Week of December 12 - 16

Dear Parents,

Last week was jam packed with a lot of exploring and learning.  We began a new book in our phonics series, Six Kids, and sounded out words with the “short i.”  We completed Chapter 3: Matching and Counting in our math workbooks, ending the week with an opportunity for the scholars to show what they’d learned. Everyone did very well!  We also learned about the similarities and differences with different parts of our earth (mountains/hills, rivers/oceans, and valleys) and created a fabulous model of the forms with colored construction paper and glue.

Lessons This Week...

We will continue (and complete) reading Six Kids this week and further explore “short i” words.  Three of our spelling words concentrate on this sound (him, with, fix). Our fourth spelling word, “at,” brings us back to the importance of the “short a” sound. We will be creating another flip sound book - we have made three so far. Please expect to see those come home around Winter Break. Continue to find new ways to practice the words with your scholars (car trips, night time routines, morning rituals, etc.).

We have completed List 1 of our sight words and this week are starting on List 2.

We will start Chapter 4: Numbers 0-5, supplementing our workbook pages by making counting books (shown by example through literature read in class - see Book Club suggestions below).

We will complete the first part of our Earth Science lessons by reviewing what we’ve learned (and created with our models) and discussing characteristics of a desert (versus valley).  We will talk about local landforms and make observations about the earth around us by walking around our school (weather permitting!).  We are going to spend the remainder of the week reviewing our five senses.

Book Club

I hope you are having fun perusing the titles I’m linking below and finding new adventures to take with your child*.  Here are some more book titles for you to look through (I’m linking these to Amazon as I know they are less expensive here and perhaps you can get a shipping deal. We’re busy people - so I hope this makes life just a tick easier):

The Baker's Dozen: A Counting Book Count! by Denise Fleming Whoever You Are by Mem Fox Scribbleville by Peter Holwitz Honey Baby Sugar Child by Alice Faye Duncan The Peace Book by Todd Parr A, My Name Is Alice by Jane Bayer In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming "A" Was Once An Apple Pie by Edward Lear and Suse MacDonald

(Brought to you in part by The ABCs of Literacy. Yay! $7.96 on Kindle! Easy as that...)

* If you’d like me to research books with certain themes, please let me know.

Holiday Festivities

Santa Clause is coming to our farm on Wednesday, December 14th. We will also be having our Holiday party in class that afternoon at 11:30 a.m.. Please sign up to bring something, if you are able.  

Our Winter Recital is on Friday, December 16th. Kindergarten, along with Ms. Melissa’s Pre-Schoolers and Ms. Denise and Ms. Sandy’s Pre-Kindergartners, will be singing especially for you!  The concert starts at 2:30 p.m. in Room 2. 

Winter Break is from December 19th - January 2.

“Cold” Season

No Getting Sick! A lovely dream... but, in that ever-glorious battle to keep everyone healthy so we can continue to have fun and learn together, I’ve been emphasizing with the children the importance of hand-washing, covering our mouths when we sneeze/cough, eating healthy, and getting plenty of rest. With that in mind, our rest time bedding should be washed weekly so I’m sending home blankets, etc. on Fridays for you to wash and return Mondays. We can also wash them at school, too. With a whole-hearted effort to keep the germies at bay, please pack a fitted crib sheet for your child to keep at school.  Rest time is from 12:00-1:30 p.m. and is a wonderful opportunity for each scholar to “turn off” and recharge batteries for the remainder of the day.

As Always...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email me, stop by the classroom, talk to Ms. Diane, or leave a comment on our blog.  Please become a “follower” of our blog and “like” our school’s Facebook page, if you haven’t already done so.

Have a terrific week!

Mrs. Stuhr

Week of December 5 - 9

Dear Parents,

What a great start to the month of December! The scholars and I had a glorious time this week creating “short a” sound words, cutting and pasting letters onto a card and reading the words they made (van, man, ran, fan, etc.).  We worked on Chapter 3 (Matching and Counting) in our math book and learned about “more” and “less” to count objects.  We also explored our five senses in order to observe the world around us with more accuracy.  Throughout the week, each scholar completed worksheets in a packet I put together for them. They all did a great job - please look for the completed packet when it comes home on Monday.  The students also made snowmen that will displayed in our front hallway this Holiday season.  Each child designed clothing, etc. for a snowman.  They are so cute! Enjoy!

Lessons This Week...

This week in phonics, we are moving past “short a” and onto “short i.” We will begin a new book in our phonics series, “Six Kids.” As such, we will be making words and playing rhyming games to get familiar with the sound. Accordingly, two of our spelling words this week have this sound - “fit” and “pin.”

Our sight words this week (the other two spelling words), “but” and “had,” will become very useful to us as our reading skills improve.  We will use the word “but” to show comparison and talk about “had” in terms of what we possess. *When you are studying the words with your scholar this week, pay special attention to how he/she writes the “b” and “d” in these words. We want to make sure they not only see the difference in the letters, but understand the different sounds attached to each.*

In math, we will be completing chapter 3 and taking our “test” on Friday. This week, we will be interacting with counters (small objects) to be able to see when things are more and/or less. 

I’m very excited for our science lessons this week. We are starting our Earth Science curriculum and will be discussing mountains, rivers/oceans, valleys, and deserts. As we learn a new concept each day, we will be creating a “scene” of landforms. I can’t wait to see how they turn out!

Manner and Classroom Management

We spent some time last week learning about manners. Each scholar drew a picture about what he or she thought good manners looked like. I wrote their thoughts down and then each scholar came up with his or her own discipline strategy if he or she was ever in a situation where good manners were not being used.  They really understood the concept and challenged themselves with appropriate restrictions.  As the children are getting older, exploring the boundaries between classroom versus playground behavior, I think this new management strategy might hold them even more accountable for their actions.  

Also, based on the book How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath, on Monday we will be implementing another management strategy, too.  Each scholar will be given a jar (we are going to refer to it as their “bucket”) with a certain number of “drops” in it.  For every good action, students receive a “drop.” For every not so smart action (silly choices, I call them), a “drop” gets taken out.  Our goal is to have our bucket overflowing, for that just makes life all the better...

If you have any questions about either of these strategies, please do not hesitate to contact me. Ms. Diane knows all the ins-and-outs of this, too, if you need some clarification when you pick up your child in the evening.

Holiday Festivities

Santa Claus is coming to our farm on Wednesday, December 14th. We will also be having our Holiday party in class that afternoon. This time, we are going to do a lunchtime party. Details will be posted our our classroom clipboard this week.  

Our Winter Recital is on Friday, December 16th. Kindergarten, along with Ms. Melissa’s toddlers and Ms. Denise and Ms. Sandy’s Pre-Kindergartners, will be singing especially for you!  The concert starts at 2:30 p.m. in Room 2. 

Book Club

Okay, this isn’t a “club” per-se, but I still want to share with you books I think your children will enjoy... so here are some more books for you to peruse - - 

Whoops... first thing's first, though - don't just take my suggestions... as a parent of an emergent reader, you MUST buy this (includes lists of AMAZING titles - quality words, quality literature):  

The ABCs of Literacy: Preparing Our Children for Lifelong Learning by Cynthia Dollins, EdD

Okay, onto some suggestions...

How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors  by Joyce Sidman

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney 

Once a Mouse... by Marcia Brown

Dreams by Ezra Jack Keats

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas 

We could be a club, though. I’ll come up with a catchy name...

As Always...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email me, stop by the classroom, talk to Ms. Diane, or leave a comment on our blog.  Please become a “follower” of our blog and “like” our school’s Facebook page, if you haven’t already done so.

Have a terrific week!

Mrs. Stuhr

... and Santa Claus visits on Wednesday, December 14th