Polar Animals-PALS

Hello families,

As we are preparing for the end of the semester, we have also been seeing all your child has learned thus far in the Year!  Let me tell you, I am AMAZED at the growth every child as has made in a variety of areas!

Students have been building their vocabulary and learning a lot of fun facts about polar animals.  It is amazing seeing them talk about the narwhal's long hollow tooth, the animals having blubber, and the many different polar animals there are out there!

This week students got to work on a polar animals size sort and do a really cool science experiment. We discovered how blubber helps keep animals warm by testing it ourselves.  Students made predictions, tested it, and recorded their results.  What awesome science!

We introduced another center this week, pocket chart. Students work on building a sentence " I like the ___ or I see the ___" and finding a picture that corresponds with the last word.  This helps them label the new animals, find the initial sound and then find the word.  For those ready to start reading, I, like, see and the are good sight words for them to start with.  They also get to record their results on clip boards (it is amazing how much students like clipboards!)

We did get to the gym again this week to do our fun polar animal movements.  Here are some pictures!

moving like a walrus

walking like a polar bear

Eskimos on their sleds telling their sled dogs, MUSH!

Walking like a penguin that has its egg between its legs. This is very tricky!

We also got to do a letter of the week this week.  The letter of the week was Pp. We learned the sign language for a letter, the literacy link sound symbols, the letter sound, and looking at and writing it in both capital letters and lower case letters.  Click here to view the many ways we learn the letter of the week!

Each week we watch letter videos from "Have Fun Teaching" and the students are really picking up the names of letters, formations, and the sounds of letters.  Check out these videos with you child!  Click HERE.

The Tuesday project of letter of the week is to decorate a letter with something that starts with the letter. This week we decorated the letter P with popcorn in paint.  On Thursday, our letter of the week project was to read a page from our alphabet book, P is for penguin.

Important Notes:

• Dress for the weather.  Please send your child dressed for the weather as we go outside as long as it is not raining or below 0*(students are more than welcome to bring layers daily or to leave in their lockers)  It may also be time to change out the change of clothes to make sure they are weather appropriate.  If you send a new change of clothes, we will send the warm weather clothes in their backpacks.  We go outside on TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS, Extended day kids go out EVERY DAY.
• Folders. Please be checking your child's daily folder each night.  We put notes on the notebook pages in their folders as well as any notes we may have for you.  Artwork is also sent home this way. As we start letter of the week, we will also start sending home homework to help reinforce the letter concept and identification.  Please work on this with you child to help the students make the connection between home and school. 
• Also, Please check the student's Wednesday Folders.  Please try to take info out and return the folder and any forms/info/payments in those folders a day or two after receiving. 
• Literacy Bags come home every three weeks.  Students will have a week to complete the project inside and can then return the bag with completed sheets in it on TUESDAYS.
• Library Books come every week.  We go to library on Monday and student have the opportunity to check out a book and keep it for a week. It can be kept in their back packs or at home, but please remember to bring it on Mondays. 

Next Week:
Theme: Polar Animals
Letter of the Week: Jj
Snack: Highfill Family