We have an exciting week this week as we begin our intensive study of each letter of the alphabet, which will not be in alphabetical order. Instead, it is in the order of frequency of these sounds in words. We introduce an "Alphafriend" to help your child remember the sounds of the letter. The children really enjoy the Alphafriends, and singing the songs that accompany each one. At this point, it is very helpful for the children to have recognition of most letters under their belts, so that they can focus on learning the sounds.
This week we will introduce the letter Ss. The worksheets that accompany our Language Arts program will all be about the letter Ss (and the stories we are reading)-- we will cover the sound and the handwriting of the letter, and the Alphafriend's name is Sammy Seal.
We will also officially begin the Handwriting without Tears program this week. Whatever the letter of the week is, that will be the letter we are learning in Handwriting. We will be using mini-chalkboards on Mondays to help the children practice the formation of letters in an engaging & multi-sensory way.
This week's share is "Letter of the Week" share. Since our letter of the week is Ss, please have your child bring something that starts with Ss. They do like to do the guessing game with this item, so please have it hidden in a bag with three clues written about the item. Because it has to start with the letter Ss, this will also encourage them to think of things that start with the sound.
In addition to a letter of the week, we will also begin introducing a sight word each week. These are words that the children should know instantly, by sight, when the words are shown to them. Many of these words cannot be sounded out. This week's word is I. We will write sentences using the word I and look for the word in things that we are reading. There is a link on my webpage that has the list of sight words so that you can begin practicing with your child. There are 40 words that we will be covering this year. Words that have an asterisk next to them are words that I've introduced in class. I will be assessing the children on these words each trimester for report card information, and they continue using the sight words in first grade (their list has 100 words), so these are important words to master.
We completed our FOSS science unit on Trees & Leaves. The children really enjoyed looking at different trees, learning about the parts of a tree, and looking closely at leaves & other things that grow on trees. Thank you for sending in leaves, fruit, and other items from your trees-- the unit was a lot of fun for the kids.
I also want to remind you that the Walkathon is coming up quickly on October 19th! Kindergarteners have already done their first practice lap last Wednesday as part of our walkathon assembly, and therefore have already earned their first "foot," which they will receive the Friday before the walkathon. The children will be collecting these plastic feet on a necklace on the day of the event. Every five laps at the walkathon, they add a foot to the necklace chain. When the children come to school on Monday following the Walkathon, they love to wear the necklace to show-off all the laps they completed! Keep registering your children and checking our progress on the walkathon website: http://www.altavistawalkathon.org I hope you are all planning to come out for the Walkathon-- it is a great community event & your child won't want to miss it.
Finally, this week, Miss Miller will be hosting the first Cougar Gold Card lunch. When children are "caught being good," I give them Cougar Gold Cards. At the end of each month, two children's names are drawn from each classroom to come to a pizza lunch with the principal. Obviously, not every child who has earned a Cougar Gold will get to go to this lunch, but I keep telling the kids that the more Cougar Gold Cards they have, the better their chances :)
On a final note, if anyone thinks they may be going to IKEA in the next month, please let me know. We purchase the pillow cases that we use for the Thanksgiving Feast costumes there at a very reasonable price. If you are going, please e-mail me and I will give you the details on what we need, and of course, you will be fully reimbursed for the purchase.
Remember your child's Blue Bag tomorrow, with the homework folder inside the bag :)
Upcoming Events:
10/19: Walk-a-thon
10/30: October's Wacky Wednesday & Field Trip to see a play
10/31: Halloween Parade & Celebration
11/1: Staff Development Day: No School
11/11: No School, Veteran's Day
11/14-11/22: Parent-Teacher Conferences
11/20: November's Wacky Wednesday
11/22: Kindergarten Friendship Feast @ 10:15 (a.m. class) and 1:30 (p.m. class)
12/20: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 10:00 (a.m. class) & 1:30 (p.m. class)
10/30: October's Wacky Wednesday & Field Trip to see a play
10/31: Halloween Parade & Celebration
11/1: Staff Development Day: No School
11/11: No School, Veteran's Day
11/14-11/22: Parent-Teacher Conferences
11/20: November's Wacky Wednesday
11/22: Kindergarten Friendship Feast @ 10:15 (a.m. class) and 1:30 (p.m. class)
12/20: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 10:00 (a.m. class) & 1:30 (p.m. class)
