A Snowless Snowflake Week!

It has been a busy few weeks around here! I am so excited to be back on the blog sharing all of the fun things we are doing and all of the cool stuff we are learning! 

The last week of December was filled with holiday fun, the children played reindeer games, spun the dreidel and dressed in their coziest PJ's for pajama day on Thursday and Friday.  The children listened to the story of the Polar Express and had a very tasty pancake and hot chocolate snack. We sent the children off to their holiday break after a little Pin-the-Nose-on-Rudolph game and a snow ball toss.  

After a restful week, we were all excited to see one another after quite some time apart.  The children jumped right back into their school routine after the long holiday break. We began the week hoping for some real snow as we introduced the children to the science of snowflakes.  We learned that all snowflakes begin as a hexagon "plate" and as they fall from the sky they form six, beautiful "arms."  We read the story, "Snowflake Bentley" by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and learned of a man who became the first person to successfully photograph snowflakes.  Snowflake Bentley was our Artist of the Month inspiration and the children created their own snowflake for the bulletin board.  If you have some time, stop in to see the children's work.  

Well, our wishing for real snow to go along with our snowflake unit came true! We were lucky enough to have some beautiful white snow on the playground when we came to school this past Monday. However, it didn't last long as the warm air surprised us all. Although it has been strange to talk about snowflakes and hibernation, I am sure the cold weather will be back upon us soon enough! This past week Ms. Tiffany taught us all about hibernation, migration and adaptation.  We began by talking about how humans stay warm in the winter which lead to discussions on how animals stay warm in the winter. Many build nests, dens or burrows. These animal homes can be found up in a tree, in an old fallen log, in the ground or in a den.  While most adapt to their surroundings, some migrate to warmer places.  We will be discussing migration next week!

Lastly, since the weather warmed up so much this week, our real snowman only last for a day! So we presented the children with some shaving cream "paint" and some snowman pieces and asked the children how their snowman melted.  Some said he was playing in the sun and got too hot, someone said he was sitting too close to the fireplace and another said that he drank hot cocoa and melted!  Priceless!

Book Sale Info:
The Usborne book sale is almost over! Families have until midnight on Tuesday, January 17th to place their order.  Use this link, click here to browse and order, and don't forget to select our school's name after you check out to help us earn credits towards the purchase of new books for our school library! Thank you for your support!

Upcoming Dates and Reminders:

January 16: SEE closed in observance of MLK day
January 17: Usborne Book sale is ending at midnight!
February 1: February Tuition is due
February 20: SEE closed in observance of President's Day
March 1: March Tuition is due

Pictures from the week:     

We kicked off our snowless snowflake week talking about precipitation and evaporation with a science experiment. 

"How did your snowman melt?"

Have a nice, long weekend everyone! See you on Tuesday!
Joanna