To honor author and illustrator Dr. Seuss on his birthday, the Crayons celebrated all day long. We also read a Scholastic magazine to learn about Dr. Seuss and his books. We played a rhyming game on the SMART Board and identified some key rhyming words while reading Green Eggs and Ham. At the end of the day, we were greeted by a special guest - the Cat in the Hat! He arrived with a special gift for a each student and stayed for a yummy snack of all green foods: grapes, honeydew, apples, guacamole and green tortilla chips. On Friday, The Crayons visited The Transit Museum to explore different ways we travel around New York City. The museum entrance looked like a subway station. We had to go downstairs to begin our journey. Our first stop was a 'picnic' lunch in the cafeteria. Then, we went to an art room where each Crayon made a bus with wheels. Next, we went further downstairs to an old subway station platform. We compared a new train to an old train. The seats felt different, the lights were different shapes, and there were no poles on old trains! After our visit to subway the platform, Crayons took turns "driving" a city bus! We used Metro Cards to pass through the turnstiles on our way out of the museum. Congratulations to the Crayons for completing Screen-Free Week! Not only did each student participate in so many screen-free activities at home, we also stayed screen-free all week at school. We did not use our SMART Board, iPad games, or computer videos. Each day, we kept track of all of our screen-free activities including our field trip to the Whitney Museum, playing musical instruments, swimming, playing on the roof, and having a snowball fight in the classroom. For more photos from our trip to the Whitney Museum, please visit the Gillen Brewer Art website at www.gbsartroom.weebly.com .Today, Crayons welcomed their Very Important Person into the classroom. Together, we enjoyed some of our favorite games- Pancake Pile-Up and S'Match! We also worked with our VIP to create a photo frame. We ended the special visit by making a delicious and healthy fruit salad. Yum! Throughout the month of January, the Crayon students were visited by some very special guests - their families! We have been learning about what makes each family special, what traditions and holidays we celebrate, and how our families are the same and different. Each visit began with a special family book created at home by the student and his/her family. Then, a special family tradition was shared with the class. Some families shared a cooking activity, videos from long ago, dance party celebrations, and books. The Crayon teachers and students are so thankful to all of the family members that were able to join us in making our family unit such a memorable one. To celebrate meeting our first school-wide reading goal, the students had a pajama party! The Crayons enjoyed hot chocolate, popcorn, and a special real aloud. They worked together to make the hot chocolate and ate snack while listening to "Rabbit's Pajama Party" by Stuart J. Murphy. What a great way to celebrate how much the students have been reading at home. Thank you to all of the families who have documented this success! On Wednesday, December 21st Gillen Brewer celebrated the incoming season with Winter Wonder Day. Various winter-themed activites were set up all over the school.
Some activites included making winter boxes, putting on temporary tattoos, sand art, watching the movie Frozen, and playing with artificial snow. The Crayon students had fun exploring each room and its materials. Today The Crayons welcomed a few new members in our classroom community. Braque brought four spiders for us to observe. Then, we created a habitat for the spiders to live. Everyone explored rocks and took turns building the spiders' home by scooping rocks into the spider tank. A teacher carefully placed the spiders into their new home as each student named a spider. Meet: Buddy, Human Spider, Braque the Spider, and Rubble!On November 9, 2016 Lily the dog and Nina came to visit the Crayon classroom. Spending time with Lily always puts a smile on the Crayons' faces. First, each student got to take her for a walk. Some students decided to read her a book while others decided to brush her. During Lily's visit everyone practiced using safe hands. We look forward to her next visit!
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