Gingko Newsletter
Week of April 4, 2016
Tomorrow's Field Trip...
Hello Gingko Families!
This week we…
Continued working in our small reading groups and reading non-fiction and fiction books together. Kids went book shopping and were so eager to read the books in their baggies! It is so important for kids to develop a taste and preference in books, and we are so lucky to be able to choose from such a large variety of books each week.
Painted with Studio Sara! We used black paint and white paper to create interesting lines and shapes.
Worked on making 10 in math! We continued with our Apple Boxes unit and talked about different combinations of red and green apples to make 10. We played a game in pairs using dice and red and green cubes to represent apples. We also played a game on our own using red and green counters to represent apples. The counters were red on one side and green on the other. We put ten counters in a cup, shook them, and recorded how many turned out red and how many were green. We then recorded our results by coloring in apples and writing number sentences on a special sheet.
Began working on new self portraits! We looked at ourselves in the mirror and began outlining our heads, necks, and facial features in pencil!
Visited our special spot in Fort Greene Park. We also visited Underwood Park!
Continued interviewing our friends about their families. We have almost interviewed our entire class! We will continue interviewing this week, and begin preparing for our share on April 22nd.
Had a visit from Rafa's dad, Jason! He played the guitar and sang two of Rafa's favorite songs to us. He also read us one of Rafa's favorite stories.
Spent time talking about kindness. We talked about ways to show your friends you care about them. We role-played giving hugs, telling your friends that you care about them, and drawing pictures for them. Some kids expressed that they don’t like being hugged, or don’t like being surprised by a hug. We talked about the importance of asking a friend if they would like a hug before hugging them.
Tried out a new greeting during morning meeting. Before saying “good morning” to a friend, we greeted them with an appreciation. Kids appreciated that their friends played kindly with them during exploration, took care of them in line, or checked in with them when they were feeling sad.
Created a scavenger hunt during exploration. Some kids chose to create a scavenger hunt complete with clues and prizes during exploration! They worked together to create something truly amazing.
Visited the Oak Class's carnival! The Oaks worked hard to create a carnival with games, snacks, and prizes! We visited on Friday and had so much fun!
At home you can...
Talk to your child about kindness! What is one kind thing you did this week? What is one kind thing someone else in your class did this week?
Continue reading with your child! Review the sight words that are in your child's book baggie. Ask your child to read "just right" or leveled books from their book baggie to you, and read other books to them.
Talk about different ways to make 10! Making 10 is a very important concept and we will spend lots of time getting comfortable making 10.