Happy Christmas Break!

Before you buzz on into the holidays, I wanted to make sure you know what is coming up and share with you how much fun we have been having in our little Hive!

Our week began with a field trip to the Hampton Senior Center. It was a joy for students to be able to share all the Christmas songs they have been working so hard on during music class! They also read the Nativity Story books they made in class by reading them and telling about the birth of our Savior! What a rewarding experience this was. This is a community connection that Sonshine plans on keeping, and we plan on another field trip to the center soon! 

Grace and Noah read their Nativity storybooks to a new friend!

Students sing Christmas songs for our friends at the Hampton Senior Center.

Veronica shares the story of Jesus' birth with her friend.

The week was full of fun! Between lots of song practice at calendar corner, our field trip, completing our author study on Jan Brett, gingerbread man escape plans, an entire day of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) activities, Spirit Week, watching (and reading) the Polar Express, a class Christmas party, decorating cookies with Ms. Jones' class, and the amazing Christmas production of "The Littlest Angel Choir", I would say that we had a full week! Busy-bees, indeed!

Practicing songs for the upcoming show!

Sing it, angels, sing it!

And we had Spanish with our dear Ms. Monica too! Feliz Navidad!!!

Planning out how to build the tallest Christmas tree with cups on December-STEM day!

Constructing shelves for our elves!

Veronica and Grace learn that a strong foundation is key!

A surprise from yours truly was awaiting the busy bees in the classroom after lunch on Thursday. I felt like it was Christmas morning for a moment there! Something I really love about these bees is their appreciation and enthusiasm over the "little things", they really know how to make the most of it!

A BIG, HUGE, SUGAR-LADEN THANKS to everyone who contributed cookies, frosting, toppings, and yummies to our cookie-decorating! It was SO appreciated! Just look at these faces!

Cookie-decorating party with Ms. Jones' class!

TWO cookies?!? We get TWO cookies? Yep. It's Christmastime!

The Christmas play was a hit! 

Our angels, narrators, and Nativity kids really put their heart into the show! 

Okay, so I guess there is a month that comes after December called January, and it is coming up soon, and we will be in 2016 before we know it! If you simply can't bear to read about what is coming up the first week next year (yep, I said it), it's okay to log off The Hive now and tune back after the festivities. But before you do that, I just want to remind you that there will be a Christmas Eve service at Faith Baptist church at 6:30 pm on Dec. 24th.


Now, if you are feeling really brave (I used an upcoming spelling word!), then stay tuned, and find out what is coming up, which will help you to know what your kiddos can practice over the break too! Speaking of practicing, I sent home a "Winter Break" packet just for extra practice with winter poems, reading comprehension and some math homework. It does not need to be turned in, but if your busy-bee wants to show it to me when they finish, I would love that. I know how crazy-busy this time of year is and if you get around to just a few pages, my heart will be happy! The reason I like to send the sight words and spelling words for the upcoming week is so your bee can practice them with you before seeing them in class. Previewing content is a strategy that will benefit your child, as it can help them to be more successful when it is presented in class and prior knowledge builds interest!

Spelling words: came, make, brave, late, gave, shape

Sight words: four, five, into, over, starts, three, two, watch

Our memory verse coming up:

 I am Happy to Introduce: The Math Minute!

 In math, we will use the "counting on" method to help build addition fluency, and continuing studies that were started this last month in "time". Speaking of time, I want to challenge you to do something. I call it the "math minute". What it means is taking just a minute from your day, to devote to a math concept. This week, I am asking that you devote your math minute to talking about time. We have already started counting by fives for the minute hand on the clock (saying "o'clock" for the "12"), and identifying what hour the hour hand is at. You could use your math minute for doing that. You could also look at an analog clock and compare it to a digital clock in your home. Your child could start guessing what the digital time will look like after seeing a clock and write it down. You could help them check their answer and give feedback/correction as needed. Do you have a watch in which to talk about the clock-face, or even a cellphone to discuss the time as it is digitally represented? Perfect! Now your math-minute could be done while waiting in line at the store, or waiting for an appointment to start. Speaking of which, if you find yourself waiting with your child for anything over this break, you could be timing how long that wait is using your watch or cellphone. And discussing the celebration of New Years Eve and how it will turn into a new day at 12 am, the first day of the year, is even a perfect "math minute" activity!

The first week of the year back at school we will have a unit on manners and revisit our class and school-wide expectations. Science for the entire month will be based around animals and their habitats. We will discuss migration and hibernation. 

There is an important date I would like to share with you so that if you are interested, you can save it on your calendar now. I know many of you are working during the week, but would still like to volunteer at school. We will be having our first "Saturday-Morning Volunteer Cafe" for parents who would like to volunteer on the weekend with some specific jobs teachers have in their classrooms. It will be on Saturday, January 16th from 10 am- 2 pm. More details to come! 

 

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for all of the Christmas greetings, gifts, words of well wishes, contributions to our Hive, and the continuous support of your child's education. I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!