Recycle Project (Pillow Directions Only Below; Bird Feeder Directions were sent home-I hope to be able to scan them in later.)
One Legged Pillows This project is due January 31st.
Children may bring their pillows to school and begin using them as soon as they are completed, so I wanted to send this information out now
for those that would like to work on them over the holidays.
Materials Needed:
One old pair of adult jeans that are no longer wanted
Recycled material(s) of some kind to stuff the pillow
Some way to seal the pillow (seam binding tape, thread, string, etc.)
Decorations for outside
Suggested process for assembling:
Cut the leg off the pillow as if you were making a pair of
shorts. Then cut the leg again above the knee. Stuff
the material inside and then either sew both sides, tape
shut or tie shut like a duffel bag.
Students may then decorate the outside of the pillow
with permanent markers, buttons, lace, puff paint or
any other way.
Blue and Yellow groups will be able to do most of this project alone. Red and Green will need assistance.
The thrust of this project (besides having a nifty pillow to use that they made themselves,) is that useful items can be made from old items we no longer want or need. Please try not to buy new materials to make the pillow. We will be sharing all of the ways we came up with to reuse items.
Community Service Project
To supplement units on community and citizenship, and to focus a little on giving at this time of year, (instead of just receiving!), I am assigning a couple of projects that are due in January.
The first is a community service project that is due on January 13th. This need not be an intensive and complicated project. It is designed to introduce the children to the wonderful feeling that helping others brings to their lives. We will also be writing about our experiences.
1. Children need to pick someone or something outside of their home to help in some way. They should plan to spend at least one hour working on this project.
2. Children should plan with their parents when and how to help.
3. Children need to document their project through pictures or video and a note from the person helped if applicable.
4. Children need to have filled out their planning sheet and shared it with a teacher by Monday, December 19th.
The children and I have discussed ideas for their projects. Examples of past projects have included yard work for elderly neighbors, helping a busy neighbor with shopping and child care, cleaning up their neighborhood park, making artwork for a retirement home, collecting donated items for a pet rescue mission and volunteering at a soup kitchen.
Past project ideas that didn’t work were helping Grandma bake cookies or doing the dishes for mom. These are great things to do, but not really a community project. Please call with any questions you may have.
Mrs. Honeycutt 259-9092
Dec/Jan Home Projects (This is the note that went home the week of 12/5)
I usually send these two projects out together at this time of year because some families have extra time to work on them, are doing similar activities at home, and/or are seeing family over the holidays who might like to be involved.
Some reminders:
Our community service project is due January 13th. The planning pyramid sheet is due December 19th. Don’t forget to send pictures and a note with the finished project.:)
The recycle project is due January 31st.
If a student has not done a pillow in past years or needs a new pillow, please have him or her do that for the recycle project. Otherwise, please do the bird feeder. As always, if you have a better idea to make the pillow or feeder please do it your way!
Thanks so much for your support! Please call me with any questions.
Michele Honeycutt
259-9092
It’s Family Turkey Time!
Students are bringing home some plain, embarrassed turkeys. As a family, please decorate and cut out your turkey. Any materials can be used to make these turkeys strut! Past turkeys were decked out with feathers, magazine cut-outs, markers, crayons,(although we don’t want to use just crayons), paints, glitter, candy, cereal, leaves, stickers, and so much more. Please send your gorgeous gobbler back to class on Monday, November 11th for sharing and display. Thanks for your help with this family sharing activity. I am thankful for all of you! :)
Michele Honeycutt
259-9092
10/10/11
Fact Triangle Homework
Fact triangles are coming home tonight. They are to be studied each night and returned every day with a parent or guardian’s signature on the note. We use triangles to study facts instead of flashcards because they show the relationship between the numbers and can be used to practice both addition and subtraction or multiplication and division.
We have practiced using them correctly in class. For addition and multiplication, the number at the top of the triangle (under the dot) should be covered with your finger. For subtraction and division, one of the numbers on either side of the triangle is covered. Please focus on troublesome problems. Pick out five cards and do those until your child gets them all. Review the next night, and if they’re still easy, pick five more cards.
Students in grades three and four will soon be starting their timed tests. The students take them individually, and practice until they are ready for the real quiz. When they pass one level, they move up to the next. Nightly fact practice really moves this process along. Students seemed a little rusty on facts after last summer, and we still haven’t quite made it back to the speed we were in the spring. I know after a few weeks of fact study and timed tests, we will all be back in the saddle again!
Thanks for your help! Call me with any questions.
Mrs. Honeycutt
259-9092
Fact Triangle Homework
Fact triangles are coming home tonight. They are to be studied each night and returned every day with a parent or guardian’s signature on the note. We use triangles to study facts instead of flashcards because they show the relationship between the numbers and can be used to practice both addition and subtraction or multiplication and division.
We have practiced using them correctly in class. For addition and multiplication, the number at the top of the triangle (under the dot) should be covered with your finger. For subtraction and division, one of the numbers on either side of the triangle is covered. Please focus on troublesome problems. Pick out five cards and do those until your child gets them all. Review the next night, and if they’re still easy, pick five more cards.
Students in grades three and four will soon be starting their timed tests. The students take them individually, and practice until they are ready for the real quiz. When they pass one level, they move up to the next. Nightly fact practice really moves this process along. Students seemed a little rusty on facts after last summer, and we still haven’t quite made it back to the speed we were in the spring. I know after a few weeks of fact study and timed tests, we will all be back in the saddle again!
Thanks for your help! Call me with any questions.
Mrs. Honeycutt
259-9092
Word Wall Word (Spelling) Homework 10/3/11
Your child is bringing home his or her word study list today. Words must be studied Monday-Thursday with another person (preferably an adult, but trusted brothers or sisters are ok if an adult is not available.) Words may be studied over the weekend as well. Just write that in at the bottom and I will pay them for the extra studying, too. The checklist must be signed nightly by a parent or guardian and sent back to school each day in your child’s homework folder. Please fill out the amount of words correct each night as well. If there is a discrepancy between words correct when studying and words correct on tests, I need to know that so that we can conference about ways to help your child.
Red Group does not have spelling this year. Green Group, Orange Group, and some Yellow Group students will have site word mini-books to complete this year. They will all be sent home on Monday, and all should be completed by the following Monday. They should not all be left until Sunday to be completed. Please keep the word list and the completed, and incomplete, mini-books in your child’s homework folder, as I will be checking progress daily. Students with a take home list numbered to six only need to orally define the vocabulary words to you. Students with a take home list numbered to ten need to spell them as well.
Some Yellow Group (the ones that do not have mini-books to complete) and all Blue Group students will need to write a spelling story using as many of their words as possible. Any words that do not fit need to be written in a good sentence. A good sentence tells me the student knows the meaning of the word. “I like people” is not a good sentence to define the word people. “People are mammals because they have hair, are warm blooded, and give live birth” is a good sentence. (But you can’t use that one, lol!) These stories and sentences are assigned on Monday and due the next Monday. Please send them to school each day (even if incomplete) in the homework folder so that I can check progress and help with problems.
Some things to know....
We don’t always have tests weekly. Words incorrect on the quiz will be on the list again the next week. You will see words more than once on lists during the year as I notice from classwork that students need to review. Words come from the Haven Sight Words List. There is no set time they have to study; some words lists will take longer for your student than others. Please focus on the troublesome words when studying.
Thanks for your help! Learning these common words helps so much with writing as it cuts down on editing time. The vocabulary words are words we are using in writing this week, so knowing them helps greatly.
Red Group-Savannah Yellow Group-Kristen, Mackenzie, and William
Blue Group- Gabe, Tori, and Jacob Orange Group-Kai and Ethan
Green Group-Allison and Beth
Mrs. Honeycutt 259-9092
Heart Map
Cornerstone Home Project
Heart Map
Assigned 9/19/11 Due 9/30/11
Directions:
Please read through the material with your child and look at the example given. We have already done this in class as well.
Each heart map should include family/pets, hobbies, friends, favorite subjects/foods and anything else important to your child. Humor is encouraged!
Please brainstorm the above topics with your child. More important things should be bigger, less important things should take a smaller piece of the heart map. (See the example.) We have done a Kidspiration project in class to help with brainstorming.
After dividing up the heart map into sections and editing, please go over all words with marker, Sharpie, gel or glitter pens. Don’t forget to leave room for student art! Each heart can be decorated however your child wants. The sky is the limit! I would like to see lots of pictures, not just words. They may further decorate with glitter, yarn, anything that makes it unique, personal, and pleasing. Have fun!
Please encourage your child to work on this project a little each day. At least one day should just be for planning it out. Another for penciling it in. Please make sure they use PENCIL first and show it to you for editing before going over it with marker and adding pictures. This project should be as neat and artistically pleasing as possible. We will be displaying these, and then using them all year as children are selected as star students, so we want them to be proud of their work. Perfection is not the goal, pride and best effort is!
As always, unique ideas are encouraged, so the directions above are not set in stone. Below are guidelines for parental help.
K/1- Please help children as much as needed. Let them write as much as they can, but you may help them out when they need it. They should draw all pictures, but they will need help deciding how big to make each area and how it should be decorated. This is a parent/child project at this level.
2/3- Please help with planning, editing, and deciding. They should write all words and do all drawing. Parents may help somewhat with decorating (such as using glitter, cutouts, etc.)
4-Please help with planning and editing. All else should be done by your student.
Thanks for your help. Please contact me with any questions.
Mrs. H
259-9092
Heart Map
Assigned 9/19/11 Due 9/30/11
Directions:
Please read through the material with your child and look at the example given. We have already done this in class as well.
Each heart map should include family/pets, hobbies, friends, favorite subjects/foods and anything else important to your child. Humor is encouraged!
Please brainstorm the above topics with your child. More important things should be bigger, less important things should take a smaller piece of the heart map. (See the example.) We have done a Kidspiration project in class to help with brainstorming.
After dividing up the heart map into sections and editing, please go over all words with marker, Sharpie, gel or glitter pens. Don’t forget to leave room for student art! Each heart can be decorated however your child wants. The sky is the limit! I would like to see lots of pictures, not just words. They may further decorate with glitter, yarn, anything that makes it unique, personal, and pleasing. Have fun!
Please encourage your child to work on this project a little each day. At least one day should just be for planning it out. Another for penciling it in. Please make sure they use PENCIL first and show it to you for editing before going over it with marker and adding pictures. This project should be as neat and artistically pleasing as possible. We will be displaying these, and then using them all year as children are selected as star students, so we want them to be proud of their work. Perfection is not the goal, pride and best effort is!
As always, unique ideas are encouraged, so the directions above are not set in stone. Below are guidelines for parental help.
K/1- Please help children as much as needed. Let them write as much as they can, but you may help them out when they need it. They should draw all pictures, but they will need help deciding how big to make each area and how it should be decorated. This is a parent/child project at this level.
2/3- Please help with planning, editing, and deciding. They should write all words and do all drawing. Parents may help somewhat with decorating (such as using glitter, cutouts, etc.)
4-Please help with planning and editing. All else should be done by your student.
Thanks for your help. Please contact me with any questions.
Mrs. H
259-9092