Friday Facts

Welcome back!  It has been a wonderful week in our classroom.  It was so great to meet with so many of you.  Thank you so much!  I love sharing all of the growth that is happening with the children.

This week has been fun, but tiring for sure.  We had a lot of excitement on Monday (for good reason).  We also had a great time as well.  We made a special snack for the day called Monster Munch.    The kids really enjoyed our ingredients of rat toes (candy corn marshmallows), bug eyes (raisins), dried worms (chow mein noodles), and ant eggs (cocoa puff cereal).

During daily 5 time, we have introduced a new activity to use at the ipod station.  After each person listens to their story, they have a response sheet to fill out to help work on identifying the main idea. We have also introduced a new twist to independent reading by adding in some fun sunglasses and a whisper phone.  This is really just a 'u' shaped piece of plastic piping that allows the children to hear their voice when they are practicing reading a story.  It has been a popular spot.

During our social studies block we are starting to learn about the Pilgrims and Native Americans.We are also learning a lot about turkeys and Thanksgiving.  This week during centers, the class has been working on doing a writing piece about using their five senses to describe Thanksgiving.  I have enjoyed hearing about all of the different family celebrations.  We will continue to work on this topic in the weeks to come.

During our shared reading time, we are working on learning about cause and effect.  This week's book title is called Sophia and the Sunflower.  It is a twist on the story Jack and the Beanstalk.  We have also been working on visualizing a story and talking about how to think about what is being said when there isn't a picture to look at.

Below are some messages from Mrs. Douce:

Carmel Elementary is partnering again this year with Chaucie’s Place, a child advocacy organization in Hamilton County, to bring Smart Steps™:  A Body Safety Program for Children to our Kindergarten, 2^nd and 4^th grade students.  Smart Steps™ is a child sexual abuse prevention and education program that empowers your child to say “NO!” to any unwanted touches that make them uncomfortable from anyone.   Carmel Elementary’s program is scheduled to take place on December 8th during the school day.

To learn more about Chaucie’s Place visit: www.chauciesplace.org.

Also, on Monday, November 14th Kindergarten will have the opportunity to talk with and meet our school resource officer, Officer Broadnax.  He will introduce himself to the children and talk about how to stay safe at school and outside of school (being aware of strangers,etc.)

Have a great weekend!