October 30, 2020 | Ms. Bridget's Class

Dear Room 102 Parents,

What is the problem with twin witches?

You never know which witch is which! (Those are homophones!)

We started out the week reading a book called Koko’s Kitten by Dr. Francine Patterson with photographs taken by Ronald H. Cohn. It is the true story of a gorilla that used sign language to talk with her handlers and asked them for a kitten as a pet. The story focused on the remarkable gorilla and the unique relationship between the two animals. We were intrigued by this special friendship, so we also read a true story about a special bond between a hippo and a tortoise.

Have you ever thought about creating your own monster? What would it look like? What would its name be? Where would it be from and how would you get it? We created monsters…first drawn on paper and then out of clay, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and other art materials. See the pictures below!

A pumpkin activity had us exploring and discussing the weight, circumference, and height of the stems of the pumpkins that were donated to our class. After documenting our predictions, we used a scale and measuring tapes to collect the actual data.

A glyph (from the word hieroglyphic) is pictorial way to collect data. Each child made a pumpkin glyph answering specific questions, which determined what color stem, and the shape of the eyes, nose and mouth he/she needed to cut out and glue on to his/her jack-o-lantern.

Did you know that a puppy is born deaf, blind, and toothless? The only senses a puppy is born with are taste and touch. Around 3 weeks old, a puppy’s primary teeth begin to grow. By two months old, a puppy should have all 28 of their first set of teeth. By seven months, a puppy should have a full set of permanent teeth. An adult dog, on average, has 42 teeth…that’s 10 more that an adult human!

This week’s Scholastic issue was about the election and answered questions about how Americans choose the president, whether or not a kid can be a president, who grown-ups are voting for, and what happens on Election Day. We talked about the importance of voting, and I heard that so many family members have chosen to vote early.

The Humbug Witch by Lorna Balian has a hard time making potions. Her broom won’t fly and her laugh comes out as a giggle instead of a scary cackle. The first time we read the book, the children were not shown the illustrations. They had to be active listeners while drawing their own version of the little witch…with a big nose, a crooked black hat, orange gloves, long and red stringy hair, black shoes with a golden buckle, a black shawl, red and white stockings, and a plaid apron. There were so many adjectives! In the end, it is revealed that the witch is really a little girl playing dress up.

Today, dressed as a gorilla, I announced our new novel read-aloud and read the first few sections of…drum roll please…The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. It’s based on the true story of a silverback gorilla, Ivan, and a few other animals that are part of a circus act at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. The story is told from Ivan’s perspective and, although the mall billboard advertisement shows a scary and mean gorilla, Ivan is kind and gentile.

Notes: