New From the Jungle

Wow! I cannot believe that September is over and that October begins on Monday!

The weather is beginning to turn cold and this means the children will begin needing to wear a coat to school. Sooner, than we would like, the weather will get even colder and the children will need coats, hats, mittens, scarves, boots, etc.

Please work with your child at home on how to independently put on and take off their own fall and winter clothing items. If I have to zip and unzip coats, take off boots and put on sneakers, help children bundle up, etc… it takes away from our learning time. It is not just one child, this task is multiplied by 24 children and multiplied again by arrival, 3 recess times, and dismissal. That is 124 coats, boots, hats, mittens, etc that need to be put on and off each day. I cannot possibly help all of the children with these tasks and still get to all of the objectives we need to accomplish in a day. Please help me by building independence in your child and showing them how to complete these tasks on their own at home. Thank you!

**** Please see the note in Housekeeping about headphones****

Upcoming Events

10/1 Picture Day

10/12 Half Day – 11:45 am dismissal

10/17 Late Start – School starts at 9:35 am

10/18 Scholastic Book Order Due (online)

10/25 Pumpkin Patch — to volunteer with PTA for this event, click here

10/25 Bingo for Books – 6 pm (check PTA blog for more information

10/26 No School – Y5 and Kindergarten only

10/31 Costume Parade and PBIS celebration

Agenda for the Week

Reading and Writing: We learned the letters C and X and focused on the sound of each letter. The children brainstormed items that begin with each letter and completed activities which helped them find, identify, and write these letters.

The children practiced writer’s workshop and reviewed how to use an imaginary rubber band to help stretch out words, in order to listen to the sounds within each word.  We learned about nouns and completed activities to help us know that a noun is a person, place, thing, or animal.

This is the video we use in class to help the children understand nouns:

We also went over the parts of a sentence. We reviewed that sentences begin with an uppercase letter, have spaces in between words, and end with a period. The children enjoyed watching this video in class which helped to teach these concepts:

Here is a video which promotes letter recognition of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as, letter sounds.

Please remember to watch the How-To videos which I have made to help your child at home with name practice, letter recognition, and letter sound acquisition.

If your child already has mastered these skills, feel free to watch the sight word video or reading comprehension video to help your child continue their academic growth.

We continued practicing the procedures of Daily 5. The children reviewed that there are three ways to read a book 1) read the words 2) read the pictures 3) retell the story. The children used these strategies during our Daily 5 – Read to Self rotation to read books quietly and build stamina. We also learned how to complete our Word Work rotation.  The children worked independently sitting in different spots all over the room to complete letter work and phonics worksheets. Next week the children will learn our Work on Writing rotation and soon will be choosing which rotation they want to complete first, second, and third each day. Once the children are able to work more independently, I will begin working with the children in small group instruction.

Math: We are still learning about number quantities 1-5, and that the orientation of a group of objects (whether in a row or column) does not change the number of objects represented. The children are already being exposed to addition concepts. This week we focused on finding hidden partners. For example when we looked at the number 4, we discussed different ways we can make for such at 4 and 0, 2 and 2, and 3 and 1.

At home, please practice writing numbers 1 – 20 with your child. They should be practicing how to recognize these numbers, as well as be able to write them. Counting objects with one-to-one correspondence is another skill you can work on at home. You may do this while you are giving your child a snack. If you give them grapes for a snack, have them count the grapes one at a time, while moving the grapes from one side of the plate to the other side of the plate.

We also practiced subitizing. This is the ability to look at a quantity and tell immediately how many are there. We did this with fingers, counters, and a rekenrek. Below is a great video on subitizing that we will be using in class next week:

Here are a few math videos to promote number sense at home:

Below are 2D and 3D shape videos:

Science: This week we continued discussing our 5 senses. We talked about what we use our nose, eyes, hands, ears, and tongue for and which sense they match. Next week, we will continue learning about our 5 senses and complete activities to solidify this concept for the children. The children will complete a small assessment to see if they understand their five senses and complete a craft too.

Social Studies: We continued focusing on learning the rules of the classroom and school. We are working hard at being good listeners. The children are having difficulty at lunch. Please help them be more successful at lunch by showing them at home how to clean up after they are done eating.

We began using our Let’s Find Out Scholastic magazines this week. These magazines are a great resource and help to promote concepts we are already working on in class.

There is a link and code under the “educational websites” tab on our home page to our Let’s Find Out page where you can complete additional activities at home with your child to follow up our learning at school.

Housekeeping Items:

Headphones: If you have not yet sent in a pair of headphones for your child, please do so as soon as possible. We will be getting on the computers in our room each day, and I would like to set up some routines and procedures for the children to follow using their own headphones during technology time. We ask that you send in a pair of headphones because it is more sanitary for all the children and helps to decrease the occurrence of things such as lice, as well as other things.

Name Practice

If your child is struggling with writing their name and other letters, it is important that you work with them at home on this skill. We are spending time in class working on these skills, but will be moving on quickly and if your child is struggling to form letters, they will struggle to complete their work. Here is a great resource for handwriting practice: https://www.handwritingworksheets.com/flash/printdots/index.htm

Snack Time

Please be sure to put the snack in a separate place from their lunch. Please show your child where you will put their snack each day in order to foster independence for them. Sometimes, when the snack is packed inside the lunchbox, the children try to eat their whole lunch at snack time. Thank you for your assistance in separating your child’s snack and lunch.

Snacks should be healthy to provide the children with energy for their day. Please send a simple snack such as fruit, vegetables, cheese, and crackers. Please do not send candy as a snack. Juice and milk are not allowed in our classroom. Please do not send any kind of juice box or milk with your child for snack time. The children may have the juice or milk for lunch in the cafeteria.

ALLERGY ALERT: We have nut allergies in our room. Please make sure that you are not sending any snacks which contain any nuts. Our room is NUT FREE!

Folders

Please make sure to empty the folder each night! It is very difficult and time consuming to locate homework or important notes when the folder is full of papers from the day before. Please be sure to send the folder to school each day. It is a big part of our arrival and dismissal routines and the folders help the children keep all of their papers organized.

Change of clothes

Please send in a change of clothes (pants, shirt, underwear, socks) in a gallon bag with their name clearly written on the baggie. My most frequent call home is to ask for parents to bring a change of clothes to school. Even the most disciplined children have accidents at school sometimes. We have so much fun during the day that sometimes the children do not want to stop to use the bathroom when needed. Not only do bathroom accidents happen, but sometimes the playground equipment is wet or the ground is muddy. Having a change of clothes at school makes it easy for me and for you to help your child feel clean and comfortable in the quickest way possible. We will leave the baggie of clothes in their locker at school.