We are getting excited for the Monster Marathon, which begins on October 29th! I'm hoping most of our Grasshoppers are participating-- be sure to sign your students up to receive their pedometer so they can count all their walking over the weekend of the 29th. All money raised goes to support the school's enrichment programs like P.E., Art Vistas, and Cornerstone. We began making our class banner on Tuesday. Each child made a handprint cat that will go on the banner. Thanks again to Emily, Deanna, and Van for coordinating this effort.
Hopefully, you all received the conference sign-up email. I'm looking forward to meeting with you in early November to update you on your child's progress so far.
We really enjoyed having our first guest reader, Virginia, during our library time! It is so nice having parents "Zoom in" for a story during our Wednesday library time. We are looking forward to future readings on Wednesdays! Also, please remember to continue to send your child's library book back to school each Tuesday so they can check out a new one on Wednesday.
Language Arts
We spent last week reviewing all the letters and sounds, which we will continue doing. This week, we begin covering word families. We will start with the ap and at endings, reading and spelling words such as map, rat, bat, sap, etc.
Our sight words this week are be, she, and like. This week, we will begin talking about all things pumpkin! We will be reading both fiction and non-fiction books about pumpkins.
Math
In math, we will begin a new module on measurement. This is a great time to begin our measurement unit, as we will use mini pumpkins we have in the classroom to weigh and measure the circumference. Tips for this module can be found here.
Kimochis
We have now introduced all our Kimochi characters! This week, your child will be learning the first Kimochis® Key to Communication: Get someone’s attention. Your child will learn that when we want to get someone’s attention, it is important to call that person’s name. This alerts the person to look. If your child waits for the person to look or make eye contact before speaking, it increases the odds that the people communicating will really listen to each other. Sometimes calling someone’s name is not enough. Your child will learn to use a gentle tap on the shoulder to get attention. When your child knows that the listener is ready to listen, the likelihood of having a positive connection is increased.
Cornerstone
This week, we will begin the Cornerstone program. YMCA Project Cornerstone is a community initiative with the mission to create an environment where adults support and value all youth so they grow up feeling valued, respected, and known. Carlene will be doing this week's reading. Thank you also to Agnieszka and Kassie, who are also supporting the Cornerstone program.
