10/7/11

Mike demonstrates how the "Magic Bucket" works.

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

Our field trip to Wellwood Orchards was on a rainy day, however, we were fortunate that most of the time we were outside we experienced only a light drizzle.  Thank you to Anna Spaulding, Carrie LaBounty, and Mimi, (Ava’s visiting Grandmother). The children enjoyed a nice (albeit soggy) wagon ride to pick the apples and eat one right off the tree. Among many interesting facts about apples, we learned the secret to picking them without bruising them (cup it in your hand and twist it off!). So enlightening was the experience that some children were even inspired to eat the skin of the apple! 

Ryan carefully picks apples.

After returning from the wagon ride we toured the cider press and went in the storage area where all the apples are kept cool and crisp. We enjoyed eating our lunches at the covered picnic tables and made a quick dash to the bus just before it began to shower again.

Upon returning from our field trip our chaperones stayed for an extra hour and a half to help with apple learning centers. The children rotated among 4 stations listening to a read aloud about the lifecycle of the apple tree and making a life-cycle wheel, making apple prints (tempera paint) after cutting the apple in half and seeing the star, hearing a story about Johnny Appleseed, peeling apples using an apple peeler/corer and discussing ways to measure apples. We used two different pan scales. One which allowed us to compare two different sized apples: heavier and lighter, bigger and smaller. We used weights to balance the scale to determine the weight of a specific apple (210 grams).  The other pan scale helped us measure the weight in grams, which we read on the dial.   The children enjoyed their homemade applesauce with a cup of cider at the end of the day. 

We reached our first big milestone in Jolly Phonics this week by finishing up our first set of 6 letter sounds, (s, a, t, i, p, n).  The Sound Books are going home every night for practice. I hope you are able to find time to have your child practice the sounds with you regularly. Today and yesterday we began to blend these sounds into 3 letter words! This weekend you will find a new addition to the materials being sent home: a letter-writing workbook for at-home practice.  Throughout the last two weeks at morning table tasks we have been working on correct lower case letter formation. Although many children are able to write some upper case letters the primary focus for this activity is to begin to learn how to form the lower case letters.  Children have a tendency to want to rush through this practice, but we are working on slowing down and doing our best work.  Please help encourage your child to work slowly and to do the best they can. Habits are being formed at this stage and if they begin by practicing correctly they won’t have to relearn or reshape their muscle memory for letter writing later on.

Hunter demonstrates how the tambourine works. A musical /t/!

In calendar we have 2 bundles of 10 straws with 2 in the ones pocket signaling 22 days of school.  We are beginning to investigate the concept of number by thinking about one. What is one?  We are learning a poem about One. One is the Sun and One is the Moon. We will begin to think about two and what that means. These may appear simple at first glance, but a firm understanding of these basic concepts is critical as we begin to build on them to larger numbers. We will also be working to learn how to correctly form numbers in writing – another valuable skill.

Share: The Share theme this past week was /t/.  Although several children forgot (don’t worry!) a nice treasure trove of /t/ was still shared.  A few items were: a Toy Tractor, a very large stuffed Tiger, a football helmet, and a beautiful Tambourine.  Although the job of finding something that begins with the sound of the week can be challenging, this at-home activity provides an opportunity for you and your child to explore the sounds in words around your home that have (or may not have) the targeted sound. This is an important skill to have when children are ready to read. Look around the house and find items that don’t have the sound. The process of checking if it has the sound is an important. Try it!

Next Week’s Share Theme:  Something that begins with the sound /p/, (or has /p/ within the word).

Monday: Ava, Hunter, Ian

Tuesday: Kaitlyn, Andrew, Keira

Wednesday: Cashton, Finn, Maple

Thursday; Brady, Kayla, Ryan

If your child misses share day for any reason, he or she can share on that Friday

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:

• Thank you to Cashton’s family for contributing this week’s healthy snacks! Next week’s snack will be provided by  Kaitlyn’s  family. 

• Please send in a water bottle with your child’s name on it. We will try to send it home on Fridays to get washed. Please return it on Monday.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Bodnar