August 26-30

This week we will be reading The Good Egg. We are still working on making good choices and following the Rules and Procedures of the school and the classroom. It is important to learn that some of the rules that are in our classroom may be the same or different in other areas of the school (library learning commons, science lab, specials, etc.). We are trying to teach them that our rules and expectations follow them wherever we are in the school, as well as the rules and expectations from other parts of the school. 

We do have a class star chart and every time they get a good report from specials or are being extra good in class they get a class star. Once we get 10 stars we get a class party. We got our first class party this Friday. I brought in donut holes for snack, and we got free play time (legos, art, blocks). I let them know it will be different depending on when we earn the stars. Some examples I gave them was dance party, movie, special treat, free play, etc. They really enjoyed the first party and are looking forward to the next party.

This week I will also be introducing Good Behavior Punch Cards. Every day they are on green or higher they will get a punch. Once they get 10 punches they will be able to pick something from the treasure box. I am hoping this will help motivate them to make good choices in the classroom. 

We have also been working on bathroom rules. We are still having friends playing in bathrooms, and sometimes not going. We give them multiple opportunities throughout the day to use the restroom, so it does not interfere with learning times. I understand there are times you just have to go and we do let them go, but encourage them to go at designated times so they do not miss a lesson. 

• 08/28: Early Release (12:30pm) 
• 08/28: Chic-fil-a Night (5:00-8:00pm)
• 08/30: Grandparent Breakfast (7:15-7:45)
• 08/30: Spirit Wear Day
• 09/19: Field Trip to Art Barn (will have info. about field trip in purple folders Monday)

We will be having  our first STEM activity/lesson on Wednesday 08/30. I am very excited for this and know the kids will love it. We will be doing a sink/float activity. Students will be broken into groups with bins of water, and each group will have the choice of using aluminum foil, bubble wrap, or craft sticks to build a boat. Then we will take turns putting counting bears on boat to see how many their boat will hold before it sinks. We will discuss our ideas, ask questions, learn about a hypothesis, take data, and communicate our results. 

In reading we will be reading The Good Egg. We will do a look through, a read through, and watch video on The Bad Seed. Students will be able to tell the characters, setting, and the main idea of the story. They will also be doing a compare/contrast on how The Good Egg and The Bad Seed are alike and different. We will also make connections from the stories to our classroom and their homes. The vocabulary we will focus on in the book will be....

• Dozen: a group of 12
• Exhausted: super tired
• Pressure: a feeling you get when you really have to do something that you might not really want to do, or feel nervous to do
• Literally: when something happens exactly how you say it did
• Appreciate: to value or admire highly, to recognize with gratitude

In math we will continue counting and recognizing numbers. We will work on counting on, not just from one, and recognizing if something has more or less. Students enjoyed working with 10 frames last week, and we will continue to work with them this week and introduce two ten frames to work on teen numbers.

Science we will continue to work on comparing and sorting different materials. Will touch on how our senses can help us sort (touch, look). We will be working on a scientific investigation during our stem day on seeing what sinks, and floats. 

Students have been doing great on homework! You can put more than one day and more than one assignment per page. It helps save paper and saving you from having to buy another composition notebook. Homework is a great time for you to see how your child is progressing academically! 

Please check purple folders/agendas daily as we send stuff home that way, and write notes in there. Most of you already are but, would like to ask if you could continue writing how they will get home each day in their agenda. This really helps us out with dismissal. Also, we only get ice cream on Fridays, and require a note letting us know that they can get it. It will help us to know if you write that in their agenda as well. 

Last thing is I will be working on a wish list. I have had a few parents ask if there is anything we need for the classroom. I have been jotting things down and will compose a list of things that would help out in class and post it here. I appreciate all the help and support from home!