Sunday, January 29, 2017

CHINA DAY!

Friday, January 27th - China Day in 4th Grade!

Welcome to the Year of the Rooster!  With the help of ten wonderful volunteers, the 4th grade celebrated the beginning of our study of China.  The girls were divided into five groups, and each group rotated to five different activities.  These were painting a Fu (good luck) sign, making Chinese lanterns, solving tangram puzzles, creating a Chinese dictionary, and listening to stories about China. We were then treated to a wonderful lunch in the science center thanks to the generosity of Cafe Zen and ended the day by enjoying the movie Mulan in the classroom.  Many, many thanks to all our wonderful volunteers - we could not have done it without you!  Happy Chinese New Year!











Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Typing/Keyboarding Skills

As the computer science curriculum continues to expand in the Lower School, we have decided to remove the keyboarding unit from classroom instructional time.  Below are recommended resources that your daughter can use at home to practice and improve her keyboarding skills.


Typing.com offers free lessons for your child.  You have the option of creating user name and password or completing the lessons without an account.  The benefit to having an account it tracking progress.



Typing Club offers touch typing for free.  Again, you can create an account or completing the lessons without one.  This site has good reviews from Common Sense Media.

The most important thing when learning how to type is repeated practice.  There are many other resources available online if you daughter is ready to go beyond these suggestions!

Sunday, January 15, 2017

2017 Reading Challenge!

The 4th Grade girls have been given a reading challenge for 2017......

By the end of school, can you complete the challenge by reading books that fit the following criteria? Check off each item as you finish, and write the book title next to the challenge. (You may fulfill 2 challenges with the same book.)
Can you read a book …

1.  published in the year you were born______________________________

2.  that takes place in another country_______________________________

3.  with a color word in the title___________________________________

4.  by an author with your initials__________________________________

5.  with a one-word title_________________________________________

6.  with a mostly blue cover_______________________________________

7.  that takes place during summer__________________________________

8.  you can finish in a day_________________________________________

9. that is a friend’s favorite________________________________________

10.that is non-fiction about someone you admire________________________

11.that is a genre you’ve never read before____________________________

12.  with magic in it_____________________________________________

13. that is the first in a series______________________________________

14.that won a Newbery award or honor ______________________________

15.  with a cover that you like______________________________________

16.  published in 2017____________________________________________

17. with a food or drink in the title__________________________________

18.that is a picture book (read it aloud to someone)______________________

19. written by a Maryland author___________________________________


20. that makes you laugh__________________________________________

Believe it or not, many of the girls have already filled in several of the titles of books they have completed just this past week.  We encourage anyone who would like to participate to join us in meeting this challenge and broadening your reading horizons!