Artist-In-Residence

The first and second grades have teamed up to work with acclaimed storyteller Eshu Bumpus on a student-written performance.  The story will be about worms and their importance to the environment (a theme in second grade that ties into our insect unit).  With Eshu's structuring, students have been voting on aspects of the story and developing quite a creative storyline.  Parents are invited to come in and help the children refine their ideas, rehearse, and take notes on what is being discussed.  We have time scheduled with Eshu on:

Thursday, Dec. 9th from 1-3 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 10th from 9-10 a.m. and 1-2 p.m.
Thursday, Dec 16th from 1-3 p.m.

http://eshu.folktales.net/

Please let me know if you want to come in so I can plan accordingly and alert you if there are time changes. Thanks!

Insect Wrap-Up

Our study of insects has come to a close.  Children noticed many important things about insects and are now excited to find insects and point them out. Here is one they found living in our classroom:

First Graders learned that insects need a habitat in which to live, that they eat different things (like humans do), and that their body parts have purposes (strong jaws for biting, legs for jumping, etc.).  They also learned a bit about predator/prey relationships and camouflage. To culminate the unit students designed their own insects. The criteria were that the insects needed to have all 7 parts that all insects have, and a name.

The Seven Parts:

1. Head
2. Thorax
3. Abdomen
4. Six jointed legs
5. Eyes
6. Antennae
7. Exoskeleton

They were encouraged to add creative adaptations. Some children gave their insect the ability to glow, one can hypnotize other insects, and some had many eyes. Take a look at the photos below to see what students creatively imagined!

December Events

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed some family time.  I write to extend an invitation to parent visitors for this month. We have several events that our class will talk about. If you are someone who would like to share a book or experience with the class related to one of these (or anything I may have missed) please let me know! Please note that we do not endorse any particular religious or spiritual faith; we discuss all equally and seek to learn about other human beings and their beliefs.

December is National Read a New Book Month
December 1st through 8th is Hanukkah
December 9th is Human Rights Day
December 21st is the Winter Solstice
December 25th is Christmas
December 26th is Kwanzaa

Also, acclaimed storyteller Eshu Bumpus is working with the first and second grades together on a performance which will take place on December 21st. He has scheduled several work times with us to develop and rehearse a performance. Let me know if you would be interested in helping and I can send you the times.