Small Collections Wanted

We are moving into a writing workshop unit focused on opinion writing after the break. Before we get to reviewing restaurants, books, and the like, we will start off by evaluating and ranking-- judging-- some of our own collections. I know that most 6- and 7-year-olds are natural collectors! We will be learning and practicing some great ways to convince others of our opinions, and to agree with a peer or, respectfully, disagree. 

To do this work, it would be great if each student could bring in a small collection (3-5 items) after break. Please don't send anything too fragile. Please don't send anything your child will miss too much as we'd like to keep it here at school for a couple of weeks. A collection of just 3 - 5 items that are all part of a category but are each a bit different would be great. A collection small enough to store in a shoe box in the classroom is best. I happen to have a collection of various pug Christmas ornaments I will bring in! Here are some ideas:

• Lego guys 
• Rocks
• Stickers
• Bracelets
• Hair accessories
• Trolls
• Baseball cards
• Seashells
• Matchbox cars
• Pens
• Animal figurines
• Plastic creatures...                                                                                                                            Thank you! (If any student forgets or doesn't have a collection, they will instead be able to to write a list in class of a collection of favorite books, movies, songs, or places.   

The Night Before Christmas

In writing workshop we'll be moving into an opinion writing unit next, focused on writing reviews of toys/books/places we know...more on that soon. We got our feet wet with opinion writing first by writing about a favorite version of the classic The Night Before Christmas. We read this famous Clement Moore poem several times, in books illustrated by Jean Hirashima, Jan Brett, and Leonard Weisgard. All three feature pets in the illustrations-- a big hit-- but each has a very different style. Students each then chose their favorite and wrote about three reasons they especially liked that particular version. Here are some pictures of us writing, illustrating, and sharing this work with one another this week and last.

Making Mkekas

One more project we did this week on the social studies theme of December holiday traditions was making Kwanzaa mkekas (em-KEH-kah), or woven mats. This is the traditional centerpiece on which families place muhindi (ears of corn) and other mazao (fruits and vegetables) and the kinara (wooden candle holder) with seven candles in black, red, and green. 

It was challenging to do the weaving and lots of refrains of "over, under, over, under" could be heard being muttered in the room as the students worked on this project. But they got the hang of it as they worked and were quite proud of the results. It was a great chance to practice the idea that mistakes help us learn, too; every one of us made mistakes here and there when we noticed the pattern suddenly didn't look right. But mistakes were easy to fix-- we just pulled the strip of paper out and tried again! We'll send these mats home soon, too.

We've also done a Kwanzaa greeting this week: "Habari gani?" which means "What's the news?"

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel

We've been learning about and reading stories about Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa this month and the traditions that are a part of each of these holidays and the similarities and differences among them as well. This week we played dreidel and later this week students will get to bring home a dreidel to keep along with directions for a version of this traditional game. Maybe they can play with you at home using nuts, raisins, chocolates, pennies, Unifix cubes like we did, or whatever you have on hand. 

Drop the Beans

I'm behind in updates-- it's been a busy December! Here are a few...

We learned a new math game, Drop the Beans, to practice addition facts equaling 7, 8, 9, and 10. Now it is a new workplace (rotating math center). We also use this game as a chance to discuss some probability, as certain combinations tend to come up more than others.