Dear 3rd and 4th Grade Families,

Last week, during our local geography block, the students went outdoors to draw a detailed map of the farm. The map includes vegetable beds, essential structures, and our farm animals. Then, the students worked on a partial map of the school forest with the outdoor classrooms and places they visit during a typical school day. We also embedded language arts into the lessons by writing a friendly letter to a friend or family member. The students practiced writing street names and their addresses. They learned how to abbreviate street suffixes and to adequately label letters with the recipient’s and sender’s addresses. As an art component, the students created individual map tiles with pencils and watercolor that can be randomly puzzled into a larger map. They were excited to see how their tiles fit together with the tiles from the rest of the class. This week, the students will expand the geographic radius by looking at where they live and describing the way from home to school.

In addition, the class has been getting ready to sing at the school assembly on Thursday, Dec. 15th. We will assemble in the Sanctuary. Please mark your calendars. I look forward to meeting you there before we head into winter break.

Please join us at 11:30 on Thursday, December 8th to watch the class take their walk through the Winter Spiral if you are able.

Warm Regards,

Gaby Farrokhi

Reminders:

Thursday and Friday, Dec. 8&9: Winter Spiral
Week of Dec. 12-15: MUST Ministry Toy Drive
Wednesday, Dec. 14th: Pajama day and Class Party
Thursday, Dec. 15th: Grades Assembly (12:00-12:30)
Thursday, Dec. 15th: Last day of Fall semester (Half day, early dismissal)
Friday, Dec. 16th - Wednesday, Jan. 4: Winter Break
Thursday, Jan. 5th: Spring semester begins