Dear Parents,
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone
for the wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and for entrusting
me with your wonderful children. Thank you also to all the moms for coming on Friday. The children were so excited to
have you there for our Mother's Day event, and it was wonderful that
each child had someone to honor. I hope all the moms are enjoying their day today.
We have another review week covering several consonants this week (Dd, Jj, Nn, Ww).
All letters have now been introduced, so please work on practicing
both writing and reading consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. Your
children should be able to read all of those types of words using their
letter sounds and blending skills-- cut, bus, rat, sip, hot, etc.
This is a really important skill to work on now and through the
summer, as that is something your children will be expected to do
proficiently in first grade. Books such as the leveled Scholastic
Readers, Bob Books, I Can Read Books, and Ready to Read Books are great
for reinforcing blending skills and practicing fluency. Please keep
your children reading 20-30 minutes daily now and through the summer.
Also, continue working on the sight words. They need to know all 40,
and in first grade, the list increases to 100 words. That list can be
found on the first grade page here: http://www.unionsd.org/cms/lib07/CA01001465/Centricity/Domain/97/100_Sight_Words.pdf: I can't
emphasize enough that the best way to help your child become a
successful reader is to offer plenty of opportunity for practice.
This is our last week of centers. I'd like to thank all of the volunteers
for their commitment to coming in weekly to help us in the classroom.
This was an amazing year for classroom help-- whenever somebody was
unable to come in, someone else stepped right up as a sub. That
small-group instruction time is so important, and without all of the
helpers, it would not have been possible. Thank you, thank you!
We also finished our math topic on days of the week last week,
and will start our final math topic on graphing tomorrow. Things are
wrapping up quickly! Our final science unit on animals/living things
continues for the next few weeks. Our caterpillars in the classroom will soon go into chrysalids, so we are eagerly awaiting the butterfly
stage!
In art, we are busily preparing for Open House next Wednesday the 22nd. There is a Home & School Club meeting from 6:30 to 7:00, and
then classrooms are open from 7:00 to 8:00. Please plan on coming into
the room and checking out all the
work that will be on display! The children have worked hard and are so
excited to show off all their wonderful projects. Open House is also a
great opportunity to check out the 1st grade classrooms to see what you
can look forward to there.
Please send in your Blue Bags tomorrow. You will no longer see the Blue Bags and this is our last week of homework. A homework
packet will go home this Wednesday as well as your child's journal, but you may choose a book on your own bookshelf for our final journal assignment. Please use the extra time in the upcoming weeks for additional reading
practice, and of course, outdoor time is always important.
The
sharing this week is Song, Poem, or Nursery Rhyme. Please have your child prepared to recite/sing something in front of the class. Songs or poems in other languages are always welcome and encouraged!
Thank you to those of you who have already completed the Union School District parent survey. For those of you who have not completed it, you can find it here: http://www3.unionsd.org/domain/29 Please take the survey, then email me that you've completed it. Your child will receive a Cougar Gold Card to thank you for your participation in the survey.
Hard to believe that we have just 19 class days left together!!
Upcoming Events:
5/22: Open House 6:30-8:00
5/29: May's Wacky Wednesday
6/4: Water Play Day & Class Party
6/5: June's Wacky Wednesday/Alta Vista Olympic Day
6/6: Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony
6/7: Last day of school: Class runs from 8:05-11:25 for ALL KINDERGARTNERS
