Classroom News: Week of November 13th

Dear Barn Swallow Families,

Last week we began preparing the school garden beds for the winter.  Students learned about how to use fava beans as cover crops.  Fava beans are great to plant in the garden in the fall because they can handle the cold winter weather, they protect the soil from being compacted by the heavy rains, they take nitrogen from the air and deliver it to the soil, and you can even eat them!  Students learned about using leaves as mulch in the garden bed, inviting many worms.  We had a sunny and dry day in the garden and students made many observations, connections, and discoveries.

We had many students share their story workshop writing with the class.  Students chose to work with a variety of materials, from play dough to creating shadows with the projector, and worked on both fiction and non-fiction stories.  In math, first graders explored properties of addition using buttons and bugs.  Second graders were introduced to regrouping for addition using base ten pieces.  They continued to work on telling time to the exact minute.

Thank you for sending your child to school with rain gear and layers!  Being prepared for a variety of weather at school allows our class to be ready for recess fun outdoors, as well as keeps students comfortable during outdoor learning.

Thank you families!

Sincerely,

Sherry