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

Polar Animals during this Polar Vortex!

Hello Families,

If you are not busy this weekend, go to the fun and FREE event at the YMCA!!

I hope you were able to stay warm this past week!  Who knew Wisconsin could get so cold!  I heard through a rumor mill they even had to bring the polar bears in at the zoos this week!  Crazy!

When it finally thawed out to a balmy -19 with windchill, we were back in class!  We started our polar animal unit.  We first voted on which project(s) we would like to do.  Students came up, chose one column and voted with an x.  We then  counted them up and saw that making walruses and polar bears won.  

Our walruses turned out cute.  Students had to cut a large plate in half, and write their name on four pieces (small plate for head, large plate for body, and two halves for flippers).  Students then painted the pieces brown.  Finally, they had to glue the eyes and tusks on.  

Students also learned new vocabulary with the walrus and tusks (not teeth or horns).  





Students also painted polar bears with cool puffy paint.  The paint is a glue and shaving cream mixture that
dries puffy.  We had to work on dotting out paint not rubbing it our the polar bear wouldnt be fluffy!

In the gym we are working on moving like polar animals!  We had to hold ourselves up with our arms and drag our feet behind us like a walrus, go on our hands and feet (not knees) and run like a polar bear, hold a ball between our legs and waddle like a penguin, and hold on to our dog sleds and yell mush like the Eskimos.  We really had fun with that (I forgot the camera but we will do it again this week and get pictures).

Thursday we did the second activity the students did not vote for on Wednesday.  We made shape penguins.  These penguins had a large shape and a small shape.  Students had to pick the shape they wanted by naming it. They then had to color the BIG one black. They cut both out and had to glue the white belly on the black back.  They then cut out the beak and feet (very small pieces so this was tricky!).  They then glued on the beak and feet.  Finally, they had to write/trace the shape's name on the penguins belly and their names on the back....but that's not all!  They then went on a scavenger hunt around the room looking for the posted penguins and has to practice writing their shape name (twice) and drawing that shape (twice).  We are going to finish that on Monday. 

Reading with the Stars is Tuesday January 14 5:30-6:30--snow themed.  Please RSVP. Hope to see you there!

Important Notes:

• We are supposed to continue to have record cold weather and high windchills.  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: Pp
Snack: Heimann Family

Welcome Back! Pre & Post Break

Hello parents, I hope this post finds you well and rested from your holiday break. I decided to wait to post only because the snack reminders and such would be to far in advance if I would have posted right when break started.  

BEFORE BREAK:

Monday, Tiger broke into our snack and enjoyed some raisins!




Tuesday, Tiger must have gotten stuck in the gel on our door! He just 'hung out' all day long!




Wednesday, Tiger took a nap in our Kleenex Box.



We created the gifts and wrapping paper for our parents. This worked on our fine motor skills.  We also worked on finishing up our other projects that worked on patterning and measuring.  



We did have time for a letter of the week.  The letter of the week was Uu. 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 U with mini Umbrellas.  On Thursday, our letter of the week project was to read a page from our alphabet book, U is for Umbrella.

Please visit the whole website (4k, drop down menu, Gallery) to see your child's first day photo as well as photos from through out the week.  If you would like the first day photo, please email me and I can send you the digital copy.

AFTER BREAK:
We watched the movie Happy Feet and looked for the different polar animals we saw in the movie. Students made rip penguins.  Students were given penguin templates and they had no feathers!  Students had to rip up paper feathers and make sure to cover all the skin. They then had to make feet and a beak for these penguins.  We also made a penguin out of an oreo cookie.  We enjoyed that snack!

We will continue to talk about, list, and find the adaptations of various polar animals.

The next Reading with the Stars is January 14, 2014.

Important Notes:

• We are supposed to continue to have record cold weather and high windchills.  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: Pp
Snack: Bonnet Family

Winter, Gingerbread

Our topic this week was Elf on the Shelf, Winter, Gingerbread.

• MAKE SURE TO RSVP FOR JANUARY 2ND BY EMAIL OR NOTE.  IF YOU ARE NOT COMING TO SCHOOL AND YOU NORMALLY RIDE THE BUS, PLEASE ALSO CALL THE BUS COMPANY.

We worked on patterning, made snowflakes for our classroom tree, and worked on a gingerbread book.  We read the book and then colored it. We are really working on those book reading skills!  They are doing good, but practice is always great!

Tiger continued to get in trouble this week!  

Monday, Tiger must have been swinging on our holiday sign but then fell down!  We caught him stuck upside down.  
Tuesday, Tiger was up in our class tree-probably checking out our awesome snowflakes.
Wednesday, Tiger was reading his book, remind friends he goes to Santa and they need to do their best!
Thursday, Tiger was playing with blocks. He had a nice tower and must have run out of time to make more! 

We spent a lot of our week working on the St. Edward program, watching the St. Edward program, practicing our gingerbread show, and performing our gingerbread show. Students loved wearing their masks and they had a lot of fun "playing" their parts!  It was a great night!

Our Next reading with the stars is January 14.

The letter of the week was Mm. 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 M with Mini Marshmallows.  On Thursday, our letter of the week project was to read a page from our alphabet book, M is for monkey.

Please visit the whole website (4k, drop down menu, Gallery) to see your child's first day photo as well as photos from through out the week.  If you would like the first day photo, please email me and I can send you the digital copy.

Important Notes:

• Boy oh boy, did it get cold fast!  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: Holidays
Letter of the Week: Uu
Snack: Ebben Family

Elf, Winter, St. Nick

Our topic this week was Welcoming the Elf on the Shelf, Winter, and St. Nick.

We started our week right away meeting our Elf.  Once we met him, we read his note on the board (by sounding out some letter sounds), read his book, and then: he needed a name!  We took a variety of options and then we voted and graphed our choices.  The one with the most votes would be our Elf's name.  Tiger wins!


On Monday, we also "sewed" our stockings and stamped our hands to have stockings to hang by the fire.  Lacing was a little tricky, but once students got it down, they had the most adorable stockings ready for St. Nick.

We also worked on making snowmen, putting three circles we cut out in size order, small on top, then middle, and then big.  We then used scrap paper and a whole punch (for the first time) to decorate or snow men.  


Tuesday Tiger was hanging out on our dry erase board and wrote nice in magnets.  N is our letter of the week, and he was sending us a message.  We worked really hard at being Nice.

Wednesday, the silly geese were being sassy so Tiger was trying to tell Santa on them.  The geese tried to cover it up, but we still know!  "Put the geese on the naughty list!"

We worked on an early reader of winter clothing and their colors and we will work on reading it in the next week.  We also started reading and practicing our Reader's Theater for Reading with the Stars.  

We also began a measuring activity. Students need to count how many big snowflakes they are tall and then take small snowflakes around the room and measure various objects. This also worked on counting, the concept of measurement, and writing the numbers.  Students are off to a great start in these areas.

It is so great to see the students using the writing center to write letters to Santa and to Tiger.  Any time we can get them to use writing tools, try to get letter sounds, and get the mechanics of writing (left to right, top to bottom, etc) is wonderful!  Tiger takes the notes to Santa when they leave them in Tiger's mail box.

Thursday, Tiger was hanging out by our stockings that were stuffed with love from St. Nick.  He wanted his own stocking too!

The story of St. Nick:

Nicholas' parents died when he was just a teenager. His parents left him a lot of money which made him a rich young man. 

Nicholas heard about a man who had lost all his money.  He had three daughters.  This family was so poor they had nothing left to eat. They were very sad. A daughter washed her stockings and put them in front of the fire to dry. Then all of them went to sleep.  In the morning the daughter saw a lump in her stocking. Reaching in, she found a small, heavy bag. It had gold inside! Enough to provide food for the family. Oh, how happy they were!

The next morning, another bag with gold was found. Imagine! Such joy!

And the next night, the father planned to stay awake to find out who was helping his daughters. He dozed off, but heard a small "clink" as another bag landed in the room. Quickly he jumped up and ran out the door. Who did he catch ducking around the corner?

Nicholas, the young man who lived with his uncle. "Nicholas, it is you! Thank you for helping us—I hardly know what to say!" Nicholas said, "Please, do not thank me. Do not tell others about me."

Nicholas continued helping people. He always tried to help secretly. He didn't want any attention or thanks. When there wasn't any food, he found wheat; so no one went hungry. He always helped people in trouble. All his life Nicholas showed people how to love God and care for each other.

Everyone loved Nicholas. After he died, they told stories of the good and kind things Nicholas had done. Sailors took these stories about Nicholas everywhere they went. Some of the stories were about his special care for children—helping and protecting them when danger threatened. And so more and more people learned about good, kind Nicholas. They wanted to be like him. He is an example of how we should live.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/real-santa/

December is very busy!

Dec 10 (am and pm showing) St. Edward Students will have their program

Dec 10 PLEASE GET RSVPs IN FOR READING WITH THE STARS SO WE CAN GET THE SNACKS AND CORRECT NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN THEIR PARTS.

Dec 11 St. Edward School has a half day (Extended day students will be done at 12:30, but have an AfterCare Option)

Dec 12  Reading with the Stars (Dec 12)--A reader's theater style with all 4k students having "parts" and holiday snack.

Dec 14 Breakfast with Santa sponsored by play and grow (please get RSVPs in)

Dec 20 (Friday) last day of school before break 

The letter of the week was Nn. 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 N with noodles.  On Thursday, our letter of the week project was to read a page from our alphabet book, N is for necklace.

Please visit the whole website (4k, drop down menu, Gallery) to see your child's first day photo as well as photos from through out the week.  If you would like the first day photo, please email me and I can send you the digital copy.

Important Notes:

• Boy oh boy, did it get cold fast!  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. 
• Send in those family photos!

Next Week:
Theme: Winter, Gingerbread
Letter of the Week: Mm
Snack: Backes Family

Thanksgiving

**Please Read!**
I would like to do a St. Nick Project and an Elf on the Shelf project for the Holiday season.  For St. Nick, we would be making a fire and then "sewing" a stocking in which we will hang by the fire. We will then await a St. Nick Gift on Thursday December 5.  For Elf on the Shelf, we will name our elf and find what trouble he gets into when we are not in the room. We would also watch the Elf on the Shelf video, write him letters, and more.  These activities would be educational and fun, but I need to make sure it does not conflict with anyone's religious or personal beliefs before going ahead.  IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH EITHER OF THESE PROJECTS, PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA A NOTE OR EMAIL.  If I do not get any notes by TONIGHT (SUNDAY), I will proceed with these plans.  
**Thank you!**


Our topic this week was Thanksgiving.
We started the week with coloring an early reader, I Give Thanks.  Students are doing much better with the one to one touch and read, please continue to practice at home! 

We also worked on a missing number turkey and following color directions. Students are doing well with number words as well as ordinal (order) words.  Keep practicing looking for numbers in the world around you and having those conversations with your child. 

**Studies show, the more authentic conversations and new vocabulary you introduce to your child, the higher reading they will have by third grade!**  Keep 
talking and introducing and teaching when they ask questions!

We made books, We Like To, another early reader.  Again, keep working on that pointing while reading!

We made Thankerchiefs.   This is a great game for the family at the Thanksgiving.  Students decorated the chant, then put the chant on a tube.  They then decorated their Thankerchief to put inside. We practiced the game with the class and spoke of the things that we are thankful for.

We worked on putting the turkeys that matched the directional words in the right place.  It is a tricky concept but we are getting it with practice. We are also building that vocabulary. Keep practicing!

Finally, we wrapped up our projects, colored another easy reader, I am Thankful, and played Thanksgiving Bingo.  Bingo works on listening skills, mulit-step directions, and it helps build new vocabulary for the students.  

It was a very busy week!  I hope all of you enjoy your thanksgiving breaks and look forward to seeing all of you in December!

Field Trip notes came home on last Thursday. We are going bowling and going to have a lot of fun using our gross motor and social skills!  Please make sure you return the trip form, the money, and send your child dressed appropriately on Dec 5th.  Please plan on your child being at school the normal times on this day.   If you have any questions, concerns, or need some financial assistance in covering the trip cost, please let me or the office know.

Breakfast with Santa!

December is very busy!

Dec 5 Field Trip bowling

Dec 10 (am and pm showing) St. Edward Students will have their program on

Dec 11 St. Edward School has a half day (Extended day students will be done at 12:30)

Dec 12  Reading with the Stars (Dec 12)--A reader's theater style with all 4k students having "parts" and holiday snack.

Dec 14 Breakfast with Santa sponsored by play and grow (please get RSVPs in)

Dec 20 (Friday) last day of school before break 

Important Notes:

• Boy oh boy, did it get cold fast!  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.
• 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. 
• Book Order due December 6th (paper fliers came out, online available in the scholastic tab of the website: mrsgloudemans.wix.com/stedward). WE WILL NOT BE DOING ANOTHER ORDER IN DECEMBER BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO GET THEM IN BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS.
• PLEASE CONSIDER BOOK ORDER BOOKS FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS!  Reading is a great gift to share with your child and others.  If you purchase online, you also help our class to earn points to buy books for our room.  IF YOU WANT BOOK ORDERS TO BE A GIFT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL WRAP THEM DISCREETLY AND GET THEM TO YOU SO THEY CAN BE A GIFT.
• Send in those family photos!

Next Week:
Theme: Winter, Elves, St. Nick
Letter of the Week: Nn
Snack: Mitchell Snack

Turkeys!

**Please Read!**

I would like to do a St. Nick Project and an Elf on the Shelf project for the Holiday season.  For St. Nick, we would be making a fire and then "sewing" a stocking in which we will hang by the fire. We will then await a St. Nick Gift on Thursday December 5.  For Elf on the Shelf, we will name our elf and find what trouble he gets into when we are not in the room. We would also watch the Elf on the Shelf video, write him letters, and more.  These activities would be educational and fun, but I need to make sure it does not conflict with anyone's religious or personal beliefs before going ahead.  IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH EITHER OF THESE PROJECTS, PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA A NOTE OR EMAIL.  If I do not get any notes by Thursday Nov. 28, I will proceed with these plans.  

**Thank you!**

There is only 3 days of school this week. When we have these special weeks there are a couple of categories in which your children fit in when it comes to when and how they are getting home. Please read below.

• Students who ride the bus to and from 4k: Your bus will run as normal on Wednesday November 27th
• Students who are picked up and dropped off for JUST our 3 hour session (7:55-10:55) You will be picked up as normal on Wenesday November 27th
• Students who attend extended day (Stay at St. Edward all day) you have two options.
• Attend the Thanksgiving Feast at 11:25 with the 4k Students  and the rest of the school.  You can take your child home when the feast is done. (If you cannot attend the feast but you want your child to still, you can pick them up at 12:30-the approximate time the feast will be done)
• Pick your child up at 10:55 when the rest of the pick up students are being picked up.
• THERE WILL BE NO EXTENDED DAY OR AFTERCARE AFTER 12:30PM ON WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 27TH.

Our topic this week was Turkeys.

We took turkeys that were missing their feathers and made sure they got them by counting the dots on the turkey's body and gluing the correct numbered feather on.  Students are doing pretty good, but please continue to have the conversations with your child about numbers in your environment.  

We also made turkey headbands from a paper plate.  Cutting the paper plate can be difficult for some but encouraging them to do it on their own helps strengthen their fine motor skills and teach persistence.  Students then had to take two of each other. This taught some new vocabulary as well as mathematical concepts.


Students have also gotten the opportunity to play some math games that also work on mouse clicking and dragging.  To introduce the game, we took turns doing it on the smart board.

The letter of the week was Rr. 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

E with our Elbows!!  On Thursday, our letter of the week project was to read a page from our alphabet book, E is for Elephant.

Please visit the whole website (4k, drop down menu, Gallery) to see your child's first day photo as well as photos from through out the week.  If you would like the first day photo, please email me and I can send you the digital copy.

Field Trip notes came home on Thursday. We are going bowling and going to have a lot of fun using our gross motor and social skills!  Please make sure you return the trip form, the money, and send your child dressed appropriately on Dec 5th.  Please plan on your child being at school the normal times on this day.   If you have any questions, concerns, or need some financial assistance in covering the trip cost, please let me or the office know.

Important Notes:

• Boy oh boy, did it get cold fast!  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.
• 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. 
• Book Order due December 6th (paper fliers came out, online available in the scholastic tab of the website: mrsgloudemans.wix.com/stedward). WE WILL NOT BE DOING ANOTHER ORDER IN DECEMBER BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO GET THEM IN BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS.
• PLEASE CONSIDER BOOK ORDER BOOKS FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS!  Reading is a great gift to share with your child and others.  If you purchase online, you also help our class to earn points to buy books for our room.  IF YOU WANT BOOK ORDERS TO BE A GIFT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL WRAP THEM DISCREETLY AND GET THEM TO YOU SO THEY CAN BE A GIFT.
• Send in those family photos!

Next Week:
Theme: Thanksgiving
Letter of the Week: none with the short week
Snack: Hurst Family