Special Events:
Friday, Feb. 10th- No School!
Tuesday, Feb. 14th- Valentine's Day Party!
Wednesday, Feb. 22- 1:00 Dismiss
Books We Are Reading:
Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink
The biggest Valentine Ever!
Happy Valentines Day Mouse
Beginning Reading: We are continuing to work on concepts of print such as identifying letters, words, and sentences, tracking words from left to right, and knowing parts of a book. We are also starting to learn sight words. Sight words are those that are commonly found in reading materials. Some are easy and can be sounded out while others are tricky and cannot be sounded out. We want beginning readers to learn and memorize as many sight words as possible so they can attend to the other, less common, words while reading and writing.
***When you are reading books at home, be sure your child points to the words. They may use pictures to help them figure out the words, but they must also stop and check to be sure they are reading the words correctly. Ask them, does that make sense? Get them to think about what they are reading by having them retell the story and asking specific questions like: what happened first, next, last; what does that remind you of; how did the character feel; how would you feel about that; what will happen next; etc.
Jolly Phonics Skills: Now that we have learned all 42 sounds, we are working to review and memorize these sounds. We are also working on sounding out words and writing words by using the sounds and spellings we have learned. Keep practicing the sounds at home!
Beginning Writing: We are beginning to become writers! We are spending more time writing with a prompt and working to write sentences. I encourage the kids to use the jolly phonic sounds to sound out and spell the words. Their writing will be very phonetic (spelled by sound only) and they may begin to use some alternate spellings. We are also starting to work on handwriting. We will start by learning and practicing proper formation of lower case letters and then move on the uppercase letters after Christmas. Encourage kids to write letters, help make grocery lists, send emails, etc to get more writing practice at home!
Math Concepts: We are starting a brand new math curriculum this year! It is a comprehensive program that helps students develop a deep understanding of number sense and other math concepts such as patterning, sorting, classifying, measurement, and calendar. Your child will bring home a pamphlet every day that was used in our lesson. Please look these over and help your child explore these concepts at home. I will send home more specific information as I become more familiar with this new program.
