Zoo

This week we talked all about zoo animals. We made giraffes, zebras, tigers, and monkeys. We also talked about the letter Zz and the number 5. We loved seeing all of the rhyming posters come back to school. You guys came up with great rhyming pairs! We were able to go on a "warm weather walk" this week and took in some sun and stretched out our legs with a walk around the school property. We even saw deer tracks in the mud!

Next week we will be talking about St. Patrick's Day while making leprechauns, rainbows, and pots of gold. We will be reviewing the letter Qq and number 6. 

REMINDERS:

--There will be an early release on Tuesday, March 17th. If your child will be going home differently than their usual schedule, please send a note. 

--The next Families Being Involved event will be Friday, March 20th. Those families that signed up will be receiving additional information in their child's folder this week. 

--There will be no school Thursday, April 2nd-Monday, April 6th due to teacher inservice and Easter break. Classes will resume Tuesday, April 7th.

Dr. Seuss

This week we talked about Dr. Seuss and Rhyming, the letter Rr and the number 4. We made Things 1 and 2 out of hand prints, wearable hats like Cat's, a fish scene from "One Fish, Two Fish", and Cat in the Hat faces. 

Next week we will be talking about "zoo", the number 5, and letter Zz.

Reminders:

--There will be an early release on Tuesday, March 17th.

--Our next Families Being Involved event will be on Friday, March 20th for those that have already signed up. 

--There will be no school on Thursday, April 2nd. due to teacher inservice

--There will be no school on Friday, April 3rd through Monday, April 6th due to Easter Break

--School will resume on Tuesday, April 7th

Nursery Rhymes and Rhyming

This week we talked all about nursery rhymes and rhyming words. We have been trying hard to listen to the ends of words to see if they sound the same, please continue to focus on this at home too. We also reviewed the number 3 and the letter Nn. We were also given a special gift of additional Magna-tiles for our classroom by Ms. Barb's high school buddies class. Thank you so much! The students have been having such a great time with them and they are now able to make much more elaborate creations.

Dental Health and Arctic Animals

Last week we talked about dental health and arctic animals. We had a visit from a local dentist, Dr. Sally. She talked about the importance of clean and healthy teeth and what we can do to help them stay strong. She even gave each student a little goody bag! With arctic animals we pretended we were penguins and learned about some fun animals that live in cold climates. We focused on the number 2 and letter Pp.

Valentine's

This past week we focused on Valentine's Day, letter Vv and review of the number 1. We had fun at our Valentine's "party". Treats were passed out, a Charlie Brown Valentine video was viewed, and we played games. 

Next week we will be talking about dental health and arctic animals. We will have a special visit from a local dentist to talk to us about her job. We will be focusing on the letter Pp and review of the number 2. Next Monday and Tuesday I will be sending home a note about spring conferences, these are not mandatory for families to attend. I have put requests to meet with some of my student's families, if you feel you want to be added to the list for conferences please send back the bottom portion of the note that will be in your child's folder. 

We have started a really fun activity in the past two weeks. It is something we do to give the students a mini break in the day. The activities are used to promote movement, mild exercise, music and dance expression, and fun! We do a variety of silly songs, children's yoga, and children's zumba. To check out what we do please visit www.gonoodle.com and click on demo class. This will allow you to try it out at home, if you would like you can click sign up and create accounts for your children. They get to choose a character and the more you play the more this character changes. You can click on "tags" scroll to the bottom and click "more tags" to have it display categories such as grade levels, type of activity, or length of activity.  Some of the videos we really like in class are from the group KooKooKangaRoo (roller coaster and Pop See Ko) and zumba kids (party rock and happy)

Reminders 

---attendance policy: all absences must be excused in writing or email. A phone call is appreciated but it does not meet the requirements to count as an excused absence.

---Early Release: Thursday the 19th students will be dismissed at 1:52.

---No School: Friday the 20th

---FBI event: Friday the 27th at 1:15 in the Stetsonville gym. Notes will be sent home this coming week

---Book orders: Due Wed. 18th/Thurs. 19th

January has come to an end

January is now behind us. Second semester has started and your students are excited to be in the last half of the school year! Report cards have gone home and if you have any questions about them, please do not hesitate to contact me. Keep in mind that the grades on them represent what they have shown us that they can do at school. If they can count to 20+ at home, but they haven't displayed that here at school they will still have a B on their report card rather than an E. With the changing of the semesters we have had to say goodbye to our high school mentor-ship buddy, Ms. Kendra and we now have Ms. Kaitlin joining us for the remainder of the school year.

We have just finished up our two weeks of the dinosaurs theme. We also just had our first field trip of the year!  The Broadway Theatre opened up for us to watch Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The kids had a great time, THANK YOU!

We will be having a Valentines celebration on the 11th and 12th. If you choose to send treats or valentines please address them to "my friend". It makes it easier to pass them out for your student.

REMINDERS:
There will be an early release on the 19th.
There will be no school on the 20th.
Our next Families Being Involved event will be on the 27th at 1:15 in the Stetsonville gym to watch a movie projected on the wall. Popcorn included, bring your towels, chairs, pillows, etc. to sit on.

 

January

January is off to a good but cold start for us. We have had a few inside recess days due to the wind chill but please remember to send your child with snowpants, boots, winter jacket, hat, gloves/mittens as we will go out if the temperature and windchill are not too cold and it makes for a better ride home if they are all bundled up as well. 

Our first week back was a short one with a snow day tossed in. We discussed winter clothes, made mitten projects, sorted and graphed mittens. We focused on the letter Ww and the number 6. 

This past week we talked all about snow and snowmen. We made several different versions of snowmen in our projects. We cut out and painted large snowflakes. The letter of the week was Ss and our number was 7. 

We had our Families Being Involved event today at the Simek Center. The kids had a great time ice skating with family and friends! Thank you to those who signed up to join us. 

Next week we will be focusing on games, letter Gg, and number 8. We will be practicing taking turns, working cooperatively, and following directions. We will get a chance to play games with our high school buddies and a 4th grade class too! 

Reminders:
There will be no school for all students on Friday the 23rd.

Our first field trip will be Feb. 4th and 5th to the Broadway Theatre. More information will be coming home this Wed. and Thurs. 

Our Valentine's Party will be Feb. 11th and 12th--more information to come.

We will have an early release on Thursday, Feb. 19th and no school on Friday, Feb. 20th.