We are getting excited for our trip to the Franklin Park Zoo on Thursday! More information about the trip will go home on Wednesday. Students will need a completely disposable bagged lunch and drink. Chaperones will be riding on the bus with us and should plan to be at the school by 8:30am.
We have already started learning about animals and will learn more about mammals next week. The children will begin an individual innovation entitled, Mom and I Went to the Zoo, which they will bring home to read in a couple of weeks.
All of the students read their Brown Bear books to the class before bringing them home this week. I made them all promise me they would read them often! There are some pictures below of the students sitting in the teacher’s chair and using a microphone to read to the class! They were very proud and so were their teachers!
Students made crocodile and monkey puppets this week to use as props when we sing our zoo song. They are all so unique, because they draw and cut the parts of the puppet themselves.
We started drawing some zoo animals that will be on display in our hallway after they have been painted and cut out. The students have been using shape tracers to make their animals. They are looking great so far!
The children continue to write in their journals and to illustrate poetry. We have been introducing various poems and chants, which help the children to hear rhymes. We finished another class book called “Did You Ever See…?” It’s silly but a great way to use rhyme! Please be sure to return class books on the next school day so we can continue circulating them!
We also learned about cross-section diagrams this week. The students drew and labeled the inside and outside parts of apples. They look great!
We have started sending home papers for students to practice writing numerals. This is homework that they should return the next day. We ask that students use a pencil to write the numerals using the Fundations pencil grip (pinch the pencil close to the tip with thumb and pointer finger and use the rest of the fingers to rest on the table). All numbers and letters should be written from top to bottom.
The Fundations papers that will be coming home next week are for students to practice at home. They do not need to be returned to school. Reminder: all other math papers from our enVision Math program are optional homework, including the vocabulary sheets, reviews, and last pages of the daily packets that go home.
We have just finished our first topic in math and will be starting our next one next week. We will be doing a lot with comparing and ordering numbers in math. Students have shown a lot of improvement with writing their numbers.
Students were introduced to ST Math on the iPad today. Our math specialist, Mr. Pera, came in to get them started with their password training. We will be trying to do ST Math at least 2-3 days a week for about 20 minutes each time. This is a wonderful math program that I got to pilot last year. I am excited that our students have the opportunity to use it this year. It isn’t something that students can access from home at this point in the year but I will send information home later in the year about how your child can access it from home if they would like.
I will be introducing students to a website that I like to use frequently, mostly with math, although it includes many subject areas. Please feel free to check it out ahead of time: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com. Click on “math games” and then under the heading “early math” click on the games “Count and Order,” “Order Numbers 1-10,” and “Count to 10.” These games help reinforce some of the concepts we are practicing in math. They are simple but the students typically enjoy them. There are many other games and activities on that website that your child would probably enjoy at home. I will use some of them throughout the year.
Don’t forget that there is no school on Monday due to Columbus Day weekend. Enjoy the extra day!
Melanie Duncan
PS...We will be going to the library on Wednesday. Please be sure to read and return your child’s library book so he/she can borrow a new one!
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