Helpful Hints for Winter Recess

I hope that everyone was able to stay safe and warm on our SNOW DAY! I am very excited to have the snow on the ground. That means snow angels, snowmen, and just plain FUN!

With all this snow comes craziness when getting ready for recess. Yes, we still go outside if the temperature is above zero. J Here are some helpful hints for winter recess:

1.   PLEASE remember to send a winter/heavy coat, SNOW BOOTS (or waterproof/warm shoes), hat, mittens/gloves, and snow pants. (An extra pair of socks isn’t a bad idea too! No one likes to wear wet socks.)

2.   Be sure to label your child’s winter gear with a name or tie colored string on each item. Anything to help your child and myself identify whom the owner is. (Many kiddos wear black snow pants size small J )

3.   Mittens / gloves work best if they are not cotton. Mittens and gloves that can handle water or melted snow are best. Kiddos hands get very cold, especially in little cotton gloves that are soaking wet.

4.   Don’t forget to pack a pair of tennis shoes in your child’s backpack for gym & music

5.   Students who don’t wear snow pants or snow boots will not be allowed to play in the snow. He or she will have to stay on the blacktop during recess time.

Thank you for helping me keep the kiddos safe & WARM this winter season!

Hope you all enjoyed the SNOW DAY! School starts back up in the morning.

Bus Safety & October News (a little late!)

We had so much fun during our bus safety lesson and field trip.  The bus driver “Mr. Chuck” said that we had one of the best classes he had ever seen! I was so impressed! We had the lesson about danger zones and behavior on the bus. We then took a bus ride down to Riverfront Park and back. The kiddos were awesome the whole time! I was one proud teacher after this field trip!

Now onto the October Newsletter:

I apologize that it has taken me so long to update the blog. We have been having too much fun!

The BOOK-IT program began this month. This is an exciting way to get students excited about reading. If you and your child read together for twelve days this month your child will receive a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut! All you have to do is initial or sign on the days in which you read with your child on the calendar I sent home (back of the newsletter) or any calendar. Calendars are due back to school October 30th. Research tells us the importance of reading to your child and this is a great incentive. 

Math Update:

We will continue to work on number recognition, focusing really on 0-10. We are also working on comparing numbers 0-10. (Which number is bigger? Which number is smaller? Are the numbers the same or equal?) We are moving into decomposing numbers into pairs. (For example: 5 can be split up into a group of 2 and a group of three, or a group of 4 and 1)  Please continue counting orally with your child.  Also, in the front of the math workbooks that are sent home at the end of the chapter are math games. This is a good way to review!

Reading/Writing Update:

We are currently in our first unit of LEAD 21 and learning about how each and every one of us is made unique, what makes each one of us special, and how our feelings effect ourselves and others.

We are also working on holding a pencil the correct way, the correct letter formation, and finding the alphabet in all kinds of different print and fonts. Continue working on learning ALL of the letter sounds. This is a key component in teaching your child to read. He/she will need to be fluent with ALL letter sounds.

Letters to know/practice:  Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn

Sight words: the, a, an, am, can, see, it, is, in, look, like, my

*An easy way to practice with sight words, besides flashcards, is to have your child find and highlight the sight words in the newspaper or their favorite magazine.

General Reminders:

Monday : Bring back library books!

Wednesday: Gym shoes for music.

Thursday: GYM SHOES!

Our first quarter of school will be ending October 30th. Report cards will go home on November 3rd. Parent Teacher Conferences will be scheduled for November 4th through November 6th. Be looking for a scheduling sheet to come home in your child's folder. Thank you!