
- “It has wheels!’
- “The tracks are going up and down!”
- “We get dizzy on roller coasters, sometimes.”
- “This roller coaster is outside. So roller coasters are outside.”
- “It is going super fast!”
During Writing Time, the students recalled their roller coaster experience as we wrote down a list of things that roller coasters need to work:
- Tracks
- Wheels
- Cars
- Tunnels
The students drew blueprints of what they wanted the roller coaster to look like. The students drew multiple tracks going in multiple directions. They added details by drawing tunnels, roller coaster cars, and people in the cars. The students used these blueprints to build their own roller coasters. Check them out!
We also read two books about roller coasters: “Roller Coaster,” by Marla Frazee, and, “The Pigeon Will Ride The Roller Coaster,” by Mo Willems. As the students read the books, they made connections of their own experiences with roller coasters (even if their first and only experience was in the classroom).
Next Week at Salina…
- Monday, November 14: School 8:15 AM – 3:00 PM
- Tuesday, November 15: School 8:15 AM – 3:00 PM
- Wednesday, November 16: School 8:15 AM – 3:00 PM
- Thursday, November 17: School 8:15 AM – 3:00 PM
No School – Wednesday, November 23-Sunday, November 17 for Fall Break
Fun Weekend Activity Idea!
The students’ drawing and writing skills are starting to improve! We started talking about adding details to our pictures. This weekend, I encourage you to draw pictures with your child. As you draw pictures, encourage them to add details. For example, if your child is drawing a picture of themselves at the park, ask them questions about the park that they can add details to. For example, you might say, “What do we see at the park? We see a slide? Let’s draw a picture of a slide! Do we also see swings? Let’s draw the swings.”
See this sample picture for inspiration:
If you would like, feel free to text me pictures of your child’s work at home! I’d love to see how hard they work when they’re not at school!