December 3, 2016

We had a wonderful trip to see Nutcracker this week. Wednesday’s workshop made it even more meaningful, as children got to look through the Nutcracker’s mask and see the Sugar Plum Fairy’s tutu. They tried out choreographing their own dance to Tchaikovsky’s music, with 16 counts of sharp movement, 16 counts of smooth movement, and 16 counts of their choice.

In other areas, Mr. Ben demonstrated just how much washing is required to remove germs by putting “glo-germ” powder on children’s hands and shining a blacklight on them to reveal where they missed spots. For literature this session, the children are exploring genre. Previously, they discussed music genres with Ms. Amy, and now they are finding the biographies, poetry and various types of stories in the classroom. They are also learning the features of informational nonfiction, such as tables of contents, indexes, glossaries, and captions. We are discussing how to recognize and approach different genres. Many children have been making maps lately. We also sewed drawstring bags with our new sewing machine and the help of a student’s grandmother, Ms. Linda.
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Please consider donating more socks for Mary’s Place. These are among the most needed items for people who don’t have a home. Their life will be particularly rough this week with the cold temperatures, and we can keep them in our thoughts by donating. The children will have opportunities to sort and count donations before taking them to Mary’s Place December 15. Please sign up on Bloomz if you can drive that day; a large portion of the class said they were interested in going.

Ben, Mary, and Ali