Week of 1/28

Hi Everyone!
 
Reminders:
 

• We are celebrating different cultures for the next two weeks. Some parents have asked if it’s ok to send in a snack from a country they identify with. Of course! We would love to introduce the Polar Bears to some new taste sensations. Please email Karen to make arrangements and remember to keep it nut and seed free. ☺

 

• Mark your calendar. In February we will be closed Monday the 18th , Tuesday the 19th, and Wednesday the 20th for the Presidents Day long weekend. School resumes Thursday February 21st. 

 
Theme: World Cultures

Letter of the week: J
 
Some books we read this week:
 

• Pete the Cat’s World Tour, by James Dean
• Children From Australia to Zimbabwe, by Maya Ajmera
• The Family Book, by Todd Parr
• Polar Bear, Polar Bear What do You Hear, by Eric Carle

 
Classroom Activities
 

• Our person of the week was Arthur and Arthur also was the second Polar Bear to turn 4 this week. Happy Birthday Arthur!
  
  
• This week we began our Cultures Unit by discussing where we live. Yes, we all live in New York, but our city is part of a big country, and our country is one of many countries on the planet earth where we all live. 
  
  
• We learned the difference between a globe and a map and we learned that they both tell us the same thing. A clock tells us the time, a calendar tells us the day and month, and a map tells us places we are or places we want to go.
  
  
• The Letter of the week was “J”. We practiced making the letter “J” with our Handwriting With Out Tears materials and read our scholastic phonics book “Jaquar’s Jungleberry Jamboree”, by Helen Moon.
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• On Thursday we had our first cultures presentation. Cissie Citardi, Jordan’s mom came in to tell us all about Australia. We had the best time! Cissie read us a story all about Australia and the things that make it special. After the story we got to do our very own aboriginal dot painting artwork and then we got to try a special treat from Australia called a “Lamington” which turns out to be a delicious cake filled with jam. Finally we heard a very funny story about an Emu who went out looking for a job. A big polar bear thank you to Cissie for sharing your love of Australia with us. 

 
Enjoy your weekend 
 
Karen, Rebecca, and Marvin