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

Week of January 3 - 6

Dear Parents,

Happy 2012! I hope you had a restful and loving holiday season... All the best to your family and friends this new year. It continues to be such a joy to be a part of your lives and I look forward to all the things ’12 has to offer us.

Well, we’re back at school this Tuesday. I can’t wait to see everyone in the morning! It’s business as usual, with only a few minor “changes” to our lessons - things I’ll be explaining in more detail on next week’s blog (see Sneak Peak below).

This Week’s Lessons...

This week we are going to start a new book in our phonics series, Jim Wins, playing special attention to the “short i” sound.  We are going to continue working on Chapter 4 in our math series, working with numbers 0-5 and graphing. And lastly, under our Earth Science curriculum, we will be learning about weather and seasons.

... Sneak Peak

Starting next week, I will have a calendar up in the classroom for you to “sign up” for volunteer times in the class for the remainder of the year.  Some of these spots are for reading to the class, helping me put together homework packets and Book Worm Bags, taking dictation on stories students tell, discussing with the class your career or something you enjoy doing (hobby, etc.)... Some of these volunteer slots are weekly, some are monthly. I look forward to your help as much as the scholars will thoroughly enjoy having you in room 7!

Book Club

Even though the holidays are over, I will still be adding books I think your scholar might enjoy. Please continue to check our blog weekly for updates (starting up again next week).

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 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