Friday, December 17th: Level 2 Pajama Day!
Students are invited to wear their favorite "school appropriate/weather appropriate" pajamas to school. We will be doing a fun mystery science snow activity, art projects related to our fairytale project, and will have a cozy read-in afternoon to celebrate all of our hard work so far this year.
Note: Students may NOT bring other items (slippers/pillows/stuffed animals) from home.
Dressing up in PJ's is optional.
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. 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.
Next week, we will begin exploring humorous fairytale adaptations through Reader's Theater. Our goal will be 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, students are exploring with 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 zip-line for Little Red Riding Hood
- A bridge for the Gingerbread Man
Ask your Puffin to tell you about their engineering 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.
This week your child learned about the brain’s role in receiving information from the senses, processing that information, and then controlling the body's muscles to enable movement. We played a game in which we tested our reflexes. The fact that our reflexes always have a slight delay helped your child to see that there are real pathways (nerves) on which messages from the brain have to travel.
One thing you can do to support your child’s curiosity is to play a round of the “reflex” game together at home. All you need is a ruler or cooking spoon—ask your child to explain the rules of the game to you. Ask your child about the “dollar bill” challenge too! As you play these games, there's an opportunity for a great discussion about how the brain requires time to send a message to your fingers.
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