I can't believe I forgot to give out the play dough recipes.

Hello,

Before I get into our day, I forgot to give out the play dough recipes so here is a cut and paste of the sheet that was supposed to go home tonight:

Dear Parents,

We will be making islands in class this week to show off our knowledge of landforms.  I am hoping that some of you will be able to donate your time and effort (and some household supplies) to provide our class with the necessary playdough.  I am providing you with two different recipes.  They both have their merits.  Thank you for providing our class with a batch or two.  Don’t worry about adding color.  We will be painting our finished products.  You may send your dough to school in Ziploc bags starting on Tuesday.  We will begin our island making on Thursday.

Thanks in advance.  I know it is a bit of a pain.  I’ll be making some too. 

Mr. Shea

Traditional PlayDough Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups of baking soda
1 and a half cups of water
1 cup of corn starch

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and boil over medium heat. Once doughy, remove from heat.  Takes about ten minutes.

Cream of Tartar Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups of plain flour
2 cups of coloured water
1 Tbsp. of cooking oil
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup of salt

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a medium size or large pan. Cook slowly on medium-high and stir it until the playdough thickens.  This recipe takes less than 10 minutes.

Okay, sorry about that.  I think the kids will revolt if they don't get to make their islands this week.  We will spend the next couple of days drawing maps of islands, creating map keys with symbols, talking about scale and reviewing our land forms.  We will create our islands of play dough on Thursday and paint them on Friday.  These will be graded.  Certain land forms will be mandatory, but I'll leave a lot of room for creativity and free choice.

Homework notices went out today.  A few students have been inconsistent passing in homework or reading logs.  It is a note that needs to be signed.  It is my attempt to get them to have a conversation with you about what is and isn't working in their homework rituals.  We need to develop some good working habits now, so that future years will be easier.

Picture book week started today.  The silent reading time had a terrific buzz of reading.  It was definitely the most reading that I have seen during our silent reading time, and I didn't have to redirect anyone on what they were supposed to be doing.  I hope we can make a habit of this.  Students will be logging picture books read all week.  You should have seen two come home in their backpack.

I had two impromptu meetings tonight, otherwise I would have gotten this out sooner.  I will make a habit of getting the homework calendar done immediately after school so that it is available more quickly.  I have to remind you, however, that this is not to be used by your child as a substitute for writing down their homework assignments in their assignment books.  This calendar is for you to know what should be written in your child's assignment book, what they need to do each night and to help on those occasional "oops" nights. 

All for now.  Thanks for reading.

Mr. Shea