Friday, May 20th: NO SCHOOL for students
Teacher grading day
Monday, May 30th: NO SCHOOL Memorial Day
2021-22 School Year Calendar
Daily class snack for recess
A BIG Thank you to all of our amazing families who provide daily snacks for the class. Your support is amazing!!
There are many kids who need a healthy snack each day at second recess, and our classroom supply is again running out.
If you are able, please consider donating a box of individually wrapped snacks to the Puffin nest.
What works best? Granola bars or fruit leather make great individually wrapped snacks.
Just send your class donation in with your kiddo. Our Puffins thank you!!
A message from Art Teacher Stephanie:
Yearbook is on sale now for $20.
To purchase a yearbook please go to www.treering.com/validate and enter the number 1016052158063632. Students are now creating the cover of the yearbook. A yearbook is a great way to remember their time this year. If you have any questions please email Stephanie at [email protected]. Thanks for all your support!
What’s happening in the Puffin Nest?
Change Makers Biography Unit
Who are change makers and why are they important? Change makers have the courage to see and do things differently. Change makers are inquisitive, open-minded, creative, determined, and resourceful. They inspire us by demonstrating how anyone, young or old, can overcome obstacles and make a difference in the world.
Students begin their informational writing journey by choosing an inspirational change maker to learn about. As they read a biography about this person, they will be locating information in the text and taking notes to use in their own informational writing. As they research, they will focus on:
- Childhood: It is important for students to think about how this person's life began, as well as make connections about this person's childhood and their own.
- Overcoming Obstacles: Every great success comes from some sort of preceding failures. Students will write about some of the obstacles this person faced (big and small) and how they worked through those struggles.
- Amazing Accomplishments: Students will write about the major accomplishments this person contributed to our world.
Our current science weather unit: Stormy Skies
This week in science we explored the mystery, “How can you predict when it’s going to storm?” We learned about differences between fair weather clouds and storm clouds, and the role of wind direction in determining whether a rain cloud will pass overhead.
You can continue to support your child’s curiosity by looking at clouds together and asking, “What kind of clouds do you think those are? I wonder if it will rain…” Ask your child if they’d like to show you their Storm Spotter’s Guide, a small book they made to help them remember how to use the clouds to predict the weather.
Out & About
This week during our O&A, we extended our learning of weather and storms with a thunderstorm experiment in the Backyard Garden. We learned that a thunderstorm is caused by unstable air when a body of warm air is forced to rise by an approaching cold front. Students got to demonstrate this atmospheric phenomenon with an experiment using ice cubes, warm water, and some food dye. We also continued to take our scientific weather notes at our garden weather station and compared them to last week's observations.
Read Aloud
Our storytelling adventure continues with a new read-aloud:
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
The Wanderer combines storytelling, adventure, family relationships, and compelling characterization to tell a tale of a difficult journey to another land and to a sense of self-awareness.
A Reminder about Level 2 Homework:
In Level 2, our homework is on the honor system. We ask families to develop and sustain this important practice at home in a way that works best for you. Having a regular routine (time/place/materials) will ensure that your child will be prepared to tackle their required homework in Level 3 more easily.
Math: at least 30 minutes (or more) of math practice each week.
Practicing multiplication math facts at home is a GREAT way to support your kiddo!
- 3rd graders should work on: 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's and 6's
- 4th graders should work on all multiplication facts for 2-12's.
We also recommend that students engage in 10-15 minutes of a math activity (math website or game) and then complete one page in their math workbook at least 2 days per week.
All level 2 kiddos brought home a math workbook (or packet) for homework practice in November. Let us know if they are ready for a new book!
For computer practice, take a moment to set up a free account for your child:
- Khan Academy: instructional videos and problem solving practice
- Prodigy: answer math questions, complete quests, earn rewards
- SumDog: solve math problems while playing video games
- Math Game Time: no account set-up required, select grade level & play!
- The public library is a great resource. Make sure your kiddo has access to lots of “good fit” books that they are excited to read. Check out our Level 2 Book Recommendations HERE.
- Read-alouds and audio books work too! Also, listen to your child read out loud, and ask them questions about their reading & thinking.