Week of February 27 - March 2

Dear Parents,

This Friday is Read Across America Day, an event held in classrooms across the United States to bring awareness the wonders and magic found when you simply pick up a book... and read! March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’s birthday, so we’ll be celebrating that as well.  So, on Friday please have your scholar bring in his/her favorite Dr. Seuss book to share with the class.  

This Week’s Lessons...

In Phonics, review our “short u” and “short o” words that we’ve learned with art projects and worksheets.  Our spelling words reflect this concept.  Please note, the spelling words this week have two words the scholars might not readily know: rut and rod.  We will learn these new words by understanding words that rhyme with them and with our new book in our phonics series, Hot Rods.

In math, we will finish our chapter on numbers 10-30 and take the chapter test on Tuesday.  We will then jump right into Chapter 8: Money.  This chapter starts with the concept of pennies and how to count them.  Next week we will explore nickels, dimes, and quarters.  Please help your child understand the value of each coin at home by showing him/her what’s in your pockets and wallets and how you use the money.

Book Club...

Here are a few phonics series for early reading - these are great sets to get to keep reinforcing early reading skills:

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 February 21 - 24 (No School 2/20)

Dear Parents,

Last week we focused on “short o” words and began reading a “short o” book to discover the sounds in text.  Everyone did very well on the spelling test and should feel proud of his/her accomplishments in Phonics and Language Arts this week! We also started our math lesson on numbers 10-30.  While the majority of the kids are comfortable counting up to 30, these lessons are not just about that.  We are learning what numbers up to 30 actually “look like,” and, for instance, how the number 14 differs from the number 19.  So far, it’s been exciting to watch the light bulb turn-on in each child as he/she realizes what this means...

This Week’s Lessons...

In Phonics, we will continue to work on “short o” sounds and reading Hop On, Hop Off. I’ve begun testing the scholars on our previous books, having them read two random pages from each book we’ve read over the last few months.  They really have learned a lot of reading skills and are doing a fantastic job. I hope you are seeing and hearing great results at home as well!  We will also be comparing the “short o” sound to the “short a” sound this week to see the difference in these similar sounds.

In math, we will continue working with numbers 10-30, picking up at the beginning of the week with the number 17.  Our Chapter 7 math test is scheduled for Friday.

Book Club...

As reported in USA Today’s February 15, 2012 edition, here is a list of the “greatest books for kids” - a few choices below from their list of “top 100 for children”:

Scholastic Parent & Child magazine has just released this list as well.  It was put together by literary experts and “mom bloggers” and Scholastic made the final cuts.


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 February 13 - 17

Dear Parents,

We hope you enjoyed last week’s Valentine’s Day recital.  Thank you for coming out to support our students... we definitely felt the love!

Happy Valentine’s Day from our farm to yours...

This Week’s Lessons...

In Phonics, this week’s spelling words focus on “short o” sounds.  

In Language Arts, we will start reading Hop On, Hop Off from our phonics series to hear more “short o” sounds and to help review our “a,”  “i,” and “u” sounds along with our sight words.  By the end of this week, I will start rereading our previous books with the kids (1-2 pages per child) to see how his/her reading skills are coming along.

In Math, we are beginning Chapter 7: Numbers 10-30.  We will be grouping things into ten and then counting forward.  For example:

x	x	x	x	x
x	x	x	x	x

x	x	x

This shows the number “13,” whereas 5 and 5 is 10 (top set) and 3 more makes 13.  

Book Club...

I’ve been compiling a list of some great reads for children and will be posting a large list next week... Stay tuned!

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 February 6 - 10

Dear Parents,

We are gearing up for Valentine’s Day. Please remember...

Our Valentine’s Day Recital is this Friday at 3:15 p.m. in Room 2.  

Our Valentine’s Day party will be next Tuesday in the afternoon (TBA).  Please have your child bring a Valentine for EACH CHILD in class.  I can give you a list of names, if need be.  Please DO NOT leave anyone out - this is a special time of love and friendship and we want to make sure everyone feels included.

This Week’s Lessons...

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

In Language Arts, we will start reading Fun with Gum 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 finishing Chapter 6: Geometry and Equal Parts.  We will be dividing shapes into different parts to see what is equal. Our test on solid and plane shapes and equal parts is on Friday.

In History, we will continue our lessons in “Good Citizenship,” learning about 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...

Some nice Valentine's Day Stories:



Some Beginning Reader 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