Saturday, April 30, 2011

Friday Letter - 04.29.11


April 29, 2011

Dear River Run Families,

We have had a very good work week. The three hour work period has been so productive, even with the change of weather. We are beginning to look at the animal kingdom. I have introduced the sea star, Canada goose, and silverfish. Don't be surprised if your children start to look through your bathrooms and basement for the silverfish. They like humidity, so these are places they may be found in the home. These insects (not fish, despite their name), eat glue, book paper, and even clothing. They like carbohydrates. Work will be put out about animals. As we start to garden and go for walks to Steinmetz Park to admire the trees and flowers, work on trees and flowers will be put out. This work will lead into the last Great Lesson of the year, The Time Line of Life.

Our class has been discussing getting a Painted turtle. We are in need of an air stone and filter for our tank. If you have either of these and would like to donate either or both please let me know. We are also getting ready to garden. Top soil is needed and I was thinking of suggesting to the children planting strawberries, which they may be able to eat since they fruit in June. If any of you grow strawberries and have a patch that is taking off and would not mind donating some, we would love have them.

Let's all hope for breaks of sunshine this weekend, 
Amy
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The students have continued to work on their country interest projects this week, with each student learning more about the countries of Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands. In addition we’ve been reading folktales from those areas.

We’ve also been working our way through the book Alice In Wonderland in preparation for our field trip next Friday. We’ve had many discussions as we try to understand this silly story and we’ve used our read aloud time as a springboard for many writing activities. Students have been asked to predict what may come next or write their own story leaving off from where we stopped reading. Some students have also written about what it would feel like if time really stood still (as it does for the March Hare and Mad Hatter at the tea party).

Another activity the students have been working hard on this week is preparing many, many carp kites for their humanitarian project in which they are raising money for the children of Japan. They have made close to 200 kites. Under Debbie’s supervision, our students will be selling the carp kites at the Schenectady Green Market on Sunday between 10AM and 2PM. If you have the opportunity to stop in during this time, we’d be happy to see you!

I also need to mention a few housekeeping matters before I close. First, please make an effort to have your child pack their lunches in microwaveable dishes such as corningware if possible. The students seem to have gotten away from this practice and our dirty dishpan has been so overflowing on Fridays that we spend more time that we’d like catching up with the week’s dishes. Secondly, with the arrival of warmer weather, the temperature in the classroom has risen a bit. We have suggested to the students that they dress in layers to accommodate cooler temperatures when they leave for school and be able to take off a top layer when needed due to afternoon heat. Some students have asked about bringing a refillable water bottle back and forth to school for use at PE time, during neighborhood walks, and recess time. This would be fine and may help with keeping them appropriately hydrated. Thanks for your help with these matters and your ongoing support of RiverRun.

Best wishes, 
Nancy

Upcoming Dates: 
May 1st – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. - RiverRun booth at Schenectady Green Market selling carp kites
May 6th – 10:15 a.m. -Class Field Trip to The Egg for the New York Theatre Ballet’s “Alice In Wonderland Follies”
May 27th – Class Field Trip to the Berkshire Museum and Family Camping Weekend
May 30th – No School – Memorial Day

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