Cootie Catchers, Marshmallows, and Earthquakes. Oh, my!

Dear Parents,

Mark your calendars:

PTO Meeting: January 16  7p.m.  Whether your child is in his/her first year at Pinewoods or last year at Pinewoods,  join us on Thursday evening to help plan events for the remainder of the school year.  Let's work together to plan, schedule, and implement activities to make this a year to remember.  I realize that everyone is busy, however, what could be more important than supporting your child's school?

Quilt: Please don't forget to bring in a piece of fabric or clothing that is special to your child for us to use to make a classroom quilt by January 17. 

MLK Holiday: January 20

Parent-Teacher Potluck Dinner on January 30

Have you been wanting to try out a new recipe or don't have time to cook.?  Did you know that there are four elementary parents who are currently on the Pinewoods Board of Directors? Do you want to meet or get to know the Pinewoods community better?  Come and have dinner at Pinewoods and then later learn something about why we think the Montessori philosophy and our school are so special.


Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

On Monday, January 20 the country will slow down for a moment to remember and honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King.  MLK Day is a school holiday and teachers will be meeting in the morning for a planning session.  Our planning session is expected to be over by noon and I would like to invite the elementary students to meet me at school for a community lunch and  a day of service.  We will meet and make no-sew fleece blankets for children at the Children's Hospital in Durham.  Please let me know if your child will be able to join us.


Pajama Day on January 31

Have your child roll out of bed and come to PJ Day at Pinewoods. 

Classroom News

Geography

Last week students learned about earthquakes, fault lines, and how  engineers/architects are working to build earthquake proof buildings.  We make structures out of marshmallows and toothpicks to observe which structures bend/sway rather than collapse during an earthquake simulation.  This week we will be making homemade seismographs and learning how local/state/national governments react to natural disasters.  Students should bring in shoe boxes, if possible, to make their own seismograph.  (If you don't have a shoe box, no problem.  We will find some extras).

Science


We continue our study of Montessori's timeline of Life and classification of animals.  We made cootie catchers (fortune tellers) to review terms: producers, consumers, decomposers, predator, prey, food chain, and food webs. Classification and biomes will be a year long theme in class.

We will begin our study of magnetism and electricity this week.



Homework

New Spellwell books will be distributed this week in class.  Upper elementary and third year students will begin having weekly math homework and weekly current event assignments.  I will send a separate e-mail to parents of those students explaining what you can expect.  




Our next field trip is in February.  We will be attending a play at the Art Center in Carrboro.

 
Warm Regards,

Jo Ann and Summer

Indoor Recess

The Punctuation Game

Button Sewing

JINGO

PB & J Writing

Food Chain Lesson