Dear Parents,
We're so excited to be turning the corner into warmer weather! We've shaved off at least five minutes from our end of the day routine and have even gone out for recess two times this week. I hope we can put our snowpants in storage for the year!
Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with me at conferences. It's always a pleasure to celebrate the progress the students have made since the beginning of the year. This time of year is always so much fun. Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns.
Over the past month, we've been working on writing How-to Books during Writer's Workshop. Our books include words that tell what to do in detailed steps, steps that are numbered, pictures for each step, and labels that teach. This week I told the children they were ready to graduate to a list with new goals. So, we just began printing important words in bold or all capitals, including an introduction/conclusion, and adding a dedication page. I've learned how to put on make up, how to make an ice cream cone, how to build with Legos, how to read...the creative topics go on and on! I love how much thought and detail the chidlren are putting into their books.
We've learned all of our Jolly Phonics sounds for the year. We'll use this time for review and also focus on the correct printing of these letters. Letter and number reversals are still age appropriate, but I'm going to really be stressing the correct formation during structured practice time. Using the double-lined handwriting paper also takes a little getting used to.
I keep sending home our sight words flash cards, as they are introduced. You can click Sight Words on my home page to get a comlete list. The words are listed in the order they were introduced.
February Words: so, put, up, down
March Words: we, want, out, who, are, they, she, good
In math we've been working on composing and decomposing numbers. The chilren have been focusing on counting on and back using a number line. We've also used these strategies with our addition and subtraction number sentences. The kids are able to find the missing part by counting on and back. (5+____=10 "Say the number 5, count on 6,7,8,9,10...this shows us it takes 5 more numbers to get to 10."
This week in science the children are having fun exploring magnets. The children really get excited about testing different objects to see if they are magntetic. We're also checking to see if magnets work through water, wood, and fabric. After Spring Break we're going to make a mini "garbage dump" and use our knowledge of magnetism and sinking and floating to retrieve different objects without touching them. Don't worry...our dump will consist of birthday candles, paperclips, sand...nothing dirty.
In Social Studies over the next week and a half, we'll be studying maps. To culminate this lesson, we'll use a school map to go on a treasure hunt. Each clue will lead us to a new treasure box filled with gold. Chidlren are invited to dress up like pirates on this day (Friday, March27th). A letter was sent home earlier this week explaining "Pirate Day." We'll make pirate hats the day before, so don't worry if you can't find pirate clothes at home--the hat will work just fine.
Next week is our last week of school before Spring Break. School resumes on Monday, April 6th. April is packed with many fun learning opportunities. Please check my home page for these special dates.
Thanks for all your support,
Becky Clay
We're so excited to be turning the corner into warmer weather! We've shaved off at least five minutes from our end of the day routine and have even gone out for recess two times this week. I hope we can put our snowpants in storage for the year!
Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with me at conferences. It's always a pleasure to celebrate the progress the students have made since the beginning of the year. This time of year is always so much fun. Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns.
Over the past month, we've been working on writing How-to Books during Writer's Workshop. Our books include words that tell what to do in detailed steps, steps that are numbered, pictures for each step, and labels that teach. This week I told the children they were ready to graduate to a list with new goals. So, we just began printing important words in bold or all capitals, including an introduction/conclusion, and adding a dedication page. I've learned how to put on make up, how to make an ice cream cone, how to build with Legos, how to read...the creative topics go on and on! I love how much thought and detail the chidlren are putting into their books.
We've learned all of our Jolly Phonics sounds for the year. We'll use this time for review and also focus on the correct printing of these letters. Letter and number reversals are still age appropriate, but I'm going to really be stressing the correct formation during structured practice time. Using the double-lined handwriting paper also takes a little getting used to.
I keep sending home our sight words flash cards, as they are introduced. You can click Sight Words on my home page to get a comlete list. The words are listed in the order they were introduced.
February Words: so, put, up, down
March Words: we, want, out, who, are, they, she, good
In math we've been working on composing and decomposing numbers. The chilren have been focusing on counting on and back using a number line. We've also used these strategies with our addition and subtraction number sentences. The kids are able to find the missing part by counting on and back. (5+____=10 "Say the number 5, count on 6,7,8,9,10...this shows us it takes 5 more numbers to get to 10."
This week in science the children are having fun exploring magnets. The children really get excited about testing different objects to see if they are magntetic. We're also checking to see if magnets work through water, wood, and fabric. After Spring Break we're going to make a mini "garbage dump" and use our knowledge of magnetism and sinking and floating to retrieve different objects without touching them. Don't worry...our dump will consist of birthday candles, paperclips, sand...nothing dirty.
In Social Studies over the next week and a half, we'll be studying maps. To culminate this lesson, we'll use a school map to go on a treasure hunt. Each clue will lead us to a new treasure box filled with gold. Chidlren are invited to dress up like pirates on this day (Friday, March27th). A letter was sent home earlier this week explaining "Pirate Day." We'll make pirate hats the day before, so don't worry if you can't find pirate clothes at home--the hat will work just fine.
Next week is our last week of school before Spring Break. School resumes on Monday, April 6th. April is packed with many fun learning opportunities. Please check my home page for these special dates.
Thanks for all your support,
Becky Clay