Big C, little c. What begins with C?

Prior to our trip to Schmitt's farms, we made predictions about all the different things one can do at the farm.  After we went on our trip, we discussed all the fun things we did.  We documented our favorite thing and published a before and after picture book.

We are learning different ways of saying hello in other languages.  So far we have learned to say hello in Spanish, hola; and Hebrew, shalom. 

This week we will be having a lot of fun with the letter C.  Remember, when writing your letters at home, always start at the top.

Reminder: Show and Tell, every Tuesday.  I will not be limiting you on what you bring in by giving you specific limitations through categories.  However, if you run out of ideas or want a specific suggestion we are always happy to help.  Show and Tell is a special time where your child is able to feel confident in speaking to the class as a whole and sharing something that is of value to them.  Please bring in something different than last week.

* If you have an extra medium sized pumpkin at home and would like to donate to our class, we would like to explore the insides as well as wash and save seeds for planting in the spring.  By having many pumpkins we can compare/contrast, classify, measure, and weigh pumpkins.  We are asking for pumpkin donations by Friday, October 22. *

Daily Routine

How do we incorporate math daily?

Every morning during our classroom meeting we talk about what month, day, and year we are in.  Every month a new pattern is created with our numbers by color.  So far we have learned an A-B pattern, and now we are learning an A-B-B pattern.  This month, we will be weighing, measuring, and classifying pumpkins.  We also listen to a lot of songs that incorporate counting in an interactive way, discussing addition and subtraction.

How do we incorporate literacy daily?

Every day we read a picture book that goes along with a theme or idea we are learning about in class.  While we are preparing for lunch, we read a chapter from a beginner chapter book.  We read at least one poem daily to develop fluency.  Also, every morning we have a daily message that is in the form of a friendly letter.  It is consistent and predictable which builds your child's interest in learning to read.  Beginning today we shook things up a bit... there are missing letters in our morning message and we need to sound out the word in order to write the letters.  We are also busy identifying words verses letters, and incorporating shapes into our lesson too!  This will also build our site vocabulary and letter identification.

When we finish eating lunch, we read books (handle books, look at pictures, make picture-to-text connections).  We also have pointers in our room that we can use to find words and numbers throughout our room to read.  Our read aloud also includes a daily discussion about the different parts of a book: front, back, spine, title and dedication page; and the role of an illustrator and author.

Show and Tell

We had so much fun sharing something that was special to us.  Each student had the opportunity to sit in "the teacher's chair".  We are learning to be good listeners to our friends.

 

Big B, little b. What begins with B?

This week we will be learning to write the letter B (both uppercase and lowercase).  We are spending a lot of time learning the sounds that each letter makes and talking about words that begin with the letter B.  Did you hear?  We are learning the alphabet in sign language too!

We are continuing our unit on primary colors.  Last week we discussed the color red and learned a poem that helps us remember how to spell this color.  This week we will be learning about the color blue (Miss Platt's favorite color!)  We are creating our personal primary color book in class.


Throughout the school year we are collecting artifacts that the students create.  We are keeping them in your child's personal folder to show progress over time -- we already have three items in our folders!

Our first class book is making it's way to your home.  Look out for our first book we created on Christopher Columbus and Dreams.  You even get an opportunity to spend with Jericho, our mascot for the day!

Show and Tell

Timmy wanted to show you something he found today that was special to him.  It starts with the letter B!  Can you see what it is?

A butterfly!

Photography

Buddy Reading

Check out the patterns!

We love our classroom computer.

Dramatic Play Center

Writing Center

Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.  This week we have been learning about Columbus Day.  We created an art project that included coloring, cutting, pasting, and counting.  We identified shapes and colors too!

If you do not see your child's photo here and would like to, please let me know.  I did not get everyone's photo permission slip back.

Big A, little a. What begins with A?

This week we will be learning all about the letter A.  We will be spending a lot of time learning how to write this letter.

Some suggestions for home to build the strength in your child's fine motor skills so we can hold the pencil and scissors with ease:

• Playing with clay (clay is tougher than Play-doh)
• Using chopsticks or tweezers
• Stringing beads
• Peeling off stickers (make a sticker book) 
• Practice buttoning and zipping jackets and pants

If you notice that your child is not holding the pencil with a pincer grip, try using a golf pencil (the really small ones).  Another suggestion, roll up a tissue.  Tuck the tissue under your pinky and ring finger.  This leaves your other three fingers free to hold the pencil, while cushioning your other two fingers.

Alphabet Links:
Bembo's Zoo
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom