Our week has been full of growing – our second planting of broccoli all sprouted!, reading about Humphrey and collecting signs of spring, focusing on the S.E.L. skills of self-monitoring and self-control through goal setting and group work and building Sassafras Springs, along with reading, writing, and math.

Fractions and Fair Shares

            We are continuing to grow our understanding of fractions. This week we spent some time identifying fractions and seeing them as a way to divide a group of things into smaller groups AND also a way of cutting one thing into smaller pieces. We worked to solve problems of how to share a number of brownies with a number of people. For example: how would you share 2 brownies with 4 people or how would you share 5 brownies with 4 people?

            Next we’ll be applying what we are learning to recipes. We will work to double a recipe to see how that changes how the fractions were recorded. We will also work to cut the same recipe in half. Hopefully this is a fun way to explore fractions and think about the information the different parts of the fractions give us. If you are following a recipe while you cook at home this would be a great opportunity to explore fractions together.

U.S. Geography

            We have begun our study of the United States.  We are excited about this project because it combines so many different areas of learning and it is fun!  We do, as always, need your help at home.  We will be sending home the guidelines for how you and your child can create a “float” for the Parade of the States leaving you plenty of time for the creation.  Hopefully, by this point, you’ve all have learned the state your child is researching.  Our class is pretty eager to be learning as much as they can about each region.  The children will be learning about their states and identifying that state’s “wonders.”  These wonders will be represented on a float in the Parade of the States. That will be on Thursday, June 2 – along with a recorder concert. Children will be asked to arrive at 4:45 with the event being done by 6:30 at the latest.  It is our plan that the children will have researched and identified their wonders by April 22.  Mrs. Haight has been collaborating with us all year and has planned several of her units of study to coincide with this project.  In school the children will be creating 5×7 picture of a plant important to the state, a model of a man-made structure and a representation of a person important in their state.  These will represent three of the wonders.  The children will combine this work with your help at home to build the float for the parade.

            We will send home clear guidelines when the time comes.  A couple of the children talked about beginning the building process now.  Please don’t do that yet.  We have learned from past parades that we should slow the process down. We believe we have built in enough time so that learning AND building will go together for a great event.