December 17th -20th

Dear families and friends,

We have learned so much about countries and their cultures each day through our Social Studies Cultural Unit this December! During the month, we have learned about The United States of America, England, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Israel, India, Mexico, and South Korea. You might just be surprised at how much your child has learned, including where each country is located on a world map and which ones are the closest to the equator!

As this study came to a close, we celebrated with several moms who generously shared their time and experiences with us today. Please ask your child what he or she learned about Mexico, China, India, Puerto Rico, United States of America, and Scotland during our trip around the world! 

READING AND WRITING
This week we will continue reading and writing facts about the holidays and countries that we research. We will finish our Elf Around the World book, and reflect on what we’ve learned and our favorite parts of the unit.

MATH
In math we will work on problem solving. We have many holiday situations that need good problems solvers to fix the issues.

SOCIAL STUDIES
We will finish our unit on cultural celebrations this week with The Elf on the Shelf: Holidays around the World. We’ve enjoyed learning about countries and their holiday traditions. Our rooms and halls are embellished with our holiday projects.

Polar Express Day: Thursday, December 20th
Every year in First grade we celebrate the end of the semester with Polar Express Day. We focus all of our learning on The Polar Express. Please send your child in their pajamas (appropriate for school). We will read the story of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg and admire the beautiful illustrations. Then we will have our own tickets to hop on The Polar Express. We will watch the movie as we make Hot Chocolate in our classroom. After the movie we will compare the book and the movie and talk about the differences between them. We will also write a “How to make Hot Chocolate”. This is such a fun day for our students.

REMINDERS
Wednesday, December 19th Winter Parties
Thursday, December 20th Polar Express Day – PJ Day
Winter Break: December 21st- January 7th (Students return on the 7th)


Thank you to all of our parent volunteers!!! WE APPRECIATE YOU!!!