Happy Summer!

 Thank you for a great year!  We hope you have a wonderful summer. Here are a few tips for keeping the connections they worked on making this year and helps them be strong and ready for 1st grade!

Reading

Every student should practice their reading over the summer, regardless of their reading level. Try to aim for 10-15 min each day. Don’t forget that reading to your children is equally important! By listening to you read, you will help develop a love of reading and a desire to push through when reading becomes challenging. In addition, it models what good reading sounds like and introduces them to new vocabulary which also helps in their reading journey. So, those minutes can be the scholar reading independently, listening to a reader who is more advanced (like mom, dad, older sibling), or listening to an audiobook.

Here at Archway Lincoln, we use a guided reading system that levels books with the letters aa-Z. This is a common way to level books but be aware that not every system is the same. Below are some websites to help you check a level of a book. It is wise to stay close (within 1 or 2 letters) to your child’s reading level and only move forward when they are reading without any difficulty (or answering comprehension questions as well as reading fluently for students above F).

Websites to Help Level Books:

·        Book Wizard

·        A to Z Teacher Stuff

·        Reading A-Z Level Correlation

If you are not sure if the book is a good level or you cannot find the book on one of the listed sights, you can easily refer to the five finger rule. Have your child open a book to any page. They will read that one page and hold up one finger for every word they don’t know, struggle to sound out, or can’t pronounce. The number of fingers they’re holding up by the end of the page tells them if the book is the right level:

·        0-1 fingers: It’s too easy.

·        2-3 fingers: It’s just right.

·        4-5 fingers: It’s too hard for independent reading

Sight Words & Phonograms

Sight words and phonograms can be practiced in several ways, but the most important thing to remember is to keep it fun. If you try something with your child and they do not like it, try practicing a different way. It may take a bit more effort, but you will realize that your child will be more invested. It is not necessary to practice our exact list of sight words. There are many variations of sight word lists (Ayers, Frye, Scholastic, Dolch, etc.) and they would all have multiple lists that increase in difficulty that would be beneficial to practice. We have complied a few ways to practice either sight words or phonograms. You could also search “how to practice sight words” for many more ideas.

·        Flashcards

·        Sticky notes on mirror

·        Hopscotch (writing words on squares)

·        Spelling with bottle caps

·        Race to the word you call out

·        Write on dry erase board

·        Write on window or mirror with dry erase marker

·        Play memory

·        Rainbow words (tracing the word in different colored crayons)

·        Play swat (child must find the word and “swat” it after the adult calls it out)

·        Draw in the sand or in salt

·        Write words on small rubber balls and search for them

·        “Type” words on a “keyboard”. Use a keyboard cover or a printed-out keyboard on a piece of paper.

·        Build words with Legos or blocks

Additional Reading Websites & Resources

·        Starfall

·        ABCya

·        Khan Academy (App only)

·        Teach Your Monster to Read

·        Reading Bear (Best for readers at levels A-C)

·        Spalding Phonograms (App)

 

Additional Math Websites & Resources

·        Singapore Math Review Book

·        Starfall

·        ABCya

·        Khan Academy (App only)

·        Fact Monster

·        XtraMath - 10 minutes a day for math fact fluency

 

Fine Motor Skills (Fun ways to improve handwriting)

·        Drawing Fun (Guided Videos)

o   Art for kids

o   Drawing websites for kids

o   How to draw

·        Coloring (with crayons or chalk)

·        Climbing trees

·        Cutting with scissors (they love to cut Play-doh)

·        Using hands to crawl like an animal

·        Play with clay

·        Squirt guns

·        Gardening

·        Puzzles

·        Legos

·        Peeling stickers and placing them on a line (you could double up with sight word practice and write the sight word out and have your child cover the lines with small stickers.

Brain Breaks Ideas: 10 Crossing Midline Activities for Kids (childhood101.com) – great movement songs/activities to help develop midline crossing to support body control and handwriting.

 

***Most importantly, please take the summer to rest and enjoy your families. Let your child have fun and laugh. If you spend one hour a day doing some of the activities above, you are doing an excellent job helping to avoid the summer slide!***

Weekly Update 5/16

Important upcoming dates:

May 19 & 20: Yearbook signing. These are the only days our scholars can bring their yearbooks for friends to sign.

May 21st: Kindergarten Graduation! 11:00 Please enter through the playground gate. Doors open at 10:30. Children do not need to bring backpacks on this day.

May 20th-22nd: Half-Days. Pick up is 12:30.

Literature: 

We recently finished reading Grasshopper on the Road, and the students really enjoyed all the different stories and characters we met along the way. One favorite was the housefly who started cleaning and couldn’t stop—his obsessive tidying had everyone laughing and sparked some great conversations about balance. Another memorable moment was when the dragonflies zoomed through life so fast they never noticed the world around them, which led to thoughtful discussions about slowing down and paying attention. Each story brought something new and fun, and the students looked forward to every chapter with excitement and curiosity.

Spalding:

 Spalding has been a great method for helping the students continue to practice all 70 phonograms, and they've really been getting the hang of recognizing them. As they read, they’ve become more skilled at identifying phonograms within words, which has boosted their confidence and fluency. Whether it's a simple word or a more complex one, they are starting to notice the familiar sounds and letter combinations that they’ve practiced. This ongoing focus on phonograms has made reading more intuitive for them, and they’re excited to see how many phonograms they can spot in different words. It’s been wonderful to see how this practice is improving their reading skills and deepening their understanding of language.

Math:

 In math, we recently completed our final assessment, where the students demonstrated their progress with counting on, counting by 5s and 10s, and addition and subtraction within 10. It was exciting to see how confident they’ve become with these skills. They were able to count on from any number with ease, and counting by 5s and 10s was no longer a challenge. The addition and subtraction within 10 also went smoothly, with many students solving problems quickly and accurately. The assessment showed just how much they've learned and how well they can apply these strategies in different math situations. It was a great way to celebrate their hard work and progress!

History:

 In history, we explored the fascinating world of tall tales, diving into the legendary stories of figures like Davy Crockett and Sally Ann Thunder Ann. The students were captivated by these larger-than-life characters and their incredible feats, like Davy Crockett's wild adventures in the wilderness and Sally Ann Thunder Ann's superhuman strength. The exaggerated storytelling and humor of tall tales sparked lively discussions and imaginations, as the students loved hearing about these iconic figures who seemed to bend the laws of nature with their daring deeds. It was a fun and engaging way to learn about American folklore and the colorful stories that shaped its history.

Science:

In science, we learned about the Wright brothers and their groundbreaking work in aviation. The students were fascinated by how Orville and Wilbur Wright’s persistence and innovation led to the first successful flight. To bring the lesson to life, we followed up by making our own paper airplanes, testing different designs to see which ones flew the farthest. The students loved experimenting with their creations, and it was a great hands-on way to connect the science of flight with the history of the Wright brothers. It sparked curiosity and excitement about how science and creativity can come together to change the world.

Weekly Update 5/9

 Thank you all for making our Field Trip to the Phoenix Children's Museum such a success! The children had an amazing time and it was so fun:)

Upcoming Q4: 

May 20, 21, 23  - Early release at 12:30

May 21st: Kindergarten promotion 

         **Doors open @ 10:30, ceremony starts @11:00 am, all classes together**

We are asking for Cookie donations for the graduates at the end of our celebration: these will be given upon returning the school graduate gown: https://signup.com/go/ovPCXhF

Spalding:

Continue practicing and reviewing your phonograms, always making sure to change the order of sounds and words. We are doing well using our phonograms to sound out words when we read and when we write. This is a great support as you read and write at home too.

Literature:

We continued and finished Mouse Tales. We also continued to practice summarizing each short chapter in a sentence and writing it together in our journal. For poetry, this week, we reviewed the poem Roses are Red.  We talked about what this poem was about and what the words meant. In Grammar, we listen to a simple sentence said 3 times, and then the students had to try to write it independently. They practiced looking over their sentence to check for a capital, spaces, and punctuation. They are also practicing reading back over what they wrote to make sure it makes sense. 

Math:

We are working through learning about place value and numbers to 100. This week we focused on counting on after a random number. The students are so used to rote counting from 1 or from a 10 so this week we challenged them a little. They were tasked to look at a group of objects and given the number. Next they had to count on to figure out the total number. You can help support your child's learning by saying a random number and asking your child to say the following 5 sequential numbers. It doesn't sound like a hard task, but try it out to see if it is a skill your child needs help in developing.

History:

We learned about tall tales, which are funny stories with lots of exaggeration and larger-than-life characters. To help us understand, we read Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue. Pecos Bill was a cowboy who did amazing things like riding a tornado, and Slue-Foot Sue was his brave girlfriend who rode a giant catfish. Their story showed us how tall tales are meant to be fun and imaginative, often showing the spirit of adventure.

Science:

We also learned about storms and how they form. Storms happen when warm, moist air rises and meets cooler air, causing clouds, rain, thunder, and lightning. We talked about different types of storms like thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes. We also learned how to stay safe during a storm by going indoors and staying away from windows. 

Weekly Update 5/2

 Upcoming Q4: 

May 14th: Yearbook Signing at Main Event 1:30-3:30

May 16th: Treat Friday, Birthday Book Club, Spirit Day

May 20,21,22  - Early release at 12:30

May 21st: Kindergarten promotion 

May 22nd: Last day of Kindergarten!

         **Doors open @ 10:30, ceremony starts @11:00 am, all classes together**

We are asking for Cookie donations for the graduates at the end of our celebration: these will be given upon returning the school graduate gown: https://signup.com/go/ovPCXhF

Spalding:

Continue practicing and reviewing your phonograms, always making sure to change the order of sounds and words. We are doing well using our phonograms to sound out words when we read and when we write. This is a great support as you read and write at home too.

Literature:

We continued and finished Mouse Tales. We also continued to practice summarizing each short chapter in a sentence and writing it together in our journal. For poetry, this week, we reviewed the poem Time to Rise.  We talked about what this poem was about and what the words meant. In Grammar, we listen to a simple sentence said 3 times, and then the students had to try to write it independently. They practiced looking over their sentence to check for a capital, spaces, and punctuation. They are also practicing reading back over what they wrote to make sure it makes sense. 

Math:

We are working through learning about place value and numbers to 100. This week we focused on counting on after a random number. The students are so used to rote counting from 1 or from a 10 so this week we challenged them a little. They were tasked to look at a group of objects and given the number. Next they had to count on to figure out the total number. You can help support your child's learning by saying a random number and asking your child to say the following 5 sequential numbers. It doesn't sound like a hard task, but try it out to see if it is a skill your child needs help in developing.

History:

We revisited our knowledge about tall tales this week. The students understand that a tall tale is an exaggerated story based on true events and recalled some tall tales we read this year (Johnny Appleseed, Casey Jones). They listened to another tall tale about Paul Bunyan. After listening, they were able to identify some components of the story that were based on truth and others that were exaggerated. 

Science:

We took time to discuss the 4 seasons of a year and which months fall in each season. We talked about how the seasons are different and that depending on where you live the seasons can differ quite a bit. We had fun creating trees in each season. We also discussed the colors of a rainbow and learned all rainbows are actually circles but the horizon blocks some of it from our view. We found it interesting that there are even more colors in a rainbow than we thought and some we can't see. 

Weekly Update 4/25

  Upcoming Q4: 

May 9: Kindergarten Field Trip to the Children's Museum

May 14: Yearbook signing at Main Event 1:30-3:30

May 16: Treat Friday, Birthday Book club, Spirit Day

May 20, 21, 22  - Early release at 12:30

May 21st: Kindergarten promotion 

         **Doors open @ 10:30, ceremony starts @11:00 am, all classes together**

Spalding:

Continue to review all 70 phonograms and are always changing the order. Review the ones they know, especially the ones your child needs to practice. Encourage them to find the phonograms in the books they read and to use their phonograms to write a sentence. Writing squiggle stories is a great way to practice sounding out. We talk about writing 1 sentence at a time. Remember: Start with a capital, use spaces, sound things out, finish with punctuation, and read it back to double-check. Creating a checklist is also helpful for them to begin checking their work. 

Literature:

We began another read-along story this week called Mouse Soup. The students really enjoy having their own books to read long together. In this story, we see a weasel trying to make mouse soup, but the mouse convinces him the soup needs stories to taste better. The mouse tells many silly stories to distract the weasel and escape. For Poetry, we heard the poem A Dillar, A Dollar. We enjoyed trying to decide what a dillar is and also talked about who is a scholar. We determined the poem probably means it is important to be on time for school and all our learning. In Grammar, we are practicing dictation. This is where the students listen to a simple sentence read 3 times. They repeat the sentence and then write it in their journal, checking for the proper parts. We are also continuing to practice our retelling of the stories we read in literature.

Math:

In math, we learned how to solve addition and subtraction word problems with numbers up to 10. First, we read the problem carefully, then we practiced underlining the important numbers in the sentence to help us focus on what we needed to solve. This step made it easier to understand the problem and decide whether to add or subtract. After underlining the numbers, we used them to write an equation and then solved it. Practicing this helped us get better at finding the right answer.

History:

In history, we learned about the country of China and some of its important traditions and symbols. We looked at where China is on the map and talked about things like the Great Wall, Chinese New Year, and the importance of dragons in Chinese culture. To help us remember what we learned, we made our own paper dragons using colorful paper, scissors, and glue. It was fun to be creative, and making the dragons helped us understand more about Chinese celebrations and art.

Science:

In science, we learned about what it takes to be a meteorologist and how they help us understand the weather. We found out that meteorologists study the sky, clouds, temperature, and wind to make weather forecasts. They use special tools like thermometers, barometers, and weather satellites to collect data. We also talked about how meteorologists need to be good at math and science and pay close attention to patterns in nature. Learning about their job helped us see how important they are in keeping people safe during storms and other weather events.

Weekly Update 4/17

  Upcoming Q4: 

May 9th: Field Trip to Phoenix Children's Museum

May 20, 21, 22  - Early release at 12:30

May 21st: Kindergarten promotion 

         **Doors open @ 10:30, ceremony starts @11:00 am, all classes together**

Spalding:

Continue to review all 70 phonograms and are always changing the order. Review the ones they know, especially the ones your child needs to practice. Encourage them to find the phonograms in the books they read and to use their phonograms to write a sentence. Writing squiggle stories is a great way to practice sounding out. We talk about writing 1 sentence at a time. Remember: Start with a capital, use spaces, sound things out, finish with punctuation, and read it back to double-check. Creating a checklist is also helpful for them to begin checking their work. 

Literature:

This week, we read Little Bear's Visit and really enjoyed getting to know the characters and their adventures. We followed Little Bear as he spent time with his grandparents, listening to their stories and sharing special moments together. As we read, we talked about the setting, the characters, and the lessons Little Bear learned during his visit. We practiced reading aloud, making predictions, and thinking about how the story made us feel. Everyone loved the warm and cozy feeling of the story, and it helped us think about the importance of family and spending time with the people we love.

Math:

We just finished our unit on coins and money, and it was both fun and educational! Throughout the lessons, we learned how to identify different coins like pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, and we practiced adding them together to find out how much money we had. We also explored making change and solve real-world problems using coins and bills. At the end of the week we began our unit of addition and subtraction math stories but should keep practicing our math facts. 

History:

We continued our tour through Asia by learning about the countries of India and South Korea. The children loved learning about the art of Rangoli that is made with sand, and only lasts until it is swept away. We also learned that 1 billion people live in the country of India, and that it is home to 1,000 different languages. The children watched a fan dance from Korea and enjoyed making their ow fans. We've had so much fun visiting these countries and look forward to where we will travel next!

Science:

We spent time discussing weather words such as hot, cold, warm, cool and how they feel and differ. We used our science words of "I notice", "I wonder" and "It makes me think of" to discuss pictures and predict what the weather might be. We also discussed why the weather is different in the morning verses the afternoon and evening. This week we recorded temperatures using our classroom thermometer! 

Weekly Update 4/11

 Important upcoming dates:

4/18-4/21: No School

5/9: Kindergarten Field Trip - more information soon

5/21: Kindergarten promotion 

**Doors open @ 10:30, ceremony starts @11:00 am, all classes together**

Spalding

Please continue to review and focus on the phonograms your child is struggling with. When doing homework, please make sure you are switching up the order of phonograms and words to ensure they are remembering them. In Kindergarten, homework is not to be completed on their own. 

Literature

We have continued reading about Little Bear by reading the second book in the set called Father Bear Comes Home. In this book, Little Bear imagines fishing on the ocean, finding a mermaid, and asking her for a picnic, and he learns how to deal with hiccups. The students are enjoying reading their very own chapter books. In poetry, we read another weather poem called It's Raining, It's Pouring. We even talked about how this poem has many different versions. There was a fun version where someone made a book from the poem and other weather situations. In grammar, we talked about being a singular verb and being a plural verb. We made sentences, such as "She is funny" and "They are funny." We talked about when to use each word. 

Math

This week, the children also learned about money and how it’s used in everyday life. They explored the different types of money, like coins and bills, and talked about what people use money for—such as buying food, toys, or saving for something special. The class practiced identifying different coins and even played games to help them understand how to count and use money. They also learned the importance of saving and making smart choices with money. It was a fun and practical lesson that helped the children see how money works in the world around them!

History

This week, the children learned all about Asia, with a special focus on Japan. They discovered Japan’s rich history, including the traditions of the samurai and the beauty of cherry blossom festivals. The class explored how Japanese culture blends the old and the new, from ancient tea ceremonies to modern technology like robots and bullet trains. The students were especially excited to learn about Japanese food, language, and anime. It was a fun and exciting week full of curiosity, creativity, and cultural discovery!

Science

We've had a special delivery of caterpillars to our classrooms! We will watch them and learn about the caterpillar's life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis stage, and ending as a beautiful butterfly. Our caterpillars are currently getting ready to transition into their chrysalis stage. The students are eager to check for changes to their caterpillars each morning upon arrival. We have also continued our discussion about weather patterns. The children learned about different kinds of clouds. 

Weekly Update 4/4

 Important upcoming dates:

4/25: Spirit Wear, Birthday Book club & Treat Friday

4/18-4/21: No School

5/9: Kindergarten Field Trip - more information soon

5/21: Kindergarten promotion 

**Doors open @ 10:30, ceremony starts @11:00 am, all classes together**

Save the Date - Fine Arts Festival

On Saturday, April 5, from 9am-1pm, we will hold a Fine Arts Festival. Bring the family and enjoy a walking tour of artwork, recorded music performances, Book Fair (one day only!) Food trucks, face painting, picture props, and more family fun!

Spalding:

We have continued to focus on reviewing all our phonograms and have focused on the ones we are noticing the students still seem to struggle with. Please also do this at home, noting which phonograms your child needs the most practice with. We have also been working hard to sound out words and create sentences with our phonograms by doing squiggle weekly writings. The students have a random design on their paper that they can turn into anything they want and then write a sentence or more telling the reader about it. Another great thing to do is to challenge your student by having them write some sight words they know to build their word knowledge for writing. 

Literature:

We began reading our student reader books together this week by reading Little Bear as a class. The students loved having their books to follow along and read together as a class. We saw Little Bear decide what to wear for winter weather, make his birthday soup, pretend to fly to the moon, and make many wishes at bedtime until his mom told him a story. In Poetry, we continued reading poems about weather by learning the poem Rain, Rain, Go Away. The students had fun reciting this one and even said they would use it next time it was raining. In Grammar, we reviewed the different types of sentences and their punctuation. We read stories and tried to identify which punctuation it needed by listening to the reader's voices. We had fun making a game out of it.

Math:

We continued our subtraction practice this week. The students used number lines, counting back, pictures, finger counting, and the concept of "part-part-whole" to subtract. They remembered that we've used these same strategies to solve addition problems but now we are using them in a different way. We've reviewed how we know what we should do when we see the (-) minus sign and how it differs from the (+) plus sign. 

History:

This week, the kids had an exciting learning experience as they explored the cultures and geography of Brazil and Argentina. They discovered the vibrant history of Brazil's Carnival, its famous Amazon Rainforest, and the passionate sport of football that unites the country. In Argentina, they learned about tango music and dance, as well as the beautiful landscapes of Patagonia and the Andes mountains. The students also compared the two countries, highlighting the differences in language, food, and traditions. It was a fun and engaging week of learning about these diverse South American nations!

Science:

This week, we focused our weather unit on sunlight. We investigated Earth's surface materials (sand, soil, and water) to discover how sunlight and shade affect them. We made predictions with our prior knowledge and used thermometers to compare the temperatures of these three Earth materials in both the sunlight and the shade. The students understand that sunlight comes from the sun in the sky and it causes Earth's surface to warm. Students also understood that shade slows down heating. 

Weekly update 3/28

 Important upcoming dates:

4/5: Fine Arts Festival at Archway Lincoln with PaperPie Booksale

4/18-4/21: No School

4/25: Birthday Book Club, Spirit Day, Treat Friday

5/9: Kindergarten Field Trip - more information soon

5/21: Kindergarten promotion 

**Doors open @ 10:30, ceremony starts @11:00 am, all classes together**

Save the Date - Fine Arts Festival

On Saturday, April 5, from 9am-1pm, we will hold a Fine Arts Festival. Bring the family and enjoy a walking tour of artwork, recorded Music performances, PaperPie Book Fair (one day only!) Food trucks, face painting, picture props, and more family fun!

Spalding:

Continue to review all the phonograms. Try to take time to determine which phonograms your child doesn't know and do extra practice with them. We have noticed that they might know them when they see the cards, but do they know them when you say the sounds and they need to write them. This is a more difficult skill, which is especially important for sounding out words and writing sentences. 

Literature:

Continuing our unit on Children's Literature, we enjoyed reading The Velveteen Rabbit together this week. We talked about our toys and stuffed animals that mean so much to us and all the ways we play with them and love them. We recognized the feelings the Velveteen Rabbit had throughout the story. We loved the surprise ending and were happy for the Velveteen Rabbit. For Poetry, we reminisced about one of our past poems Winter Wind. We had fun reciting it again and went deeper, counting the lines and discovering the rhyming words. We also talked about what the weather was doing in each of the stanzas. Finally, Grammar taught us about exclamatory sentences and when to use an exclamation point. We enjoyed hearing how someone's voice changes when reading these expressive sentences. The scholars agreed these sentences show strong emotions such as excitement, frustration, or anger.

Math:

Scholars practiced several ways to solve subtraction sentences this week. We will start to hone in on which method they prefer the most and ask them to continue to use that preferred method to build accuracy. In many ways it is helpful for it to be the same method they chose for solving addition equations, but it can vary. The goal is to consistently obtain the correct answer while understanding the process. Eventually, we will move to rote memorization, but it is still important now that we focus on the process and how we solve the subtraction problems.

History:

We learned about countries Peru and Ecuador located in the continent South America this week. We looked at Machu Picchu and discovered that it is on an old mountain with 140 buildings within the city and 100 flights of stone steps. We also learned that the Inca Empire used llamas to help move materials up the mountain. 

Weekly Update 3/21

  Important Upcoming Dates:

3/28: Spirit Wear, Birthday Book club & Treat Friday

4/5: Fine Arts Festival at Archway Lincoln 

4/18-4/21: No School

5/9: Kindergarten Field Trip - more information soon

***Kinder celebration will be held on May 21st at 11 am***

Save the Date - Fine Arts Festival

On Saturday, April 5, from 9am-1pm, we will hold a Fine Arts Festival. Bring the family and enjoy a walking tour of artwork, Recorded music performances, Food trucks, face painting, picture props, and more family fun!

IMPORTANT:

It is time to send in the student readers from Part A&B consumables. Please do so next week. Make sure it has your child's name is written inside the cover.
Little Bear (Box set)- Else Holmelund Minarik ISBN: 978-0064441971  
Mouse Soup - Arnold Lobel ISBN: 978-0064440417

Spalding:

Phonograms learned 1-70. Please spend time practicing 10-15 cards nightly. Please focus on saying the sounds so they can write the matching phonogram. Hearing the sounds helps to build their sense of recognition for spelling words and writing sentences. 

*When reading and writing, help your scholar identify phonograms in the words and silent e-jobs to better understand the sounds they should read or need to spell words. 

Literature:

We spent our week reading The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We enjoyed hearing about all the fun Pooh had with his friends. We learned that a narrator is someone who tells a story. We learned Pooh loves honey and is always a great friend. He often gets into trouble because he loves honey, but his friends are always willing to help him. For Poetry, we looked at one of the songs Winne the Pooh and Piglet sing together called The More It Snows. It has silly words and rhymes. In grammar, we began talking about questions and how when you're reading and speaking, it makes your voice change. We practiced asking, writing, and using a question mark in our sentences. 

Math:

We have switched our focus from addition to subtraction. The students explored the concept of subtraction in broad situations, discussing real life scenarios they may experience. For example, "I had 5 balloons. 2 of my balloons burst. How many balloons do I have left?" We practiced subtraction within 10 using pictures to match subtraction equations, crossing out how many are being taken away and circling what is left, then writing the matching subtraction sentence themselves. We have stressed the importance of what the subtraction symbol (-) means and how it differs from the addition symbol (+). 

History:

This week in history we traveled to a new continent, South America. The children were so excited to sing their favorite song about the continents, and learn about some of the different climates, and traditions of the continent south of us. The children loved the game we played from Colombia where they held on to a string and passed a small straw around the string. The child in the middle with their eyes closed had to guess who had the straw hiding in their hands. It's similar to hot potato. The children had so much fun and asked to play it again soon. 

Science

We started our new weather patterns unit this week! As an introduction, the students completed an experiment with water droppers and water, concluding that we can use water as a means of cooling off in case of a heat wave. They were introduced. They were introduced to other vocabulary, similar to heat, that we could use to describe the weather such as sunny, cloudy, cold, etc. We put on our scientist caps and began to fill data into a weather observation chart. We recorded the date, time, temperature, and other words to describe the weather at one specific moment.