Center Day

Today we enjoyed holiday centers. We turned cupcakes into ornaments, turned ice cream cones into holiday trees, made cookie plates for Santa and food for his reindeer, laced seasonal necklaces, made gingerbread, pine cone and reindeer ornaments, and reindeer bags to give them all as gifts. We topped it all off with pizza for lunch and a holiday movie. Thanks to those that sent in donations and special thanks to Dazha's grandma, Michael and Nicole's moms and Taylor's dad for joining us for the fun. Also a special thank you to our homeroom mom, Autumn's mom, for coordinating everything. We couldn't have done it without you guys! Enjoy the pictures below for our fun day.

Petite Rogue

Today the children listened to mystery reader Melanie Holtsman as she read a delightful Cajun rendition of Little Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood took on a duck personality while an alligator took the wolf's role. Melanie front loaded the children with much of the vocabulary so they would understand the Cajun elements of the story. Melanie was raised in Louisiana so her Cajun accent is a natural. What a treat!

A Partnership in Functional Writing

With just a few more days to go before our holiday break we have been trying to get in as much writing as possible. Two weeks ago we started our Functional Writing unit. This unit teaches children to write a How To piece. Now that we are well into this unit we are teaching the students to confer with a partner. This is where two students pair up and swap their How To pieces and read them aloud to each other to see if they make sense. This allows the author to hear if edits or changes need to be made. Working together in pairs gives the students the opportunity to make the needed changes while getting feedback from their audience. From How To Feed My Baby Sister a Bottle to How To Throw a Football our students are becoming amazing functional writers!

Holiday Program

Today we went to the Second Grade Play. It's one of those special activities that is a traditional Chets Creek holiday event. Many of our students tried to do the motions right along with the second graders. Maybe they are already ready for 2nd grade!

A Visit from Auntie Claus

Today was one of those very special days when we celebrated a school tradition. Each year, Auntie Claus makes a special visit to our school and reads a holiday book to the grade level of children. Today all of the first graders gathered in the Media Center for a visit from Santa's sister, Auntie Claus (aka Principal Susan Phillips), who was left in charge of the school for the day. As the children gathered together, Auntie Claus swooped in to greet the children and then read them a holiday story about Auntie Claus. The children love this annual tradition. The teachers love it too!

After the story, Santa's holiday elves (all of the Resource teachers), served cookies and milk! Take a look at all of our Resource teachers dressed as Santa's elves below! What a great afternoon. What a great Chets Creek tradition!