December 16

Upcoming Dates/ Reminders:

• Reading minutes are due Monday
• No word work this coming week due to the many Christmas activities
• Tuesday- December 20.  We will be caroling at Resthaven on 40th street from 1:15-1:45.  The plan is to walk to Resthaven so bundle your kids up!  However, if it is as cold as today, we will be getting a bus.  
• Wednesday- December 21.  Gingerbread Houses in the gym from 8:30-10:00.  The class is SO excited for this event and I am thrilled to have so many of you joining us!
• Positive Options- Wednesday, December 21.  Right after Gingerbread houses, Positive Options (formally Lakeshore Pregnancy Center) will be at Pine Ridge for a special chapel to collect all of the items we have been gathering for them.  Our class has brought in 106 baby items!  Thank you for blessing Positive Options in this way.
• Thursday- December 22.  Class Christmas Party from 2:15-3:00.  A huge thank you to Sara Wierenga, Christi Nadig, and Patti Laninga for planning this event for the kids.
• Friday- December 23.  Math game day at the Middle School.  We will be walking to the Middle school as well so once again make sure your child has their warm snow gear ready to go!  We will be at the Middle School from 9:15-10:00.
• Luke 2:6-20 is due on Friday, December 23.  I will have students recite it to me on this day if they have not turned in their form from home.  
• December 26- January 8  Christmas Break

Curriculum Highlights:
Reading:  Our book clubs are coming to a close.  I wish all of you could hear the kids as they discuss their books.  They are looking for evidence in their books to prove their thinking as they meet with their peers and the discussions are so rich!

Writing:  We finished editing our personal narratives this week and began working on our final copy.  We will be having our Writing Celebration next week with Mrs. DeZwaan's class.

Bible:  We read about Laban and Jacob this week and how both of these men would deceive each other.  We saw how God continues to bless Jacob as he leaves Laban and goes back to his family and home to his brother Esau.  We saw forgiveness with Esau and how God heals relationships.
We are also focusing on the Christmas story and we are busy reciting Luke 2:6-20 each day in class.

Science:  We continued our unit called Changes in Motion this week as we learned about force, variables, friction, and gravity.  All of our lessons involve fun experiments which the kids love.

Math: We concluded our unit on time, measurement, and graphing this week and completed our Math test today.  Look for these tests to come home next week!

Blessings!
Lynae