Videos: Bryson's Winter Concert + New Paltz/NYC Winter Fun + Christmas in Ohio

Bryson's winter concert (he is in the middle row (6th from the left).

https://vimeo.com/248729310

Winter fun with Star Wars snowmen, Sugarhill Museum with Ayo, Math Museum, Rockefeller Center with Daddy, Washington Square Park, and New Paltz storytime.

Donny Hathaway - "This Christmas"

Video here


Ohio Christmas - Bryson and Scarlet present opening frenzy

Harry Connick Junior - "Let It Snow"

Video here

 

New Paltz Chess + Star Wars Snow People + Art

Santaland + Bryson's Winter Concert + Rockefeller Center + Ohio Christmas Story

We visited Santa at Macy's and Lolo got this quick photo before Scarlet freaked out and ran away.

Bryson's winter concert at Hunter.

Passed out.

At Madison Square Park.

At Rockefeller Center.

With Marie - it has been 18 years since we were roommates back in the Air Force.

Alex took Nana to A Christmas Story for Christmas.

 

Bryson Kindergarten Class Photo

Video: Bryson & Scarlet Dancing to Silver Bells

Pretty cute - despite Scarlet looking like she's got a little neck tick going on :)

Wilson Pickett, "Silver Bells"

Video here

Video: The Making of a Snow Person (UCLA Fan)

Building a snow person (UCLA style) + sledding in our New Paltz backyard

Bing Crosby, "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas"

Video here
 

Video: Steinway Tour

Alex's gift to me for my 40th Birthday - a tour of Steinway

The Supremes, "My Favorite Things"

Video here

Video: New Paltz with Lolo

Jumping in the leaves in New Paltz, Thanksgiving art, hiking with Lolo in New Paltz, Washington Square Park, and visit to Santa at Macy's and Bryson's letter to Santa.

Lou Rawls, "Santa Clause is Coming to Town"

Video here

Video: Ohio Holidays

Visit to Santa, Thanksgiving with Alex's family, Scarlet eating and messy, Children's Museum

Elvis Presley, "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me"

Video here

Hunter: Bryson's 4th Grade Buddy

An update from Bryson's teacher:

 

We are continuing to learn different word families.  We practiced reading an -at word family poem last week.  The children clapped or silently cheered when we read an -at word.  We have also been exploring books in our classroom library.  

We have practiced skip counting by 2s using a large number line.  We counted how many children were in school and created an attendance stick (a long stick of linking cubes, with each cube representing a student who was in school that day).  We are going to continue working on sorting and learning about attributes.  

After reviewing the parts of an apple, the students cut out the names of each part and glued to an apple diagram.  The children also learned about some new building materials in our science area (magnetic tiles, Legos, and a playground design kit).  

 

Another update:

 

We read the big book, To Town, this week.  We also began to learn about the short a sound.  The -an word family was reviewed and we listed words that belong in the -at word family.  We have also moved on from Kevin Henkes and are now reading books by Leo Lionni.  Last week, we wrote our names on our Handwriting Without Tears book and practiced our pencil correctly. 

In mathematics, we continued to explore different ways to use pattern blocks.  We also learned about patterns.   Patterns repeat themselves.  During our discussion, we listed different ways we can make patterns, ABAB, ABBABB, ABCABC, and then created patterns with our pattern blocks.  The children also drew patterns that are now hanging in the classroom.  

We read more books about apples.  After reading some books, we discussed and listed the parts of an apple.  Next, we watched a short video (about 4 minutes) about Johnny Appleseed on BrainPopJr.  

 

At Hunter, they pair 4th graders with Kindergarteners to build community. They meet every other week and do activities like apple tasting. Here is Bryson with his buddy, Pieress.

 

Hunter Foot

At Hunter, Bryson's math class isn't about memorization but about integrating with reading, problem solving, and figuring things out on his own with friends (like real life!). Check out the update from Hutner's math specialist below.

We began the year with a school-wide theme of data analysis.  Some grades created their own graphs about each other’s preferences while others graphed the amount of time spend doing certain daily activities.  Students analyzed data and looked at how data might be misleading.

 

Additionally, grades K-6 learned about how the measure that was used to represent a foot has changed throughout the years.  We compiled our foot size data in order to choose a “Hunter Foot” that would be representative of our students.  8 inches, which was the mode, or the most repeated answer of our data was chosen to be our “Hunter Foot.”

 

Some feet things to think about:

A)   What would your family’s foot size be?

B)   If a “Hunter Foot” is 8 inches, how long might a “Hunter Hand” be?

C)   If a “Hunter Foot” is 8 inches, how tall might a “Hunter Student” be?

D)   How many “Hunter Feet” long is your dining room table?

Hunter Updates + Baby Pigeons

As we move through the school year, the youngest Hawks are forming strong friendships, adapting to the routine of their schedules, and being introduced to Hunter’s holiday traditions and festivities. At Grandfriends Day, the kids performed four classic songs and played Grandfriends Bingo. For Halloween, they marched in the annual parade, where they showed off an amazing array of creative costumes. Then they joined parents in the classrooms for a variety of Halloween-themed games, crafts, and activities, such as cupcake decorating, making Q-tip skeletons and pipe-cleaner spiders, a beanbag toss, and more. A few weeks later, for Fun Friday, kids and teachers hosted parents again to play Thanksgiving sudoku and make Lego-block-print corn. In preparation for their upcoming Winter Concert, the kids have been practicing their songs with Ms. Ayana. Kids and parents alike are enjoying these fun ways to form a strong Hunter community,

Simultaneously, Kindergarten academics are well underway! In math, the students are exploring describing objects then sorting them by attributes, such as thick or thin, how many sides, and other characteristics. In reading, they have been working on the “Short A” word family.

In an effort to integrate the Guss and Koon classes, the kids are continuing their Centers rotations together and seeing their 4th Grade Buddies every other week. In addition, they have started swapping classrooms for social studies and science, using their special connecting door. With Ms. Koon, the classes are discussing families of all different kinds and formations, including siblings, grandparents, blended families and even pets. With Ms. Guss, they are studying the life cycle of pumpkins and apples.

Another seasonal highlight was the recent Thankful Project, which is currently displayed in the K hallway. Kids drew on their fine motor skills to make colorful feathered turkeys bearing a personal message of thanks. Kids did all their own cutting, writing, spelling, and pattern creation.

Next up: Both classes will be going for their library cards the first week in December, in preparation for field trips in the upcoming Visit Our Communities segment.

One of Bryson's classmates had baby pigeons in for her birthday. How cool is that!

 

Legos Galore

Scarlet taking a bath in the kitchen sink, Legos in New Paltz, gingerbread house building, and a growing black eye when Bryson fell on his face when he slipped at the dining room table.

 

Mushrooms on our New Paltz Trail

Alex built a short hiking trail around our property. Here are Bryson and Lolo by a tree that recently fell down. They also spotted some mushrooms which we ate for dinner.

 

40th Birthday: Chris Rock

A second surprise from Alex - dinner and Chris Rock.