It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Both classes joined together for our Holiday Party on Tuesday.  We started the morning making a healthy holiday snack and decorating (brown paper grocery bag/yarn) stockings while watching The Polar Express.

Snowmen on a (Skewer) Stick

Then we spent some time working on loom knitting projects.

After that, Ms. Kirkham read aloud The Night Before Christmas Left Right Passing Game for our $1 gift exchange.

 

While this took place, our wonderful volunteers set up for lunch in the classroom.  We had clementines, cheese sticks, crock pot hotdogs, baby carrots, chips, Capri Suns, and a treat.

Several older siblings,

parents,

and grandparents

were able to join us for lunch!

After lunch, we split into two teams.  Everyone crumbled up six pieces of paper from the recycle bin, 

and we went over the rules for our Florida Snowball Fight on the tennis courts:

• Stay in the boundaries (outer white line) of your team's side of the court at all times.
• If snowballs go out of boundaries and you can reach them without stepping over the line, you may get them.  Otherwise, your teachers will throw them back in.  If you step out of boundaries, you sit out a round.
• Keep your hands off the net.  If you touch the net, you sit out a round.
• Your goal is to keep as many snowballs as possible off your team's side, so don't waste time trying to aim at specific people.
• There are three rounds, five minutes each round.  When the whistle blows, freeze.  Your teachers will make an official count of how many snowballs are on each side and declare a winner for the round.
• At the end, there will be a bonus (clean up) round to see which team can pile up the most snowballs on their side.

We wrapped up a fun day with a cute snowman craft (using Mentos gum containers and colorful socks) similar to these

discovered our stockings had been stuffed with goodies, participated in Minute to Win It mini marshmallow challenges,

and learned to play the card game Spoons.

Yesterday, in Math Workshop, we did several activities to help us develop logic, which helps us to be better mathematicians/problem solvers:

• Brain Teasers/Logic Problems
• Sudoku Puzzles
• 12 Days of Christmas Tangram Puzzles

Happy Holidays from Team Kirkham-Remley!

We hope our students enjoyed the s'mores trail mix we made yesterday and look forward to spending s'more time with everyone in 2014!

Celebrating (Winter in) Florida

Anyone else feel like songs about snow are out of place here on a day that was nearly 80 degrees?  Today Ms. Kirkham read

to introduce our Florida Christmas Tree holiday project.  Your student is bringing home a letter with more details today, so make sure you see it.

Ornaments are due Tuesday, December 10.  We can't wait to see our students' creations!