Early Childhood
We had an exciting month. Our theme this month was WINTER! We read many, MANY books, my favorite was 3 Little Kittens however the students’ favorite was the Hat. Students made puppets and were able to retell the story. We discussed to great lengths the differences between mittens and gloves and graphed which one students’ wore. We explored many new centers in the kitchen area, as known as housekeeping, we had a Hot Cocoa Hut where the Barista served wonderful hot chocolate with marshmallows. We are now having a birthday celebration for my dog Duke, we also take turns pretending it’s different student’s birthdays too. In blocks, we added a train set. In the sensory table we have acratic animals with fake snow and real snow. We even used watercolors to make colorful snow. We are continuing our exploration through the alphabet we are currently up to letter Ll. In the AM we are counting to 10 during circle time and in the PM to 20. For the PM class we will be starting Jolly Phonics soon look for binders to come home shortly. As a reminder, we are nut free for snack, and please send only 1-2 items for snack, we only have 10-15 minutes.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is reading many books about kindness and doing random acts of kindness. We continue to work on subtraction, writing sentences with capitals, spacing and punctuation. We are working on mastering our kindergarten sight words. We are also celebrating kind acts that we do for each other and at home.
First Grade
In first grade we are learning about space. Students were excited to learn about the different phases of the moon. Students created a model of the phases using Oreo cookies!!!
Second Grade
The second grade students have been learning about Polar and Ocean Biomes. This weather we are having is perfect for talking about how animals adapt in cold environments. We are integrating our ELA skills of completing a Venn Diagram into our Social Science while learning about animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctica.
Reading/ELL
The students have been learning about non-fiction text structure. The different types of non-fiction text structure include: problem and solution, cause and effect, compare / contrast, description and sequence. Understanding text structure and the text features are important because it helps the students have a purpose when they are reading. The readers are able to summarize the text by using the text structure as a guide. After reading, the students use graphic organizers to map out their ideas from the text. As they are reading, they think about how the text is organized. For example, a rain shower (cause) can help the plants grow (effect). Another example is when we compare and contrast animals such as lions and tigers. When we compare the two animals, they are both wild animals and part of the cat family. When we contrast the two, lions do not have stripes and they tend to live in groups. However, tigers have bold, black stripes and prefer to be alone.