Learning is a Great Gift

It has been another busy week.  The children are working and collaborating with one another.  The excitement in the room is clearly evident.  They are hustling and bustling and anticipating the Christmas Break.  Our Elf, Cocoa delivered a small house with the countdown to Christmas.  Each morning, I choose someone to open the coordinating door and read what is inside.  It seems that each little door contains a good deed to perform throughout the day, both in school and at home.

Hour of Coding:

On Monday we participated in Coding exercises.  The children went onto their chromebooks and chose various coding programs that allowed them to learn about the different ways to run programs.  They enjoyed trying out all different ones.

Surprise Visit and Winner:

On Tuesday we had Channel 6 and 10 news cameras here.  They interviewed the winner of the North Providence Christmas Card Winner- Isabella.  The Police Chief announced the 2 winners from our school and presented them with Target gift cards.  We were so thrilled that the 2nd and 1st place winners were from SOS.  The morning started off with so much excitement.

                                          

Station Rotations:

 

The children work independently and collaboratively in their stations. Each station has a particular task to complete and then they move onto the next one.  They are given about 10-12 minutes to do the work assigned and then move onto another one.  The children seem to have a better hold on how they run.  It has been a bit challenging at times, but once they get the hang of it, they get right to it and help one another out while reviewing many of the activities that they are working on.

Reveal Math:

During our math lessons, the children also get a chance to collaborate with one another.  They come up with strategies to answer the word problems, help each other out with coming up with an answer and hold discussions that allow for then to see other ways of answering.  We use the UPS strategy for word problems.

Holidays Around the World:

 In Social Studies we have been learning about how different countries celebrate the holidays.  We are researching various countries, learning about their customs and traditions and doing various activities that take place in those countries.  The children have played driedel, making gingerbread houses and know about LaBefana.  We still have a few countries to go.  

Social Emotional:

Many of our morning meetings revolve around how we are doing.  Our conversations lead to many wonderul topics to discuss.  Our monthly trait for this month is Empathy.  We try to understand what others go through and be empathetic to them.  Many various questions come up and we try to answer them as a group.  We take polls, answer questions and watch some wonderful videoes that relate to empathy, confidence, being brave and gratitude.  

Upcoming Events:

Our class will be taking part in a Holiday Book Exchange.  We are asking that you donate a gently used or new book, wrapped and 4th grade appropriate and send it in by the 16th. On the 21st we will exchange our "gifts" to one another.  I will be doing this like a Yankee Swap.

Spirit Week is starting on December 19th.  Be on the lookout for the flyer going home and I will also be posting it on Class Dojo, this week.  

Disney On Ice is also coming- Flyer has been shared with families.

1st Trimester has ended.  Report Cards can be found on Skyward.