Specials Spring Update

K-2 students at Woodland just finished units in paddle and racquet sports. Students learned about the games of pickle ball, table tennis, badminton, and tennis. They also participated in stations and small-sided games using the equipment from these sports.

Students have also started a unit in Volleyball. They have been practicing their volleying skills with large balloons. The set and bump (forearm pass) were introduced and practiced with partners.

March is National Nutrition Month! Students have been learning about the 5 food groups in class. We also spend time talking about the importance of making healthy food choices and learning what types of foods fit into the 5 food groups.

Students have been working hard to finish their Code.org courses in Digital Literacy!

We will be moving towards doing some fun activities in all grades.

Students are continuing to progress with their coding skills, typing skills, and always have a chance to be creative at the end of class with some interesting art programs.

Students have also been working with Bee Bots and exploring some interesting books on computer science.

Everyone is doing awesome and we are looking forward to some awesome projects towards the end of the year!

Spring has sprung here in the art room! I hope you had the chance to check out your student's artwork for Square 1 Art and will consider buying something to support us here at Woodland! They worked so hard on their masterpieces and even I was excited to see the finished products and of course, the STICKERS!

• In Grade 2, we were learning about Salvador Dalí and what surrealism is. It's definitely one of my favorite lessons to teach because Dalí is so weird and that style of art is definitely eye catching! Next up on the agenda: Model Magic cupcakes! 🧁
  
• First graders are diving back into color theory. We were scientists and artists when we used pastels to create an umbrella color wheel and blended the primary colors to make the secondary ones. Now we're working on adorable primary & secondary color mice with a surprise guest! 🐭
  
• Kindergarteners made adorable pig princes and princesses, complete with a golden crown. We also talked about what a sculpture is, and made one using Model Magic and pipe cleaners! 🐷

All grades are thinking ahead and starting to prepare for our collaborative art project for the spring concert. Our winter display is going to be hard to beat, but I've got something up my sleeve!

Did you know Antarctica is a desert? Your students do! In STEM, students in all grades began learning about habitats and the organisms that live there. We started by learning about what make something a habitat ("a place where an animal lives and has everything it needs to survive") and then moved on to learning about specific ones.

First, we talked about the Polar Habitat and how it exists in 2 places on Earth. Some students were surprised to find out that polar bears and penguins live on opposite sides of the world and would never meet in the wild. Even more students were surprised to learn that Antarctica is actually a desert!

From there we moved on to hot deserts. I continue to be impressed by just how much your students already know! We've started talking about plants and animals that live in deserts, and students have been working on making cactus projects. Next stop - the rainforest!

We have been having so much fun in the music room! Students have really enjoyed listening to Rhiannon Giddens, March's Musician of the Month, and we are all really looking forward to seeing who next month's musician will be.

Kindergarten students have been practicing using their "just right" singing voices and now, we have begun to study The Carnival of the Animals. We read a picture book by John Lithgow and we have been listening to the music by French composer Camille Saint-Saens.

In First Grade, we have just finished learning about silence in music and students were able to compose and perform their own songs. Now, we have begun to explore longer sounds and musical form.

Second Grade students have now added a new note to their repertoire - "do", which is a home note. Next, we'll be learning about passing notes and how they help us compose. We have a very special composing project that we will be working on in April.

Our Spring Concert is on Friday, May 17. I am so excited to start learning the music with everyone!