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| Felting with Mrs. Cathey |
One of the big highlights this past week was felting with the kids in art class. The children made small balls from wool that they soaked in warm soapy water. In our classroom a few of us also began to learn how to finger knit. I hope that by the end of the year most of the students will have mastered this skill.
This past week Mrs. Williams 8th grade advisory came in on Tuesday morning to volunteer their time to help us with morning tasks. They will continue to do this in the coming months. The children enjoyed meeting them and are looking forward to getting to know them better.
This past week the children made Get Well cards for Mrs. Andrews. Mrs. Lee Fotion has joined our team as a long-term para-educator while Mrs. Andrews is out on medical leave. Mrs. Fotion completed her student teaching with Mrs. White’s class last spring and was recently a long-term substitute teacher for Mr. Pogue. Mrs. Fotion will be with us into the early spring until she starts her long-term substitute teaching position for Mrs. Summarsell when she is out on maternity leave. A big welcome to Mrs. Fotion!
I believe we have enough memory trunks (shoeboxes). The children should be thinking about their fond memory and what things might represent those memories. Although I am encouraging them to focus on just one memory, they can choose a couple of memories. if they find it hard to decide one just one. With only two school days next week, we will begin the project next week and I hope we can complete them during the following week after Thanksgiving.
The Family Tree project will be the focus of our efforts on Monday and Tuesday next week. Please email me photos to print out or send in family pictures with your children that they can use in the project. I will make Xerox copies of the photos and return the originals to you. Thank you for your support!
Jolly Phonics: Onto our fourth grouping of sounds: this week we are learning the vowel pairs: /ai/ and /ay;/ and the sound /j/. We also discovered that /ck/ comes at the end of a word with a short vowel: like back or pack. We made more connections to words that have the Magic e. Magic e is used to explain why vowels say their name instead of their short vowel sound when e comes at the end of a word. We talked about Rule Breakers like “have” and “love.” Little anecdotes like a tippy letter such as /v/ help remind them to put an “e” after the “v” (so it doesn’t fall over). As you well know, children love stories and these little anecdotes provide hooks for them to grab onto when writing words.
Jolly Phonics: Onto our fourth grouping of sounds: this week we are learning the vowel pairs: /ai/ and /ay;/ and the sound /j/. We also discovered that /ck/ comes at the end of a word with a short vowel: like back or pack. We made more connections to words that have the Magic e. Magic e is used to explain why vowels say their name instead of their short vowel sound when e comes at the end of a word. We talked about Rule Breakers like “have” and “love.” Little anecdotes like a tippy letter such as /v/ help remind them to put an “e” after the “v” (so it doesn’t fall over). As you well know, children love stories and these little anecdotes provide hooks for them to grab onto when writing words.
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| Working together at the sandbox. |
Explorations:
In order to provide more routine to our day, I have moved explorations to the last period after recess. I find this time allows them a chance to decompress from their long day while exploring creatively.
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| Balancing Pattern Blocks. |
Construction with blocks and Legos, working with puzzles, stamps, Playdoh and clay, and the sandbox now that it is inside.
Share: The Share theme this past week was /d/. We had some delightful shares: dogs, dolls, a red toy car with doors, and much more. Next week share will be /j/. We also learned that sometimes the way we pronounce a word is not representative of how it is speled as int bottle (not boddle).
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| Building together. |
Social Emotional Skills:
As a way to help children work towards their personal goals, I am implementing a new incentive program that has seemingly proved to be successful in Mrs. White’s class this year. It is reward based. If a child needs a number of reminders to follow directions, stay on task, etc. I will give them a tally on their recording sheet. If however, they can follow directions with minimal reminders they will receive a star for the day. 1 or two stars lets them choose a sticker from a basket at the end of the week (or on a Monday from the previous week), If they have 3 or 4 stars they get to choose from two baskets. And if they have 5 stars (5 days) they will get to choose from 3 baskets. I hope this helps motivate those that need a bit of the tangible, while rewarding those that already are making good choices throughout the day.
HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:
- Wish List: For upcoming projects: Glue sticks, fabric scraps or pieces, plastic buttons, jewels, lace, ribbons, and shoe-box. Thank you!
- Thank you to ian’s family for contributing this week’s healthy snacks! I will bring in next week’s snack. We are coming up on the second cycle of snack rotation. If you would like to donate the following week, please let me know. Thank you!
- We are planning a Friendship feast on Tuesday. with Mrs. White’s Class. Please send in a piece of fruit or a can of fruit to contribute to the event.
- Also on Tuesday, HES has a Holiday Student Assembly from 12:10-1:00pm. Although our class is not performing, it is always a good show. Hope you can make it!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Bodnar
