December 20th-31st: Winter Break, NO SCHOOL
School resumes in the new year on Monday, Jan.3rd
2021-22 School Year Calendar
What’s happening in the Puffin Nest?
Once upon a time…
Our storytelling theme is in full swing in the level 2 classrooms, as we launch our fairy tale writing unit.
What is a fairy tale?
The ancestor of the fairy tale is the folk tale. A folk tale has been created by a community over many generations. A fairy tale is a written folk story with wondrous elements. The writing makes a big difference; when one person writes the story, he or she changes details to tell the tale his or her own way.
During the fairy tale writing unit, our kiddos will read and listen to familiar fairy tales and then write their own adaptations.
Why do we study them?
Studying folktales and fairy tales helps students with fiction writing. This is because in reading and listening to these stories, students deeply connect with story arcs, archetypes and lessons.
This connection helps them as writers to create the world of their story, and to bring their characters to life. It is all about bringing the resonance of a storyteller’s voice onto the page.
We have also been exploring humorous fairytale adaptations through Reader's Theater. Our goal is to explore fluency, characterization and to enhance reading skills and confidence through practice with a purpose.
How will we connect reading & writing with our project work?
As the weather gets cold, we are staying warm with "In & Abouts" each week.
During the month of December, we will be working on Engineering Labs!
Students will imagine, create, test, make improvements and find solutions as they built an item that would assist characters in well known fairy tales.
This week, students worked in pairs to completed their first fairy tale engineering project:
- A parachute for Jack (& the Beanstalk)
- A raft for the Three Billy Goats Gruff
Ask your Puffin to tell you about their project!
Here are some questions to ask:
- Was your design successful? How could you tell?
- Did you try any designs that didn’t work?
- What surprised you about the project?
- What frustrated you about the project? How did you work through it?
This week we jumped back into our Mystery Science lessons.
We continued our exploration of the human machine by delving further into how our eyes work (exploring the function of the iris and pupil). Your child added a part to their eye model (the one they created earlier) and experimented to see how the pupil affects vision.
One thing you can do to support your child's curiosity is to sit down together and look at pictures of animals’ eyes. If you have a pet at home, like a cat or dog, use the flash of a camera to snap a photo, and see if you can spot the pet’s colorful green layer at the back of the eye. This layer helps these animals to see better at night. Invite your child to share with you what they’ve learned about this!
Level 2 "Inclusive Community" Read-Aloud Series
We will continue to engage a weekly "Inclusive Community" read-aloud series. Through these read-alouds, we will learn about and celebrate diversity in our community.
December: Disability Awareness Month
Just Ask!
All My Stripes
The Girl Who Thought in Pictures