Snowflakes are Falling!

February 22, 2013

Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  We learned the last two letter combinations this week, er and ar.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds. All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.  Our final sets of letter cards went home this week.

Word Family’s:  This week we started our word families.  We worked on the ap and am word families.  First we start with two word endings ap and am, and then we add different letters to the beginning of the endings to make new words.  For example, for the ap word family we formed the words (cap, map, trap, clap, nap, etc.)  We continuously review the word families that we have already worked on. (at and an)

Popcorn Words: We have one, two, and three this week.  Please practice the popcorn words, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult.

Reading:  This week we started our Wheels Go Around theme.  We read the story Vroom, Chugga Vroom.  The story is about twenty racecars.  We talked about how each racecar has a different number and the different pre-race activities that drivers go through before starting a race, such as putting on special race suits and boots, and checking the brakes, lights, and engines on their race cars.  The story even talked about the different problems racecar drivers might have as they race around a track, such as a flat tire.  The children really enjoyed the story.  We also read the famous The Little Engine That Could story.  Our small book called It Must Have Wheels was completed this week.

Writing:  Since we are working on our Wheels Go Around theme we wrote “ My bike has two (one of our popcorn words) wheels!” in our journals.  The children then had a chance to illustrate a picture of themselves riding their bikes. 

Math:  We continued working on addition focusing on adding numbers with zero and one up to ten. Please practice reading and writing numbers 1 through 20.  Please also practice addition facts that add up to ten.

Social Studies- Since we were not in school on Monday because of President’s Day our Weekly Reader focused on President’s Day.  The children are very interested in learning about the Presidents of the United States.

Art- The children made snowflakes for the upcoming Snowflake Ball.

REMEMBER:

 Snowflake Ball Dance, Saturday February 23, 2013 6:30 P.M. 

Tuesday February 26^th 2013 is a half-day and only the afternoon class will attend.  School is from 9:00A.M-12:00P.M.  If your child takes the bus they will get on the bus in the morning with the first and second graders.  The buses will then take them home at noon after school is over.  If your child is a pick-up, pick-ups will be in the office at 12:10 P.M.

Please check your child’s folder this weekend.  Today I sent home a list of all the popcorn words (sight words) from the first and second quarter.  I also included the words from the third quarter that we have already completed and the ones we will be working on.  Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

Valentine's Day!

February 15, 2013

Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  We learned the last two letter combinations this week, er and ar.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds. All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.  Our final sets of letter cards will be coming home shortly with your child.

Word Family’s:  This week we started our word families.  We worked on the at and an word families.  First we started with two of our sight words at and an, and then we add different letters to the beginning of the words to make new words.  For example, for the at word family we formed the words (cat, bat, hat, mat, rat, etc.)

Popcorn Words: We have now added look, good, jump, will, have, and must.  Please practice the popcorn words, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult.

Reading:  This week we started our Wheels Go Around theme.    We read the story Wheels Go Round.  The book talked about all the things we see in our everyday life that has wheels.  Before we read the children brainstormed all the things that could have wheels.  The children came up with great answers such as monster trucks, police cars, skateboards, dump trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and cars to name a few.  We also read the famous Wheels on the Bus story.  There is a small book called It Must Have Wheels that we are currently working on and that book will be coming home as soon as we have completed the book.

Writing:  Since we are working on our Wheels go around theme we wrote about our favorite thing that has wheels and goes around.

Math:  We continued reading and writing numbers 11 through 20.  Please practice reading and writing these harder numbers at home.  We started on our counting from 50 –75.  We also worked on addition focusing on adding numbers with zero and one up to ten.

Social Studies- Since we were not in school on Groundhog Day we read and discussed our Weekly Reader.  The students learned that baby groundhogs are called kits; groundhogs eat carrots, flowers and insects, and groundhogs hibernate for the winter.  I was very proud that some students knew the legend of the groundhog and if the groundhog sees its shadow there will be six more weeks of winter.  We also talked about Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Tuesday and President’s Day this upcoming Monday.  We talked about how George Washington is on the quarter and the one-dollar bill and that Abraham Lincoln is on the penny and five-dollar bill.

Art- The children made Valentine cards for their parents.  I hope you really enjoyed them because the children put a lot of effort into making them.

REMEMBER:

Please return report card envelopes.

No School Monday February 18^th 2013-Presidents Day

The Six Flags Read to Succeed log is Due by February 22^nd, 2013

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

Weather and More Weather!

                                                     

                                                       February 1, 2013

Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: This week the class learned the letter combination of ue and oi,.  For oi we say ship ahoy.  We also learned that oy makes the same sound as oi.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds. All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Popcorn Words: This week we added three words to our popcorn bag: get, help, and now.  Please practice the popcorn words we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult.

Reading:  This week we continued our Sunshine and Raindrops theme.  This week we worked on talking about the plot of a story and summarizing a story.  We read The Wind and the Sun.  The children first determined the story was make believe because the wind and sun talk to each other and that cannot really happen.  In the story the wind and the sun compete against each other by trying to make a man take off his heavy cloak.  The children were able to determine the sun would win because the sun is warm and when the wind blows it is cold causing us to put on a jacket.  We discussed if the roles were reversed and the contest was to make a man put on a jacket the wind would win.  We also read All to Build a Snowman.  In this story a crow gets startled by falling snow and breaks a few branches from a tree.  The branches fall and hit a squirrel.  The squirrel drops some acorns on a cat.  The cat starts to run and a dog chases the cat.  The dog pulls its owner while chasing the cat and the owner loses his hat and scarf.  A snowman is put together using all the pieces that fell to the ground during the crazy sequence of events.  Lastly we read Sadie and the Snowman and were able to put together our own snowman sequence of events.

Writing:  We wrote in our journals what type of weather is our favorite.  We first brainstormed and wrote down all the different types of weather, such as sunny, snowy, rainy, windy, cloudy and foggy.  We then wrote in our journals” I like ____________ days!”  After we wrote, we had a chance to illustrate a picture of ourselves in our favorite weather.

Math:  We continued reading and writing numbers 11 through 20.  Please practice reading and writing these harder numbers at home.  We also started on our counting from 50 –75.

REMEMBER:

Please return report card envelopes.

Valentine Party Information- On the valentine cards please have your child only sign their name and not who they are too.  Please do not bring any candy or treats with the valentine cards.

The Six Flags Read to Succeed log is Due by February 22^nd, 2013

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!