E Team Newsletter
December 2014
Holidays Around the World
Our Holidays Around the World unit is wrapping up (ha ha pun intended)! Students have been working hard to learn the geography of the seven continents, who celebrates what and why, and how different cultures celebrate the Holidays. We have used a variety of mapping references including Google Maps, World Map, and an Atlas. One of the biggest surprises was that Russia is north of China and that Jamaica is south of Florida and Cuba. Learning how to find countries on a map with no words has been a new skill for many, if not all, in our classes. We have had many discussions about looking for physical features of the countries and moving North, East, South and West to find the country that you are looking for.
Students are using their Holiday Passport to not only learn mapping skills but to also record facts from non-fiction books about the Holidays and to describe the setting in detail for fiction books with a holiday theme.
Students have also continued to practice grammar skills through Santa Caps, Nouns & Verbs Trees and Ornaments, Common Nouns and Proper Nouns Presents, Synonyms and Antonyms Bulbs, Cookie Cutter Contractions, and many other activities that review skills with a holiday theme.
As December winds down, the Christmas Trees in our hallway did not go by unnoticed by the students and staff at BBES. Words cannot express how much everyone at BBES LOVES the Christmas trees. I hope you take a moment to enjoy each one along with the pictures of the different crafts students created. Some Christmas trees had a theme, handmade ornaments, or the unique personality of each student shining through. Each Christmas tree reflected attention to detail, creativity, and individuality.
We would also like to say THANK YOU to the many parent volunteers who donated their time and craft skills throughout the month. Our students just loved each project and are grateful for the time donated by our family members!
Math and Science
In Science, students have had a great time learning about Static Electricity (the buildup of electrons on an object) and current electricity (the flow of electrons along a circuit). They have experimented with a balloon and static electricity and have created circuits using a battery (energy source), wires, a switch and a bulb (energy receiver). It has been so much fun watching them make discoveries and learn from these discoveries.