Week 5 Aug 30

 

Dear families,

These kindergartens are finally mastering all the routines and procedures. They can spend the entire day at school without being tired. They are working hard on all subjects!

At home, when they answer a question, encourage your child to answer in a complete sentence, not just yes and no answers. Read daily to them, and then go back and retell the story using your own words. Let them be independent by carrying their own things and help at home with chores.

Mrs. Bernal

Notes: Phonogram test will include the phonograms taught that week, and on the back of the page the phonograms from the previous week. The purpose of this is to check for retention. Keep practicing all the phonograms at home! Next week, new phonograms will be tested. Also, at the end of the quarter (towards the end of September) students will have a cumulative test for the 26 single letter phonograms.

What we learn this week!

Spalding: This week, students were introduced to phonograms: O S QU B E. Daily, we talked about the strokes they need to think about while writing the phonograms. Students’ handwriting is getting better! We ask students to sit down with the correct posture (head high, back strait, feet flat on the ground) At home, when doing Spalding homework, please reinforce the correct pencil grip. Parents can say the phonogram without showing the card, and the students listen and they write the phonogram on their homework.

Literature: Our poem this week was “The Little Pig”. On Monday, we read half of “The Little House” story and draw our little house in the country. On Tuesday, we read the second part of the story and finished our project by drawing the little house in the middle of the city. We compared the two settings. For Wednesday, our story was “The Gingerbread Boy”. Students identified the setting, characters, and plot. For the rest of the week, we kept working on the sequence of the story and decorated our own gingerbread boy.

Math: At the beginning of the week, students practiced how to count, write, and connect objects for numbers 3 and 4, as a review from last week. Then, instruction changed to number 5. Students counted all the way to 5 using manipulatives, or different objects, they learned how to write number 5, and finally, count and write numbers from 0 to 5. In kindergarten, some students tend to reverse number 3 and 5. Practice makes better! You can help with these and other numbers by writing them at home when the opportunity arises. Ex.  “Would you please count these lemons and write how many on this paper? Thank you!” Please reinforce the proper handwriting during math homework. Students can help count items at home!

Science: Magnets! Yes! Students learned many facts about magnetism. On Monday, we explore what items can stick to a magnet and why. Students wrote their own Magnets Journal, identified magnetic and non-magnetic items, and how magnetic force will pull through paper. Friday was fun! Ask your child about the bottle experiment and magnets!

History/Geography: This week, for North America, we study Canada. Students learned which animals live in Canada. We read some facts about this country. Then, we traveled to South America! We learned about the Amazon Rainforest, and Machu Pichu. Also, we learned that the main language is Spanish and Portuguese, Brazil is the largest country, and we are creating a Lapbook about South America.