Hello Parents,
Brrrr! It has been a very cold but wonderful December week! I will enjoy the days when we can get back out in the fresh air for recess, but it's nice to have this chilly weather to get us all in the holiday spirit! Please check out below to see what we've been working on this week in class. This is a very important time of the year and our pace in class really picks up speed at this point in the year. Please be mindful of what your child is expected to know in class and offer help at home when you can.
Phonics: We learned the short and long u (c-v-c-silent e) spelling patterns. The ability to sort and spell simple long and short vowel words is now being expected in our everyday writing at this point. After the break, we will be getting into more complex vowel patterns. If you notice simple short and long vowel patterns as a weakness, the holiday break provides a great opportunity to catch your child up before we resume school in January. Check out those test papers in the blue folders today!
Reading: We began our study of the many gingerbread man story versions this week. We used these familiar books to practice retelling a story with all the necessary components as well as stating the main idea. When your child writes the main idea, we follow a simple recipe...Begin with "This story is about...", add the main character, and then tell the problem in the story. This is a great exercise to do every time you read a book with your child.
Math: We completed our unit on counting change up to a dollar and counting bills up to twenty dollars. I provided money challenges for those students needing to be pushed and we talked about making fair trades and showing money amounts in several different ways. We also revisited graphing, took a survey, then created bar and picture graphs in the computer lab. Of course, the printers were not working the day we went to the computer lab, but the children did receive their grades on this super activity. We also are continuing to plug away at those math facts. More than half the class has completed all the addition superstar quizzes and are halfway through the subtraction superstar quizzes! Way to go, class! Next week, I am expecting everyone to pass their test. There will be no other homework than to read and practice those math facts!
Science: This week, we learned about sound. We learned about volume and pitch and how the vibrations change these two things.
Classroom News and Reminders...
Congratulations to Josie Kwan for being our Teacher's Helper this week! Way to go, Josie, exhibiting those character traits we look for in all Kemp students!
Congratulations to Arturo Cordova and Andrew Gohlke for reaching the "Einstein Level" in a word creation activity! These two students exhibited wonderful motivation and would not give up on this activity!
Keep Andrew Gohlke in your prayers as he will be having surgery next Thursday. We'll be thinking about you, Andrew, and can't wait to see you back after the break!
There are still several students who have not yet brought in a book exchange book. Just a friendly reminder that we will be doing this activity early to include Andrew before his surgery. Please have all books here by Tuesday!
Our classroom holiday party will be next Thursday at 10:30. Volunteers, please be here by 10:00 to help set up. All are welcome to attend the party! No younger siblings please, due to limited space!
There will be no official homework next week, but as I stated earlier in the post, I am expecting ALL children to pass their superstar quiz!
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