Mrs. Smith's Sailors: November 2013

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Donors Choose - An Opportunity to Give

Here at TIMA we have found that you as parents are wonderfully supportive in many ways including donating to the classroom. I greatly appreciate all of your donations of school supplies, cleaning items, food for parties, etc. Many parents ask how they can continue to help with the class and so I would like to present you with another opportunity… Donors Choose!

Donors Choose is a website where teachers can post requests for everything from basic supplies to technology for the classroom. Once a project is posted, friends, family members, colleagues, or even businesses donate to make the project happen. If you are looking for a way to help out in giving to the classroom, but do not know what to give, you can visit our new class Donor’s Choose page (donorschoose.org/smithssailors). Donations are tax deductible and you can donate as little as a dollar! I will be posting projects throughout the year and below you can find links to two current projects. Please do not feel pressured to give! I just want to provide this as an option if you or anyone you know has been wondering what our class needs!

Thanks for your continued support!

Mrs. Smith

Current Active Projects:

Light Our Journey to a Love of Learning:donorschoose.org/smithssailors

(This is a project that will provide some of the basic things we need for the lamps and lanterns project, including lamps, books pertaining to the topic, and supplies for activities. Both Kindergartens will benefit and these items will really help enhance our study. Also until the end of this week, an anonymous donor will match each donation dollar for dollar when the donor enters the code CHEER.)

Help Us See the Light: http://www.donorschoose.org/ms.morrissette?active=true

(This is a project posted by my grade-level partner, Kara Morrissette, which will also benefit both Kindergartens. During the lamp project, we hope to do many explorations with black lights and also tie in hand washing with a cool black light presentation. This project will make these activities possible!)

Monday, November 11, 2013

Lamps & Lanterns Project Launch

Our new project on lamps and lanterns is underway and the kids are loving it! I think they might actually be more excited about this than they were about shell project! Last week, the class shared their favorite lanterns and lamps from home, reported interview data on family members' lamp use, sketched lamps, and sculpted their favorite lamp or lantern out of clay. Below you will find pictures of students sharing their lamps, lanterns and lights from home. Be on the lookout for information coming home on more ways you can get involved as parents!

November 12 Newsletter

Sunday, November 3, 2013

November 4 - Newsletter

Lamps, Lanterns, & Lights Preparatory Activities!

Please do not forget to complete the following activities with your child each night this week! These activities will help prepare your child for our new and exciting project on lamps, lanterns, and lights!

Sunday Night: Discuss with your child an experience they have had with lamps or lanterns. It can be anything (shopping for furniture, watching a lava lamp, helping change a light bulb, etc.)

Monday Night: Help your child find a picture of a lamp/lantern to share with the class. (They may bring an actual lamp/lantern if it is an appropriate size for transporting.)

Tuesday Night: Have your child interview members of your household about how they use lamps. Help them record people’s answers.

Wednesday Night: Count the number of lamps in your house with your child. Have your child draw their favorite lamp and discuss its use.

Thursday Night: Brainstorm different types of lamps/lanterns with your child. Discuss their favorite type and have them draw it.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Shell Project

Our shell project has come to an end and now we can look back on all of the memories made and learning that occurred. For our first experience in project based learning, I think we did extremely well! I cannot wait to see where our project on lamps and lanterns takes us. For now, you can view a photo book capturing our shell project at the link below.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0CYsmLJy0YtXqA&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET