Kindergarten is the BEST place on Earth!

This week we fly to China, Mexico, Italy and the Netherlands. We will be backpacking across the U.S.A.  Wednesday is an Early Release Day; lunch is at 9:40. Friday is Winter/ Christmas T-Shirt Day. :)  Also, we will have another student join the SIX YEAR OLD CLUB, on Sunday Gavin will be the newest member. :)

                            Below is what we will be focusing on in class:  
Reading: We will be flying and driving around all week long! The days go by very quick when we fly. :) The Sight Words for this week are: will, this, had. We will continue practicing rhyming, blending, segmenting, phoneme deletion and beginning sounds of words. When choosing books to read with your child this week, continue to ask questions like: What event happened before _____? or What event happened after ______? Also, occasionally ask your child the meaning of a word in the story. Because words have multiple meanings, we need to make sure they have the correct meaning in their heads while listening to the story.
 (Example: When reading Mooseltoe, Bailey asked what the word 'Merry" meant. I informed the class the word meant happy, cheerful. I then told her that it was a great question to ask because the picture of Moose looked sad and we should know what the word 'Merry' means. Well Carmen raises her hand and yells out that she knows another meaning for the word 'M(a)rry'. I asked her to tell the class and she explained the word perfectly! I didn't want to get into a spelling lesson... so I continued on with meaning and told her she was correct. I reminded the class that words can have multiple meanings and we should always figure out how the Author means to use the word in their story.)
Don't forget to ask your child what country we traveled to and what they learned about the country and the holiday they celebrate.  Also... check out the blog. The pictures of the kids are GREAT! :)


Writing: Narrative Writing~ We are continue to story map. The topic this week is Gingerbread Cookie. We will be discussing and writing about where he lives, what he eats, the easiest part of his life and the hardest part of his life. We will then use our story mapping information to begin writing sentences for our Narratives.  (These are sure to be adorable!! Be on the look out for your child to bring it home. :) I'm hoping for Friday, but it may not be until next week.)
At home you will want to use one of the topics you discussed last week and begin using that information to write sentences.


Science/Social Studies: We are reviewing the Venn Diagram and using it to help us compare and contrast Push and Pull. The students will spend time experimenting with items inside the class and outside the class. Together we will complete the Venn Diagram by drawing the items in the area they belong. At home have your child walk around the house and tell you about the items that they push, pull or can be moved by both movements.
              
             
Math: We are finishing up the chapter on Decomposing Numbers. Along with having some FUN :) and completing a Winter Graph. (one of the test questions is a review of the vocabulary more and less).  We will not have a Math lesson on Wednesday, do to the Early Release Dismissal time.
At home, give your child a number and ask the different ways they could decompose the number. Write down the numbers they give into an equation like this example.(Remind them that when you decompose the sum is always at the beginning.)