Puppies, plays, math games and more!

Dear Families,

The Play's the Thing

I wanted to remind everyone that this Wednesday, February 27 is our field trip to Proctors. I attached the driving and parking directions provided by Proctors. For families that are meeting us there, we will meet in the lobby at 9:30 am. I'm really looking forward to the performance. On the topic of exciting performances, please come to the classroom on Thursday, February 28 at 11:40 for our play "Rabbit's Snow Dance."

Class Puppy

You may have heard that Kira has joined the Country Classroom community. The children are all doing their best to help get her to chew on the right things (one of the many dog toys we bring each day) rather than the wrong ones (slippers, books, clothing). I am a big believer that a tired dog is a good dog, and definitely keeping up with the class all day helps to wear Kira out.

Nancy Payne Visits Again!

As promised, Nancy came back for another visit this week. We all went out on a walk in the woods looking for signs of deer. When the children were trying to find tracks, she had a great tool to help us make sure they were a match for a deer, two deer legs with hooves attached. She also shared a deer skull, antlers, and hide. The hair was fascinating to the children, and they noticed how it changed from the deer's spine down to the legs. "It's so much softer on the legs!" Nancy also told the story of Silver Hoof, a magical deer from a Russian folktale.

Math through Games

The children were rolling two dot dice and adding their totals to see who had the bigger number. We played "Number Crunch," a game where one child picks a number that is between two starting numbers like 0 and 20. As the other children make guesses, we use our hungry dragons to hone in on the right number. Everyone gets practice with numbers and the concepts of "greater than" and "less than." Finally we played "Guess My Rule," a geometry game where everyone works to figure out one person's rule. We use attribute blocks that have different colors, thickness, size, and shape. One rule might be "blue four sided figures." It gives everyone a way to study the characteristics of each shape.

Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you on Monday!

- Tracy