Letter Sounds and Monsters

 We are moving right along with learning letter sounds.  Even though we focus on one letter a week, I want them to know all the letter sounds as soon as possible so everyday we practice all the sounds. 

 I've been reading monster books to the class.  Since monsters aren't real,  we can really use our imaginations when we think about them.  I explained to them how making a monster is so different than making something like a zebra.  If I asked everyone to make a zebra then everyone would make an animal with black and white stripes and 4 legs, but if I ask them to make a monster, we would all make something unique and unusual.  We have had a great time looking at the different ways illustrators have used their imaginations when they draw a monster.  The kids made monster faces last week and it was fun to see how creative they could be.

Tomorow we will walk to the Pumpkin Patch here in Salado.  The bus will bring us back to the school.  We will leave here after lunch around 11:45. If your child brings $2, they can buy a small pumpkin.  It should be lots of fun!

Reading Homework

 Since it's Thursday, the kids have reading homework tonight.  Reading folders will come home every Wednesday and Thursday night.  The little books they bring home in the folders can be kept at home.  They don't need to come back to school.  If you don't get to listen to your child read on Wednesday or Thursday, please send the blue folder back anyway.  That way I will have it for the next book.

Don't put any notes or things you want me to see in the blue folders.  I don't check them for things like that.  The only time I open the blue folder is when I'm putting a new book in it.  When you send something to school that I need to see, it needs to be in the red folder. 

You can remind your child when they are reading to you to use their fingers, eyes, and voices all at the same time.  They hear me say that all the time so they will know what you mean.  

 

Thursdays are also computer lab days. Some of you have put headphones in your child's backpack and I just want you to know that we are using them.  I want them to stay in the backpack until we need them.  I think that is the best place to keep them so they don't get lost.  

We will go to the library tomorrow.  All books need to be turned in by tomorrow morning so everyone can check out a new book. 

Remember, the books they are checking out now are one that you should read to them.  I want them to hear good stories with great vocabulary.  Later in the year they will check out books that they can read themselves and the vocabulary will be very limited.  So now is a great time to expose them to words they may not have heard before. 

1st Thursday and Twinkie Day

 Once a month, we have 1st Thursday Assembly.  The purpose is to introduce the character trait of the month and to recognize accomplishments of our students. 

 Our class will be responsible for introducing the character trait to the school in the spring.  The kids will do a skit and have a song to sing.  I'll be sure to let you know when it is so you can come if you would like.

 They are learning how to be a good audience by giving their attention to the speaker and being good listeners.

 Today we also learned about our Fall fundraiser for the school and guess who forgot to put the information packets in the red folders? 

 Sorry, I'll send them home tomorrow.

 We didn't just have twins today, we had octuplets!  Pretend like I'm in the picture and there will be 8.

All the kids got one of these cute little pointers today to use for reading homework. Thank you Kathi Walrath for making them for us!

When your child is reading to you, I want you to make sure they are looking at the words and the pointer (or their finger) is actually under the word that is coming out of their mouth.  This takes coordination between the eyes, voice and finger.  It sounds easy but is really quite difficult for new readers.  I've been telling them that if they are not using all 3 together (eyes, voice, finger) then they are not reading.  Memorizing text and repeating it over and over is not reading.  Don't be impressed by their fabulous memorization skills. 

Pleas continue to work on sight words at home.  Week after next, they will get a new list of words for Unit 2. 

Tomorrow is Red Out Day and a half day of school!

Short Stations and Crazy Socks

 This morning we worked in our short stations.  These girls are matching words that rhyme.

 This station is for identifying beginning sounds. 

 Rainbow writing is one way we practice our sight words.

 One station is for practicing book handling.

 This is a just for fun station - building blocks.  Actually, they have to work at cooperating and getting along with a partner, but they think it is just for fun.

Today was crazy sock day.  We had a lot of crazy socks.
Tomorrow is Twinkie Day.  If you don't have someone for your child to be twins with they can dress like me - black shirt and blue jeans.

I will be doing a math assessment tomorrow.  Your child will need to count to 30, say the days of the week and the months of the year all by themselves.  They don't have to do it in front of the class, just to me.

The reading book that came home today is another one with no words.  We'll get away from those when they have learned a few more words to read.  Tonight they will talk to you about the letter M and things that start with that letter.

Have a great evening! Maybe I'll see you at the burning of the S at the Wildfire arena. 

Nerds and Behavior Chart

 Aren't these the cutest nerds you've ever seen in your life?  It was so fun seeing kids all over the school dressed up.  Tomorrow is crazy sock day so find your craziest socks or maybe wear mismatched socks or do both!

Thursday is Twinkie Day. Kids can come dressed like twins.  If your child doesn't have someone to be twins with, they can dress like me.  I'm going to wear a black t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes. 

 Since we just started a new month, I thought it would be a good time to give you a little more information about the behavior charts that come home every day in the red folder. 
As you know, green is the color to stay on.  There are 2 greens - big green and little green.  Everyone starts each day on big green.  If a child needs a warning to get back on track, I move their clothespin to little green.  You will not see that indicated on the red folder.  My thought is that everyone needs a warning once in a while and if that is all it takes to get a child back on task then the warning has served its purpose. 

 The clothespin will be moved to yellow if the warning didn't work and the undesired behavior continues and then the most dreaded color of all is red.  Red doesn't happen very often.  I save that for when nothing else is working like changing the child's seat or a time out.  It's serious and I let them know how disappointed I am.  The consequences are to sit out at recess and to also sit out during centers on Friday. 

An incentive for staying on green for the whole month is an extra reward recess.  Today was the reward recess for the month of September.  The children who did not have all greens had to stay inside and do work.  A new month has started, so everyone is back on track to earn the extra recess.  2 days into October and no one has changed to yellow or red.

I worked with the kids today on rhyming words.  We need a lot of work on this.  Most of the class struggled with it.  When you are reading at home, if you hear words that rhyme, please point them out to your child and ask them to make more words that rhyme.  Rhyming is a very important pre-reading skill.  If you are interested, you can read the article that goes with the link below to learn more about the importance of rhyming as related to reading.
http://preschooleducation.blogspot.com/2008/03/learning-to-read-why-is-rhyme-important.html

 The Freedom Bags were filled today for the soldiers.  Thank you so much to everyone who contributed snacks.  Our bags were so full that I almost couldn't staple them shut. 

 We wrote applesauce recipe books today.  I'll give you a few more details just in case you want to try this at home.

Crockpot Applesauce

8 - 10 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Put it all in a crockpot and let it cook until the apples are tender, about 4-5 hours. The apples will not break down on their own so you can mash them up or I used an immersion blender on them and that gave them a nice consistency. 

Tomorrow is Nerd Day.  I can't wait to see all the little nerds in the school.

Fabulous Friday

 We have been so busy this week.  I'm ready for the weekend! We even had to skip naptime some this week because we had so much to do.  I enjoyed it though and I think the kids did, too.

 We made applesauce today in a crockpot.  It smelled so good while it was cooking.  The kids could not wait to try it.

  I will post a step by step recipe with pictures.  I told the kids they could teach their families how to make applesauce if they wanted to.  We will work on writing a recipe in class next week.

We also made apple prints.  This was inspired by the book Ten Apples on Top. 

Next week is Homecoming Week.  Each day, there will be an opportunity to dress up and join in the spirit of Homecoming. 

Monday - College day
Tuesday - Nerd day
Wednesday - Crazy Sock day
Thursday - Twinkie day
Friday - Red Out