We had another wonderful week and we are looking forward to a long weekend. Please remember there is no school on Monday, Sept. 3. Then, Tuesday evening, beginning at 6:30 p.m., we will have parent orientation. This is an evening for us to have a formal meeting. I will cover many things including my behavior management plan, homework, and schedules. I will also be telling you about our family grouping model known as "Camp Can Do". I want to be sure and answer all your questions also. Please email me with any that you have and I will address as many as I can during the meeting.
This week in phonics, we learned three different songs that help with naming letters and sounds. Each letter has a story and I have created body movements that go with it to help your child remember the sound each letter makes. Starting next week we will begin having a letter of the week. We will not only identify the letter, but we will learn its sound, how to write both its capital and lowercase form, and later on, how to use it in making word families. We will begin with the letter Mm and progress through the letters according to the easiest sounds first and progress to the harder sounds. By the time we reach the 5th letter, we will be ready to begin the word families of -at and -an.
In math, we continue to work on number sense. This week our essential question for our lessons was, "How do we compare numbers?". We focused on the vocabulary "equal" and "set" and practiced making and identifying equal sets. Next week we will focus on "greater and less" and "more and fewer". You can help your child at home by making sets of various items and comparing the two. Ask your child to make the two sets equal, make one set greater, and make one set less. Use this vocabulary as much as possible to help your child master the concept. It is also helpful to label the sets with the numerals to represent the items, then compare the numerals along with the sets. We will not be using the greater and less than symbols, only the vocabulary.
In social studies we have been learning about, "What makes me special?". We focused on our unique features (our face), our name, our family, and the things we like. We also published our very first book! Next week we will focus on our talents and goals we have for ourselves. This unit will then extend to our families and we will be learning about the various roles in a family unit and how families are alike and different.
We have also been focusing on many social skills the past three weeks. We have learned the following:
1. How to show listening.
2. How to be "trustworthy and truthful".
3. How to properly apologize.
4. How to ask for help.
5. How to be respectful when adults are speaking.
6. How to greet a friend.
7. How to properly walk in the hallways.
8. How to use manners in the lunchroom and restroom.
9. How to politely get in our spot in line.
WOW! And believe it or not, they have done very well and made me very PROUD!
SPECIALS NEXT WEEK
Mon. - No school Thurs. - PE
Tues. - Computer Lab Fri. - Art
Wed. - Spanish
(This may change due to a new specials schedule in the making to accommodate two new classes that have been added to Varner.)
THANK YOU to everyone who donated extra snack items for children (or parents) who may forget to bring a snack. I am a mom myself and I know that some mornings get crazy and snacks can easily be forgotten. You can feel assured that we will take care of your child should this happen, but please be courteous of our generous donations and don't make forgetting a habit.
Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all Tuesday evening at 6:30 in our room, 2.009.
Mrs. Hooks
