Classroom News
2/19/18
Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Hughes
Email: lindsay.fox@acsgmail.net
Website: claxton.ashevillecityschools.net
Location: Claxton Elementary School, Merrimon Avenue, Asheville, NC, United States
Phone: 828-350-6528
Tuesday!
Thank you!
Claxton Social Justice Event, Thursday March 1st at 6-8pm
Babysitting is provided, your children can have a playdate as you learn!
A Look at Our Week
Our 100th day Math activity was a blast! Thank you all so much for sending in the collections. We had a very active Math Workshop in the gym on Wednesday, as we sorted our collections into 10s, and then lined them up one-by one, end to end, to compare their respective lengths. One collection made it past the halfway mark of the gym! We will continue our active, hands-on Math work this week as we go on a 3-D Shape Hunt around our playgrounds. We will be taking pictures on our iPads, and using "mark-up" to label the shapes. I love a good outside STEM activity! We will also be making 3-D shapes out of modelling clay, and copying 3-D cube prototypes.
Talking of STEM, the children have been energized during Choice Time this week in our Take-Apart Center and Pretend Play center. In the take-apart center they have been dismantling a printer, and have found the cause of it's malfunction! They have been discovering hundreds of little components, snipping wires, using screwdrivers etc. as they work together. I have instructed them not to try this at home! If anyone else has any old technology that doesn't work anymore, send it in! We will tell you the reason why it didn't work! I have ordered some Montessori equipment that supports their development in using a screwdriver etc. This is all good fine motor strengthening stuff! In the Dentist's office, they have been hard at work identifying and recording cavities with the aid of real life dental equipment donated by Dr. Dan. They are using bits of the dismantled printer as their X-ray machine too. I love my job!!
I like to mix it up at odd periods in the classroom. I will be assigning new rug spots tomorrow, the kids will be excited. Be sure to ask them who they sit next to now!
We have been reading books that fit in with Habit #6 - Synergize. This week we read "The Colors of Us" by Karen Katz, and "The Crayon Box That Talked" by Shane deRolf. These taught us that we may look different, but that those differences are beautiful and make our community stronger. That we each are unique and can contribute to our community, and also that in many ways we are the same as each other. This week we will be having "Fun Friendship Friday" where we read "The Skin You Live In" by Michael Tyler. I recommend all three of these titles for your bookshelves at home.
On President's Day we will be learning about Abraham Lincoln's boyhood, and subsequent journey into politics by reading "Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books" by Kay Winters.
Keep working on those sight words; we sent a new pack home on Thursday. The Olympic Reading Challenge is on, and we have 2 Gold Medal winners already. We've been talking a lot about how athletes have to practice every day to be their best in the Olympics, and how that it's the same for Readers. Don't forget to color their heart after each reading session. Hearts=treasure box prizes!
Health Alerts...
Ringworm - there have been a couple of cases in Kindergarten. This is not a worm!! Ringworm is actually a fungal infection, so if you see anything suspicious on your child's skin, don't panic! Just take your child to the doctor for treatment, and cover any affected area.
There is also a Norovirus going around!