February is Flying By!

If anyone could pick up a couple rolls of paper towels, Keri's class is out. She is going through them to clean the tables in an attempt to keep germs at bay. We are using lots of Clorox spray and Lysol. If anyone else has any other suggestions on ways to kill germs let us know.  We have had several kids out sick.


Also, we are looking for donations to give to the zoo animals.  These may be some things that you have lying around the house: catnip for the cougar, hideaway homes for the hedgehogs, balls for the pandas (soccer, volley, basket) and last but not least, baby toys for the Marmosets.  I was hoping to take up a collection and then have the class make a trip up there to give the donations to the zoo.  These are all Asian animals, and we are not officially visiting Asia until April, but I thought it might be nice to get involved.  Let me know if you have other fun ideas for us to use and incorporate into our studies as we continue to travel the globe.


Field Trips in the Works:
We are going to Seussical on Friday Feb. 25th and will need drivers.

We are hoping to go to the Safari Park in the Spring, April ish…..  This will go along with our study of Africa which we are currently visiting in Social Studies.  I am excited to introduce African Folk Tales along with our study of the culture of the area.


Keri’s groups are working on:

Math:  Finishing up fractions.  1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/8, 1/10 and 1/12
See if they can tell you what number goes on the bottom, (the denominator) and which one goes on top (the numerator).  We will work on probability next and then head to measurement.  

Our reading group will begin to work on comprehension as well as increasing our sight words and phonetic skills.  Please look for the word study folder at least once a week and do one of the activities suggested.  I really think that this will really help them retain what they are working on.   They will also bring home a reader once a week to share with you.  Have them read and return the book the next day so that we can use it again in the classroom. 

Katie's groups are working on:

In math we have finished fractions and moved onto place value. Kids are using cubes and cards to learn about the ones and tens place. We have been playing Addition War with playing cards. Ask your child to teach you how. On Fridays we have been working with our math buddies to improve the school store. We work in groups to do marketing, money skills, ordering, and inventory.


In literacy we started writing about inventions. Kids have come up with some amazing ideas. We continue to read our novels and work out of our sight word folders. This week we also worked on poetry with our big buddies in Betsy's class. 


In science we are going to take a few weeks to do some team building activities. We will then move on to science activities focusing on Africa.