November 2025 – Curriculum Updates from Specials

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 ART - Ms. Caira

Our Kindergarten students have been exploring the foundational concepts of patterns and shapes! To celebrate the autumn season, we created fun pattern pumpkins, using different sequences of colors and lines to decorate our seasonal gourds. Following this, we embarked on a fascinating study of the groundbreaking African American abstract expressionist, Alma Thomas. Students were inspired by her distinctive mosaic-like paintings and worked diligently to cut strips of colored paper into tiny, uniform squares. They then carefully applied these pieces to create their own vibrant, Alma Thomas-inspired collages. We're all very excited to transition into paint projects this month, exploring color mixing and brush techniques!

First Graders started their latest unit by diving into the concept of perspective. They successfully created a drawing that featured a vanishing point, learning how to make objects look near or far on a two-dimensional surface. We also explored the work of abstract pioneer Wassily Kandinsky, specifically his iconic Squares with Concentric Circles. Students created their own vibrant versions of this piece, using paint sticks to layer and blend colors within the geometric format. Currently, we are moving onto a challenging but rewarding project: drawing symmetrical bugs and insects. This requires a high degree of concentration and close observation of natural forms, focusing on mirror-image details. These intricate drawings will be finished with paint soon.

Second Graders recently finished creating colorful, meaningful collaged pennants or flags. Students were asked to choose something that inspires them—a hobby, a person, a place, or a concept—and then worked with great care to cut out each individual letter, symbol, and image to construct their flag. It was a wonderful exercise in self-expression and truly insightful to learn about what moves our students! Our focus has now shifted to creating tiny animal portraits. These miniature pieces are unique because we are incorporating a portion of a recycled egg carton as an element, such as the head or body, of their chosen animal, adding a fun, three-dimensional component to the artwork.

Third Grade successfully wrapped up their highly detailed, large-scale oil pastel animal eyes. These powerful drawings focused on realistic texture, reflection, and depth. They then used these individual eyes as a component in a subsequent project, creating a fantastical creature drawing/collage by combining their detailed eye with other elements. Next, the students will be transitioning to a more technical challenge: creating a precise technical drawing of a prism or gem. This exercise will focus on geometry and accurate line work before they finish the piece by exploring the delicate washes and blending of watercolor paints.

Fourth Graders have been highly anticipating one of the most exciting projects of the year: mask making! We have just begun the conceptual phase, where students are developing their mask's identity, meaning, and design. Soon, we will move into the intensive paper mache stage. This project is a multi-step process that involves molding, layering, and painting and generally takes several weeks to complete. Given the messy nature of paper mache, it's strongly recommended that your student wear clothes that can get a little messy on their art day. Even better, please consider sending an oversized t-shirt (to wear as a smock) that they can store in their locker for their art block!

 

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 STEM – Ms. Quigley

 

 

Kindergarten

Kindergartners have been busy in STEM class.  In October, our engineers built fences for creepy carrots, constructed trees to hold bats, built towers to support pumpkins and more!  They are learning that engineering requires perseverance and are working on improving their designs during projects.  

               

 

First-graders have spent the last month studying the sun and shadows to understand patterns that occur throughout the day. They also examined the cyclical pattern of the moon's appearance and examined why stars are not visible during the day.  They ended the month by designing and constructing their very own  mini-monsters.

         

Second Grade

Second-graders spent the month of October working with Lego WeDo 2.0 robotics kits.  They read the story, If I Built A Car, and designed their own vehicles with special features like snack bars, swimming pools, and gardens.  Students designed, constructed, and coded vehicles.  Their creativity with this challenge was impressive!

      

Third Grade

Third-graders spent the month of October getting acquainted with the Spike Prime Lego Robotics program.  These kits are more advanced than the WeDo 2.0 kits that they used in first and second grades.  During their introduction to the program, they learned about the hub, motors, and sensors.  They are currently working on building, coding, and testing trash grabbers. 

 

Fourth Grade

For their first unit of the year, fourth-graders used the Engineering Design Process to design, build, and test a "cookie barge" - a boat that can transport cookies down the Mississippi River for a cookie company.  Materials were limited and students had to consider their budget when making purchases.  They tested their boats in tubs of water with washers representing the cookies.

         

 

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 Digital Literacy & Computer Science – Ms. Matthes & Mr. McDonough

Grades 1 & 4 - Mr. McDonough

In fifth grade, we have been learning about the reasons we use and how to create strong passwords. This mini-unit will culminate with students creating their own strong password and updating their school Google account with their new strong password. For the remaining four classes, students will be using Typing.com to continue to improve their keyboarding and touch-typing skills along with learning word processing skills using Google Docs.  

 

Grades K,  2, 3 - Ms. Matthes

Kindergarten

K students are currently learning how to use the different features of the Draw and Tell app.  Recently, they have used stickers to create patterns and to write their names.

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2nd Grade

Second-grade students have finished their first technology rotation and are currently attending library classes.  Students wrote programs to trace numbers with Finch robots.

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3rd Grade

Third-grade students have just started their first technology rotation.  We are learning about the basics of Google Classroom and word processing using Google Docs.  Students are also using Typing.com to improve their keyboarding skills.  Students have made room signs and 'All About Me' pages to work with fonts, font sizes, colors and images on documents.  We will be making 100s charts to learn how to work with a table in a document.

 

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 Wellness – Ms. Love & Mr. Trask

 

 

Ms. Love (K-2 Wellness)

During the month of October, our K–2 students focused on safety! We began with fire safety, learning what to do if there’s ever a fire, including how to move safely through smoke and what steps to take if clothing catches fire. To practice these important skills, students played a fun game called Fire Safety Tag! If a student was tagged by “smoke,” they had to army crawl, and if they were tagged by “fire,” they practiced Stop, Drop, and Roll until a “firefighter” teammate came to help.

We also had a special visit from the Lincoln Fire Department, who taught us how to stay safe around lithium batteries. Ask your child if they remember where and how they should charge things like tablets, computers, and rechargeable toys! (Hint: on a hard, flat surface, away from soft surfaces like beds or blankets.)

In addition to fire safety, students learned how to stay safe on a bike, bus, and in a car. We also discussed personal and online safety, including the importance of knowing an adult at home or parent’s phone number and address, keeping that information private online, and being able to identify safe, trusted adults.

Most recently, we’ve started our underhand throwing unit! Students are practicing using their dominant hand to throw while stepping forward with their opposite foot. We’ve been having a great time playing games like Battleship, Messy Backyard, Oscar’s Trash Can, and Feed the Monster to build coordination, teamwork, and confidence. We will continue to work on our throwing skills throughout November.

Mr. Trask (3-4 Wellness)

Students in grades 3 and 4 had a great time in the month of October! We had a special visitor come in from the Lincoln Fire Department to talk about fire safety during October's Fire Safety Week! He talked about this year's theme of staying safe with lithium batteries! Students also had a great time getting to be secret agents during the game Mission Impossible. This game had students show great collaboration and communication with the challenge of not being able to speak. Students also started with an underhand throwing unit, practicing stations while displaying proper form. 

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 Library – Ms. Blumberg

 

For the most up-to-date library updates, please visit the Lincoln School Library Blog page. 

For the most up-to-date library information, visit the library webpage: Lincoln School Library

Happy November! In mid-October, students in grades 1-5 who begin the year in technology classes started their library rotation classes. It's been so much fun to have grades 1, 2, and 4 for longer blocks of time during their library classes. In addition to going over library routines, such as how to use a Tonie Box (unsure what these are... ask your child in grades 1-5 to tell you), all grades have learned about the importance of our individual names and the significance of Veterans Day. All students in grades K-5 have their name on a library heart that warms up our library space and grades 1, 2, and 4 made cards for veterans that will be delivered to the VA on Monday. Ask your child in those grades to tell you what they have learned about Veterans Day... and as a bonus fact... ask if they can tell you the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. 

 

In October, there were 1720 books checked out of our library! WOW! Way to go readers! We also have 190 books that are currently overdue! Zoinks! Please help your child remember to keep their books in a safe place and return them on time. We've also had a number of WET books come back to the library this past week, either due to water bottles spilling on them or being left outside. Please help your child remember to bring books inside if they go outside and to make sure water bottle caps are on tight when they are around books. 

 

Lastly, I want to highlight a local event that is coming up at the beginning of December. Kids who love comics and graphic novels might be very interested in the Massachusetts Indie Comic Expo (MICE.) This was an annual FAVORITE of my own son when he was growing up, and I have met so many incredible graphic novelists there over the years. Admission is free with advance registration and you can see more details Mice Expo. 

 

Happy Reading Everyone!

The schedule for classes and book checkouts is:

• Monday: 1L, 4R, 5B
• Tuesday: KC, 1S, 2M, 3H, 4O
• Wednesday: 2W, 3S
• Thursday: KJ, 1N, 2Mc, 3K, 4J, 5L
• Friday: KM, 5S

The book checkout guidelines are:

• Kindergarten - One Book
• First Grade - Two Books
• Second Grade - Two Books
• Third Grade - Three Books
• Fourth Grade and Up - Four Books

 

 

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 Music - Mrs. Hoffman