Dear Parents, Happy last day of Because of Winn-Dixie to you! I know, this doesn't sound like an official holiday, but it should be and I assure you, it was a holiday to us in J3T. Today we read the last chapter in Kate DiCamillo's fabulous book, and celebrated with a small party that mimicked the party in the book, complete with funny dog pictures, egg salad sandwiches, and pickles. We were so lucky that "Otis" popped in with his guitar to serenade us. Ask your child to tell you about this wonderful tale and some of the themes we discovered within it. Though we strive to keep it fun in J3T, we also keep it seriously busy. Here's what's ahead, and what you can to do to support the children's learning. MATH: This week we transfer our math skills into working out story problems that involve calculating with money. The children will work to answer the following questions:
The homework menu has questions that will help to reinforce this understanding. It is also helpful for the children to tally bills at the restaurant, to pay for items at the store and receive the change, to add up the items you are buying at the store, and even possibly to work with their own money if they receive an allowance. I found this helpful organiser on Accountability for children over the weekend, and will be putting it to use in my home; a portion of it works on tracking money. It may be something that interests you, as well. The creator has other great printables such as one on manners and another on age appropriate chores, so take a peek at the site if you need some helpful organization/info tools. READING: We are working on answering the following questions:
UNIT STUDIES: The children are continuing their UNIS Cares projects, and are working to identify the people who can help them solve their identified problems. They will also be creating surveys to find out how other people in the community feel bout the problems, and what they would like to see instead of the problem. (This connects to the data collection and analysis math standard as well!) Ask your child to tell you about Feel, Imagine, Do, Share! One of our big focus points this week is in being reflective, and consider another's perspective. We are also learning that organisations have to talk to the people whom they are serving if they want their projects to be successful. HAPPINESS HABITS: In addition to continuing with Express Gratitude, we are developing our skills in practicing mindfulness. A few of the many goals with mindfulness is to develop a sense of calm, increase focus, activate the mind for deeper learning and fact recall, and to help bring about a general sense of peace- which in turns helps with the habit of Build Into Relationships. Today we talked about taking deep breaths and pausing during stressful moments so that we can recenter and ground ourselves, allowing us to think clearly and take the best course of action for that moment. You can practice meditation and mindfulness at home, too! This is one guided meditation that we used after a stressful fire drill a few weeks back. It is great for bedtimes. Here are some tips for being mindful at home. A NOTE ABOUT PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES: During our conference, I will share with you my snapshot of your child as a learner. We will focus on the following areas: Characters learning through looking at the Social Emotional Learning and Well-being, Conceptual and Competency learning in Literacy, Math, and Unit Studies. We will have to stay tight with our 20 minute time allotments because I have a very booked schedule for Thursday. If you feel that you need more time, we can schedule a follow-up meeting after the conferences finish. As I shared at the curriculum night, we can arrange times to discuss your child's progress whenever it is needed. Dates to Note: Nov. 9th – 20th: City Harvest Collection Nov. 12th (evening), 13th, and 16th: Parent/Teacher Conferences Nov. 19th: 6:00-8:00 Parent Faculty Social Nov. 25th, 26th, 27th: Thanksgiving Break Dec. 10th: Photo Retake 6:00-8:00 J3/J4 Winter Concert (arranged by the music department) Dec. 21st – Jan 3rd: Winter Break (classes resume on Monday, January 4th) That's it from me- I hope you have a wonderfully mindful week with your children! Ms. Erin M. Threlfall
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SnapshotsA peek at life inside of J3T , curated by Ms. Erin M. Threlfall Archives
June 2016
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