Like you, I was shaken to the core by the events that transpired in Connecticut last Friday.  It has been difficult to push it out of all our minds in order to maintain a sense of calm, routine and consistency.  I received a beautiful poem from a friend today via email that I will copy and paste at the end of this blog - maybe it will offer you a bit of comfort as it did me.

The staff at Leeds met with Mr. Smith on Monday morning to be advised of ways to handle student comments.  We do have support personnel in the school for any students who may show signs of trauma.  In kindergarten, not one student has mentioned any knowledge of the event.  My class has continued to work as expected the week before Christmas.  I want to thank each of you for however you chose to handle this awful situation - your sons and daughters seem to have maintained their innocence through this very evil situation.  As adults, we each question just how safe our schools are and how we can protect those we love.  I can only promise you that I will always do everything in my power to keep your child safe emotionally, academically and physically.

I think we will all be holding those we love a little closer during this holiday time and I wish each and every one of you a very safe and healthy winter break.   With love, Barbara Ann

Very Touching..... God Bless These Families!

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

This is the month of holidays and this week we have learned about Hanukkah.  We read a story about how the Maccabees defeated the king's army and how they returned to the temple and found only enough oil to last for one day.  However, when they lit the menorah, the oil lasted for 8 days!  On Monday we ''lit'' the first three candles on our homemade menorah and have added one each day.  We have been working on a Hanukkah project that will be displayed on our outside bulletin board by Friday. 

In Math this week, we have learned about how we use attributes to described things.  We began with attribute blokcs and children sorted them according to size, shape, color and thickness.  Then we used buttons to find common attributes.  Children are learning they can use many words to describe how things are alike and different.  We will be having a special Hanukkah treat on Friday and I am expecting the Elf ion the Shelf to show up any day now!

Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.  BA

This week our class has been learning about the African-American holiday, Kwanzaa.  Some of the Swahili words we have been using are very difficult for us to pronounce yet in spite of that, we now that Kwanzaa celebrates  the past and future with lights, unity, faith and feasting just like our more familiar holidays.    If you have a chance to visit the school, be sure to see our mkekas, the Kwanzaa mats that we have woven with construction paper.  They are proudly, and colorfully,  displayed on the bulletin board outside our classroom.  The sixth principle of Kwanzaa is creativity so today we completed a little project that will become a gift for some lucky family members!  Tomorrow we will begin learning about  Hanukkah. 

We are moving on to our third Math Investigations, What Comes Next?: Patterns and Functions. In this unit, students will investigate what makes a repeating pattern. They will focus on attributes of objects and think about which attributes (i.e., size, color, shape, orientation) are important in the patterns they will be making. Students will  work with simple and complex repeating patterns. They will have many opportunities to copy, create, and extend repeating patterns using a variety of materials and common objects. They will also use patterns to determine what comes next and focus on the part, or unit, of a pattern that repeats.  We have already had some experience with patterns on our monthly calendar so I think many of our students are quite familiar with patterns.

We also welcomed a new student, Patricia, to our classroom this week bringing our total to 19.  She has fit into our routine very nicely and is making friends quickly.

Math night at Leeds, this past Wednesday was very well attended and students and parents alike enjoyed playing Compare, Grab and Count, Roll and Record,  and  Toss the Chips.  Thanks to those of you who were able to attend in this very busy month.

I hope everyone enjoys a good weekend.  Barbara Ann

The last day of November - hard to believe!  Anyway, we finished the month and week making a graph of the weather for the school days this month.  It will be in your child's folder so please take a look and ask your child what she/he notices about the weather for November. 

You will also find a Scholastic Book Cub form.  If you wish to order any books, the form must be returned with a check by Friday, December 7th.  I realize that is only a week, however, if the order is to be received by the start of the vacation we have to get it sent in quickly.  If you are buying books for gifts, please attach a note to that effect and we will let you know when the order arrives and make arrangements to get the books to you without your child knowing.

The next month is always a very exciting one for students as the holidays approach.  While we do work on holiday activities we do try to keep everything pretty low key.  We discuss the history of each holiday (Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas) and complete some activities that are representative of the symbols of each holiday. 

Students are in the process of writing about their ''stuffies''.  When their pages are complete, they will be assembled into a little booklet which your child will eventually bring home.   The emphasis right now is on learning about capital letters at the beginning of sentences and periods at the end as well as practicing ''inventive spelling''.  Please encourage your child to sound out words and accept any reasonable phonetic spelling.  This is preparation for beginning Writer's Workshop in the new year.  

Enjoy the weekend.  BA

Novenber 28th

I know it has been a while so let me recap our activities for November.  Most of the month was spent finishing up our pumpkin activities and then doing an apple unit.  We read lots of stories about apples and the seasonal life cycle of an apple tree, we made patterns using apples and learned some songs and poems about apples.  After tasting a piece of red apple, yellow apple and green apple, we graphed the results and for the first time ever, most students liked the green apples best!  The culmination of the unit was an apple sampler snack where we were able to taste the applesauce and apple crisp we had made along with some apple jelly and some apple cider.  We all decided that apples are a very versatile food and one that most of us like in many different forms. 

This week in Math, we are working on making comparisons by finding names and items in the classroom that are longer and shorter than our name tower.  We have also been discussing the meaning of the abbreviation am and pm as well as things we do during the day and things we do at night.  Since this is the l;ast week of November, we are trying to finish up all our November activities in preparation for December. 

Starting next week, we will learn about the history behind Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas as we make some projects related to each holiday.  It is a very busy and exciting time for our class.  Don't tell, but, I'm quite sure we will be having a visit from the Elf on the Shelf at some point!

I am concerned about the reading log homework.  In the past, I have usually had 100% (or close to it) participation.  So far this year, there have been at least 5 or 6 children not returning the reading log each day.  I'm not sure what the problem is.  As we discussed at interview time, I do want this to be your child's responsibility, however, if your child is one that you know is constantly leaving his/her rreading log at home, please help them out with reminders such as "What do you need to pack in your backpack?" or ""Do you have everything you need for Ms. Bennett today?"  You might also help them find a spot at home where they can put their reading log every day and putting a pen or pencil in the plastic bag makes it easier to remember to get the log initialed each day.  I'm hoping we can get this working better. 

Mrs. Adams would very much appreciate more donations of clorox wipes for our tables each day.  Also, now that we really do seem to be getting colder weather, please be sure that all your child's winter items are labelled.  We have our coat racks set up and children are now hanging their coats on hangers each day which gives us more room in our cubbies.  This classroom does get quite cool when the sun is not shining so it might be a good idea to send in a sweater or sweatshirt that can stay here for the cooler days.  Children should not have to wear boots all day so if you can send a pair of indoor shoes to stay that would be great but at least please be sure your child has shoes in his/her backpack. 

Have a good evening.  BA

What a beautiful day and the weekend looks to be much the same.  We took out center time outside this afternoon (after practicing quiet transitions a couple of times!) to enjoy the sunshine after so many dark, cloudy days.

Since Monday is Veteran's Day, we took some time this morning to talk about why we celebrate this day.  The children have little booklets they are bringing home and we made Veteran Day medals that they will also be bringing home.  Please be sure to reinforce that meaning of this special day and its significance in our lives.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if this was the generation that brought peace to all!

This afternoon we were able to go to the computer lab for Math and work on number sentences!  We worked on a website called linktolearning.com that has some wonderful activites for all ages.  We use the computer lab every other Friday if Ms, Pearson, (a former Leeds teacher) is able to come in and get the computers set up for us.  If any of you know of age appropriate websites that you think could be useful, please pass the web addy along!

Just a reminder that next week we will be making apple crisp and apple sauce.  If you can supply us with some apples it would be most appreciated.  Thanks in advance. 

Precious Moments:  I was reminded last week that one of the students in our classroom has a father that is a teacher at a local community college.  After conferences, I asked the child what her dad  taught at college and she quietly replied, "Students!"

Enjoy the weekend.  Barbara Ann

Good evening all.  By now, you have helped your child with his/her homework and the reading log is tucked safely into the backpack to bring back to school tomorrow.  The class was very excited to be getting homework like the older kids!  Thank you for supporting the efforts of our emergent readers.

Today was a pretty cold day and some of our children were not dressed for the change.  I spoke with them at length today about how important it is to have mitts, hats and a warm coat for the winter.  I also encouraged them to wear snow pants when it is cold even if we don't have snow.  Tomorrow I will bring out our coat hangers and we will practice tucking mitts into hats, hats into coat sleeves and then hanging our jackets on hangers.  We do have some extra mitts and hats at school.  Whenever someone borrows a hat, Mrs. Adams very kindly takes it home and washes it so hats are always clean for students to use as needed.  If you are having difficulty finding appropriate clothing for you child for the winter, please let me know so we can help out. 

For the next week and a half, we will be working on an apple unit.  Today we started with an apple tasting so students were able to taste a piece of  red (Fuji), yellow (Golden Delicious) and green (Granny Smith) apple.  The majority of students chose the Granny Smith apples as their favorite!  We will be graphing our findings tomorrow.  Next week we will be making applesauce and apple crisp.  Donations of cooking apples will be gratefully accepted. 

Stay warm - the weekend looks great for a bit of a warm up.  BA