In Gratitude
I want to send a big thank you to Christina Sciotto, Sarah Steedman, Blanca McCarthy, and Alejandra Sanchez-Garcia, for volunteering their time to help the children cook on Wednesday. With the adults’ help and encouragement, the children prepared 5 double batches of cornbread and one large pot of Scandinavian Fruit Soup! I loved to see the children so eager to be involved in the measuring, chopping, and mixing of ingredients.
The 4th graders are at such a good age to help with cooking at home! If they have not already started helping already, I highly recommend it.
Harvest Thanksgiving
Thank you to everyone who sent their child with chopped greens this week! The children enjoyed the greens in a delicious soup for today’s Thanksgiving meal, along with the cornbread they made and a fruit salad. It was really lovely to see the whole school breaking bread together, and to know that everyone contributed in part to the feast.
The children practiced a lot and did a fine job today in the Thanksgiving Address. They were a little sad about making a mistake in one of the verses, but we talked about how mistakes are normal, and that we should focus on what they should be proud of. I also told them that we will just practice more next time, so that they feel more comfortable. All in all, it was a beautiful school-wide effort in giving an address of thanks to the natural world.
Math Block
It’s hard to believe that we have come to the end of another block! This week we finished our first math block. This week the children continued to practice multiplying multi-digit numbers using various methods, and checking their answers by finding the “secret numbers” of the factors and the product. While the math block has concluded, we will continue to practice and build on these skills in our weekly math skills classes, as well as during our morning movement time. At home, I recommend finding occasions to talk about how multiplication has real-life applications, such as when planning food for a party, counting how much time or money has been spent over a period of time, or miles traveled each way for a vacation. This will help your child to practice their skills with the added bonus of making that practice relevant and purposeful.
Sleep
I wanted to mention that many fourth graders are coming to school very tired, and/or appearing very tired by the end of the day. During my morning “check-in” with them, many of them tell me that they don’t feel like they have gotten enough sleep at night. I realize that this is a normal struggle for this age, but please help encourage your 4th grader to get enough rest each night.
I look forward to our productive conversations during Parent Teacher Conferences next week, and I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!