Old Socks Wanted!!!

Hello everyone.  Welcome back to school from the nice week off for Thanksgiving.  It sounds like everyone had a wonderful time at home with good food and family!  Today I read a book to the class about Elephants that can paint.  It was an interesting nonfiction book about these amazing Asian Elephants who are being taught to paint as a way to raise money to protect them.  The Asian Elephants have been dying off due to changes in their climate.  Many Asian Elephants used to be a crucial member of the labor force in many asian communities, helping with the transportation and hauling of lumber.  As the human population increased in these countries however, the Asian Elephants were finding themselves without enough land to survive.  So the governments in these countries stopped the lumber companies from cutting down the trees.  This left thousands of Asian Elephants without work, and unfortunately without land to live on.  Many were dying and some artists stepped in with the idea that if they gave the elephants a new job, that could create some income to help protect these special animals.  After reading the book we went to the website (www.elephantart.com) and checked out some of the artwork the elephants made, as well as watched a couple videos about the organization and the elephants at work.  It was truly remarkable to see the abilities and talents of these large creatures. 

After we were finished the students were very excited and wanted to immediately jump into an art project of their own.  I thought about it the rest of the day and decided that I too, want to make some art inspired by the Asian Elephants.  But I want the students to EXPERIENCE what it would be like to create art as an elephant would.  That is where the socks come in.  If you can send an old pair of socks (the bigger the better) that you would not need back, I would greatly appreciate it.  I plan on using them to restrain the student's arms together like an elephants trunk.  Then with the hands stuffed inside the bottom of the sock, they will have to try and navigate the end like an elephant does as it tries to hold and use a paintbrush.  I'm sure it will be very silly and messy, but it should also be a lot of fun and a great learning experience for the class.  I am hoping to do this project on Friday, so if any of you would like to come and help (between 10:30 and 11:30am) that would be great.  It would be fun to take some pictures of the "sock-trunks" hard at work making their art!!  Ask your children about the story, and check out the website, it's really fascinating!!
-Mr. Linnet

What a great Thanksgiving Feast!!!

Friday was the best Thanksgiving Feast our Kinder classes have had yet.  Due to the District cutting PE this year, we were afforded the opportunity to use the Cafeteria for our feast, and that made everything so nice.  We had plenty of space to set up all the yummy food the families brought, we had enough tables for all of the students and their families to sit and enjoy their meals, and everything just ran smoothly.  Ms. Dawson, Mrs. Laurie, and myself want to extend a very sincere thank you to all of the families that helped in making this Feast so amazing!!  You all outdid yourselves with the great food, and the extra work you put in setting things up, serving the dishes, and cleaning up.  Without all of your dedication and support, we would never be able to pull something like this off.  I am confident that the children learned a little something about the First Thanksgiving, the meaning of Thanksgiving, and now have had a personal connection with the spirit of giving thanks and sharing in the holiday tradition (outside of their family).  It brings me great joy as a teacher to share these experiences with my students and hopefully leave some memories that will stay with them throughout their academic futures.

A few of you went above and beyond to give me gifts for the holidays.  I want to say thank you for you incredible generosity and thoughtfulness.  The gift cards will be shared for happy outings with my family, and the cards were also very nice.  You didn't have to do this to show your appreciation.  The support and warm words you share with me each school day are thanks enough for a job I am blessed to have.

I hope that you are all enjoying your long Thanksgiving Vacation with your family, and look forward to seeing all of you after the break.
-Mr. Linnet

What are you most thankful for this year??

Thanksgiving is approaching and I want to know what each of you are most thankful for.  Please take a moment and comment on this post.  Let us know what is special to you and what you will be giving thanks for this year around the Thanksgiving Table.  It's always nice to take a moment out to share warm thoughts and feelings with others!!

Thanksgiving Feast this Friday!!

Hello Everyone, I hope that you all enjoyed Veteran's Day and a nice 4-day weekend with your family.  As you know, we are having Report Card Conferences this week.  There will be no school on Wednesday for the conferences, and then two half-days on Thursday and Friday as we finish our conferences.  Students will again get out at 11:40am and the Kinders will be waiting at the front of the school, either under the flagpole with me, or inside the gate at the Kinder playground with Mrs. Laurie ( I have afterschool yard duty by the bus area). 

On Friday, we will be learning about and celebrating the great american holiday known at Thanksgiving.  We will do some Thanksgiving activities, watch a video about the Pilgrims coming to the "New World", and end with a nice feast in our classroom.  I hope that you have all thought about helping your child participate in this activity by bringing something yummy to share at the feast.

According to traditional legend, the First Thanksgiving brought the Pilgrims and the Native Americans together to celebrate the harvest.  The Pilgrims shared with the Native Americans their hunting and fishing skills (mainly the tools the "White Man" used to help with hunting and fishing), and the Native Americans shared their knowledge of farming and gathering (using fish to help enrich the soil when growing corn, identifying which plants/berries were edible, etc.). 

I know that our class feast won't be as monumental as the first Thanksgiving was, but I do believe it is a great way for the students in our class to make stronger connections with their classmates and learn about other cultures.  We've discussed the idea of America being a "melting pot", where many different people come to live and share in the ideals of freedom and equality.  I try and use the Thanksgiving Feast as an opportunity to expand your child's views of what Thanksgiving means in today's America by allowing families to bring their favorite family dish to the feast.  We can stick with tradition (turkey, gravy, corn, etc.), but we can also introduce new ideas that our students may have never had (lumpia, foh, sushi, paella, etc.).  If your family has an authentic dish that is special to your family's culture and heritage, please consider sharing it with our class on Friday at the Feast!!

Signups have been up on the door in front of the classroom, you do not need to feel obligated to bring only what is listed, talk with me and we can work out arrangements for other ideas not already mentioned.

*Please note anything in your dish that may cause allergies.  We have 4-5 students in our class with food allergies, mainly nuts, but I want to be careful with everything we serve so we don't have any unfortunate reactions.  Also talking to your child if they have allergies about what to stay away from will greatly help.  You know their condition more than I do, and would be better prepared to remind them what foods they can and cannot eat.  Thanks again!!

Have a wonderful week and I will see all of you at the Conferences!!
-Mr. Linnet

Do Your Children Truly Know Why They Are Out of School???

Veteran's Day is upon us, and in our District, that means a nice LONG weekend to celebrate.  We're not sure why this holiday has grown in popularity within our District, rewarding not one, but two days off, but we are happy to receive it.  Our class took some time out today to learn about Veteran's Day (or Armistice Day as it was formerly called).  A short video helped us learn about the origin of this holiday (the end of WWI on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918), as well as what a Veteran, or Vet, is (no, not the people that take care of pets, as a couple of students thought).  We learned about the sacred gift these individuals gave protecting our freedoms and defending our country.  We learned about various ways Veteran's Day is celebrated across our country.  And we ended our lesson on Veteran's Day by making our own Veteran's Day posters and cards.  If your child hasn't shown it to you yet, please take a moment to look at it and discuss the importance of this holiday.  It's not about religion, or beliefs, or politics, or sides.  It is about people, extraordinary people who offered up their lives to give all of us the freedom to make our own choices and celebrate life in our own ways.  Help your children realize the significance of this holiday, and the people being honored on this day, and use the extra time off to allow them opportunities to see you honor Veteran's this holiday in the manner you see fit.  Remember holidays are not just about taking time off from school or work, it's about taking time out of our routines to honor and celebrate the people and things that we hold dear in life!!  Please pass on the traditions your family holds dear in this and all other holidays.
-Mr. Linnet

Sorry for the extra noise...

...I'm sure by now you have been introduced to the "maracas" or "shakers" that we made in class today.  It was a following directions activity that followed one of the stories in the 1st grade unit where children made instruments to be in a band.  We read the story as a class and discussed how you can make instruments from everyday materials.  Following the story was a nonfiction piece on instruments and rattles from various parts of the world.  After that, we followed the directions in the book to make our own fun rattles.  The kids had a lot of fun making and decorating their rattle, then when everyone was finished we danced around the room singing songs and shaking our "maracas".  We glued the lid to hopefully avoid any unnecessary messes arising from beans flying all over the room while your child dances and sings.  I know they can get loud, but please take an interest in their creativity and use it as a discussion to retell the story we read in class.  Ask your child what the story was about (kids in a band), what special characteristics did the children have (Beth was in a wheelchair), what kinds of instruments did they make (drum, symbols, shakers), etc.  Use the activity as a teaching tool and help your child see the relevance the project had to their learning (it's not just for fun!!).  Thanks again to all who brought in water bottles, and for all your continued help in and out of the classroom.
-Mr. Linnet