Outer Space

We started our Space unit this week.  We will be going on a field trip to the Barlow Planetarium in May so we thought it would be fun to have some background knowledge.

Monday we counted the craters on the moon. We learned the vocabulary word crater and worked on counting 1 to 1 as well as number recognition when they colored.

Wednesday, students worked on directional words in a book that little aliens need to be in a specific

direction to those in the book. Students also had to cut and glue their own pieces.  Students then wrote the title of the book on and decorated it.  They are bringing them home!  Have them read them to you!  If your child had trouble with the directional words (apparently this is harder than doing it with a teddy bear on their body as we did at conference and report card time), help them with it.  Talk about the directional word, use that word as often as you can in daily life, or even play searching games where they have to follow verbal directions to find things!

We did our usual letter of the week.  We did our usual letter of the week as well.  The letter of the week was Xx.  We learned the vocabulary word of x-ray as well as how they are just like a pictures. They are not scary, but just a picture of the bones.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 Ww is for watercolors.  On Thursday, our letter of the week project was to read a page from our alphabet book, W is for Whale. 

Please note, as always, the Hortonville Public Library hosts free events for kids!  Check them out on your days off and have some fun family bonding time! The link below brings you to the sites "kids" page.
http://www.hortonvillelibrary.org/taxonomy/term/1 
http://www.hortonvillelibrary.org/library_calendar

Important Notes:

• Our School day starts at 7:50am.  Please have your child in the building at that time.  We are going to be watching tardy's very carefully for the 4th quarter so please make an effort to be in the building by 7:50.
• Snow/Cold Day Make Up: We unfortunately had more snow/cold days this year than we had planned into our schedule.  At this point in time, pending no more snow days, we will be having 2 additional days added to the schedule.  At our last staff meeting, it was said we would be attempting to add Fridays instead of extra days in June. WE ARE ADDING FRIDAY APRIL 25 AND FRIDAY MAY 2.  No extended day with Mrs. Zaijeck will be offered on Fridays.  Please plan a pick up for your child on that day.  
• Book Orders came home and are available. They are due April 25 (if you submit them electronically).  If you submit in paper form with cash/check, you need to have it in by Thursday April 24.
• BECAUSE IT IS FINALLY GETTING WARM ENOUGH TO GO BACK OUTSIDE, PLEASE BE SURE THEY ARE DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER TO GO OUT.  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: Outer Space
Letter of the Week: Yy
Snack: Steudal Family