This month in Mountain Laurel Cottage...

December was short, but we still have news to share! The children enjoyed attending the Nutcracker Ballet. They did amazingly well, considering how much time we had to wait to be seated, and then, after the show, we also had to wait long before our group could leave the theater. But in general, they enjoyed the show.
We will have a new student joining Mountain Laurel in January, her name is Irene Detke, and she is moving up from Primary, where she was a student in Fox Tail. Irene visited us for a couple of days this week, and everyone met her. We also got to say goodbye to two friends, Emilia and Elliot, who will be moving on to new adventures next semester, 
Lots of cooking and going outs, lots of fun lessons, art projects, and music filled our classroom these last 2 weeks. 
In Math, many new students were introduced to the Chequerboard (multiplication) or introduced to a new level, like more digits or mental carrying. Many lessons on long division also went on, using either Racks and Tubes or Group Division. Older students reviewed the concept and language of the square of a number and moved on to learn the cube of a number. Last but not least, I was finally able to tell the Story of our Numerals!!! To tell the Great Stories, I make sure all new students in the classroom are present. In the past two months, we have had many students absent, so the first time we had full attendance, I told them the story. Many were amazed to learn that the numbers we use are called Arabic numerals. 
In language, we have been diving deep into the meaning of the parts of the speech. Some students have been writing wonderful paragraphs using different techniques. Others are having fun finding prefixes and suffixes for different root words.
In Geometry, older students have been practicing measuring angles, and some younger students are learning what an angle is and the different types of angles. 
In Biology, we have been learning about the function of the leaf and the body functions of different animals. 
We have been practicing a few holiday songs daily, and the students are very excited to serenade you on Friday. 
Please remember you can always come and observe our classroom. Please sign up here to schedule your observation. We will add more dates for next semester during the first week of January. 

What’s next
The Elementary Bonfire is Dec 15th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Bring your chairs, blankets, drinks, and food for you and your family. You may bring flashlights or headlamps for your children to enjoy the Elementary playground at night. Please, NO glowsticks - they end up as trash all over the playground.

Pajama/Fun  HALF Day and Serenade:  Our beloved tradition of pajama day is this coming Friday, Dec. 16th. Yes! your children can come to school in their PJs (for that day, if they want to bring a pajama that has characters in it, it is allowed). Students can also bring one board game and one stuffed animal. Please label everything. No need to bring lunch that day because it is early dismissal. I will provide snacks (cookies and apple cider). If your child is vegan/gluten intolerant, please send a snack with them. 


Ways to help our classroom

• We need volunteer drivers for our Going Outs, please let us know your availability here
• Please sign up here to bring Flowers at LEAST once during the school year
• Donations from the Classroom Amazon Wish list

Thank you for sharing your children with us, we wish you a wonderful, safe and restoring Winter break.
Warm Wishes,

Maya and Claire