Happy Holidays!

December was filled with learning, celebrations and good cheer in our classroom!

At the beginning of the month, we boarded “flights” and traveled abroad to learn about holiday traditions in Israel, England, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Mexico. It was interesting to discover many of our own Christmas traditions- decorating Christmas trees, sending cards, displaying poinsettias- started long ago in other countries. During our field trip to the Dover Children’s Museum, we learned about different types of celebrations. We had a great time exploring the museum. Thank you to Brett Hill and Lenore Smith for chaperoning the trip.

During reading, we read and compared many versions of The Gingerbread Man. Our engineering challenge this month was tied to this study. Groups of 3 or 4 created a home for the gingerbread man that met specific criteria. The challenge was tougher than all expected, but it was wonderful to see each group approach the difficulties with positive, can-do attitudes. In the slideshow below you’ll have the opportunity to see the plans, along with the house in various stages of development. I can’t thank you enough for the many donations that were needed to make this challenge happen.

Thanks to our 4th grade buddies in Mrs. Brown’s class, we participated in the “Hour of Code.” The purpose of the hour was to introduce children to computer science.  Several kids have enjoyed learning more on their own at home. We’ll continue to explore coding during our computer class time. 

Our parent craft time was a huge success thanks to Kathie Babine, Nikki Hill, Jessie Hollister, Nancy King, Jess Morgado and Denette Schlager (and Alexa’s grandmother). The kids enjoyed making a variety of ornaments and cards while having a snack!

Our month ended with our gift exchange of mugs and the hot chocolate party. It was a perfect ending to the year 2014. I’m looking forward to all the learning and fun awaiting us in 2015.

Happy New Year! 

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