Dear Families,
Thank you for the generous gifts and surprises this week. Thank you also for the cards and kind wishes. I appreciate all the support and generosity! A big thank you goes out to all of our volunteers who come to our classroom each month, every other week, every week, or some even twice a week! We depend on you and we are so lucky to have your help in our classroom! Thank you also for the volunteers who prepare weekly homework or math packets at home, and our room parents! We are thankful for all of you!
This week was filled with many busy activities. We spent much of the time finishing our holiday presents for you! These presents are a combination of writing, art, social studies, and computer skills. We also learned how to make pop-up cards for you! We hope you like our gift and will be able to use it next year! There is also an ornament for you to keep!
Our specials this week were: library on Monday, Star of the Week for Evan on Tuesday (you can read about him on our website!), computer lab on Wednesday, and making snowflakes with our buddies on Thursday. Mrs. Rowe announced the WOW (Walk One Week) raffle winners and congratulations to Tess who received a ribbon and Sydney who received a Baja Fresh coupon! Every classroom had at least one raffle winner. In computer lab, we tried our best to finish two ongoing projects. One project was for the cover of your gift, and the other project was our illustrations of the “First Day of Winter” poem. Unfortunately, some students were not finished with their cover pages, but we had to print it out anyways.
Today was our Polar Express Day! The classroom was set-up like a train when the kids arrived in the morning. They sat down in the train just like the children in the book (who are also wearing their pajamas!). I read them the Polar Express story and each child received a bell just like in the story. The children on the Polar Express drank hot chocolate and had cookies, so we did too. We also did a kindness activity where we delivered hot chocolate to all the teachers and staff around the school. One of the most important concepts for me during the holiday season is for students to understand “giving”. So often, kids are focused on only themselves and receiving gifts. I hope that we can teach kids that giving and helping others is so much more rewarding then getting something. Afterwards, we watched the movie version of Polar Express!
I hope your family has a wonderful holiday vacation. I plan on staying local both weeks to spend time with my family and my nieces. For those of you who are traveling, I hope you have safe travels! Today, we had to say a sad goodbye to Nanaka and her family. We will miss you very much! Please keep in touch!
I will see you on Monday, January 3rd! There will be a new AM girl joining us, her name is Aishwarya and she will have a twin sister in Mrs. Van Dick’s classroom. Please welcome her and her family to our class! Our sharing will be a New Year’s resolution when we return. Happy 2011!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
December 10, 2010
Dear Families,
Our classroom is decorated with different holiday projects! If you haven’t already, you can see photos of our December decorations in the “Photos” section of our website! We have lots of work from different holidays around the world! Plus, I always love to decorate the classroom during this time of the year to make it festive! Enjoy!
Remember to check the “Classwork” section of our website and click on the “Dear Santa” picture! Each child shared 3 reasons why they think they were good this year, and then they wrote down what they wish to get this year. Take a look at their letters!
Your family turkey feather is also coming home today. Everyone did such a beautiful job on their feathers, and they were so creative. Thank you for spending time together as a family to make them so special. Here are some highlights for the week:
• Language Arts: This week we started reading some Gingerbread Man stories. There are a lot of variations of the story, but we read the Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Pirates, Gingerbread Baby, and Gingerbread Friends. During our Friday centers, we made our own gingerbread men using white paint and brown paper. We also made a mini book about eating different body parts of the gingerbread man!
• Social Studies: We are continuing our 3-week Social Studies project on the holidays, seasons, and months. Also, almost all of us have some sight words memorized such as the, month, for, and is! It is really important that at this time of the year, the children begin mastering their handwriting of little and big letters. We have been reading stories about different holidays around the world. We continued learning about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and we also learned about Mexico and the special meaning of poinsettias.
• Writing: In our journals this week, we wrote a sentence about what we think of when we hear “December.” We illustrated our pictures and checked our handwriting. We are trying to get into the habit of using capitals, spaces, and periods! It is still hard for some students to remember to check their work.
• Math: This week we continued reviewing our numbers and worked on 8, 9, and 10. We are practicing to identify 10 quickly by using a ten-frame. We are also continuing to write math sentences using the plus and equals sign. Another vocabulary word we use often is “in all.” One area that is difficult for students is to answer “How many more?” in word problems using illustrations. An example is (and I would read this orally): There are 3 soccer players. 10 players are needed to play a game. How many more players do they need? We practiced this type of word problem this week. The math sentence would be 3 + 7 = 10. They need to be able to solve the problem using numbers, words, and pictures. In pictures, we show how to solve the problem by first counting the 3 players, and then we draw circles and continue counting from 4 until 10 to show the remaining players. Please practice at home!
• Music: We saw Ms. Disney this week and we sang some holiday songs! We sang Jingle Bells and used sticks as well as bells to accompany the song. We also walked and galloped like the horses on Santa’s sleigh! Another song we learned was about Hanukkah. We learned about a game they play using a dreidel and we learned some Hebrew words! Finally, we learned movements to a song about a bunny eating a snowman’s carrot nose!
• Computer Lab: This week we used Kidspiration to work on a Social Studies picture about the seasons and months of the year. For our lesson, we chose pictures to match the different months of the year. We had to think about different special days throughout the year and make sure our pictures fit the season or month. This lesson will continue next week.
• Assembly: Today we had a special assembly called Earth Dome. It taught us facts about our Earth and geography. They even brought in a 12 foot dome for us to see and learn about the Earth.
Now that the rain has started, we have a few extra rainy day procedures in place. When you arrive at school and it is little to no rain, then please line up in our regular spot. If it is raining, then:
* Morning Class Drop-Off: If the doors are open, you can drop your child off. If the door is closed, that means I might be in a meeting or I am not in the classroom. You can then line up in the lunch table area that has an overhang directly across from our classroom door (where you pick up your child after school). Please stand in line behind the blue pole facing my door.
* Afternoon Class Drop-Off: If it is raining, you can wait in the hallway door entrance until 10:55am (or 10:35am on Tuesdays). Please wait in line with your child in the hallway until I open the door. Please make sure they are quiet, especially Tuesdays.
* Pick-Up for Morning and Afternoon Classes: Wait in our regular spot by the lunch tables unless it is raining hard. If it is windy and raining hard, I will dismiss the kids from the door leading to the hallway.
Remember that Nanaka’s last day with us is on Friday, so if your child would like to make or give Nanaka a goodbye card/present, you are welcome to do so! Have a wonderful weekend!
Our classroom is decorated with different holiday projects! If you haven’t already, you can see photos of our December decorations in the “Photos” section of our website! We have lots of work from different holidays around the world! Plus, I always love to decorate the classroom during this time of the year to make it festive! Enjoy!
Remember to check the “Classwork” section of our website and click on the “Dear Santa” picture! Each child shared 3 reasons why they think they were good this year, and then they wrote down what they wish to get this year. Take a look at their letters!
Your family turkey feather is also coming home today. Everyone did such a beautiful job on their feathers, and they were so creative. Thank you for spending time together as a family to make them so special. Here are some highlights for the week:
• Language Arts: This week we started reading some Gingerbread Man stories. There are a lot of variations of the story, but we read the Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Pirates, Gingerbread Baby, and Gingerbread Friends. During our Friday centers, we made our own gingerbread men using white paint and brown paper. We also made a mini book about eating different body parts of the gingerbread man!
• Social Studies: We are continuing our 3-week Social Studies project on the holidays, seasons, and months. Also, almost all of us have some sight words memorized such as the, month, for, and is! It is really important that at this time of the year, the children begin mastering their handwriting of little and big letters. We have been reading stories about different holidays around the world. We continued learning about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and we also learned about Mexico and the special meaning of poinsettias.
• Writing: In our journals this week, we wrote a sentence about what we think of when we hear “December.” We illustrated our pictures and checked our handwriting. We are trying to get into the habit of using capitals, spaces, and periods! It is still hard for some students to remember to check their work.
• Math: This week we continued reviewing our numbers and worked on 8, 9, and 10. We are practicing to identify 10 quickly by using a ten-frame. We are also continuing to write math sentences using the plus and equals sign. Another vocabulary word we use often is “in all.” One area that is difficult for students is to answer “How many more?” in word problems using illustrations. An example is (and I would read this orally): There are 3 soccer players. 10 players are needed to play a game. How many more players do they need? We practiced this type of word problem this week. The math sentence would be 3 + 7 = 10. They need to be able to solve the problem using numbers, words, and pictures. In pictures, we show how to solve the problem by first counting the 3 players, and then we draw circles and continue counting from 4 until 10 to show the remaining players. Please practice at home!
• Music: We saw Ms. Disney this week and we sang some holiday songs! We sang Jingle Bells and used sticks as well as bells to accompany the song. We also walked and galloped like the horses on Santa’s sleigh! Another song we learned was about Hanukkah. We learned about a game they play using a dreidel and we learned some Hebrew words! Finally, we learned movements to a song about a bunny eating a snowman’s carrot nose!
• Computer Lab: This week we used Kidspiration to work on a Social Studies picture about the seasons and months of the year. For our lesson, we chose pictures to match the different months of the year. We had to think about different special days throughout the year and make sure our pictures fit the season or month. This lesson will continue next week.
• Assembly: Today we had a special assembly called Earth Dome. It taught us facts about our Earth and geography. They even brought in a 12 foot dome for us to see and learn about the Earth.
Now that the rain has started, we have a few extra rainy day procedures in place. When you arrive at school and it is little to no rain, then please line up in our regular spot. If it is raining, then:
* Morning Class Drop-Off: If the doors are open, you can drop your child off. If the door is closed, that means I might be in a meeting or I am not in the classroom. You can then line up in the lunch table area that has an overhang directly across from our classroom door (where you pick up your child after school). Please stand in line behind the blue pole facing my door.
* Afternoon Class Drop-Off: If it is raining, you can wait in the hallway door entrance until 10:55am (or 10:35am on Tuesdays). Please wait in line with your child in the hallway until I open the door. Please make sure they are quiet, especially Tuesdays.
* Pick-Up for Morning and Afternoon Classes: Wait in our regular spot by the lunch tables unless it is raining hard. If it is windy and raining hard, I will dismiss the kids from the door leading to the hallway.
Remember that Nanaka’s last day with us is on Friday, so if your child would like to make or give Nanaka a goodbye card/present, you are welcome to do so! Have a wonderful weekend!
Friday, December 03, 2010
December 3, 2010
Dear Families,
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It was so nice for my family because of the twins and of course, because my sister is home and getting better. I hosted this year! I was thankful for the entire week off to go grocery shopping and prepare for the all day event!
Here are some highlights for the week:
• Language Arts: During the next 3 weeks, we will not be doing our regular language arts activities such as letter of the week or literacy centers. Instead, we are working on our reading and writing through a social studies project. We are learning about the months of the year and special days that occur each month. We are writing a sentence that describes something about each month, and we are making crafts to match our writing. We are remembering to use capitals, spaces, and periods in our sentences.
• Writing: In addition to our social studies project, we read some stories about Santa this week. We tried to write a letter to Santa and tell him three reasons why we have been good this year. Then we wrote what our wish was. Some students had a difficult time with sounding out the words and using inventive spelling to write down their ideas. Some students told me what they wanted to write and I wrote it down for them. During weekly library journal homework, please encourage your child to write down their own sentences versus telling them the letters and spelling. They need to practice writing independently. Again, spelling is not important. I am looking for breaking down the sounds they hear and their effort. These Santa letters are always very adorable, and you can read them on our website under “Classwork!”
• Math: This week we continued reviewing our numbers and worked on 6 and 7. We are starting to practice writing math sentences using the plus and equals sign, such as 3 + 2 = 5. In addition to writing the math sentence, we are learning to orally tell a story about the math sentence, such as: There are three ducks in the water. Two ducks join them. How many ducks are there now? There are five ducks in all. We are learning the magic words, “in all,” which mean addition. Students need to demonstrate understanding of math concepts using not just numbers, but words and pictures too.
• Social Studies: Congratulations to Saad, who was chosen as our twelfth Star of the Week! You can read about him in the “Classwork” section of our website, and click under “Star of the Week.” In addition to our months and special days project, we are learning about holidays around the world. This week we learned about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. We read some stories to teach us about these special holidays. Today, we made a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah, which is the object that holds all the candles. Also, we learned about another holiday called Kwanzaa and made a unity cup that is used to show unity within family members.
• Computer Lab: We illustrated a poem this week called, “First Day of Winter.” We learned that December 21st is the first day of winter, and we drew a picture that shows what a snow scene would look like from inside our homes. They drew snow, icicles, and snowflakes! Some students were able to finish this week, but we will be continuing this project next week.
• Art: We saw Mrs. Abada on Thursday for our December art class. We learned about different directions such as horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Then we learned to make different types of lines such as zig zag, dashed, hairy, castle, spiral, wavy, etc. Afterwards we used watercolor to paint different sections on our pictures!
I found out on Monday this week that Anika is no longer in our classroom. Her last day was before Thanksgiving break! We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her. Also, Nanaka’s last day with us will be in two weeks on December 17th. Her family is moving back to Japan and we will definitely miss her!
If your family plans on leaving Eaton during the year, please try to let me know at least 2 weeks in advance. We have many projects that I have to collect and return to you, so knowing ahead of time is very helpful. Thank you!
I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It was so nice for my family because of the twins and of course, because my sister is home and getting better. I hosted this year! I was thankful for the entire week off to go grocery shopping and prepare for the all day event!
Here are some highlights for the week:
• Language Arts: During the next 3 weeks, we will not be doing our regular language arts activities such as letter of the week or literacy centers. Instead, we are working on our reading and writing through a social studies project. We are learning about the months of the year and special days that occur each month. We are writing a sentence that describes something about each month, and we are making crafts to match our writing. We are remembering to use capitals, spaces, and periods in our sentences.
• Writing: In addition to our social studies project, we read some stories about Santa this week. We tried to write a letter to Santa and tell him three reasons why we have been good this year. Then we wrote what our wish was. Some students had a difficult time with sounding out the words and using inventive spelling to write down their ideas. Some students told me what they wanted to write and I wrote it down for them. During weekly library journal homework, please encourage your child to write down their own sentences versus telling them the letters and spelling. They need to practice writing independently. Again, spelling is not important. I am looking for breaking down the sounds they hear and their effort. These Santa letters are always very adorable, and you can read them on our website under “Classwork!”
• Math: This week we continued reviewing our numbers and worked on 6 and 7. We are starting to practice writing math sentences using the plus and equals sign, such as 3 + 2 = 5. In addition to writing the math sentence, we are learning to orally tell a story about the math sentence, such as: There are three ducks in the water. Two ducks join them. How many ducks are there now? There are five ducks in all. We are learning the magic words, “in all,” which mean addition. Students need to demonstrate understanding of math concepts using not just numbers, but words and pictures too.
• Social Studies: Congratulations to Saad, who was chosen as our twelfth Star of the Week! You can read about him in the “Classwork” section of our website, and click under “Star of the Week.” In addition to our months and special days project, we are learning about holidays around the world. This week we learned about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. We read some stories to teach us about these special holidays. Today, we made a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah, which is the object that holds all the candles. Also, we learned about another holiday called Kwanzaa and made a unity cup that is used to show unity within family members.
• Computer Lab: We illustrated a poem this week called, “First Day of Winter.” We learned that December 21st is the first day of winter, and we drew a picture that shows what a snow scene would look like from inside our homes. They drew snow, icicles, and snowflakes! Some students were able to finish this week, but we will be continuing this project next week.
• Art: We saw Mrs. Abada on Thursday for our December art class. We learned about different directions such as horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Then we learned to make different types of lines such as zig zag, dashed, hairy, castle, spiral, wavy, etc. Afterwards we used watercolor to paint different sections on our pictures!
I found out on Monday this week that Anika is no longer in our classroom. Her last day was before Thanksgiving break! We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her. Also, Nanaka’s last day with us will be in two weeks on December 17th. Her family is moving back to Japan and we will definitely miss her!
If your family plans on leaving Eaton during the year, please try to let me know at least 2 weeks in advance. We have many projects that I have to collect and return to you, so knowing ahead of time is very helpful. Thank you!
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