March 2013 Calendar

March 2013 Calendar -

Newsletter for the Week of February 25 - March 1, 2013

Newsletter for the Week of February 25-March 1_ 2013 -

March Menu

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Unit 4, Week 4 - Goldilocks and the Three Bears

     This week our Focus Story will beGoldilocks and the Three Bears, retold and illustrated by Valeri Gobachev.  This is the classic traditional tale of Goldilocks and her adventure in the home of Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear.  We will follow her as she eats the Bears' porridge, sits in their chairs and attempts to find the perfect bed to nap in--each time coming to the realization that Baby Bear's belongings are just right for her.  We will then discover what the Bears reaction is to stumbling upon her in their home, asleep in Baby Bear's bed. 
      Our Target Skill for this week will be identifying the characters within a story.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, retelling a story, and identifying the setting of a story.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letter 'Gg' to its phoneme--/g/. 

Amazing Words:  bears, porridge, cottage, big, middle-sized, small

High-Frequency Words: one, two, three, four, five  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter: Gg


Thank you to Sam's Reading Blog (http://salinaghi.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html) for the cover image!

Newsletter for the Week of February 18-22, 2013

Newsletter for the Week of February 18-22_ 2013 -

Unit 4, Week 3 - One Little Mouse

     This week our Focus Story will be One Little Mouse, written by Dori Chaconas and illustrated by LeUyen Pham.  A little mouse is in need of a new, more spacious home.  This story takes us on a journey of trial and error as he searches for a new place to call his own.  
     Our Target Skill this week will be determining the sequence of events, or the order in which things happen within the story.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, retelling a story, and drawing conclusions based on evidence found within the story.  We do not have one particular letter of focus this week--we will instead be working on consonant blends. 

Amazing Words:  woodland, nest, vale, hollow, comfortable, shadows

High-Frequency Words: one, two, three, four, five  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home.)


Thank you to www.tower.com for the cover image! 

Newsletter for the Week of February 11-18, 2013

Newsletter for the Week of February 11-15_ 2013 -

Unit 4, Week 2 - My Lucky Day

     Our Focus Story this week will be My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza.  This is one of my favorite stories to share with the students--it is such a cute book!  This story illustrates the comical means by which a wily pig is able to escape from the grasp of his predator, the fox, and is able to avoid being turned into the fox's dinner. 
     Our Target Skill this week is determining the causes and effects of certain events within the story.  We will also continue to practice retelling a story, predicting outcomes, and determining the plot of a story.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letter 'Ll' to its phoneme--/l/. 

Amazing Words:  piglet, fox, lucky, filthy, cook, scrubber

High-Frequency Words: Please continue to practice the words 'are', 'that', and 'do', along with our other previous "Popcorn Words". 

Letter: Ll


Thank you to http://www.scls.lib.wi.us/sun/ReadAloudPictureBooks.html for our cover image!

Newsletter for the Week of February 4-8, 2013

Newsletter for the Week of February 4-8_ 2013 -

February 2013 Calendar

February 2013 Calendar -

Unit 4, Week 1 - Bunny Day

     This week our Focus Story will be Bunny Day by Rick Walton and Paige Miglio.  This story takes us through an entire day in the life of a fictional bunny family, teaching time to the hour along the way.
      Our Target Skill is determining the sequence of a set of events, or the order in which they happened.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, retelling a story and comparing and contrasting.  We will work to identify, form, and match the letter Hh to its phoneme--/h/. 

Amazing Words:  chores, tidy, bustle, race, story, hungry

High-Frequency Words: are, that, do  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home.)

Letter: Hh


Thank you to www.goodreads.com for the cover image!

Groundhog Day Treats!

     After we discussed the meaning of Groundhog Day, who (or what) Punxsutawney Phil is, and predicted whether or not we thought he'd see his shadow this morning, we made these cute little groundhog treats.  The kiddos were so excited to see what would happen, that a couple claimed they weren't even going to go to sleep--so, I apologize if you have some early risers this morning wanting to watch the news.  You can watch the footage of the ceremony this morning at the following site.

http://www.visitpa.com/groundhog-day-live-stream

100th Day Snack

This past Monday was our 100th Day of School!  We celebrated with fun rotations--each Kindergarten teacher hosted a fun 100th Day activity in their room.  In our classroom we made a 100th Day Snack consisting of 100 pieces, 10 each of Teddy Grahams, Skittles, Cheerios, Popcorn, Goldfish, Fruit Loops, Raisins, Marshmallows, Chocolate Chips, and Pretzels.  We practiced counting by 1's and 10's to 100 while making our snack and also made a 100th Day hat that reinforced these skills as well.  Mrs. Holmes hosted a number Seek 'n Find game with Hershey's Kisses labeled with numbers 1-100 hidden throughout her room, Ms. Meengs read Dr. Seuss' You're Only Old Once and did a writing activity with the kiddos, and Mrs. Hines assisted the students in making portraits of themselves at 100 years old using shapes that we've learned.  The kiddos sure had a blast! 

Octopus Hot Dogs for "Oo" Week

February Menu

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Newsletter for the Week of January 28th - February 1st, 2013

Newsletter for the Week of January 28-February 1_ 2013 -

Unit 3, Week 6 - Hide, Clyde!

     This week our Focus Story will be Hide, Clyde! by Russell Benfanti.  Clyde the Chameleon has a problem--his brothers can change their colors to match their surroundings, but Clyde cannot. When his brothers become green to match the leaves, Clyde turns red.  How will he adjust when he suddenly ends up in a strange place with even stranger colors?
     Our Target Skill this week is identifying the Main Idea of a story.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, retelling a story, and identifying the plot of a story.  We will work again to identify, form, and match the letter "Oo" to its phoneme--/o/.  This week our focus will be on the long "o" sound. 

Amazing Words: chameleon, jungle, pattern, skin, hide, scampered

High-Frequency Words: they, you, of  (Please continue to practice all of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter: Oo


Thank you to www.tradebit.com  for the cover image!

Newsletter for the Week of January 21 - 25, 2013

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Unit 3, Week 5 - Seeds

     This week our Focus Story will be Seeds, written and illustrated by Ken Robbins.  This book explores a variety of different seeds, how they're dispersed, and the plants/trees that they become through real-life, detailed photographs.  The author also touches on the importance of each of these plants to animals and people, as well. 
      Our Target Skill this week will be learning to draw conclusions.  We will also continue to practice making predictions, recalling information, and comparing and contrasting this week.  We will work on identifying, forming, and matching the letter Oo to its phoneme--/o/. 

Amazing Words:  seeds, pod, roots, stem, pit, sprouts

High-Frequency Words:  they, you, of  (Please continue to practice ALL of our "Popcorn Words" at home!)

Letter:  Oo


Thank you to www.amazon.com for the cover image! 

Newsletter for the Week of January 14 - 18, 2013

Newsletter for the Week of January 14-18_ 2013 -