October/November Newsletter
Our author study has been Maurice Sendak. We have read
Where the Wild Things Are, and the children have created and written about
their own wild thing character. It’s a great way to channel the energy and
enthusiasm brought on by Halloween. We will also make our own version of
Sendak’s Alligators All Around.
Lots of things are happening in Language Arts. Reading groups meet
regularly where we build vocabulary, develop reading strategies, and process
what’s been read. Kathy Meinelt, one of our literacy teachers, comes in 4
days a week. Our student teacher, Miss Mailhot, also works with a reading
group. As a result every child works in a small reading group daily.
Sometimes students are asked to answer comprehension questions about what
they’ve read or to write a reflective response. In addition children are
being asked to write complete sentences. Students are starting to begin
sentences with capitals and end them with appropriate punctuation. Children
are becoming accountable for correct spelling when it comes to high frequency
words (these are words on the word wall). We’ve also started writing the
class “News”, which is an opportunity to practice writing sentences and share
exciting things that are happening!
In math we have begun unit 3, which focuses on patterning. The unit
starts with visual patterns and moves to patterns in numbers and counting. We
will continue to work with money adding in the dime and time working with the
half hour. The children continue to have a blast playing the math games while
reinforcing their skills. We have added in “Top It” using money cards, “High
Roller” a game adding dice, and “Nickel Penny Grab” to practice counting
coins.
Occasionally, we will go to the computer lab or use laptops in the
classroom during math to reinforce skills that we have been learning. Some of
the programs that we use are accessible to you at home if you go to the
school webpage and click on “caught in the web”. Most recently we used
Rainforest Math. The students loved it and asked if they could play at home!
Our username and password will soon be updated. I will send you this info as
soon as we receive it.
We are about to begin a new Social Studies unit called "Hooray for
the USA." Students will learn about various American symbols, including the
flag, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, etc.
A couple of housekeeping items!
Please review with your child every morning whether s/he is buying a lunch or
having one from home. Often when everyone is settled and we’re tallying up
the lunch count, I’ll get puzzled looks from children not knowing if they
brought or not. Your help with this will make for a smoother start to the
day. Thank you for your help with this.
Water bottles, please feel free to send a water bottle in with your child. I
encourage the children to keep water at their tables throughout the day.
Although the warm weather is sadly behind us, our room does get very dry. Our
room tends to run hot and cold, so layers might be the way to go this coming
winter.
And on a final note… our podcasts are all complete! I am so proud of the
students’ work. After we read many books by Eric Carle each child picked a
book to review. They read their reviews and their voices were recorded and
turned into podcasts. In addition each child made a collage from papers that
the class had painted together to go along with their book. Soon these will
be posted on the school web page as well as under links on our class web
page. Enjoy!
