The students at GBS surpassed our school-wide Rockin' Readers goal, reading a grand total of 309,391 minutes! On Friday afternoon, the Watermelon's, Lily Pads, and Crayons were awarded a celebratory picnic lunch in honor of their hardwork and dedication! The Watermelons, Lily Pads, and Crayons joined together for a picnic lunch on the rooftop, followed by a surprise playtime! While on the roof, the students ate lunch, observed the ducks swimming, built pirate ships out of blocks, soared down the slide, and played basketball! The students enjoyed the beautiful summer weather!
In art class, the Watermelons have been studying portraits and people. Throughout the unit, the students were given the opportunity to analyze some famous works of art and create a few self-portraits of their own. In addition, each student channeled their inner artist and created a spectacular wig! In order to construct a "one of a kind wig," the students used yarn, pipe cleaners, ribbons, tape, curlers, fabric, hair clips, and string! Once their wigs were complete, the students created their very own music video and participated in a runway show! In Science, Social Studies and Reading, the Watermelons have been studying the animals and plants located within the following three habitats: Jungle, Ocean, and Farm. In order to enhance their understanding of this material, the students have been using real (i.e., nonfiction) books, articles, and photographs to collect information. In addition, the Watermelons were given the opportunity to study real animals in their habitats at the Central Park Zoo! "Team Ocean" took creative photographs of the penguins, sea turtles, and sea lions swimming around in the water! "Team Jungle" explored the depths of the hot and humid Tropic Zone, studying birds, reptiles, exotic flowers, and greenery. Lastly, "Team Farm" fed and observed the potbellied pigs, sheep, goats, and a cow! The students truly enjoyed researching their habitats and learning more information about what animals need in order to survive. Ask your child which habitat he or she is currently studying! As the beautiful spring weather approaches, Recess Program has made a slight shift in location! Coach Alex and Coach G honored the Watermelon's love for the outdoors and began teaching exercise and movement activities on a field at Asphalt Green (weather pending). Over the past few weeks, the Watermelons have been participating in a variety of new games (e.g., Mr. Fox, Tunnel Tag, Spark!, River/Bank, extreme bowling) movement activities (e.g., Mario jumps), stretches, and indoor/outdoor obstacle courses! The Watermelons thoroughly enjoy Recess Program and take great pride in their personal and classwide accomplishments! As we continue learning and growing with our coaches, the students are looking forward to continued warm weather and new outdoor games! On Friday, the Watermelons, Crayons, and Legos spent the afternoon playing at Asphalt Green Park! The students enjoyed scaling the rock wall, soaring down the slide, swinging from the monkey bars, and climbing to new heights on the jungle gym! The park was filled with laughter and excitement as the students participated in both group games (e.g., tag, chase, monster) and individual adventures! As the warm weather approaches, the Watermelon's are looking forward to a picnic at the park... stay tuned! It all began with a shoe on the wall... and just like that, Wacky Wednesday had begun in the Watermelon classroom! On Wednesday, the Watermelon’s wore their wackiest outfits, some sporting mismatched socks, funky hairdos, and wonderful accessories. Upon entering the classroom, the students immediately noticed an array of wacky changes and events occurring around the room. The welcome sign was flipped upside down, the book area housed toys, a shoe was displayed on the wall, and the sign-in chart posed a VERY wacky question: What food do you like the best?- Worms? Dirt? or Grass? For reading groups, the Watermelon’s listened to "Wacky Wednesday" by Theo LeSieg and worked together to identify all of the wacky things the main character encountered throughout the story. Afterwards, the Watermelons found coloring worksheets scattered around the classroom in the most unusual locations. Some Watermelons found coloring worksheets under the table, while others colored on cabinet doors and play furniture. At snack, the Watermelon’s poured their Cheerios from a water pitcher and scooped apple sauce containers from a bowl. At the end of the day, the Watermelon’s recalled all of the funny and wacky events from the day. The wacky changes caused them to be flexible and laugh hysterically! Do you notice anything WACKY about our daily schedule?
On Thursday, the Watermelons spent the day admiring the work of author and illustrator Dr. Seuss in honor of his birthday! We are big fans of Dr. Seuss books in the Watermelon classroom! The students participated in a variety of fun Dr. Seuss themed activities throughout the day. To our surprise, a guest stopped by our classroom for a read aloud and coloring activity. The Watermelons got to meet the Cat in the Hat!!!! What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book? "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." - Dr. Seuss The Watermelons began their celebration of the 100th Day of School by entering the classroom through a rainbow of ribbons that were hanging from a "You're 100 Days Smarter!" sign. Everyone was so excited to walk through the magical entry way! Throughout the school day, the Watermelons celebrated their achievements in a variety of ways. The students participated in 100-themed activities such as building with 100 cups and making hats and decorating them with 100 dots. In addition, the Watermelons completed a silly worksheet targeting the number 100 (e.g., "If I had $100, I would buy 100 ice cream cones" and "I can do 100... jumping jacks!"). During goodbye meeting, laughter filled the room as teachers began sharing everyone's ideas! "I wish I had... 100 pieces of garbage" was a classroom favorite.
On Friday morning, the Watermelon's were invited to attend the Lily Pad's performance of Jan Brett's bestselling story, "The Mitten". Throughout the play, a variety of woodland animals find a warm and cozy mitten and crawl inside of it; first, a curious mole, then a rabbit, a badger and others, each one larger than the last. The winter tale of a boy and his mitten sparked both curiosity and excitement as the Watermelon's watched the adventure unfold! The snowy scenery, detailed costumes, and spectacular storyline captured the Watermelon's attention throughout the play, adding an exciting twist to the end of screen-free week! As part of screen-free week, the Watermelon's and Lego's participated in a craft and book buddy experience surrounding two beloved characters from Mo Willem's popular book series, "Piggie and Gerald". After crafting and choosing a book with their assigned partner, the characters/puppets came to life as each story began to unfold! Elephant and Piggie books are written in conversational style with Piggie's words appearing in pink letter bubbles and Gerald's appearing in grey letter bubbles. Laughter and excitement filled the room as each student used his/her puppet to act out Piggie and Gerald's silly and wild adventures! |
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