Saturday, December 7, 2013

Elf stuff, Christmas, Holiday concert

The return of 'Elf on the Shelf'
Well, it happened, we read the book and the Elf on the Shelf appeared the next day bringing little gifts and jokes. I love this picture! My students are so excited to see where the elf is hiding they forget to take off winter coats and boots and just march on in. The name of this elf has been decided...Holly Ginger Winter...sounds like a movie star name :)
The Dreidel game we played to learn about Hanukkah! Lots of fun!


The Holiday concert is scheduled for Thursday December 12th. There is an afternoon concert (1:45 p.m.) that you may attend or an evening concert at (7:00 p.m.). Students are expected to perform at both concerts if possible. I have sent a note home to indicate the dress of the Grade Two students performing as per Mrs Kirk's direction. The gym will be decorated with lots of student artwork so there will be lots to hear, see and do. Students may come up to my room prior to the concert (15 or 20 minutes before is fine) and I will watch them while you get your seats. Then they will be waiting for you up in my room. Some parents like to pick their students up right away so they can see a brother or sister perform later in the show. This is fine if you can do so without too much disruption.


Clubs in January
In January I like to get rid of the winter blahs by allowing my students an opportunity to stay in one recess and do some activities. I'm thinking this year I could do one 'Rainbow Loom' recess and one 'Learning to knit' recess. I do have a number of older students that I have taught to knit that are willing to help us learn. If you think your child might be interested then you will need to get them some knitting needles and wool ( I have some but I find I go through a lot when I do this). I have had great success teaching some students to knit while others may not have developed the fine motor skills and can get discouraged. An alternative that is fun is a 'corking' machine. There are some lovely wooden ones at the store 'Spun' on Fairview Street or I have seen some plastic ones in Walmart. Some students experience great success with this to start and then can move onto knitting when and if they are ready. When I first started knitting club, I assumed only girls would be interested but I was wrong. So, if you are looking for some small little gifts for Christmas then I might suggest the following:
*Size 4 or 5 bamboo needles (smaller ones work well for little hands, double pointed is fine as we can just put elastic on the ends). The older style steel needles are ok but harder for smaller hands as they are slippery, a little large and can be slightly dangerous when running down the hall. 

*Wool- medium weight is fine. Acrylic or wool. Don't get the expensive stuff from the wool shops just yet. Some basic wool from Michaels, Walmart or even the dollar store is fine. Just don't buy anything too skinny.

* Corking/Spool knitting  (wood or plastic...doesn't matter)
                       Here is a video to explain what I am talking about
Click here for Spool knitting video
(It's a bit long so just watch a few minutes to see what you need)



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