November 9, 2009

     We will be going to the Patterson Planetarium on Tuesday, 
November 17.   Please make sure your child is not late on this day.  
We will also be taking a walking field trip in December.  Please see 
the attached letter for details.
     The children continue to do very well on the spelling tests.  
Please be sure to study the new spelling words throughout the week.  
It will also be helpful if you would also practice previous words 
from time to time.  I would again suggest making flash cards for all 
the weekly words and reviewing them every few nights.  I hope you 
have had a chance to read your child's journal that was sent home 
last week.  They are really doing an awesome job with this.  Writing 
is a great activity to do at home too!  After Thanksgiving, the 
students will need to write two sentences in their journals.  You 
might want to start practicing this at home and it would be helpful 
if you spend a minute or two on the way to school with your child 
discussing what he will write in his journal. 
     Most of our students are now millionaires.    If your child is 
not yet a millionaire be sure to send in reading logs.  In 
kindergarten it takes reading 250 books to become a millionaire.
     December is right around the corner and I have a suggestion for 
a great gift idea for your child.  Sponge Bob Typing, which sells for 
$9.99 at Staples, would be a great computer program to help with 
keyboarding skills.  Parents that have used this program tell me it 
is wonderful.
     Our students are doing well in the ILS computer lab.  They all 
are now working in the first grade reading program.  I do recommend 
that each parent occasionally take their child to the lab (after 
school) for some extra ILS time and also, to give you and idea of 
what sort of problems they are getting.
     This month in math we will be working on money.  This is a very 
hard concept and I would strongly suggest you reinforce this at 
home.  We will also be working on measurement (ordering by height and 
weight) and telling time.  Our focus for Science and Social Studies 
will be on nutrition, our Country, and the first Thanksgiving.  
Please refer to the web site for current information and be sure to 
check for the mystery math problem.

Important dates 
Wed. Nov. 11  Veterans Day- no school
Thur. Nov.  12  Chick-fil-a night
Tues.  Nov. 17  Planetarium field trip    
Mon.-Fri. Nov 23-27  Thanksgiving Break
Fri.  Dec. 4  Home Depot field trip
Tues. Dec. 8  Early Release Day (1:05)

I hope you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!
                                      Carol Jones