jcole's blog

                 February 26, 2010   
Dear Parents,

Our new social studies unit is economics.  So far we have talked about going shopping, what wants and needs are, and today we did a lesson on goods and services. We read the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. We listed all of the wants the mouse had and discussed which items were goods and which items were services.  Then we wrote our own class book If You Give A Teacher A Dog.


In math we have completed unit 5 and we are on to unit 6.  This unit focuses on fact families.  They were actually shouting out “this is fun Mrs. Cole!”  We are still working on our addition facts to the sums of ten and doubles.  Thanks for working on their math homework. 


In writing this week we have been focusing on editing our stories with a friend. They read their journals to each other and they have an edit card checklist to help each other with spelling, organization, and “does it make sense.”  Wow! They have learned so much about writing this year.  Now when they come to share their writing with me they have circled words that they need to work on and they show me how they added periods and added detail to their story.  They are also starting to publish their stories themselves on the computer using a program called text edit.  They are really excited when the computer reads the story back to them. 


Again, thank you for sending in those love notes.  It does help with accountability and it shows your child that you are excited about their reading.  They so enjoy every day at circle listening to me share them and filing them in our “Love Note Box.”

February 4, 2009
 
Dear Parents,

We will be having an exciting week next week.  We are going to have Winter Carnival Week,  a Valentine’s Day Celebration on Friday the 12th, finish up our Unit 5 math and take a mid year math assessment, and finish up our science unit on balance and motion.  Wow! We will all be ready for our winter break. When we come back from our break, on Monday February 22 we will be celebrating the 100th day of school. Please have your child collect 100 of something that will fit in a baggie (attached to this newsletter).


We will be having our Valentine’s Day party on Friday, February 12th, squeezed in among the winter carnival festivities for that day. So please send the Valentine’s in by Thursday, February 11th.  If you are willing and wanting to send in treats you can send them in Friday morning.  Below is a schedule of Winter Carnival activities happening throughout the week. We will have regular class schedule days Monday- Thursday, but Friday will be different. 


Spirit Week  February 8-12
Monday –  Mismatch Monday
Tuesday – Team Spirit Tuesday
Wednesday –  Wild Hat Wednesday
Thursday – Twins and Triplets Thursday
Friday – Crazy Hair Day for Competition

I hope you all have a wonderful vacation and have some fun, but relax too. (Remember: February Break is the week after next (February 13-21).





--
Judy Cole
Blue Hill Consolidated School
60 High Street
Blue Hill, Maine 04614
judycole@bhcs.org

January 29, 2010

 

Dear Parents,

January has flown by for us at school!   The children are enjoying our science unit on Balance and Motion.  We have been observing and comparing how objects balance, spin, and roll, and communicating orally and in writing the things we discover. 


In writing we have been learning how to do “research” writing. The class researched the different kinds of penguins. They have been learning how to read non-fiction books and how to retrieve information on the computer. We have been highlighting facts and then taking those facts and putting them into our own words before writing a report. We will be sharing the reports orally next week and then they will come home next Friday. 


Next week is February already. It always seems to be a short month and it’s looking like a busy one! Barring any more snow days, the 100th day of school will be Monday, February 22. We will be having a 100’s day celebration on that day and I will send home more detailed information about this as the time approaches. We will also be celebrating Valentine’s Day as well. We will be doing this on Friday, February 12th. We will be exchanging Valentine’s Day cards. Please have your child write their friends’ name on them.  If you would like to send in some treats for our party, it would be greatly appreciated. It being “Dental Health Month”, we are trying to promote healthy snacks with a bit of sweets. Attached is a class list and party checklist.


Have a warm and happy weekend.
Sincerely,

Judy Cole
I will be able to send in the following items for the class Valentine’s Day Party:

______Juice

_____Crackers and cheese

_____Veggies and dip


_____Popcorn

_____Fruit

______Other____________


Parent’s signature


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http://classroom.jc-schools.net/sci-units/force.htm

--
Judy Cole
Blue Hill Consolidated School
60 High Street
Blue Hill, Maine 04614

judycole@bhcs.org

--
Judy Cole
Blue Hill Consolidated School
60 High Street
Blue Hill, Maine 04614
judycole@bhcs.org

http://www.d81.w-cook.k12.il.us/kennedy/asmith/penguins/penguins.html
--
Judy Cole
Blue Hill Consolidated School

60 High Street
Blue Hill, Maine 04614
judycole@bhcs.org

www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/penguins.shtml




--
Judy Cole
Blue Hill Consolidated School
60 High Street

Blue Hill, Maine 04614
judycole@bhcs.org

January 14, 2010

Dear Parents,

I can’t believe another week in January has gone by. We have completed our studies of the sun and the moon.  The students took their assessment today. They were able to draw and label the phases of the moon, tell why the sun is important, and they are able to compare the objects that seem to move across the daytime and nighttime sky.


In math this week we have been learning about place value.  We have been making numbers using base 10 blocks and learning to trade ten ones for a group of ten.  We have also been working on adding sums to 10.  They are getting better at the rote math flash cards and the choral reading of them. Thank you for working on the math homework and sending it in daily.


In writing this week we have been working on editing with a peer. The students have an edit checklist card to check for a title, name, date, and spaces between words, capital letters, and punctuation.  They read their stories with a friend and help each other edit. Then they edit with me and get to choose how they publish their story. The last step in the writing process is that they share their story to the class. 


We had a surprise baby shower for Mrs. Hutchins in our classroom on Thursday. The students planned the whole thing and they kept it a secret! She was surprised and touched.  They even planned the menu:  Cheese Nips crackers, pretzels, and apple juice.  The students drew pictures on some onsies and gave them to Mrs. Hutchins (see pictures below).


Have a great weekend! We have Martin Luther King Day off.
 



--
Judy Cole
Blue Hill Consolidated School
60 High Street
Blue Hill, Maine 04614
judycole@bhcs.org

http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonphase/

 www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/astronomy/solarsystemmodel/ 

4. Web site: www.exploratorium.edu 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZNfZJZs3R8&feature=related

o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aFGNGEcDOk&feature=related


--
Judy Cole
Blue Hill Consolidated School
60 High Street

Blue Hill, Maine 04614
judycole@bhcs.org

 Dear Parents,

I had a wonderful break and I am glad to be back in school and on a regular schedule. We have started a new unit in science this month.  We will be focusing for two weeks on describing the movement of objects across the sky, as seen from the Earth. This week we have focused on describing how the sun and moon seem to move across the sky (key word: seem). We have discussed how the sun stays still and the Earth goes around the sun.  Next week we will describe the changes in the appearance of the moon from day to day. 


We finished unit 4 in math today! In unit 5 we will be working on place value, number stories, and basic math facts.  They will be practicing these concepts by acting them out, doing addition and subtraction mad minutes, and using counters to help find the sums and differences.  We will also be practicing learning sums to 10 by doing choral readings of flash cards so that they will know their basic facts automatically. 


In writing we reviewed complete sentences.  We are also working on writing stories of at least five sentences that include a beginning, middle (problem), and ending (solution).