Each Treehouse group rewrote a fairy tale, replacing the big, bad wolf with a real wolf (actually a pack of wolves since real wolves never travel alone.)  After writing and illustrating their story, each group acted out the story.  I am in the process of putting all of this into digital books.  Here is a preview.

Once in awhile, a game develops at recess, of the students’ invention, that everyone likes to play together at the same time.  The Lemurs have created a game called “Cops and Robbers”  that is very popular now at recess. often every student playing.

All of our colored balls are precious jewels… the green ball is an emerald, the red ball is a ruby, the yellow ball is gold, the purple ball is amethyst.  The playhouse is the Safe where the jewels are kept.  “Robbers” steal the jewels, “Cops” retrieve the jewels by tagging a robber, who then must return the jewel to the safe.  There are many more aspects to the game that is better described by your child.

We are creating a rainforest themed growth chart to auction at the Night of all Knights.  Each Lemur chose a rainforest animal to paint on a giant kapok tree.  Look for the growth chart in our hallway to see the progress.  It should be complete this week.

I brought in my son’s HESS Toy Truck collection.  He has been getting a truck every year for Christmas from his grandfather in Boston.   To say the Lemurs have been enjoying them is an understatement!  They are finding many creative ways to play with them.

This beautiful plate was a collaboration of our room parents and all of the Lemurs.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Video of Some Great Designs!

https://one.bidpal.net/questgala/welcome

The auction is coming up!  This is a really fun night when we all dress up, socialize, eat, dance, and bid on the great items up for auction.  Look in our hallway starting this week for progress on the Lemur Class Auction item…and hand painted growth chart.  Be sure to buy your tickets!

Wolves: Big and bad or loyal and intelligent?  Our room has transformed into a forest where live 2 wolf packs.  A pack of grey wolves and a pack of arctic wolves.  We will be learning about the attributes of real wolves and wolf families at the same time we are learning about the attributes of fairy tale wolves.  We will compare and contrast the different wolves.  To sum up the unit, students will create and act out their own fairy tale replacing the fictional wolf with a real wolf.

Monday
New Unit – Attributes of Wolves – Sitting by the wolf dens we talked about the make-up of a wolf pack and how our own families are like a pack.  We read the story Wolf Watch by Kay Winters, about how a wolf family works together to keep the pups safe from a nearby eagle.
Sequencing – The Story of the Three Little Pigs – Mrs. Swanson used the felt board to tell an interactive version of The Three Little Pigs.  Students then sequenced illustrations from the story into the correct order.
New Unit – Valentine Studio – What is a studio?  It is a place people go to create something.  The Lemurs can let their creativity fly this month in our Valentine Studio…tons of art materials available to use to make a unique valentine for each classmate.  We were inspired by the book The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond.

Tuesday
100th Day of School!
100 Roll Ice Cream – Using the Yay Labs! Ice Cream Ball we added cream, sugar, and vanilla to make delicious vanilla ice cream.  Students counted to 100 as they rolled the ball to each other on the floor.  The Lemurs added up all of their rolls…they rolled the ball 588 times.
Centenarian Portraits – Students made pictures of themselves when they are 100 years old!
Measuring 100 Items – Students used a measuring tape to measure how long their 100 items are once all lined up.

Wednesday
Reader’s Theater – The Three Little Pigs – using props and costumes, we acted out the story of The Three Little Pigs
Emergent Writing – Whiteboard Letters/Words -Students practiced writing letters and cvc words.
Read Aloud – The First Dog – We read the wonderful book The First Dog by Jann Brett.   This is the story of a cave boy who learns to value a paleowolf’s skills and companionship.

Thursday
Guided Reading/Epic! Books for Kids – I sat with each student and had them read to me/updated book bags.  Other students in group used Epic!  Books for Kids app.
Math/Construction – Wolf Den Blueprints – Each group worked as a team to construct a rectangular wolf den from our wooden building blocks.  Students then took measurements of the width and height of their den.  Lastly, they drew up a blueprint of the den labeled with dimensions.
Read Aloud – Balto, a True Story of the Bravest Dog – We read the riveting tale of Balto, the husky dog from Alaska who braved a storm to lead a team to deliver medicine to a sick town cut off from a blizzard.

Friday
No School – Snow Day