Weekly Update 12/13

 Important upcoming dates:

12/16-18: Early Release days

12/18: Kindergarten Gingerbread Hunt - Spirit Wear Day

12/19-1/3: Winter Break -No School

1/6-8: Early Release Days/Parent-Teacher Conferences: Please be on the lookout for a sign-up form for your student's teacher soon. 

1/11: Grandparent Bingo Night

1/20: No School - MLK day

1/22: Class celebration:100th day of school -- Birthday Book Club, Treat Friday, Spirit Wear Day

2/7: Early Dismissal at 12:30

2/8: Daddy-Daughter Dance 6-8:30 pm

2/11:  Class picture day

2/14: Great Hearts Day - A celebration of Friendship (NO valentines)

2/17: No school - President's Day

2/21: Birthday Book Club, Treat Friday, Spirit Wear Day

2/28: School Field Day

Check out what we learned this week:

 Math                                                                                                            

We learned to count and write numbers 11-16 this week! We identify these numbers as teen numbers which means that they are a group of ten and some more. We represented these teen numbers using our connecting cubes to show a bundle of ten with some more, and our tens frames to show a full tens frame with some more. In doing so, we found groups of ten and counted on the remaining ones to find the whole number. We also practiced saying aligning sentences such as "13 is 10 and 3 more" or "10 and 3 make 10".

Spalding

We have worked hard this semester and have diligently moved through many of our phonograms. We have now learned 57 of our phonogram sounds. We are well on our way to knowing almost all 70 phonograms. Keep reviewing each night and focus on any phonograms your child is struggling with. The more they practice the sound, the more familiar it will be to them. You can even make it a game and have them show you the cards to see what you have learned. :-) Encourage your child to begin writing words on paper, on whiteboards, etc. Remind them to think of the phonogram sounds they hear and practice writing what they hear. We are not looking for perfect or correct spelling, but we call it inventive spelling, where they write the best they can the sounds they hear. 

History

This week in history, we continued our travels through the southern hemisphere to learn about Antarctica. The children learned that Antarctica is the only continent with no countries or states. In 1959, a treaty was signed by 12 nations, including the United States, to preserve Antarctica as a place of research and exploration. Less than 2,000 people live there year-round. The children also learned that the South Pole is different from the North Pole because it is on the opposite side of the world. Of course, everyone enjoyed learning about their favorite Antarctic animal- penguins!

Science

We continued our learning about humans as living beings. The students started considering how humans meet their food, water, air, and shelter needs in different environments. We discussed what natural resources we can use from nature to meet these needs. For example- water from a lake gets processed for drinking, farm animals provide food, and rocks serve as a foundation for shelter. We also discussed how living in the city versus the country can affect how humans use these natural resources to meet their survival needs.