'Tis the season!

As 2011 (and the first part of our school year) draws to a close, we are having lots of fun in room 137. The last week has been a flurry of activity as we try to get some things finished up, as well as working on some art projects. We have almost finished Number The Stars, which was a huge hit with the kids. Our ambitious Papier Maché project will be finished tomorrow (knock on wood), as will our work with basic Canadian geography.

Tomorrow is the day of our Christmas party, and will also be a "pyjama day". It amazes me that wearing pyjamas to school can be so much fun, but what do I know? We're going to have some hot cocoa and snacks, and probably do a few fun Christmassy activities.

Several of my students were selected to pariticpate in the school-wide Talent Show, which we are all very thrilled about. It will be fun to watch them up on stage. All students who auditioned will be officially recognized by the Spirit Committee before Christmas.

There is no homework tonight, as I am sure there is already plenty on the go in your busy lives. Have a good evening, and please email if you have any questions or concerns.

Useful math sites

We are moving into geometry and measurement before Christmas, and I showed the students some fun sites today. Here are links to a few of them, and more are available through the links on the right sidebar.

Pentominoes! This games looks at many geometric and problem-solving situations.

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_114_g_2_t_3.html

Ladybug Mazes: Students use basic computer programming skills to direct a ladybug through a maze

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_141_g_2_t_3.html

Turtle Geometry: A slightly more complicated version of the Ladybug game

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_178_g_2_t_3.html

Geoboards!

 

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_166_g_2_t_3.html?open=activities&from=category_g_2_t_3.html

On a different note, this link is good for practicing multiples of a given number. It uses Pascal's triangle, a common way of representing patterns in multiples of real numbers.

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/ColoringMultiples/