Happy Holidays

The holidays are almost here!

Plans are in place for a fun holiday party for Ms. Musters' Class!

The party will be on Thursday, December 16th after lunch.(1:30).

Party fun includes, contributing to their community by making cards for Sheltering Arm Senior Services (located behind our school), collecting items for the Sheltering Arms Adopt-a-Senior Gift Basket Program, making snowflakes to take home and snacking while doing so! We will deliver all the items on Thursday before the party and sing a few songs to spread some holiday cheer.

We are asking that parents donate one item off of the Sheltering Arms Pantry list (see below).

There will be a field trip permission form coming home Tuesday for Sheltering Arms.

Parents are welcome to walk over with us!

Happy Holidays!

Sheltering Arms Senior Services
Adopt-A-Senior Gift Basket Program
Gift Ideas:
• Old-fashioned telephones (work in bad weather)
• Large-numbered clocks, battery-powered
• Snuggies
• Metrolift tickets
• Taxi vouchers
• Large Print Books or Bibles
• Gift Cards for Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Kroger. Seniors can use these to purchase medicine and fresh foods.
• Postage stamps
• Easy Feet
Clothing:
• Slippers, all sizes
• Robes and night gowns
• Housecoats
• Socks
• Sports Hats
• Sweaters, sweatshirts – all sizes
• Blankets, lap robes
• Pillows
Personal Care Items:
• Cleaning and laundry supplies: detergent, cleaners, sponges
• Adult incontinence items (pull-ups, especially) all sizes, male and female
• Paper products: Toilet paper, paper towels, napkins
• Personal care products: soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.
• Ibuprofen and other generic medications
• Diabetic Testing Strips and Supplies
Food Items:
• Canned Vegetables: Corn, Peas, Green Beans, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, beans, mixed vegetables, etc. (low sodium when possible)
• Canned Meats: Tuna, chicken, etc.
• Canned Meals: Pasta, stews, etc.
• Canned/jars: Fruit, applesauce
• Canned soups
• Macaroni and cheese
• Canned milk
• Vegetable Oil
• Juices (no sugar added when possible)
• Ensure/Glucerna
• Spaghetti sauce
• Pasta, rice and beans, boxed and bagged
• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Cereals: Instant and 3-minute oatmeal grits; dry cereal

Nutcracker Ballet

Third grade had wonderful seats at the ballet. The show was magnificent and everyone was mesmerized, including me! Thank you parents for helping with this event!

On our way to the Nutcracker

Having a little fun along the way!

Sinterklaas

Did you know that in The Netherlands, Sinterklaas day is December 5th and 6th. The Fantastic Frogs are learning about different holidays from different cultures. Actually, our current American version of Santa Claus came from the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas. One favorite of the Dutch children is leaving their wooden shoes (klompen) by the fireplace filled with hay and carrots for Sinterklaas' horse. The hay and carrots are replaced, of course, with special treats. We left our shoes on Friday and Monday morning we came back to school to find treats! In Ms. Musters' klompen we found a riddle that led us to our new mascot: a giant Fantastic Frog!
Dank u Sinterklaas! The day ended with a special visit from the Dutch experts: Mr. and Mrs. Musters. They also brought as a treat a special Dutch cookie called speculaas. Dank u wel!

Water Research

We are ending our water planner by working in small groups to research water on the seven continents. Students have been exploring websites on the Internet and reading books gathering facts about their continent. This will culminate in each group creating a product of their choice to present to the class.

Water Planner

The Fantastic Frogs learned a lot about water around the world. We discovered that there are people in the world who do not find water as easily as we do. Did you know that some children have to walk miles to obtain water. Through this water planner we learned the importance of conserving water. We discovered the scientific name for the water cycle: hydrologic cycle and added a new piece to the cycle - transpiration. Transpiration is the evaporation of water through the leaves of a plant. Our water acrostic poems include all this new found information. Way to go, Fantastic Frogs!