Sunday, November 30, 2014

December in the Dolphin Classroom

     It is hard to believe that the holiday season is here! These three and one-half weeks will fly by as the excitement intensifies. We will be studying various holiday customs that exist throughout the world...learning traditions through books, poems, and projects. We will be learning about St. Nicholas Day (The Netherlands), Diwali (India), Hanukkah (Israel), China, Mexico, Germany, Kwanzaa, and our own Christmas traditions. We anxiously await the arrival of your child's paper cut-out in costume on Friday, December 5. They will adorn our bulletin board, Holidays Around the World, for the month.
     As we focus on family traditions and celebrate holidays this month, we will read the book, The Night Tree by Eve Bunting. As a follow-up to this story, the students will hike on the trails next to the playground and decorate trees for the animals. All family members are welcome to join us. Hot chocolate and muffins will be enjoyed by all after the hike. We will be going out at 9:30 on Friday, December 19 with a snow date on Monday, December 22 at 9:30. This activity is in lieu of a holiday party. We hope you can join us!
     The annual STA Book Fair will be happening here in our library beginning tomorrow, Dec. 2 through Saturday, Dec. 6. Our class will be shopping tomorrow, December 2 at 12:30PM. You are welcome to join us if you would like.
     We are busy writing stories inspired by Mo Willems. We will be showcasing our completed works before school on Tuesday, December 9 from 8:00 to 8:25. Please come and check it out!
     Finally, in lieu of exchanging gifts between one another in our class, we ask each child to bring in a wrapped "classroom gift" which he/she will unwrap and present to the class. It shouldn't be expensive. 
We will brainstorm a "wish list" to send home next week. Also, Mrs. Jones and I do not expect nor want Christmas gifts, but we would be honored with a monetary donation to "St. Vincent de Paul"or by sending in non-perishable food items. The Stratham Teacher's Association will be collecting food items here at school for the month. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
     As always, if you have any questions or concerns about any of this information, please do not hesitate to call.
     Enjoy the holiday season with your child!!!
     

Our "Shared Snack" in Honor of the First Thanksgiving...Dolphin Style








Thursday, November 13, 2014

Our First Publishing Party

Everyone enjoyed sharing his/her book with a classmate this afternoon. Later, we shared our published works with our Reading Pals from 4B.



















Sunday, November 2, 2014

Fall Festival

     The Dolphins and Koalas had a wonderful time together enjoying all the activities of our Fall Festival.
Our thanks to our parent volunteers who helped run the stations. Here are some pictures of the morning...