November 20, 2020

 Fox and Bear Community Blog

November 20, 2020

The children are enjoying our work on the prehistoric eras.  Please encourage your child to choose a project to do in our cultural area if he/she has not already done so.  We would love to have the children start sharing their projects on the Monday after the break.  When your child is ready to present ask them to let Ms. Jess know and she will add them to the schedule.  We hope that everyone has a safe, and enjoyable break from school next week.  We look forward to seeing some well rested, happy children, on Monday, November 30th.  

Get Outside!                                                                                                                                                

During this time of virtual learning please remember the importance of playing outside in your child's life!  We have scheduled recess to follow lunch each day.  While it may not always work with adult schedules to go out at that time, please make sure that your child is getting fresh air and exercise on a daily basis.  As teachers, we are spending more time than ever sitting at computers so we are also making it a point to take a walk or get outside and work after the school day is done.  

Book It! Information                      Scholastic Book Fair      

ANGEL TREE

Sometimes families need a little extra help with the expense of holiday gifts and this year has been especially hard for so many.  Like everything else, we are trying to be as safe as possible while we support our Ellis family.  If you would like to donate a gift card please find the procedure at the link below. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094aaeae2ea6fe3-ellis

The 9th Annual PTA Read-A-Thon will run November 1-30th. This year, we are raising money for school-wide digital subscriptions to platforms such as BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr., Transparent Classroom, etc. ​

Register each of your students at this we​bsite​. You will be provided with a personal link that you can share with family and friends to ask for their pledge of support. You can view more information and keep track of your student's reading at this 2020 Read-A-Thon Flyer​.  Thank you for your support!

If you have any questions, contact Ms. Lisa (lisa.odonnell@sccpss.com).

Are you and your student having difficulty choosing what to work on daily?  Below you will find a link to a sample schedule that may be helpful.  All you have to do is select the photo and it will take you directly to the document.

Weekly Overview for November 30-December 4

Monday: 

*Journal:  This weekend I…                                  Self select a work from each area: Mathematics Small Group Lessons                       *Language *1st year students-Intro to money  8:45                 *Prehistoric Research Project                                  *2nd year students-Add/Subtract-money                *Read 20 minutes             *3rd year students-Word Problems-money  9:45

Tuesday:

*Journal:You traveled back in time and now live with the dinosaurs. How do you survive? Where do you live? Language Small Group Lessons                           Self select a work from each area: *1st year students-Sentence Analysis 1  8:45           *Prehistoric Research Project *2nd year students-Sentence Analysis 2 9:15           *Read 20 minutes        *3rd year students-Sentence Analysis 3  9:45           *Math

Wednesday:

*Journal: What if Jurassic Park was created in our town? Would you go visit and what would the park be like? What dinosaurs would you want to see most and why? No live meeting today-Asynchronous learning Today is the best day for catching up on missing assignments and working on projects.

Thursday:

*Journal: You wake up one morning and discover a dinosaur is in your backyard. What kind of dinosaur did you find and what did you do with it?                                                                             Self select a work from each area:                                                     Large Group Lesson-Cultural                                   *Math/Geometry History of Language-Intro to mythology                    *Language                                                                             *Read 20 minutes

Friday:

*Journal: Free Choice Journal Small Group Writing Lessons                                  Self select from each area: Opinion Writing:Writing project-brainstorming           *Math/Geometry 1st year 8:45                                                         *Prehistoric research project 2nd year 9:15                                                        *Read 20 minutes 34d Year 9:45

Additional Weekly Expectations:

Word Study

Epic Reading

Khan Mappers

Amira Reading

Equations

November 12, 2020

 Fox and Bear Community

November 12, 2020

The children are really "digging" our new unit of study.  For the next several weeks the children will be researching different topics related to prehistoric life before humans arrived on Earth.  Please encourage your child to get creative with these projects.  There are a number of resources under Black Strip Lesson in the Cultural plan.  Please also note that they are not limited to using these resources.  We cannot wait to see what the students come up with to share their knowledge of this time in history.

Making Fossils   On Thursday, November 19th at 8:45,  the children will be participating in making a fossil.  For the experiment your child will need a bowl, I cup of flour, 1/2 cup salt, and 1/2 cup water.  Please allow your child to measure these ingredients themselves.  The children will also need something that they would like to fossilize:  dinosaur toy, household trinket (button; coin etc), sticks, rock, leaves etc.  

ANGEL TREE

Sometimes families need a little extra help with the expense of holiday gifts and this year has been especially hard for so many.  Like everything else, we are trying to be as safe as possible while we support our Ellis family.  If you would like to donate a gift card please find the procedure at the link below. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094aaeae2ea6fe3-ellis

Weekly Overview for November 16-20

Monday: 

*Journal:  This weekend I…                                  Self select a work from each area: Mathematics Small Group Lessons                       *Language *1st year students-expanded notation  8:45            *Prehistoric Research Project                                  *2nd year students-fractions-number line  9:15         *Read 20 minutes             *3rd year students-fractions-number line  9:45

Tuesday:

*Journal:I was digging for fossils and I found____.  What did you do with it?  Language Small Group Lessons                           Self select a work from each area: *1st year students-Visual Thinking Skills  8:45           *Prehistoric Research Project *2nd year students-Visual Thinking Skills 9:15           *Read 20 minutes        *3rd year students-Visual Thinking Skills  9:45           *Math

Wednesday:

*Journal: My favorite dinosaur is ___.  Why?  No live meetings today-Asynchronous learning Today is the best day to catch up on missing assignments and work on projects. Pre-game work-sentence analysis

Thursday:

*Journal: Five things I am thankful for are...                                                                             Self select a work from each area:                                                     Large Group Lesson-Cultural                                   *Math/Geometry Time Line and Fossil experiment                             *Language *Opinion Writing Rough Draft Due (end of day)          *Read 20 minutes

Friday:

*Journal: Free Choice Journal Small Group Writing Lessons                                  Self select from each area: Opinion Writing:  Final Drafts Due/Sharing                *Math/Geometry 1st year 8:45                                                         *Prehistoric research project 2nd year 9:15                                                        *Read 20 minutes 34d Year 9:45

Additional Weekly Expectations:

• Word Study
• Epic Reading
• Khan Mappers
• Amira Reading

November 6, 2020

 

November 6, 2020

Over the course of the next few weeks the children will be experiencing the black strip and timeline of life lessons on Thursdays.   During this time the children will be given the opportunity to study early life including Prokaryotes and dinosaurs.  This is an exciting time in the Montessori curriculum including the study of fossils, dinosaurs and the coming of humans.  Please follow your child's interests during this            time.  We are happy to branch out of lessons to accommodate work that the children create.  

AMIRA!   The children should have their Amira assessments completed by the end of the day on Tuesday, November 10th.   If you have not had the opportunity to see the video regarding the assessment, it can be accessed here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-WX5ScPpVni_CRvrOpKCn6FeWK4eC1oJ/view

ANGEL TREE

Sometimes families need a little extra help with the expense of holiday gifts and this year has been especially hard for so many.  Like everything else, we are trying to be as safe as possible while we support our Ellis family.  If you would like to donate a gift card please find the procedure at the link below. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094aaeae2ea6fe3-ellis

Fox and Bear Classroom Adjustments

Often times, children need review or preview before participating in new lessons.  To address this, and to make the best use of lesson times, please encourage your child to complete any Pregame Lessons that are assigned on Wednesdays (this week no school on Wednesday).  Additionally, children that would like additional assistance or lesson reviews are invited to log into the afternoon meeting from 2:15-3:00.  All children are welcome to join at this time with questions or needs.  We look forward to spending this time with your child.  

We are excited to announce we are beginning a new study of words!  Based on previous assessments, students were gathered into groups to begin working with the Waseca words.  Each student will have a weekly learning path based on a specific phonological sound.  Students will begin with an Epic book relating somehow to the words being studied.  The next assignment will be a list of words following the weekly rule with 2-3 assignments.  All assignments must be completed before submitting this assignment.  The last assignment will be students looking around and asking those nearby to come up with additional words that follow the rule.  For the first few lessons/weeks assignments will be designated.  As we continue, students will be able to choose 2-3 assignments from a choiceboard.  We are really looking forward to seeing all of their hard work.

Weekly Overview for November 9-13

Monday: 

*Journal:  This weekend I…                                  Self select a work from each area: Mathematics Small Group Lessons                       *Language *1st year students-golden beads  8:45                   *Choose Geology Learning Path                                      *2nd year students-stamp game  9:15                    *Read 20 minutes             *3rd year students-stamp game  9:45

Tuesday:

*Journal: What is a fossil?                                    Self select a work from each area: Language Small Group Lessons                           *Math *1st year students-Making Inferences  8:45           *Choose a Geology Learning Path *2nd year students-Making Inferences 9:15           *Read 20 minutes        *3rd year students-Making Inferences  9:45

Wednesday:

Veteran’s Day-No School

Thursday:

*Journal: How did the world begin?                                                                             Self select a work from each area:                                                     Large Group Lesson-Cultural                                   *Math/Geometry Black Strip Lesson                                                 *Language *Opinion Writing Rough Draft Due (end of day)          *Read 20 minutes

Friday:

*Journal: Free Choice Journal Small Group Writing Lessons                                  Self select from each area: Opinion Writing:  Final Draft Lesson                        *Math/Geometry 1st year 8:45                                                         *Cultural---Geology Learning Path 2nd year 9:15                                                        *Read 20 minutes 34d Year 9:45

Additional Weekly Expectations:

• Word Study
• Epic Reading
• Khan Mappers
• Amira Reading
• Equations (most challenging operation)