Religion
November 7: We had an assessment of Chapter 5 on Monday of this past week. These were returned on Wednesday. So you should have received the results by now. If not, check your child's homework binder.
We took a little "detour" in our book this past week as we focused on saints in the special section in the back of our book. We learned about St. Nicholas, St. Brigid of Ireland, St. Joseph, St. Rose of Lima, and St. Luke. Ask your child about these saints.
Next week we will begin chapter 6, which is about the Sacrament of Baptism. I have asked the children to bring in mementos of that special day, such as: baptismal candle, photographs, christening gown, baptismal certificate, etc. This, of course, needs to be approved by you first. We'll share them in class and send them right back home. Thanks for all you do to support our instruction here!
Handwriting
November 7: This past week the children have been working with the letters "b" and "d". These letters seem to be reversed the most often. We used our thumbs and pointer fingers on both hands to show those two letters. The "b" which comes first in the alphabet is shown with our left hand, and the "d" is shown with our right. Have your child demonstrate this. We also used these phrases to help the children remember if the line or the circle comes first: For the "b", first the bat and then the ball. For the "d", first the doughnut and then the knife. Hopefully, these little devices will help those children who are having trouble remembering the formation of these two letters. We'll continue to work with these letters this coming week.
Thanks for reinforcing our penmanship at home!
Total Language
November 7: Two groups have stories to read this weekend. The orange group is reading a Henry and Mudge story, while the blue group is reading an Encyclopedia Brown mystery. The green group has read a Frog and Toad story. We're finishing up this program and will soon move into the orange level! The purple group has read "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco, one of my favorite children's book authors. We love the quality of the stories included in this Houghton-Mifflin reading series!
We encourage multiple readings of the stories in the readers to ensure fluency and comprehension. Each day the children are assigned a page or several pages in their practice books,too. Please make sure that your child is keeping current with this. We grade these pages in group as a first activity, so this assignment is expected to be complete.
In creative writing this week, we wrote some November acrostics for display on our writing bulletin board. Stop in, and have a look. I am looking forward to chatting with you about your wonderful children this week!
Thank you for helping your child study his/her spelling words! Watch for the pre-assessment to come home on Mondays, and the final assessment to be given on Fridays. Thanks to Mrs. James and Mrs. Savage for helping with our spelling here at school! There will be no spelling assessment this week, due to the fact that there are only three days of classes!
Science/Social Studies
November 7: This past week we finished up our Social Studies unit and began our Science unit topic of electricity. We will continue this study through both November and December. We have already learned about two forms of electricity : static and current. In the Science lab on Friday we had fun experimenting with static electricity. Using balloons, we rubbed our clothing and then gave our buddies some award-winning hairstyles! We also saw the connection with magnetism as we saw our balloons adhere to walls, doors, and other surfaces in the lab.
For the enrichment activity, we're going to be very open to the creativity of the children with this topic. The activity could take the form of a report for our word smart students. They may research some of the pioneers of electricity, such as Thomas Edison. Some children may wish to write a book or make a poster about electrical safety, for example, or show how electricity is generated and is able to travel into homes and businesses safely. The children could design and make their own battery powered games. These are just a few ideas. The library and the internet has a wealth of resources for Science projects. Please have your child inform me before you begin what the plan is. These will not be due until December. I'll give you an exact date once we know the schedule for our Christmas program rehearsals. Lial has the most supportive parents! Thanks for all you do!
Health
November 7: This week we began our unit on the five senses. We used an eye model from the Science lab and the Smart Board diagrams to identify the parts of the eye. The children then labeled their own papers to help them remember. The most fun part of class for them was staring into the eyes of their partners to watch the enlarging and shrinking of the size of the pupils as the lights in the classroom were switched off and on!
