Happy Thanksgiving!

November 21, 2011

Dear Parents,
Thank you for the cranberry sauce you sent in for our Harvest Baskets, and thank you for the items sent in thus far for our November Food Shelf Collection. During these two days and the week following Thanksgiving we will continue to collect non-perishable food items and toiletries as this month is our third graders’ turn to provide this much needed local giving.
As we prepare for noting the parts and assembly of simple and compound machines, the third graders completed the first of several upcoming “design & build” challenges. Specifically, they very successfully worked in partnerships to construct “50-Triangle” straw structures. In the process they readily recognized the strength of cross-members and triangular shapes. I was most impressed by both their incredible skills as collaborators and in their problem solving!
Many children are nearing the final stages of their individual personal narratives. We are several chapters into Farmer Boy. Our trips to Tunbridge Fair, Hooper Institute, and the Grafton historical sites have proven to be valuable reference points as we read about the daily experiences of a nine-year old living in northern New York in 1862. This week we will begin to work with a classroom collection of historically relevant artifacts. Using background knowledge gleaned from our unit’s field trips and books read in class, the third graders have also illustrated events for a group timeline.
In math we have progressed from becoming familiar with the concepts of area and perimeter to applying the multiplication operation to compute the area of rectangular regions. A game of “How Long? How Many?” helped to establish this latter idea in addition to engaging some visual-spatial logic. Following vacation a homework assignment will include playing this math game at home. Please keep practicing those addition and subtraction facts!
Each child has made excellent progress in the keyboard skills program as well as in the cursive book.
In PSD we have focused on developing both overall stamina as well as strength of the upper body and legs through varied running games and stations of specific exercises. As Emily and I have explained to the third and fourth graders, these current PSD classes are for gaining better fitness in preparation for the ski season!
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. For those traveling, I wish you a safe journey. I look forward to seeing your children the following week. Please remember there is no school on Monday, 11/28 because of our teacher in-service day.
As always, thank you for your support. Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.

Gratefully,
Linda

P.S. PLEASE SAVE INDIAN CORN HUSKS! IN DECEMBER I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE CORN HUSK DOLLS WITH THE CHILDREN. MANY THANKS.