December 18th - Portfolio share 9:15-10:15
Friday Workshops
Zachary
Oliver
Hamster takes a trip to OCS to help teach all about hamsters!
A proud creator of a beeswax sculptor after taking a class taught by a Moon Toon.
Math
Pentominoes! What are pentominoes? Well, dominoes have two squares, triominoes have three squares, tetrominoes have fours squares, and, yup, you guessed it, pentominoes have five squares! We first practiced our spatial reasoning to discover the 12 pentominoes possible. This was great practice in group work and persistence. Group members needed to make sure they were communicating with all their fellow members to help keep track of the pentominoes made. We needed to make sure our pentominoes were unique by flipping or rotating them to make sure it was not already made.
Once we had them all made we gave them names like, "The Chair" or "The Snake." We then worked individually or with a partner to discover if we could make a "One Difference Loop" or "One Difference Line." This means we take one set of twelve pentomino pieces and arrange them in a loop such that only one square needs to be moved to change a shape into the one that follows. We recorded the loops and lines we found, check them out!
We then moved on to pentomino puzzles. We worked on fitting all our 12 pieces into a 5-by-12 grid puzzle board. This was challenging but with a few hints and a whole lot of perseverance, we did it! We also played a game with a partner using the same puzzle board. The object is to be the last player to play a piece, making it impossible for the opponent to fit in another. This definitely put our spatial skills to work!
After finding the perimeter of each pentomino, we shifted from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and explored which of our pentominoes could be folded into a box. Could we predict which square would be the bottom? We will end the week making two-cube boxes and making "Fill-the-Box Puzzles" where we will predict how many cubes could fit in a box that is flattened, explain their thinking, then test it. We will make our own puzzles for others to solve. All this work with perimeter, area, and moving into three-dimensional shapes is leading to a surprise visit from Mistress Wonka!
Language
In Literacy Centers this week, word ladders were introduced as a choice for some. Word ladders involve using spelling patterns and creating words by changing one or two letters. One may either climb their way up the picture ladder or make their way down.
We also wrote letters to our friends in space about what we do when we celebrate Christmas, Winter Solstice, or Hanukkah. This was fun as we needed to explain every part of the holiday as if to someone who had never heard of it! For some it was explaining who Santa is or what a Christmas tree is and where it comes from. Others explained all the things they do, like spending time with family, playing games, or opening presents. Some will take this piece and make edits and publish it in their best handwriting.
Theme 
Uranus, the father of the Titans - wow! Be sure to check out the pictures the children drew of this long bearded one! We enjoyed listening to a few Greek myths while we sketched. Pegusus, Medusa, Hyrda, oh my! And poor Hercules and all the dangerous tasked he had to complete! We are also practicing our play and making props and scenery. Please help your child memorize their line(s) if they haven’t yet. Thank you!
We will also be creating a gift for each other that celebrates the wonderfulness of each of us. Stay tuned!
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