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