It has been a while since the blog has seen an update. It certainly is not for lack of material... more a factor of my mind being elsewhere, like on Winter Break! But now we are back in full swing and it's time to let you know what is happening in Room 5.
I trust you all had a wonderful time with family and friends over Break. The children have filled me in on some of the adventures, including Pema's trip to Washington, DC, and to her new favorite museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I know many of you traveled as well, some back East, some to Hollywood, some to Utah, and some lucky ducks to Mexico! It sounds like some of you had a peaceful time at home as well. In fact, I enjoyed meeting up with Aidan and Orion and their families to celebrate the winter solstice in Muir Woods. What a magical night we shared walking through the big trees by candle light, thankfully with very little rain.
I had a wonderful holiday that started off with a bang at my family's 2nd Annual Tacky Christmas Party up in Sonoma at my sister and brother-in-law's cabin. My father, step-mother, brother, and sister-in-law traveled out from Virginia to attend this year. It was a festive way to kick off the holiday revelry and it gave me the opportunity to wear my Christmas Tree dress once more! Gideon and I also made an impromptu trip to Lake Tahoe to spend time with old family friends at their home in South Tahoe. It was our first time to Tahoe, and we had a blast skiing through trees in knee-deep powder. It was an unexpected treat to experience "Winter" once again.
Prior to Winter Break, we had a great fun preparing for the holidays in Room 5. Jeremy suggested that we have a craft day; I thought it sounded like a fun idea, so we had our first annual Holiday Craft Workshop the Monday before break. The kids got their creative juices flowing making holiday cards, ornaments, and gifts. Did you receive any of these special creations over the holidays?
Another highlight of the week before break was our Secret Elf gift exchange. This was another idea presented to me by the kids. After thinking it through, I agreed that we should try it in Room 5. Each student filled out a secret questionnaire, answering questions such as “What is your favorite color? Book? Activity?” The questionnaires were then randomly distributed to the class, with the task to make something by hand for the classmate they received. I was not sure what to expect as I reminded the kids daily to bring in their gifts. By the Friday before break, all the students had brought in homemade, hand-wrapped gifts.
After a class discussion of what it means to give and to receive, the gifts were presented one at a time for the students to open. Parents, all I can say is that this gift exchange was one of the most precious things I have ever witnessed. The children were so very excited about the the gifts they received, and even more excited about gifts they had created for their friends. They could not wait for their gifts to be opened! One of the gifts included a homemade Pokemon coloring book for Brad made by Liza. Brad's response was an enormous grin and an exclamation of, “I don't know how you knew exactly what I wanted for Christmas!” Other gifts included a bear made out of toilet paper rolls, a name plate carved on a wooden board, a finger-knitted scarf, and a scrumptious candy-coated apple. The only unfortunate thing about the gift exchange was that my camera ran out of batteries and I could not capture more of the moments for you to see.
For the last hour of the day, we enjoyed our class party, hosted by our room parents and other helpers. The kids played holiday charades (Kaden acted out a very convincing jingle bell), decorated gingerbread men, and sipped mulled apple cider. Sophia helped our classroom rat, Lily, get into the holiday spirit with a homemade Santa hat. That young lady has a gift for making tiny, fashionable rat outfits! With fresh batteries in my camera, I enjoyed capturing some of the moments on film. I am sure you will sense the joy that filled our hearts as we celebrated the holidays together.
Now we have set off into a new year together. Our first week back was full of satisfying moments when all of the kids were engaged in some kind of individualized learning activity. We have embarked on a revamped word study program; we had a fun center time playing map skills games; we interviewed one another on how we show the character trait of “self-control”; we studied geometry in math; and created marble runs with Carolyn in science. Most notably, we started practicing our class play, “James and the Giant Peach”. The kids are so excited about this and beg every day to rehearse. My hope is to present the show in April, after the school play “The Wiz” is wrapped up.
We are off to a running start in 2011. My goal is to use our class time wisely, in a way that maximizes student learning and holds true to the tenants of the MAP philosophy. With creativity and discipline, I am confident that, together, we can make it happen. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2011!
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