Week of January 30 - February 3

Dear Parents,

Last week the students did a great job reviewing “short i” sounds and practicing writing words with “short i” sounds. We compared “short a” words to “short i” words and were able to hear and see the difference.  We learned about adding smaller numbers to get to ten and used Legos to see the numbers adding up to bigger numbers.  The scholars did a great job on their spelling and math tests.  I was very pleased with everyone’s effort over the entire week!

This Week’s Lessons...

In Phonics, this week’s spelling words focus on “short u” sounds.  Please look at the list on the left to see our words.  

In Language Arts, we will start reading Gus from our phonics series to hear more “short u” sounds and to help review our “a” and “i” sounds along with our sight words.  By the end of the week, my hope is that each student can read a page or two independently without my help.

In Math, we are starting Chapter 6: Geometry and Equal Parts.  We will be concentrating on Geometry this week - looking at solid shapes (cones, spheres, cylinders, and cubes).  Please ask your scholar to point out some solid shapes he/she sees around the house.  

In History, we will continue our lessons in “Good Citizenship,” learning about responsibility, respect, and compassion. We will be coloring pictures and writing about each topic.  All pictures and writing will be combined into a book for the scholars to take home.

Book Club...

Here are some new titles - great for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and cuddles at night... 

Phonics Practice - - 

Math Practice - - 

Picture Books - -



Kindle Books - -

Enjoy!

Volunteering...

We now have a calendar hanging on the “NEWS” bulletin board by the front door of our classroom.  Please flip through the months and sign up for a few spots.  Separate volunteer sign-up forms will go out for holiday parties (as usual, on our clipboard).

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 January 23 - 27

Dear Parents,

Last week we studied hard in class for our 7-word spelling test. The work the scholars did at home and in school paid off - everyone did a great job! Way to go Room 7 Scholars! We also learned a lot about numbers 6, 7, 8, and 9 and learned how to manipulate each to make groups of numbers (e.g. if I have 4 butterflies, how many more do I need to have 7?).  In History, we learned about courage and honesty and talked about Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Washington. We are making a “Good Citizenship” book that will come home once this history lesson is complete.  All week, we practiced a lot of writing and the scholars are doing an excellent job with their penmanship.  

This Week’s Lessons...

This week’s spelling words focus on reviewing “short i.” We are going to compare “short a” and “short i” words to see and hear the difference.  We will have a lot of opportunities in class to study our spelling words, but please continue studying them at home, too. Our spelling test is this Friday at 9:15 a.m.. Spelling test make-ups will be given at 3:00 p.m. on Friday only.

In Math, we are going to concentrate on how we get to ten. We will look at numbers such as four and six, noting that four is smaller than six, and talk about what that means when we combine them together to get to ten.  This is a major beginning step to adding.  So exciting... this, in my opinion, is when the fun begins... (I can’t help it - I love math!). Our chapter 5 test is scheduled for Thursday.

In History, we will continue our lessons in “Good Citizenship,” learning about responsibility, respect, and compassion. We will be coloring pictures and writing about each topic.  All pictures and writing will be combined into a book for the scholars to take home.

Writing/Reading Practice - At Home

To help your scholar practice his/her writing and reading skills, you can play some of these games at home:

Secret Messages

• Have your child write a simple message on white construction paper with a white crayon (must be a “wax” crayon - like a Crayola) - spelling words! “short i” words! “short a” words!
• Use watercolors (or any water soluble paint like tempera) to paint over the written word(s) on the paper (lay down some newspaper or an old sheet to soak up any messes)
• The “message” will be revealed like magic!
• Note: You can write the messages first and have your child reveal them - then switch roles. This might be a fun way to study spelling words on Thursday!

Lesson:  Practice writing skills and experiment with study strategies

Alphabet Hunt

• Have your child write all the letters of the alphabet in a column running down the left side of a large piece of paper (poster board, cardboard, etc.)
• Now, it’s time to find those letters! Look through magazines and picture books and hunt for pictures that begin with each letter (“artichoke” for A, “basketball player” for B, etc.). Write the word for each next to the appropriate alphabet letter on the chart

Lesson: reinforces alphabet and writing skills

Writing with Pictures

• Cut some pictures out of magazines or look at pictures in books (**see The Red Book and Tuesday in the Book Club selections below...**)
• For cut-outs, glue one picture per piece of paper (lined or blank)
• Ask your child to look at a picture and then tell you what’s happening
• Write down exactly what he/she says beneath the picture (do not edit)
• Read back the “story” back with your child

Lesson: teaches your child how text/illustrations are related and skills in reading comprehension (stories have beginnings, middles, and ends)

Handwriting Worksheet Maker

• Visit www.handwritingworksheets.com and create your own “Print Style Worksheets” to work on at home. 

Lesson: Because the parent can create the worksheet, you can reinforce any skill you’d like! And your scholar will be getting writing practice...

Volunteering...

We now have a calendar hanging on the “NEWS” bulletin board by the front door of our classroom.  Please flip through the months and sign up for a few spots.  Separate volunteer sign-up forms will go out for holiday parties (as usual, on our clipboard).

Book Club...

Here are some new titles - great for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and cuddles at night... 

Beginning reader chapter books - - 

And some lovely picture books - -

Enjoy!

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 January 17 - 20

Monday, January 16th, is a non-academic day in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. The school is open for daycare, normal hours. We will be doing structured play in our classroom. Our academics resume Tuesday.

Dear Parents,

Last week, we learned a lot and had a great time exploring the world around us! The scholars did a fantastic job reading Jim Wins, becoming more comfortable with “short i” sounds and sight words. Everyone received 100% on the chapter 4 math test. Outstanding job! We ended our math lesson by charting playground equipment in the school. It was a fun experience. We also learned some tools to keep the earth clean, such as using lunch boxes instead of paper bags and using sponges or washcloths instead of paper towels to pick up a mess. Hope you enjoyed the recipe for an “All-Purpose Cleaner” that came home earlier in the week. 

Another really cool thing we did this week was consider the concept of movement, music, and illustrations by watching Fantasia (2000). We started a new movement journal after watching a few pieces. The scholars are enthralled by the movie and music and it is an utter joy to see their creations when we turn off the movie and turn on music in our classroom.

This Week’s Lessons...

For our Phonics lessons, we are going to review “short a” sounds. We will work on rhymes for our spelling words and practice how to write a bevy of new and previously learned words.  

In Math, we will start Chapter 5: Numbers 6-10. We will count objects and begin to explore the concept of adding numbers 0-5 to reach a number 6-10. 

In History, we will start a lesson in Good Citizenship by exploring five themes: honesty, compassion, respect, responsibility, and courage. We will talk about people and symbols of the United States and how they relate to each theme and discuss “what would happen next” in situations where the scholars would find themselves needing to employ a theme. 

Please Note...

I will not be sending home miniature busses anymore to practice spelling words. Instead, on Mondays your scholar will bring home a list of spelling words (see example below from this week). Please use this list to study for the test on Friday. A list of spelling words will always be available on Sunday in the left column of this blog. 

Volunteering...

We now have a calendar hanging on the “NEWS” bulletin board by the front door of our classroom.  Please flip through the months and sign up for a few spots.  Separate volunteer sign-up forms will go out for holiday parties (as usual, on our clipboard).

 Book Club...

Here are some new titles - great for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and cuddles at night... 

Beginning reader chapter books - - 

No More Monsters for Me! by Peggy Parish

The Fire Cat by Esther Averill

This Book is Haunted by Joanne Rocklin and JoAnn Adinolfi

Sammy the Seal by Syd Hoff

Some Caldecott Winners through the years - - 

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young 

The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Dianne Snyder

Hey, Al by Arthur Yorinks

If you haven't already done so, please buy yourself a copy of The ABCs of Literacy by Cynthia Dollins.



Enjoy!

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 January 9 - 13

Dear Parents,

Hope you’ve had a terrific start to 2012! It’s great to see everyone back... the scholars have hit the ground running and are really, truly impressing me with their skills!

Last week we played with words with “short i” sounds and wrote a sentence with our spelling words. We worked in more detail with numbers 0-5, paying special attention to zero, and did some graphing, comparing objects.  We observed the weather (and discussed how unusual our 80 degree weather is for winter!) and are graphing the daily changes (or lack thereof!) for the next week. 

This Week’s Lessons...

We are going to continue with “short i” words, listening to rhyming words and reading Jim Wins for even more practice.  We will finish Chapter 4 in math this week and conclude this lesson with charting items around the school.  In Science, we are going to talk about conserving our resources and what it means to reduce, reuse, and recycle. At the end of the week, we’ll be taking a pledge to be more earth-friendly. 

Please Note...

This week is our last week with 4 spelling words.  Starting next week, we are upping our study words to SEVEN. Our 7 spelling words will consist of 3 sight words and 4 decodable words. Our decodable words next week will review “short a.” Spelling tests are still on Friday morning.

Also, this week will conclude our Earth Science lessons and we’ll be switching gears to History for a few months. We’ll come back to science in Spring to talk about Life Science (plants and animals). 

Volunteering...

We now have a calendar hanging on the “NEWS” bulletin board by the front door of our classroom.  Please flip through the months and sign up for a few spots.  Separate volunteer sign-up forms will go out for holiday parties (as usual, on our clipboard).

Book Club...

Here are some new titles for your perusal and shopping pleasure...

Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming

Tough Boris by Mem Fox

The Surprise Family by Lynn Reiser

Our Granny by Margaret Wild

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman

Kipper’s A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure by Mick Inkpen

Gus and Grandpa at Basketball by Claudia Mills

Juan Bobo Goes to Work by Marisa Montes

And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

Enjoy!

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