We had a wonderful celebration today.  We played board games, read Christmas stories, watched a movie, played "Pass the Candy Cane", and enjoyed a snack together.  The photos below were taken during our game hour. 
Thank you again for your gifts. You were very generous and considerate to think of me.  I wish I could show the photo calendar to everyone.  It will be hanging up at school so if you come by, take a peek.  Merry Christmas everyone!

We finished our around the world tour this week with England and Italy.  We learned that the first Christmas cards were sent in England and they celebrate boxing day the day after Christmas.  Traditionally, boxing day was when the churches opened up their alms boxes and distributed the money to the poor.  We had fun making the Christmas crackers that are given as gifts in England.

Today we visited Italy and learned about La Befana.  In Italy La Befana travels on a broom on Epiphany Eve to leave gifts for children. We also learned that Italians eat pasta and seafood for Christmas dinner and pizzelles for dessert.  We enjoyed our own pizzelles as a little treat to finish up our Christmas Around the World unit.

 Tomorrow is Game Day!  We will be playing games from 12PM -1:15.  Parents are welcome to come spend a relaxing hour playing board games with us.  Children are welcome to bring their own games in to share. 
   Christmas parties had to be scheduled after 2:15 according to school policy so we will have our treat when we come back from our special.  Christmas Mass begins at 9AM on Friday- everyone is welcome!
     Though we didn't use our reading series this week, we were very busy.  We had a great time making our Christmas gifts- I hope you loved them.  We also wrote the Christmas Story in our own words- I think the students did a wonderful job.  They will be sent home on Friday for you to enjoy.  We've started comparing and working with 3 digit numbers and the students are doing a great job with that.  Tomorrow we will delve into fractions by frosting graham crackers one quarter at a time.
     I wish you all a very blessed Christmas.

Traditons!

    What a wonderful time we had listening to each other's traditions.  We heard about an Elf on Shelf, advent boxes, special ornaments, gingerbread houses, special Christmas photos, reindeer food (that was yummy!), and even pasta making!  

     We had a visit from Sr. Lori, one of the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur.  We have been learning about the Sisters coming to Lockport and establishing Catholic Education here.  Sr. Lori was very entertaining and the students learned that she had to promise to live in poverty and spend her life serving others. The students asked her all kinds of questions.   I hope they came home and told you all about her visit.

Around the World

                                                   
This week we "traveled" to Iceland and learned that they enjoy fish for Christmas dinner as well as something called leaf bread pictured above.  It is traditional to give sweaters and candles as presents because during the winter season there are only 4 hours of daylight.  I hope your child showed you his/her "souvenirs" and told you all about it.










We also had fun learning about Mexico.  We learned that burritos and quesadillas are often served at Christmas and tin ornaments like the one pictured are hung on the tree.   We made our own tin ornaments and a mini book about Mexican life which went home today.


During centers today we practiced math facts with "Mathmagician", listened to Hedgie's Surprise ( a book written by Jan Brett, our author of the month), and made the Mexican souvenirs.  Another center was a puzzle center.  There were two 100-piece puzzles that the children worked together on.  I was surprised at how quickly they went together.  I posted the pictures below.

Next week we won't have any spelling or vocabulary words and no reading test.  There is a math test on Tuesday.  We will do the review pages on Monday and then send them home to study.  Also on Tuesday children will be asked to talk about one special tradition they do at Christmas.  They can bring in something to show that corresponds with that tradition as well.

The children had so much fun working together on these puzzles.  Merry Christmas!

     We had a wonderfully inspiring assembly on Thursday with the Rachel's Challenge program.  The students were challenged to become more compassionate and kind to others, especially people who may not have the support of a lot of friends.  As part of the program we participated in a service project making blankets for families who are less fortunate.  I think everyone got a lot out of the activity.
     I read a picture book this week called The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey.  It was a heartwarming story of how a man was changed for the better through the kindness of a mother and her little boy.  It is a book I would highly recommend for any family's library.   

    We started our Christmas Around the World "tour" by making a booklet of the countries we will be "visiting".   Over the next two weeks we will learn about traditions in Iceland, Mexico, Italy, and England.  We will make traditional decorations, color flags, and view websites and photos of each of the countries to learn what their customs are like.  Please look for these "souvenirs as they come home and ask your child about their "trip".

  Our Author of the Month for December is Jan Brett.  Her interesting story lines and detailed illustrations have made her a favorite, especially at this time of year.  She has written many books with winter themes like The Hat, The Mitten, and The Wild Christmas Reindeer.  With all of the Christmas stories that we enjoy reading at this time of year, it is hard to find time to fit her stories in so she will be our author for both this month and next.

  We are in the middle of exploring triple digit numbers in math.  Everyone seems to be picking it up pretty well but I think more practice is needed to fully understand "expanded form" and "place value".  Remember that you have access to the math program through "online students' math book" on the links if you feel your child could use some extra help.
     We will start our third unit of reading on Monday.  Please watch for the spelling/vocabulary index coming home as well as the study guide.  You can also access both from this blog site if needs be.
     I am having fun celebrating this Christmas season with your children with a mix of religious and secular (Santa!) stories and activities.  I can't think of a better way to enjoy the excitement of the season!

It's beginning to look...

Thought you'd like to see some of our decorations of the season.

Our musical Santas call us to Calendar Time.

I read a book called Snowflake Bentley to the students today about a man who figured out how to photograph magnified snowflakes.  We were amazed at the complexity of these tiny specks that we take for granted.  Mr. Bentley wanted to capture these small works of art that are here but for an instant and then gone forever.

My son and my grandson- it's never too early to start reading. :-)  We had a great week.  We have started working with TRIPLE digit numbers in Math-Wow! We will continue to practice regrouping and borrowing so we don't lose the skills we've worked so hard on.  We took a break from writing about traditions to draw a picture with a caption describing our favorite part of The Nutcracker.  These went home today.  Please ask your child about the ballet.  The class was very well behaved.  We will finish up the tradition writing next week.    Next week the program "Rachael's Challenge" is coming to DeSales on Dec. 6th.   It tells the inspiring story of the first student killed in the Columbine shootings.  Before her death she worked to bring people together with kindness and compassion.  She wrote, "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go."  Through this program we try to teach our students to reach out to others and show compassion wherever they go.  For adults who would like to hear about Rachael and the program there will be an event at the Palace at 7PM the same night.     

  

 

Just a Few More Photos

I know I've already posted several times this week but we have so much going on that I wanted to share.  If you only log on once a week you may want to scroll down to the previous blogs.  Today we made butter and the students wanted me to put the directions on our blog.  Here they are: Pour about 1 cup heavy cream into a plastic container, seal tightly, shake, shake, shake, and shake!  We went around the whole class about three times before it turned into butter.

We mixed up some corn muffins to go with the butter.  The headbands everyone is wearing are for the play.  The kids wanted to wear them all day but I made them take them off for Mass.

Ready for the oven!

We shared some of our favorite stories.

Two of Miss Agostini's students joined us for a photo with the Friendship snack we sent to the Outreach Center.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for sending in the ingredients for our Friendship Snack.  The students bagged them up this morning and put a little note on them.  I took them to the Outreach Center this afternoon.  Each year the Center looks forward to receiving the snacks to put with the Thanksgiving dinner packages as a way of sending cheer to those in need.

The students played scientists today as they recorded their observations while experimenting with magnets.  At this station the students found things that were attracted to magnets.

Here we discovered that magnets can be different strengths and it wasn't always the biggest magnet that was the strongest.

This student is making a paper clip stand on end even when the magnet is not touching the clip!  We learned that magnets have a magnetic field.

The students made chains of paper clips at the ends (poles) of a bar magnet to show that magnets are strongest at the poles.

We magnetized a spoon by rubbing it with a strong magnet.

At every station we recorded our observations.

I couldn't take down the Thanksgiving decorations without showing you how they looked.  Here are the ripped paper cornucopias and the leaves and acorns with a blessing on each one.

The turkey you did at home were fabulous and so very unique!  I hope you enjoyed doing them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not Enough Hours

     I think all of us are already feeling the excitement of the holidays along with the pressure to get everything done.  We have been very busy in class with our curriculum and trying to squeeze holiday activities in when we can.  This week will be a little less rushed because we will not have our regular reading series to worry about.  There will be no spelling or vocabulary words this week and no reading test at the end of the week.                             Thank you to all of the parents who came in for conferences.  I often tell my husband that I enjoy conference days because I like to hear and  talk about my students as much as parents like to hear and talk about their kids.  It's a win/win!                             Last week we finished up our ripped paper cornucopias.  It is a great activity to increase fine motor coordination and the end result has a texture like oil painting.  We also read books about Pilgrim life and made a diorama of a keeping room.  The students loved talking about how the Pilgrims lived.      Also, one of our parents collected pictures we made for veterans and  sent them on to a Veterans Hospital.  I am so thankful I have supportive parents to help with activites like this that may brighten the life of someone else.                                                                             This week we'll be starting off by making the Friendship Snack for the Outreach Center on Monday.  We also have a class set of a chapter book, Miss Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner, we will read together and two Thanksgiving plays we will perform.  On Wednesday we are making corn muffins and butter.  The students always think it is a little magical how the cream turns into butter with just a lot of shaking (I do too!).                                                 We will still be working hard on math so expect to see homework on Monday and Tuesday.                                                                   I am looking forward to our week together in preparation for Thanksgiving.  It is the beginning of a special time of year when we remember to appreciate all that we have been given.  I hope your family will enjoy a holiday full of love,laughter and good cheer.   God bless.

 

Friday Centers

During Center Time the students rotate from station to station in a group of 3 or 4 students.  Here students have fun while practicing their math facts with "Mathmagician".  You can access it from the links on the right of this blog page.

Students use the Smartboard to play "Contraptions".  You build structures to make a ball travel down, around, and through pipes and ramps.  It is a great game to practice problem solving.  Many of the students wondered where to get the game.  I know it is available at Amazon and it's called The Incredible Machine- Contraptions.

We worked hard to make the invitations for our special Generation Celebration Mass on December 12.

At the Listening Center we read When Will It Snow?

This is a math facts game called "Pops".

We are playing a language arts game called "Silent e".  It's like "Old Maid" except you match short vowel words with long vowel words with a silent e.  Ex: hop, hope    Thanks to everyone for sending in the ingredients for the Friendship Snack we will be making for the Outreach Center in a few weeks.