Sunday Update!

Hi Families,

One more week until school is out for winter break, I can’t believe how fast this year is moving.  A few exciting things happening this week at Whittier:

üTomorrow we will have a library book exchange at 11:15 am

ü Tomorrow we will have our popcorn snack reward – please return permission slip

ü We will visit the computer lab on Wednesday afternoon

ü Please visit Whittier on the last instructional day of the 2013 school year!

o   Donuts and juice  8:30 – 9:00 in the classroom

o   Stick around to make candles to decorate our tree!

ü This week, Whittier is having a door decorating contest.  If you visit on Friday, please admire our teachers creative ideas (kindergarten will be the North Pole)

Sight words:

ü Can

ü All

ü Will

*We are going to extend the homework due date until this Friday*

Poetry:

The Five Little Snowmen

Snow Day

Whole Group:

ü Recall and discuss text

ü Use question words to answer questions about the text

ü Build complex vocabulary

We will read…..

Knuffle Bunny

Annie and the Wild Animals

Later in the week we will…

ü Read nonfiction books about Artic animals

ü Record key words that help us remember information

ü Discuss text features (ex: table of contents, labels, captions, etc)

Social Studies:

We will continue to learn about holidays around the world!  We will discuss past and present traditions related to Kwanza, Christmas and the Chinese New Year.  We had so much learning about Hanukkah last week! 

Writing:

Our big writing assignment this week will be…what would you do if you were stuck inside a snow globe??

Math:

We will explore place value (teen numbers) using various tools.  Students will practice using a rekenrek.  They will also make their own rekenrek using beads, foam and pipe cleaners.  Students will use their rekenrek to compose and decompose teen numbers.  They will also be used to solve story problems.

Let’s make this a great week of learning!

Sunday Update....Snow Day?????

Hi Everyone,

I hope you and your family enjoyed the beautiful Sunday snow.  Now the question is....will we have a snow day tomorrow?  If you have not already signed up for Find Out First, you can do so on the FCPS website.  They give you updates via text/email on school closings, delays, announcements, etc.  

A few reminders for the week....

-tomorrow we have a library lesson with Ms. Datolli 
-please send library books to school
-we will operate on  a week A schedule for the center room
-we will visit the computer lab on Wednesday afternoon
-we are in need of a new box of crayons for each student's pencil box...if you can, please send a new box to school by Wednesday. Thanks!
-please enjoy the photos below!

Sight words for the week: 

can 
all
will 

Poems: 

Snow Angels
5 Little Snowmen

Whole Group Read Aloud: 

We will work on answering beginning, middle and end questions, using question words. 
Students will work in small groups to discuss these story elements.

Examples: 

Who are the characters in the story?
How was the problems solved?
Where does the story take place?
What is the problem? 

We will read...

The Mitten
Knuffle Bunny

We will also discuss vocabulary words from these books and create/add words to the WOW word wall!

Social Studies:

All students will participated in social studies activities until winter break.  We are learning about holidays around the world.  If you have anything your student could share about holidays, please send it to school!

Writing: 
-Inspiring students to write for readers!
-If you were reading your writing would it be exciting and interesting? 
-Can you read your writing?
-Do your pictures match your words? 

Math: 

-counting objects in different configurations
-conservation of mass
-representing numerals with their quantity 
-decomposing teen numbers
-writing number 0-20

Any questions, just ask!  I look forward to meeting with families on Tuesday and Thursday evening!

A few pictures to enjoy from last week....

 We had a parent talk to us about Italy!

We had a special visitor....who brought use a special treat (gingerbread pencils)

It's that time of year......

Hello everyone,

It is that time of year...school supplies are running low already.  Each student needs a new box of crayons for their pencil box.  If you could please send a new box to school by next Wednesday that would be fabulous.  We are going to do a thorough cleaning of our pencil box and seat sack. 

Thank you so much!

Ms. Grimes  

P.S. Please write your student's name on the crayon box!

Weekly Post

Hi Families,
 
I hope everyone had a fantastic, restful, fun filled break!  I apologize to the families that had their conference canceled on Tuesday.  I have sent an email/left a phone message to reschedule.  If those days/times do not work for you, we can work something out.  We have a fun and exciting week ahead of us.
 
 
A few quick notes....
 
-we had a library book exchange today...if you did not send your book back to school you can send them in tomorrow and students can exchange their book in the morning.
 
-we have computer lab Wednesday at 10:30
 
-we will visit the center room Tuesday 9:50 - 10:30 and Thursday 9:00 - 9:40
 
 
This week.....
 
Weekly sight words:
 
little
with
me
 
Poetry:
 
The Gingerbread Recipe Poem
Five Little Gingerbread Men
 
Ask your student to recite these poems.
 
Whole Group Read Aloud:
 
We are reading various versions of The Gingerbread Man.  Monday - Wednesday we are identifying the characters, setting and major events of the stories.  We will record these story elements on a whole class chart.  We will compare the elements of each story. 
 
Thursday and Friday we will make predictions about Gingerbread Man stories....
 
Characters?
Setting?
How will this story end?
 Do you think this is a happy or sad story?
 
Ask your student to share their favorite Gingerbread story!
 
Science:
 
Our class will visit Ms. House for science this week.  They will learn about the process of observation.  They will compete a sink or float experiment, learn what salt does to an egg in water, and how shapes of objects effect if they sink or float.
 
Later in the week they will learn the most efficient way to melt ice.   

Sounds fun!!!!

Writing:

We will.....
-practice using our resources (word wall, sound card, alphabet strip)
-re-read what we write
-share our writing
-writers are like photographers....you can see the whole big picture or you can zoom in and see the tiniest detail
-discuss important details
-practice adding important details
-authors celebration!!!!

Math:

We will....

-write and represent number 0 - 20
-count sets
-compose and decompose teen numbers

Have a great week!! Any questions, just ask!

A week full of fun!!

Hi families,

I hope everyone got to see the first few snow flurries of the year!  As much as I don't enjoy cold weather, there is still something very exciting about snow. 
We had a fun week at Whittier.  I have many pictures to share.  Thank you to the parents that came to enjoy breakfast and spent some time visiting in music, art and our classroom.  It was a great help to have you here for constructing our birdhouses.  I did not put the birdhouses outside this weekend because of the strong winds.  I will put them outside over break.  

A couple reminders....

-We will not have media center tomorrow 
-Monday, school opens 4 hours late with evening conferences
-Tuesday, school dismisses 3.5 hours early with afternoon conferences
-if you are unsure of your conference time please contact me

I look forward to meeting with families this week!

Have a happy holiday break!

Here are some great pictures to enjoy......

Sorting by attribute

Center room fun!

We learned about Brazil....we had a special guest visitor that brought in many things that came from Brazil

We now have glitter on the back of our clips.  If you are on reach for the stars and you are still going above and beyond, you may flip your clip to the glitter side!

More fun in the center room....

Making a plan (as a team) for our birdhouses 

 After several days of asking questions, finding answers, and designing a birdhouse....we began the construction!

The store keeper!

Have a super week!