Be sure to stop by the classroom to see the lovely lanterns that the children made with Yaseen's mom. She came in on Thursday to teach us about the Muslim celebration of Eid and also gave us a yummy treat! Thanks to Yaseen and his mom!
WHOOPING CRANE UPDATE
After several days on the ground, the cranes finally made a little progress and have crossed the border into Illinois! Unfortunately, we haven't been able to see them flying live on the crane cam, but each day brings another opportunity. The cranes and ultralights have flown 120 miles, which is just 55 miles short of where they were at this time last year. We are crossing our fingers for better weather this week so they can make up some ground!
Last week, we began learning about the life cycle of the whooping crane from egg to adult. Be sure to ask your second grader how many eggs a whooping crane lays, where they often build their nests, and in which seasons whooping cranes migrate. We will use this information for an art project to create whooping crane "life circles." Stay tuned!
SANDHILL CRANE VIEWING
We wanted to let all of you know of a wonderful opportunity to see thousands of sandhill cranes in nearby Indiana. During our migration study, we will compare the sandhill crane to the whooping crane. As of October 15th, over 5600 sandhills were counted! Around sunset and sunrise, these birds take to the air to socialize before flying out to feed in nearby marshes or roosting for the night. Their numbers will peak in late November/early December before they continue to warmer climates during their fall migration. You can find out more at http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3109.htm.
TUMBLE BOOKS
The children have learned to use the iPad to "Listen to Reading" during one of our Reading Workshop activities. Tumblebooks are a collection of online, animated books and your child can follow the text as a narrator reads each story. Listening to these ebooks (or other audio books) helps to develop fluency and vocabulary. Lab Schools has a subscription to Tumblebooks and you can access it from home (or the Blaine Library page with your LabNet ID). I will include the login and password on the FOR PARENTS section on this site and in the email announcing the posting of this newsletter. Happy reading!
iPAD APPS
We have been using several iPad apps in the classroom and wanted to share the list with you in case your child wants to continue the learning and exploration at home:
Math Bingo
Sum Stacker
Jungle Coin
Pop Math
Cash Cow
Mathmateer
Drawing Pad
FLASHLIGHTS NEEDED
We are planning a special classroom activity and each child needs his/her own flashlight to keep at school for the remainder of the year. The flashlights need to be easy to operate and small enough for your child to be able to hold while reading. We would also appreciate some spare batteries to keep on hand. Please send in flashlights for Halloween this Thursday. Sorry for the short notice. Thank you!
HALLOWEEN
The ESH Halloween Parade will begin at 9:30 on October 31st. All 1st and 2nd Grade classes will participate along with some N/K classes. Parents are welcome to come by the classroom at 9:00 a.m. to help children get into their costumes. Please let us know if your child will not be participating in the Halloween activities or marching in the parade.
We are planning a low-key Halloween party after the parade and will resume our regular day with Music at 11:30. Your child should bring his/her regular snack and lunch. If you have donations for the party (decorations, non-candy treats for the goody bags) feel free to drop them off in the classroom anytime up until Thursday morning. We also invite parents to help us take photos and share them with us (digitally via email, on a flash drive or CD) so we can add them to our Halloween photo album on the classroom website. Thank you!
Once the parade begins, parents are invited to watch along the parade route in the Lobby and landings at the south end of each hallway (overlooking the outside courtyard). The hallways are more narrow at ESH than they were at Blaine and are not the best spots for parents. Parents are strongly encouraged to use the South staircase for traveling to viewing areas. Students and teachers will use the North stairways for parading. The parade will conclude with singing either in the gym or on the roof (weather permitting). Please note that because of the rubberized rooftop, only soft-soled shoes are allowed. No heels please (for children and adults). Also, your child will be marching up stairs so please make sure costumes are a safe length. You will receive a flier in your child's backpack tomorrow with more details, including information about additional parking.
Children need to manage their costumes with relative independence. They will only wear their costumes during the parade and will need to change back into school clothes before we go continue with the rest of our day. Elaborate face make-up is discouraged, as are weapons. If a sword, light-saber, etc. is a vital part of your child’s costume, he/she may carry it but may not use it as a weapon. Please be mindful of the younger children in our school who may be frightened by scary costumes.
We are looking forward to the boo-tiful week ahead!