As I sit here on a Saturday afternoon with my cup of tea, I look out the window and see that the weatherman's prediction has come true! That white stuff is falling from the sky....again!
I stare out into the woods and see the squirrels scurrying and the trees beginning to get their ermine-colored coats. And I begin to reminisce to my days when I was 5 and 6 years old. Just hearing my mother say that it might snow got me so excited! I would prepare my outdoor wear...lining up my snow boots, my one-piece red snow suit with fur on the hood, and of course, my white angora scarf and mittens that my Babci had knitted for me. I wasn't allowed to use the phone, so I would run next door to my friend, Holly, and together we would begin to scheme. Which of us would sneak through the hole in the fence to the lumber yard to find chunks of coal for the eyes of the soon-to-be snowman? What would we use for the nose? arms? Would your mother let you use her real scarf and hat?
For me, growing up in the winter was always a blast! It seems that there was just so much more snow then, (or was it that I was just so small and the mounds of snow so much bigger?)! When the accumulation of snow would end, my sister, my Dad and I would drive to the Paterson Mountains to go sledding. What a thrill it was (and how brave I was!) to do a "running jump" onto my sled and go all the way down to the bottom of the hill! To this day, it is still such a happy and vivid a memory!
So why am I sharing this with you? Maybe I am getting sentimental as I already miss my children since they visited for the holidays; or maybe to remind you that spending quality time with your child is so important! Make memories with them that will last a lifetime! No one can ever take those away from them! The cleaning and miscellaneous chores can wait. There's no time like the present to begin.
This week I read several books on Winter, including Jan Brett's adaption of the Ukrainian Folktale, The Mitten. Ask your child to name all the animals that crawled into the little boy's white mitten. What happened to the mitten at the end? Have them tell you about the "hula hoop" activity we did.
Thank you for remembering to send in either a pair of gloves or mittens to do "mitten math". The students did a great job sorting, comparing, counting and describing the many varieties. It was a perfect opportunity to introduce a Venn diagram, because "where do you put the pair that is part glove and part mitten?" We will be doing more of this as the year progresses.
And thanks for filling the baggies with "a handful" of objects from home. We have begun our unit on Estimation and the children will be doing lots of estimating for the remainder of the year. You can continue this teaching at home, but avoid using the word "guessing". I am teaching the children how to use previously learned knowledge (such as knowing how many 10 of something looks like) to make their estimate. Estimating isn't "magic". Skillful estimation is based on making reasonable, accurate numerical inference based on facts and prior knowledge. By using the word "guess" you are suggesting that no information is available against which to draw a logical conclusion. So, (1) begin to use words like, "try to figure about how many" and, (2), give them more information to use by having a referent jar. Get 2 jars that are identical, and in one jar put 10 objects, making sure to count them together with your child. This will be their reference. Then in the other jar, using more of the same object, put more or less and have your child estimate how many are in the second jar. Have them record their answers. If they are "way off the mark" then start with a smaller amount of objects and only increase them when they seem to stop taking random "guesses". It's lots of fun and you will all enjoy it!
Congratulations to our Star Students for the month of January. Olivia Levy and Luke McManus in the AM and Olivia Engmann and Nils Holman in the PM. This month, I had the previously chosen Star Students help me with this month's selection. They had to tell me their criteria for choosing their candidate. It's a difficult task, as most students use kind words, are respectful, are helpful and cheerful, and attentive. Working on raising hands, not calling out, lining up quietly and following basic classroom rules, both indoors and outdoors, is the criteria is for being selected. Some students are still fine-tuning these skills.
I will be sending home conference reminders soon. You will be receiving the report cards on Friday, Jan. 23rd. Please review the card and have your list of questions or areas of concern ready. I am looking forward to meeting with you. Please try to arrange a babysitter for those few minutes we are together so that we can utilize our time together to the fullest.
How things change! How happy I am as I look out the window to see that it has stopped snowing and that there doesn't seem to be too much accumulation. I won't have to shovel, and I can still drive to do my errands. But I will enjoy the beauty of the season while it lasts. Before long it will be Spring!
Did I ever tell you the story about when my friend Holly and I used to put on our pink boots after a Spring shower and...........
To be continued!
