Stone Soup for Thanksgiving

We have discussed the first Thanksgiving in class, and have had experience with planting and harvesting our own vegetables throughout the year. This week we read the book Stone Soup by Ann McGovern. For our Thanksgiving feast, we created a Stone Soup of our own. The children brought in vegetables, washed, peeled, and cut them, and created a delicious stone soup to eat.

We are so Thankful

Thanksgiving is a time for each of us to slow down and give thanks for all of the many gifts that enrich our lives. Today we talked about what we know about Thanksgiving - turkey, apple, pumpkin and pecan pie, mashed potatoes. The children, as most adults I know do, focused on the food! We talked briefly about the first Thanksgiving and how thankful the first English settlers were for the food they had.
I asked the children what they were thankful for and here are some of their responses:
"I'm thankful for..."
Cole: "...my mommy taking me to The Wiggles, it was fun."
Emma: "...my sister playing babies with me a lot."
John: "...Halloween candy, my dog and cat and my sister Rachel."
Tanner: "...my mom gave me a new grabber. My tool bench, all my friends here and for you giving me a lesson on the 100 board."
Isabella B.: "...for my kitties."
Taze: "...for my new truck I'm really grateful that my mom and dad gave me this school because it has a lot of great friends."
Carley: "...that I have a friend Taze and that I go to go 'Hallowing' with him - we got some candy."

Hopewell News and Events

Thanksgiving break approaches! School will be closed November 19-23. Enjoy your holiday!

In an effort to improve our communication with you, our newsletter will be published consistently on the first and third Friday of each month, both in print (available in the office) and on this blog.
Mark your calendars to get the latest Hopewell Happenings! Thanks for your feedback on this subject!

In the spirit of the holiday season, we have two opportunities for you and your children to help those people in our community who are in need.
The MOMs Club of Acworth West is collecting wrapping paper and tape to be given away at the *Shop With a Hero* event at Kohl*s Department Store on December 8th.
We are also collecting new or gently used mittens, gloves, and hats to help keep families warm this winter.

Parent Conferences

Parent conference time is approaching. The parent conference is an opportunity for Laura to sit down one on one with parents to discuss your child’s progress. Please call the office or stop by to sign up for your conference. Conference times are available the week of November 12 at 11:00, 3:00, and 3:30. Conferences may also be scheduled Monday, November 19^th from 9:30-2:30. Child care is available at all conference times. Please schedule time for a 20 or 25 minute discussion. If you have two or more children in our class, please sign up at the 11:00 or 3:30 time slot to give us the opportunity to take as long as we need to discuss each of your children. If you have a conflict and need to schedule another conference time, please speak to Laura individually.

Pictures!

Individual and class pictures are available for viewing and ordering online at www.mbphotodesign.exposuremanager.com You can preview your child’s pictures and order prints to be delivered to your home, and send the link to grandparents, friends, etc. The gallery is password protected, there is a password hint on the page. If you have any questions, contact Megan Breece at mb_photodesign@yahoo.com or (404)323-0104.

Hopewell Happenings: Autumn Harvest

This autumn the children and I have enjoyed collecting and harvesting the last of the vegetables from our summer garden, tomatoes and bell peppers. We also began working on our winter garden digging and turning over the soil and adding in compost from our compost pile to enrich the soil and make it ready for our winter crops. Then we planted the winter crop of lettuce, red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes. We are looking forward to seeing those vegetables grow until we harvest them as well.

The children have enjoyed two books related to our gardening. The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone helps the children learn that it takes a lot of work to have delicious bread to eat. The second book, Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens, teaches the children that we can eat different parts of a plant – the roots (carrots and potatoes), the leaves (lettuce and cabbage), the stems (celery) and the flowers (broccoli and cauliflower). We have quite a variety planted in our garden and will experience eating the different parts once the plants are harvested!