A Game, a Sentence and a Dragon

Last week, our class participated in an interactive writing competition.  Each student was given a white board and marker.  They were then told a sentence using common sight words and words from the word wall.  The sentences that they wrote needed to follow the rules of a sentence:

1.  All sentences begin with a capital letter.
2.  All sentences end with punctuation.
3.  All sentences are complete thoughts.

The student with the most correctly written sentences was Kyle!  Congratulations, Kyle!  His prize was to have Rosie, one of our classroom bearded dragons, sit on his shoulder and help him during the next lesson!

Shining Light

This week's Shining Light is our very own Dominique!  Dominique was recognized for her hard work this week.  She also has been a leader when it is time to clean up at the end of the day and get ready to go home.  Great job, Dominique!

Candy is a 'Sometimes Food,' so...

we all want a little every once and while!  Last week, our class visited the gym to celebrate those who sold candy in this years Candy Sale.  As a prize for selling, students were eligible to participate in the Candy Grab!  When we got to the gym, the floor was covered with candy!

Here is the team that represented our class!  Great job!

Team Kefgen - Kyle, Malik, Noah, Kiesa and Nico

On your marks...get set...GO!

As a special treat for selling the most candy in our class, Kiesa joined other high-sellers in our school for a limo ride to CiCi's Pizza!  Congratulations, Kiesa!

Details for Monday's Field Trip

We will be boarding the bus by 8:45am on Monday to depart for Ann Arbor.  I will make sure that each child uses the bathroom before we leave.  I will also provide a snack for the bus.  We will be returning around 1:00pm.  Please remember to bring a bag lunch this day.  Thank you in advance!

Also, Milestone #2 is due this Monday.  A sheet to write the new facts was provided and sent in your child's folder.  Please have this completed and returned by Monday, January 31.

Congratulations to Romeo and Dominique who completed their milestone early!  Great work!

Morgan's Special Day

This week, Morgan turned 7 years old!  Our class helped him celebrate this exciting day with Morgan's parents and some special treats!

Here is Morgan wearing the birthday vest. Morgan was so excited to wear it that he got it off the shelf first thing in the morning before he even had his coat off!

Here is Morgan and his proud parents!

All of Morgan's friends were there to wish him a happy birthday!

An'Niyia's Special Day

On January 13th, An'Niyia celebrated her 7th birthday!  Her mom and youngest sister joined our class to wish An'Niyia a happy birthday!  All the children had a wonderful time. 

Here is An'Niyia in her birthday crown as she passes out cupcakes to all her friends.

An'Niyia, her proud mom and little sister.



Happy 7th birthday, An'Niyia!

Field Trip Reminder

This is a gentle reminder that we will be going on our next field trip on Monday, January 31.  The cost of the field trip is $2.00 and is due by Friday, January 28.  We will be traveling to Ann Arbor to see a salsa dancing play!  If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  Thank you!

Milestone #2

This Thursday, January 27, Milestone #2 is due.  This is the new facts that your child has learned about their chosen person.  As this milestone snuck up on me, I will be accepting these milestones through Monday, January 31.  This gives those who need it an extra weekend to complete the assignment.

Please remember that the facts need to written in your child's handwriting.  Please help them stretch out the words if needed, but guide them instead of giving them the answers.  The following facts need to be included:

1.  Date and place of birth.
2.  Date of death (if applicable).
3.  Major contribution to society (what makes them influential in history).
4.  Any special awards or recognitions achieved (if applicable)

3 additional facts learned must be included as well.  As the number of facts has been reduced from the last exhibition, students should be able to complete this by Monday, January 31.  Any students who complete this before Monday will have the opportunity to go to the prize box.

If you have any questions, or need help completing this milestone, please let me know.  Good luck!  I really looking forward to reading what the children find!

Last Week of Social Studies

This Friday marks the end of the first 6 weeks of the 2nd Trimester as well as our current social studies unit.  As we will be starting science next week, we will not have a chance to learn about President's Day.  Because of this, we began learning about the Presidents this week.

To start things off, we talked about who the current president is and what we think they do.  We then discussed what other presidents the children knew.  The first two they said were Abraham Lincoln (Kyndal even remembered that he was on the penny!) and George Washington.  We began by reading a book about Lincoln.  We learned that he was born in Kentucky and moved to Indiana.  He then moved to Illinois where he became a lawyer.  We also learned that he was married to a woman named Mary Todd and that he had four sons.  Finally, we discussed how Lincoln helped to stop the fighting that was happening because some people were not being treated fairly.

After our discussion, we made our own log cabins, just like Lincoln did before he became a lawyer.  Here are some of the builders hard at work!

On Thursday we will be discussing George Washington and the American flag!  This has been a great ending to social studies this trimester!

Shining Light

Last week, our Shining Light was Reigna!  Reigna has been doing an excellent job during writer's workshop.  On Thursday, we created a dream quilt to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Reigna wrote so many sentences that she said her hand was hurting!  Great job, Reigna!  I can really see your love of writing each day!  I hope your hand is feeling better :) 

Our Next Field Trip

On Monday, January 31, our village will be attending a salsa dancing themed play in Ann Arbor.  We will be joined by Cheyanne's grandmother, Mrs. Lewis, as our chaperone.  Our school is asking for each student that will be attending to bring $2.00 to assist with the cost of the trip.  Please have your child's money turned in to me by Friday, January 28.

The bus will be leaving promptly at 9:00 am.  Please make sure that your child comes to school on time this day, as well as brings a bag lunch in which everything can be consumed and disposed of while in Ann Arbor.  Thank you in advance!

Paper Towel Rolls and Snack

This week, our class started to create number scrolls!  We will be using them to write our numbers from 1 all the way to 1,000!  If possible, we are asking for donations of paper towel rolls to attach our scrolls to.  Any standard size paper towel roll will work.  We are looking for 17 rolls so that each child can use one.  If you have any extra rolls we would be happy to take them off your hands!

Also, we are running low on snack.  If you or your child have a favorite healthy snack that you would like to share with the class, please consider donating to our snack cabinet!   

Thank you in advance for your help!

Learning About Needs and Wants

Last week in social studies, the children learned about the differences between needs and wants.  As a class, we decided that our needs as humans include healthy food, water, shelter and clothes.  We then discussed the things that we want, but don't really need.  We had a wonderful discussion about how things like cars and computers make our lives a lot easier, but that if we needed to, we could live without them, making them wants.  Also, we discussed that while shelter or a house is a need, a huge, expensive house is a want.  This got the children thinking about other things.  They explained to me that you need a coat that keeps you warm, but not a fancy coat, as well as wanting candy, but needing fruits and vegetables.  After we learned about needs and wants, the children were given modeling clay to build a need and a want.  Here is what some of them came up with:

Noah - "I want a dog, but I am still healthy without one!"

Reigna - "Toys are wants, but I really want a yo-yo!"

An'Niyia - "We need coats to keep us warm."

Emmanuel - "A family that loves you is a need."

NO SCHOOL Friday, January 14 and Monday, January 17

This is a gentle reminder that there is no school on Friday, January 14.  This is a professional development day for the teachers.  Also, there will be no school the following Monday, January 17, as our school will be observing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  School will resume on Tuesday, January 18. 

Keisa's Special Day

Over the winter break, Keisa celebrated her birthday!  Because we were not able to celebrate with her on her actual birthday, we did it today!  Here is a picture of the class toasting Keisa with cupcakes!  Happy birthday, Keisa!

Keisa was also chosen as this week's Shining Light.  She was selected because she has been helping her group members complete their center work when they are having trouble.  She is a wonder "assistant teacher!"  Keep up the great work, Keisa!

Class Pride

Morgan sent me this picture of himself over the break with his new Wii!  Based on Morgan's email, it sounded like bowling is his favorite game!  Thank you so much for sharing what you did over break with our class, Morgan!