Happy Spring Break!

Hi, all!

Happy Spring Break!  I hope your Spring Break is off to a fabulous start and that all of you have been enjoying this beautiful weather!  As always, we had another busy yet exciting week in Ms. Beller's room.  First off, we continued our discussion of needs and wants.  The kids spent some time reflecting on exactly what are needs and wants by sorting pictures into one of those two categories.  This activity sparked such a great discussion among your students, especially when it came to food.  We spent a lot of time talking about what kinds of food and drinks you need to live and what kinds you don't need.  I absolutely loved listening to their thoughts and hearing them defend why they placed a picture in a certain category.  It truly was a great discussion!  When we come back from Spring Break, we will start discussing goods and services.  Ms. Beller has lots of fun activities planned that I am sure the kids will really enjoy.

Here is a picture of the needs and wants sort!

We have also been quite busy in math.  Your students have been learning all about graphs - how to create them as well as how to use them to interpret information.   We have been studying subtraction as well, and, after Spring Break, your students will creating their own subtraction story problems. 

Just a reminder, on Thursday, April 12, we will be going to Marbles Museum for our field trip.  The kids have been talking about this trip for weeks, and they all can't wait to go!  Tuesday afternoon (April 10) Ms. Beller will be arranging for students without their permission slip and money to spend the day in another classroom.  Please be sure to send in these items with your child by Tuesday, April 10, so that no one misses out on this exciting opportunity.

As always, thank you so much for all your support at home.  Enjoy your Spring Break, and I look forward to seeing everyone in April! 

Educationally Yours,
Ms. Bruner

Needs & Wants

Hi, all! 

I hope everyone had a fantastic and restful weekend despite the rather dreary weather.  What a way to kick off spring!  As always, last week certainly proved to be quite a busy and fun-filled week.  For starters, we began our study of needs and wants and how families and communities work together to satisfy both.  First, we read A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams.  A Chair For My Mother is a heartwarming story about a little girl whose family loses everything they own in a devastating fire.  Not only does an entire community rally behind them, but the little girl and her family also work together to buy the most perfect, comfy chair for all to enjoy by saving all their spare change.  This story sparked a fantastic discussion among the kids.  Afterwards, each of them drew a picture of something they would like to have given the little girl if they had known her and identified whether the item they drew fulfilled a need or a want.  Then, we assembled each of their drawings together to make a “quilt” of needs and wants for the little girl in the story. 

Here is a picture of our quilt! 

We also read Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money.  In this story, Papa Bear grows tried of Brother and Sister Bear’s spendthrift ways, so he decides to teach them all about saving.  After reading the story, the kids got to make their very own piggy banks.  For the next several weeks, your student will earn “money” for completing in-class assignments in the time allotted and also for good behavior.  After earning enough money, they will then be able to purchase an item from the treasure box.  The kids are really excited about this and cannot wait to start earning their own money!  

Just a reminder that this Friday (March 30) is a teacher workday, and the following week is Spring Break.  I hope you are all able to enjoy some time off with your child!  As always, thanks so much for all of your support, and I hope each of you has a wonderful week! 

Educationally Yours,

Ms. Bruner