Authors Celebration and Winter Read - In

The Whales have been a busy bunch the last two weeks. The excitement continues to grow as we get closer to our play performances and winter break. This week the Whales had some visitors amongst our classroom. After reading a book called, “The Tomten”, the Whales had their very own Tomtens visit the classroom. On their first visit, they left a riddle for each of the Whales and left behind some of their beard fluff! The Whales created a list of questions and thoughts they had for the Tomtens. For those of you who don’t know, Tomtens are a Swedish folklore tale. They are said to be a gnome/elf like person that lives on farms and works to help animals in the winter. They are shy and can be mischievous. The next time they visited us they gifted the Whales homemade wool felted acorn necklaces. The Whales were so excited and took a picture holding up their necklaces. This last time they visited they answered our wonderings that we had listed in our classroom! WOW! Check out their answers hanging in the Whales classroom. The Whales have yet to actually see the Tomtens and it remains a mystery as to where exactly our Tomtens live.

We are only 4 days to the performance of our Winter Play. The Whales have been working so extremely hard on their backdrop designs and props. They worked with teachers to figure out what each part of our set should look like based on the illustrations in the book. They painted the backdrops and had to work together as a team to complete the job. The backdrops are looking amazing and the Whales are feeling so proud of their hard work. The Whales are feeling confident with their lines and are using their strong voices to make sure an audience can hear them. Look forward to receiving your ticket for the play this week!

Thank you all for coming to the Whales Authors Celebration and Winter Read-In. What a night of laughter, joy, pride, and love. The Whales out did themselves during their performance of Peace like a River. It is such a magical feeling to see the Whales create bonds with their classmates and memories that they will remember always. Thank you to all of the Whale families who support the Whales classroom and students every day. They are such kind, hard-working, and loving human beings. On Friday, the Whales each spoke of their favorite part of the celebration. Some favorites of the evening included; “drinking hot cocoa and eating popcorn”, “reading my stories”, “spending time with my family”, “coming to school at night”, and “wearing pajamas to school”. Thank you everyone for making it a special and magical night for the Whales!!