Grandparents' Day

Grandparents' Day will be Friday, Oct 1st from 2:15-2:45 on the student playgrounds. Hope to see you here!

In case of an accident...

Please place an extra set of clothes in your child's backpack in case of an accident. Even if your child generally doesn't have accidents at home, it may happen at school. They may not make it to the bathroom in time or might spill their milk or juice on them. The school setting is very different than home, and the kids aren't always near a bathroom. As a result, please place an extra pair of pants, a t-shirt, and extra underclothes in a plastic bag and leave in the bottom of your child's backpack. Thank you for your help!

No School Friday, October 24th!

Just a reminder that there is no school on Friday. Enjoy the long weekend with your kids! Don't forget to be practicing counting to 100, letter recognition, and writing his/her name.

What did they learn about in Science?

After we finished the Science unit on plants, I asked the kids to tell me what they learned. Some were specific answers and some were more general. This is what a few of them said:

"We learned about plants." Gabriel

"Plants need water." Nathan

"Plants need sun." Angelina

"Plants need soil." Hunter

"How plants grow." Deandrianna and Trey

"Pumpkins have pumpkin seeds." Giana

"Plants can be food." Lucenda

Overall they learned the basic parts of a plant (roots, stem, leaf, flower), what plants need to live (air, water, sun, soil), and that we can eat plants (fruits and vegis).

We also made potato paintings! These are hanging up in our room for now, but will be sent home eventually. Look for them and ask your child how s/he made it!

What's Going On?

Last week we made blue and white AB pattern bracelets. These bracelets reinforce the AB pattern concept we have been practicing in math and also show our school pride. If possible, have your child wear his/her AB pattern bracelet every Friday on spirit day. Look for pictures of the kids wearing their bracelets on my class website.

In Science, the kids are learning how plants grow and what a plant needs to live. Since fall is near, this was a good time to do an apple theme while the kids are learning about plants (specifically fruits and vegis). We read a book about how apples grow and the process apples go through to get from the seed to the apples in our grocery stores. We also taste tested many apple items such as apple cereal bars, dried apples, apple cereal, assorted fresh apples, applesauce and apple juice. Most of the kids thought everything was delicious, except the dried apples were a little too tart. Hopefully we will be making an apple pie on Tuesday. A big thank you to all of the parents that donated these wonderful apple snacks. There were so many parents willing to donate, and I received all of the supplies within just a few days. I appreciate you and so do the kids!!!

We will also be making Root Prints to go along with our study of plants. The boys and girls have discovered that we eat many roots such as carrots and potatoes. On Tuesday, we will be looking closely at potatoes, cutting them into pieces, dipping them in paint, and making individual root prints. Hopefully this will be a memorable activity that helps them remember roots can be plants we eat.

Apples!

Next week we will be doing a unit on apples. We will be trying all kinds of foods made with apples and even baking an apple pie! Also, we will read books about apples and make apple crafts. It will be perfect for the start of the fall season.

Many parents have volunteered to donate apple supplies. I have already received some supplies from three parents. I greatly appreciate the parent involvement and help. It makes your child's year even better.

Make sure you ask your child what s/he did with apples next week! You know how they like to claim that they only have PE and recess at school. They never tell you about what they learned unless you pry it out of them! I guess recess and PE are just that memorable!

Have a great day! It is almost the weekend.

Scholastic Book Order Change

I have discovered that Scholastic has changed the online ordering process since the end of school last year. As a result, the information I sent home on Monday regarding book orders is wrong. Today I sent home a modified letter with the correct information. Please note the changes and discard the previous letter. I am sorry for the inconvenience. The new information is also listed below:

Here’s how it works:
1. SIGN UP at www.Scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Don't have a User Name and Password?" link, then register for your own username and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation: GQVPR . This code ensures that your order is sent to me.
2. SELECT the books you would like to order from over 500 titles available online...and take advantage of online-only specials and discounts.
3. SUBMIT your order to me online by the due date (Friday, September 3rd). Your credit card payment will go directly to Scholastic’s secure server, and the books you ordered will be delivered directly to our classroom for your child to take home.

Remember, you may still order the traditional way by sending your order to class with your child. When paying for the order, you may send cash or check, but a check is preferred. Please make checks payable to “Scholastic.”