At first glance, it looks like a “cute” activity and one that really engages the children, but it is much more than that.  First, children get a real understanding of the area of an object and how it is counted in square units.  This is something that gets revisited many times over the years but becomes more sophisticated in each revisit.  Next, the children use their estimating skills at a time in their life when they just want to be “right.”  Because they have done lots of estimating in kindergarten and first grade, they begin to realize that an estimate is only a guess and does not have to be correct – math is not as exact as one might think!  Additionally, because they are introduced to estimating very early in our curriculum, they become much better at it as the years go on, and it is one of the most helpful tools in math throughout life.  How often do we wonder why a child gets an answer that seems so far off without realizing that it must be wrong?  With our emphasis on estimating, these mistakes are usually discovered by the students as they grow in math.  You can often hear them say, “That can’t be right – I’d better try it again.”  The lesson ended with the students having to count the cubes in twos, fives and tens.  Although all of the children can count by these intervals, it is a challenging task to figure out what you do with the cubes that are left over.  By comparing their answers, they have to problem-solve if the answers do not come out the same.  So, once again, what looks like a pretty simple task ends up being a well-thought-out and challenging exploration.

The Used Uniform Sale brought in over $500!  Since most items cost about $3 each, we sold approximately 166 items.  Thanks to all the people who donated their used clothing, to those who worked at the sale, and to those who attended.  It is a nice way to supplement a Lower School purchase (in this case the ribbon wall) and to provide gently-used clothes to our children.

Friday, February 2nd is the Annual MPA Family Book Festival Evening from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.  I am flying back from a conference in Chicago just in time to get to some of the festivities, so I hope to see you there.

Monday, February 5th is the Annual Disney Concert put on for the Lower School by the Upper School Orchestra.  I am narrating the program and will arrive in my pajamas, so I hope the rest of you will come in yours. The program is in the Nicholson Center and begins at 6:30 p.m.

This entire week is a week of conferences; a time to check in with your child’s homeroom teacher to see how well your child is doing with their goals.  It is also a wonderful time to let your children’s teachers know what is going well and to bring up any concerns you might have.  We pride ourselves on our communication, and this is the perfect chance to communicate with your child’s teacher.

 Thursday, February 8th is both a Lower School Parent Meeting at 8:30 a.m. and Duty-Free Lunch at 12:10 p.m.  Our main topic at the Parent Meeting is science in the Lower School.  I will take some time to go over our scope and sequence in science, and then we will have a few teacher presentations so you can become more familiar with what we do in science in the Lower School.  You are always welcome at Duty-Free Lunch.  The more helping hands, the better.

There is no school on Friday, February 9th due to conferences.  Panther Club is available, but please register ahead of time so we staff it properly.  The fourth grade has planned an ice skating outing at the Guidant John Rose MN Oval in Roseville from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on the 9th.  RSVP for that event to Mary Rolfs at rbrolfs@comcast.net.  This event is not part of Panther Club.

We are declaring the week of February 12th as “Kindness Week” in the Lower School.  Since it is the week of Valentine’s Day, we are going to ask the children to extend their kindness to others in a variety of ways.  On Valentine’s Day, the students will be able to wear red, pink, purple or something with hearts on it.  This always makes us look so colorful and can help remind us of the celebration of Valentine’s Day and our need to be kind to others.  Please take some time with your children to discuss how they might be kind to others.  Your input is always helpful.