Dear Families,
I apologize for being so lax about blogging over the past few weeks! I'll give you a quick recap of what's been going on.
We had a wonderful time at our 100th Day celebration. The students moved through seven different activities and there were plenty of volunteers! A very big "Thank You" to Missy, Diane, Gillian and James!
The Jog-A-Thon was also a lot of fun. We walked and jogged for 30 minutes. The children did a great job and we were all very tired when the time was up!
We are beginning a new math unit on numbers 11 thru 30. The focus is on tens and ones. The children will work with ten's frames to make and compare numbers. Also, please help your child to practice counting on.
Our next math unit focuses on money. The children will identify pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. They will also be responsible for learning the value of each coin. It's never to soon to begin this process! So please begin working with your child at home. Please teach the concept of counting on by using dimes, nickels and pennies.
And, finally, the current reporting period ends on Friday. Parent/teacher conferences are scheduled for the first week in April. Please make space on your calendar now.
More about reading and writing expectations next week.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Literacy
Our new Unit of Study focuses exploration of characters to help us understand the stories we read. The students will describe how the characters act, feel and talk. We will be revisiting fairy and folk tales that we read earlier in the year.
In phonics, we are continuing to work with short vowel sounds. This week our focus is on short Ee.
The animal character that accompanies this sound is Edna Elephant. Some of the word families we are working with are; et, eck, ed, en.
Please continue to help your child learn the twenty-five sight words. I am also adding some extra words each week.
The children are writing stories about personal experiences. Many of their stories are about trips, families, pets and friends. When your children write at home, encourage them to sound out the words using one finger for each sound. It is much more powerful for the children to sound out the words themselves. Please try not to make the sounds for your children.
Please let me know if you would like some pointers on reading and writing with your children.
In phonics, we are continuing to work with short vowel sounds. This week our focus is on short Ee.
The animal character that accompanies this sound is Edna Elephant. Some of the word families we are working with are; et, eck, ed, en.
Please continue to help your child learn the twenty-five sight words. I am also adding some extra words each week.
The children are writing stories about personal experiences. Many of their stories are about trips, families, pets and friends. When your children write at home, encourage them to sound out the words using one finger for each sound. It is much more powerful for the children to sound out the words themselves. Please try not to make the sounds for your children.
Please let me know if you would like some pointers on reading and writing with your children.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
General Information
I'm sorry for letting last week go by without posting a blog. The week just went by too quickly. I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend. We have another three day weekend coming up. No school on Monday the 16th. I am using this post for general information and will write more about the curriculum tomorrow.
Humane Society
Kristin, from the Humane Society's community outreach program, came into the classroom this afternoon and did a presentation on respect. The children listened to a story about a girl and her cat and then met a bearded dragon named, Bandit. Ask your child to tell you about the story and ways they show respect to their pets. Kristin will do two more presentations over the next two weeks. One will be on caring for pets and the other will be about traing pets using positive reinforcement.
Valentines Day
We will have a small Valentines Day celebration on Friday afternoon after lunch. Children may bring cards. Please leave the envelope blank and have your child sign the cards.
Sharing
I encourage the children to share the work that they do in school. They love to share their writing and leveled books that they are using to practice their reading.
More information to follow tomorrow.
Humane Society
Kristin, from the Humane Society's community outreach program, came into the classroom this afternoon and did a presentation on respect. The children listened to a story about a girl and her cat and then met a bearded dragon named, Bandit. Ask your child to tell you about the story and ways they show respect to their pets. Kristin will do two more presentations over the next two weeks. One will be on caring for pets and the other will be about traing pets using positive reinforcement.
Valentines Day
We will have a small Valentines Day celebration on Friday afternoon after lunch. Children may bring cards. Please leave the envelope blank and have your child sign the cards.
Sharing
I encourage the children to share the work that they do in school. They love to share their writing and leveled books that they are using to practice their reading.
More information to follow tomorrow.
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