HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

D ear Families,
What a great break I had this year and I hope you did too! I want to thank everyone for their generosity as I received many cards, gift cards, and gifts for the Christmas celebration. I was and am touched by all of your thoughtfullness and caring! I am grateful for all of your support.
We start back tomorrow morning with the addition of another new student. Welcome Sarah! That leaves me with just one seat open in my classroom! Wow, how we have grown! This week your children will be identifying the four regions in California and creating posters that identify the positive aspects of those regions and what would draw people to live in them. They will also be making murals of those regions. The posters, along with the murals will be posted outside our classroom. By the way, if you haven't, please take the time to read some of the wonderful poetry written by fourth graders about the mountains and deserts that is currently posted on the bulletin board closest to the exploratorium.
By next Tuesday, we will finally be finishing Patty Reed's Doll. As a final celebration, I am looking for a volunteer parent to donate and make a "Calico Bean" recipe (trail food) for 20 that the class can eat for lunch that day. That said, we will also need paper bowels, spoons, napkins, and drinks if possible. I have the recipe in my classroom, so if you like this type of thing please let me know soon, so we can plan. As soon as we finish, we will begin reading a book on the goldrush - By the Great Horn Spoon!
I am also still looking for canvases and paints for our oil painting adventure! I have the artist all lined up and just need the supplies to make this exciting art experience possible. Please see my previous BLOGS for the canvas dimensions and oil paint colors. We will be painting the CALIFORNIA POPPY, transferring those images onto fabric, and creating a quilt to be sold! If it ends up like last year's quilt, it will be beautiful!
In math, we are starting a unit on multiplication and division. Please work on skip-counting with your children so their facts become automatic sooner than later. We will be moving a little quicker in math now as we have so much to cover by the end of the year! I may be sending home some practice sheets for those students needing a little extra help!
In science (finally), we will beginning to look at animal adaptation. Some students will be asked to bring information into class on animals within the four California regions. We will be looking at why those animals survive well in those places.
We are also continuing on our fictional narratives and reports on important California people in writing with the later a part of our project. The project dioramas are almost finished, so I expect we should be ready for our "Wax Museum", no later than the last week in January. I will keep you posted.
Our next parent meeting, is next Thursday, January 14th. Please stay tuned for details regarding this meeting via our out-going phone blast or flyers coming home! Progress reports will also be coming out this month.
That's it for now. Stop by the classroom anytime!
sincerely,
Kim