DATES TO REMEMBER:
-Tuesday, September 11th—Picture Day
-Friday, September 14th—Book Orders Due
-Monday, September 17th—Delayed Start (10:00)
-Monday, September 17th—Mileage Club Begins
We had a busy first week getting to know each other and beginning to establish our classroom routines. It will take a few weeks to get the routines down. Friday was an especially busy day as we chased the Gingerbread Man all around the school. We visited many places and met several important people who work at our school; including the cooks, Mrs. Kelley (Gym), Mrs. Wiggins (Band), Mrs. Neverth (Music), John & Dan (custodians), Mrs. Brunick & Mrs. Eisenga (library), Mr. Harris (Superintendent), Mrs. Hill (secretary), & Mr. Smith (Principal). We finally found the Gingerbread Man back in our own classroom and we quickly gobbled him up before he could run away again. The students were very excited; I hope you had a chance to hear all about it!
PICTURES:
Our picture day is tomorrow—Tuesday, September 11th. ALL students WILL be photographed for the yearbook and library cards. If you’d like to purchase pictures, please be sure to send in your payment and completed envelope by tomorrow morning. Don’t forget your SMILE!
SPECIALS:
This week we will begin our normal schedule for specials.
Tuesday—Gym
Wednesday—Gym
Friday—Music & Library (every other week)
*We will visit the library this Friday for the first time. To begin with, students will be able to check out books to take back to the classroom. Later in the year, students will be able to bring their library books home.
READING:
The next few weeks we will be focusing on learning our letters and sounds by studying the letters in our names. We will introduce a letter each day and do several activities with the focus letter. Once we’ve made it through the entire alphabet, we will then start an in-depth study of each letter, spending a week on each letter. This week our reading lessons will focus on the letters H, N, G, P, & X. Our focus story for this week is Mary Wore Her Red Dress which we will use to reinforce ‘parts of a book’ & reading aloud using the illustrations. We will also practice identifying colors and color words.
WRITING:
We will practice ‘speaking’ using our storyteller voices and ‘listening’ while others tell their stories aloud. We will also create a class book about the Gingerbread Man and complete a journal page about our friends at school.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week we will continue to read many books about starting school and what it means to be a ‘good friend.’ We will also begin learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly as we watch the process firsthand in our discovery center.
MATH:
We will be learning how to identify and write the numbers 0-9 and practice counting items by sight, sound, and touch. We will also work on building numbers using different manipulatives. When practicing at home, please refer to the Number Rhymes handout that you received in your ‘First Day of School’ packet.
BOOK BOXES:
We will begin reading from our own book boxes by the end of the week. I still have a few students who need to bring in their 5-8 books from home; please send them in ASAP so we are ready to read!
Please be sure to check out my blog for newsletter updates and links to educational videos and games.
