Second Annual Snowshoe Trip

Wow, what a trip! We hiked/snowshoed over 10 miles in two days! On Wednesday, the first 3 miles or so were completely bare of snow. It drizzled rain, slush, and then snow! The last mile had some snow but not enough to need snowshoes. The last leg of the trip is the toughest as it is a pretty steep hill but as soon as the children caught sight of the hut they charged!

After exploring the hut, picking sleeping spaces in the loft, and getting a snack, it was time for the first thing that was on all the children’s list....sledding! It’s hard to believe that after hiking 4.5 miles, with a pack the entire way for some, that there would still be energy to sled but, sure enough, they went out to sled! Remember that steep hill we had to climb to get to the hut? The children have probably hiked that hill countless times as they climbed up for another sled ride down!

That evening, the time finally arrived to read Sasquatch! The children have been wishing for this book as our read aloud for some time and we decided we would read the book while on our trip. It was a great read with some mystery, suspense, and twist. We all enjoyed it and I think I can safely say we all love the sweet Sasquatch! Thanks for the book Maggi!

We woke up the next morning to discover fresh snow covering the trees and ground! What a sweet surprise! A few children made pancakes for us and then we spent the morning on the sledding hill. After lunch, it was time to put on our snowshoes and do some exploring. We followed a few trails, saw a glimpse of Mt. Rainier, and enjoyed the sun peeking out. And what did we do when we returned to the hut? You guessed right if you said sledding! We have some pretty unforgettable sledding stories to tell!

The next morning some of us enjoyed reading what we had written in the hut book last year and wrote a new entry for this trip. We said goodbye to our home in the mountains and headed back to the sno-park. We made record time with the help of the cold and rain and anxious children to see their families!

It was a very full three days (Cedar even lost a tooth!). I am so impressed with all the children’s perseverance, strength, courage, and support for one another. And thank you parents that came along! Woohoo, we could not have done it without you! I hope you have all recovered!

News from the Totally Awesome Tigers!

It is exciting to be back and to see one another again! Oh, how we missed our friends!

As you may already know, we have a new group name...The Marvelous Martians are now theeeee...drum roll please...TOTALLY AWESOME TIGERS!

Did someone say pajama party?!! Well, I guess we all did at some time! The excitement level of the Tigers was very high today in anticipation of the fun to come tomorrow! Be sure to ask your child about our festivities Thursday night!

Math
It was soooo exciting to come back to school on the 100th day!!!!! Can you make an equation using more than 3 numbers that equals 100? It is challenging, but the Ferns were up for it! While the ferns were busy working their ways to 100, the Suns were working their ways to 100 in another way. There are so many numbers between 1 and 100 and it is sometimes hard to know which number comes next! The Suns worked on filling in the missing numbers on 100's charts!

What did the acorn say when it grew up? "Gee, I'm a tree!" He he! We have begun studying the wonderful and exciting world of geometry! Our unit begins with 2-D shapes. We are looking at shapes, naming them and describing them. It is interesting to think about shapes, and the many questions that arise. Is a triangle still a triangle if it is turned? Where does a circle begin? How many lines are in a circle? How long does a rectangle have to be to be a rectangle?

We had fun hunting for shapes in our classroom! We were excited to find that shapes are in everything! Literally, everything is made of shapes! To illustrate this, we made our own book "A Circle is a Circle Until..." that shows common shapes disguised in everyday items!

We created our own abstract circle art in spirit of the Abstract Circles of Wassily Kandinsky. Check these out on display now!

Language Arts
In honor of the 100th day of school, we chose a "100" question to write about. The questions were "What will you be like at the age of 100?" and "What do you think the world will be like in 100 years?" Students chose either question, wrote their thoughts, and created an illustration!

Phonics groups reviewed previous concepts with a matching blends game, a word family game, and a short vowel game.

We started a new read aloud The Chocolate Touch. We have so many predictions about how this story might unfold...are John's parents behind it all? Was it the magic chocolate? Hmmm....Guess we'll have to keep reading!

Theme
Art, art and more art! We've done 100th day of school art, shape art, and will be doing rain forest art! We will be learning about birds of the rainforest and will create a class mobile with watercolored birds!

Mission to Mars and More!

Important Dates
February 12th - Half-day and Valentine's Day Party
February 15th-19th - Mid-Winter Break

February 24th-26th - Snowshoe Trip

Friday Workshop

No workshops this month

We had such a great time at the Pacific Science Center! Visiting the planetarium and Mission to Mars exhibit was a great finale to our study of space. A BIG thank you to the wonderful drivers who got us there and to the adults who came along! Here are a few pictures of us exploring what it might feel like to be on a mission to Mars!

Sitting behind the controls might seem like a simple task but what if you are spinning around and around at the same time?!

Gathering samples and doing simple repairs doesn't sound too difficult. Although wearing giant puffy gloves adds a bit of challenge!

All is well on the Gemini!

Building up pressure....keep pumping...lift off!

Can you put the pieces together to build the tallest possible structure that will receive maximum sunlight for solar power? Hmm......

There is just nothing easy about a mission to Mars, even walking is a challenge!

Houston, we have a problem...

This is mission control...turn the air filter off. Open hatch H...yes we see you, look to your left...

And a visit to the tropical butterfly house was a great start to our study of rainforests!