I hope everyone is enjoying a nice week off, and you were able to enjoy some time with friends and family. We will be getting back to our regular schedule again, and are excited to have parents back in the classroom for the next two weeks for classroom centers. We have just three short & busy weeks before we will be headed off for winter break-- it will go by quickly!
Language Arts
We have now introduced all letters and letter sounds. As mentioned during conferences, we will now be moving onto using our phonics skills to sound out words. We will begin right away this week with what we call CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant). We will be blending different CVC words daily in our Fundations lessons. There are some really great resources and ideas for working with your children in this week's Fundations Family Letter. We will also begin a quick review of upper case letter formation, with several letters covered per day. This week, we will cover the formation of letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H. Our sight words this week are into and ran.
We will also begin focusing much more on sentence writing in the upcoming trimester. We have completed our drawing unit, and we will begin a labeling unit. Children will draw pictures and label things in the picture using phonetic spelling. They will learn to slowly stretch out words by listening to the individual sounds. Please encourage your children in their efforts to spell phonetically.
Our literature this week will focus on owls. We will read both fiction and nonfiction stories about owls, and put together our own sentence and booklet about owl facts.
Math
In math, we will begin a short unit on measurement that will take us up to Winter Break. We will be comparing length, weight, and capacity. Parent tips for this module can be found here.
Kimochis
Thanks to the generous donation of a family in our class, we have two new Kimochis joining our class this week, Bella Rose and Clover. Bella Rose is sensitive and sweet. Being sensitive can be a blessing, but sometimes it can be a challenge. When Bella Rose’s feelings get hurt, she tends to close up. Clover is a four-leafed clover with bad luck. He’s a bit absent-minded, but always means well and has a great sense of humor. We look forward to getting to know these two new Kimochis!
Nutcracker
Looking ahead on your calendars at this busy time of year, I wanted to make sure that you are all marking your calendars for Wednesday, December 14th at 9:15 a.m.-- our performance of The Nutcracker. This is something that you will not want to miss. This week, you will receive a note in your child's Wednesday envelope, telling you what their part will be in the show, and what items you may need to round up for your child to wear for the performance. We don't want you to have to buy anything. If you are in need of a leotard, I have many leotards from when my daughter was a kindergartner that you are welcome to borrow. Please contact us if you are having trouble getting any of the clothes for the performance.
Reminders
**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness.
**Library is every Wednesday. Please send your child's book back to school by Tuesday each week.
**Grasshopper t-shirt day is Friday each week.
This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: PE in the OT Room (wear shoes you can easily take on & off)
Tuesday: Centers (Fadime & Mallory)
Wednesday: Library (Bora & Brittny), dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, centers (Marina & Shereen)
Friday: Art Vistas (Lauren D., Michael I., Shereen, Natharin), Centers (Azra & Jessica)
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, 12/14: Nutcracker Performance @ 9:15
12/19-1/2: Winter Break
Monday, 1/16: No School: MLK Day
Monday, 1/30: No School: Professional Development Day
