This week we got into the holiday spirit by learning about some of the holidays in December. The students learned information about Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali, and Kwanzaa. The students discovered that these holidays have similarities including using lights, singing songs, and being with family.

During our reading time we focused on the book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. We read the book and completed accompanying activities. Some of the activities we did as a large group, such as listening to a song about the Grinch and then writing or drawing what the song made us think of. Other activities we did independently. One way we did this was by having each student brainstorm different ways they could think of to make the Grinch smile. Some of the answers were humorous while others were quite practical.

In Writer’s Workshop we continued discussing about writing for our readers. We spoke about how writing is much easier for readers when the writing is written neatly, when we use spaces, and when we put all of the sounds in our words. Many of the students are working on writing that is long term work. The students are very enthusiastic about expanding upon the work they have already started.

In Math Workshop we have been working more on using the number line for addition and have started using it for subtraction. We are becoming masters of addition! Next week we will be focusing more on subtraction. Our math lessons have been integrated into our morning message this week and have introduced us to word problems. We will be working more with word problems in the future.

We are continuing to build our community of learners. The students are putting into place what they know about respect for others, the classroom, and ourselves. This is something that is very important in fully creating a classroom where everyone feels safe and respected.

Have a great weekend!