Japan!

Today we traveled to Japan!  This is a country I have never visited, so we had a guest speaker come in and talk with us.  Our next door neighbor, Mrs. Epperson, lived in Japan for 2 years.  She brought over some really cool stuff to share with us as we learned about this new place.  Check out these photos:

Checking out some books about Japan.  Some were even written in Japanese!

Using stencils to create some Japanese art

Coloring a page that showed a Japanese castle on one side, and the other side with a family eating dinner seated on the floor 

Practice using chopsticks...

We weren't too bad!

Playing a sumo wrestling game

Using fans to keep cool, and playing with some Japanese paper dolls 

Kimono time 

Mrs. Epperson talking about the island and showing us lots of different pictures depicting life in Japan

Scholastic Book Orders:  One final reminder.  If you plan to order any books from Scholastic this month, the due date is tomorrow.  I will be placing the order right after school.  You can either send in a check and paper order form, or order online using our class code J2PCY.

Busy Bees!

What a busy week we have had, and next week is looking to be the same!

Body Safety:  Mrs. Vidal (our school counselor) came in this week to talk with us about body safety, as well as good vs bad secrets.  A letter came home in your child's green folder yesterday giving you more information and a website you can visit to see more about what this lesson included.

Carnival Bracelets:  There was a green sheet that came home this week giving info on how to pre-order bracelets for Creekside's Spring Carnival.  This is always a GREAT night of family fun!  Just to clarify, it is open to any child in your family, not just current kids at Creekside.  Older and younger siblings are welcome to attend as well!  The more the merrier, and we always have a blast!  Any child wishing to participate in games and activities that night will need to have a bracelet.  They are cheaper if you order them now, instead of buying them at the door.  The Carnival is jungle themed this year and is on Friday, March 7 from 5:30-8:30 pm.

Scholastic Book Orders:  Order forms for the month of February are coming home today.  If you would like to purchase books, these need to be returned next Friday, February 28.  Remember you can order 2 ways:  Fill out the paper order form on the back of the flyers and send that in with a check, OR you can go online and order via www.clubs2scholastic.com.  Our class code for online ordering is J2PCY.

Deputy Baird:  Next week Deputy Baird with the Johnson County Police will be here to talk to the kids about a variety of safety topics.  Be sure to have a conversation with your child about body safety, stranger dangers, and family code words.  Your child will be hearing about these things from Deputy Baird on Wednesday.

Bluegrass Convocation:  Next Thursday we will be having a convocation from a group called the Circle City Bluegrass Band.  They will be presenting us with music and information about Bluegrass music!

Spelling Bee:  Next Friday will be the annual Creekside Spelling Bee.  We will have the opportunity to go and watch our own 3rd and 4th graders compete in this competition here at school.

Around the World:  This week we finished our tour of Argentina by taking a look at a dance style they are known for, the Tango!  We watched a video of some kids our age do this dance.  On Monday the kids will get to learn the basic steps by putting each step to the letters to spell the word, T-A-N-G-O!

Valentine's Day!

What a busy week we have had!

Superkids
We have started a brand new section of Superkids this week.  The Superkids are now working together to create their own club.  It will be a lot of fun as we discover some new adventures with our friends.  As we work through these new units, each book will now include 2 letters instead of 1.  We began working with B today, and in a few days will start working with R.  The unit workbook will come home with your child in a few weeks when we are done with both letters.  Make sure to check the updated Parent Portal for books and game access.

Also, this week we sent an email to our Superkid friends...and they emailed us back!!  We were so excited to hear from them.  Be sure to ask your child about the email.

Math
This week in math we have been busy with the following skills and activities:

• We made a class bar graph of the pets we have at home.  Be sure to ask your child about some of the unusual (but cool) pets some of our friends have!
• We played a game using a number grid (0-100) to help us get better acquainted with larger numbers.  It also helped us to practice identifying and locating numbers on a grid.
• We began working with money.  We talked about the penny and the nickel this week.  We looked at the shape, size, color, and the markings on each one.  See if your child can remember the name of the Presidents who are on those 2 coins!  We also compared our money to coins in other countries.
• We learned a game called the "Attribute Spinner Game."  For this game, the kids used some cards that had descriptive words on them (thick/thin, large/small, red/blue/yellow, and shape names).  Each student had the chance to pick one descriptor from each card, then another student had to find the shape that was chosen.  They really enjoyed this game.  Check out some pics below.

President's Day

Remember that we do NOT have school on Monday.  Enjoy the 3 day weekend!  Also remember, that I had forgotten to mark this day off on your child's specials calendar (wishful thinking that we could make up one of our snow days), so you will need to bump the special that is written down for Monday, back one day to Tuesday.  

Party Time

I'm going to leave you with some pictures from our Valentine's Day party today!  The kids had a blast!  Thanks to the parents who donated items, and those who were also able to come in and help!  It was a great afternoon!

Austin, Annie, and Fletcher decorating their cookies 

Lane, Ben, Grant, and Makinzi ready for a sweet treat 

John, Logan, Skyler, Zach, Delilah, and Aubrey H are ready to shoot some "arrows."  They used straws to launch a Q-tip towards 3 targets on the floor

Ben, Austin, Lane, and Grant working to make their stained glass heart craft 

Cash, Zach, Skyler, Aubrey H, John, and Delilah icing cookies 

Fletcher, Ben, Grant, Austin, Annie, and Makinzi getting ready to launch their "arrows" 

Taylor, Madison, and Aubrey S checking out their Valentine's cards

Logan and Titus are so silly

Madison and Aubrey S hanging out at the girl's table 

Keylee and Ethan ready to check out their bags 

Zeek found lots of sweet treats in his bag 

Crystal enjoying her Valentine's from her friends 

Ethan and Cooper adding goodies to their cookies 

Jason is really concentrating as he adds his sprinkles to his cookie 

Odds and Ends

I have a lot of info from the week, so please be patient as you read through this!

Valentine's Day Party:  Our party is next Friday, February 14 from 1-2 pm.  I have had several parents offer to help with the party, but we can always use more.  If you are interested, please let me know ASAP!  In addition, don't forget your child can begin sending in their Valentine's Day Cards on Monday.

Valentine's Day Writing:  In your child's green folder today, you will find directions and materials for a writing project.  In honor of Valentine's Day, and to practice being a Bucket Filler, your child will have the opportunity to write something nice about a friend in our classroom.  The kids had the chance to draw a name at random today.  The name they drew is the name of the person they will write about.  These projects can be sent back in whenever you are done with them.  I'm looking forward to seeing and reading all the positive comments about the friends in our classroom!

Specials Schedule:  Don't forget that when we have snow days, we do not skip over that special.  When we return to school, we pick up where we left off.  Because of our snow day on Wednesday, this now means your child's specials schedule is 1 day off.  Should we have more days off, we will continue to backtrack on the calendar.

Jump Rope for Heart:  Thanks to all of you who have already turned in your donations money for Jump Rope for Heart.  Any who are still collecting, please remember this is due on Wednesday, February 12.  The kids will be jumping during their specials time on Friday, February 14th.  Please be sure your child has on tennis shoes this day as all specials will go to the gym.

Math:  Below are the activities we have been working on in math this week.  Please continue to work on these strategies with your child at home:

• Measuring:  We have done a lot of practicing learning how to measure items in our rooms.  We traced a paper cut out of our foot, and compared it to a Standard Foot (12 inches).  The kids have been using both to measure various items, and then compare the lengths of each.  We have also learned about yardsticks, tape measure, and rulers.  Yesterday the kids used a ruler to practice measuring items around our room.  Have your child show you our "Mark it, Move it" strategy we have learned to help us measure.
• Tally Marks:  We have been working hard to master tally marks.  We have also discussed how counting tally marks is the same as counting by 5's.
• Raft Game:  This is a game the kids have learned to help us learn to make exchanges.  The students roll a dice and take the same number of counters.  When they have 5 counters, they can exchange for 1 stick.  When they earn 5 sticks, they can exchange for 1 raft.  The first person to earn the raft is the winner!

Around the World:  Today we sailed back from Antarctica and landed in Argentina.  We talked about The Obelisk (a monument that looks very much like the Washington Monument), Casa Rosada (The Pink House which is the government building), 9 de Julio Avenue (the largest street in the world), and La Boca (a very colorful part of Buenos Aires).  In addition, we saw a huge Rubber Tree, talked about the Tango, and took a stroll through Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Avenue 9 de Julio.  The largest in the world, combines 4 sections of roads.  The center aisles have 7 lanes each, with two outer sections with 2 lanes each.  All together, the avenue has 18 lanes of traffic!

Casa Rosada (The Pink House) is the government building in the capital city of Buenos Aires.

La Boca.  A very colorful neighborhood in Buenos Aires. 

The Obelisk.  A monument built in honor of Argentina's independence.

A large Rubber Tree.  With branches stretching 150 feet across, this tree's lower branches are supported by beams that help to support the weight of the tree.

The lower part of the tree has a very distinct look to it!

The beautiful Tierra del Fuego National Park in Ushuaia, Argentina.  The southernmost city in the world.

"Indian Bread," a kind of edible fungus that grows in Tierra del Fuego National Park.