88 Days of School!

In Math this week the children began learning about money. We began our study by reading “Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday” and having the children share their knowledge about money (see below for their thoughts). During job time some children sorted and classified the coins while others worked in small groups and did Counting Mat activities. Throughout the week the children used their Counting Mats with pennies, nickles, penny strips and nickel strips to represent numbers 6-10 and later to create addition equations.
Our Avenida study this week focused on mapping. We began our investigation into mapping by reading the book “Me on The Map” and having the children share their background knowledge about maps with their friends (see below for their feedback). Throughout the week we created maps of our classroom, school and Avenida de la Playa. The children also enjoyed comparing maps from around the world.
During Writer’s Workshop we focused on “The Magic 5” and began using our Magic 5 checklist after each writing job was completed. Throughout the week we wrote about what we learned about Avenida de la playa, what we think we might do this weekend and what we liked about our artist in action.
Next week we will have noon dismissal on Tuesday, February 3rd and conferences will be held on Tuesday afternoon, all day Wednesday and all day Thursday. Class will resume on Friday, February 6th with a field trip to La Jolla Shores.
Money:
“It buys things.” E.E
“The government is the only thing that can make real money.” H.C
“You keep it in your pocket.” A.G
“Robbers steal it.” J.M
“You keep it in your wallets.” J.R
“You keep it in your piggy bank.” T.S
“It can be gold.” E.M
“It is bad to lose money.” M.N
“Money can be in the shape of a circle.” M.E
“Money has the year it was born on it.” P.W
“Money can be shaped like a rectangle if it is a dollar bill.” N.S
“It can be shaped in an oval if it goes through a machine.” J.W
“Every money has a guy on it.” J.R
“The guy on money is a VIP.” M.E

Maps:
“They are made so you don’t get lost.” J.R
“You can get a map of the earth.” J.M
“You can draw things on them so you know where you need to go.” P.W
“It can be round like a globe or flat.” N.S
“They help you find people and places.” A.R
“You can make a map with a crayon and paper.” M.N
“Maps have labels and pictures.” J.W
“Maps show where you are in the state.” T.S
“There are maps in my mom and dad’s phone.” E.M
“The map of the world has all of the countries and the United States.” E.E