Enjoy Your Winter Break!

Hello Families, Happy Holidays!

I hope this holiday vacation is a lovely one, full of special memories made and moments filled with love and togetherness.  Sometimes time together is the thing we need most to connect and see each other as people.  I wish you lots of this time in these coming weeks!

I also wanted to thank you for all the love and special presents you shared with me before the break.  I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!

If you are looking for topics to discuss or activities to do over the break, here are some.  As always, this is for fostering interest and sharing a love of learning as a family, so have fun!

1) Do a scientific experiment together using the scientific method steps including:
Asking a question, making observations or doing research, writing your hypothesis, design an experiment to test and do it, analyze your outcomes and share your findings in some form (then make a new hypothesis if necessary...)  Document this to share at school!

2) Investigate an animal using key questions, write your own questions beforehand, or use some of these:
Where do they live?  What do they eat? What are their sleeping habits? How many years until they are full grown?

3) Memorize the coin names and quantities.  Use coins and practicing how to compute a desired quantity using the least amount of coins.  It is beneficial to take time each day to remember the names of the coins and their quantity amount.  Then it can be fun to give your child a challenge of asking how they would make a number, for example, 78 cents, 44 cents, 86 cents.  There are different ways to get to these numbers, can you find more than one way? What is the most efficient way to give this change?

4) Write a story using your character from school.  What will the setting be?  What other characters will be involved?  What is the problem that the characters have to solve?  Here are a few linka to graphic organizers that can help to collect your ideas before writing!

http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/pigs/story_mp.html

http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/images/StoryMap2.jpg

5) Make a word web of all the things you know about a topic.  Make a list of questions of all the things you WANT to know about that topic!

6) Do research about a state or city that you are interested in- maybe this would be about a place you are going over the break or wish you could go to someday.  Write a paragraph telling about that place, it's history and things to do or see there or other places it is near.

7) Write a new haiku.  The pattern is 5, 7, 5 of syllables per line.  Can you keep the pattern and make the poem make sense?

8) Take photos and write your own captions to go with these to document your family's celebrations or vacation.  These are always fun to share in class after the break!

9) Write and memorize a spelling word a day and bring your list into school!  Share your new skills and see if there are sentences that you can write using more than one spelling word!

10) Research how icebergs stay afloat.  How might you test the phenomenon at home in your kitchen?

As with always, please email me photos or bring your work in to share with the class!  We love to connect our home and school experiences!  Have a lovely and safe vacation!

Love, Jennifer

PS I may post some videos and photos over the break, so keep checking in!!!