January 9, 2015

Happy 2015! I hope you all had a restful and adventurous break! For the rest of January we will be very busy with assessments as the end of the 2nd quarter is quickly upon us. We have started an author study of Jan Brett. Her stories and illustrations are perfect for this time of the year!

Books Read: The Mitten, Honey,Honey Lion!, Armadillo Rodeo, The Three Snow Bears and Cinders

During writing time they are; visualizing places and people to write about, adding words (letters) to their pictures, rehearsing what they want to say about what they wrote, take turns sharing their ideas and writing with partners, going back into their writing pieces and revising what they have written by changing or adding to what they wrote and continuing to build up their confidence as writers.

Animated Alphabet is our approach to phonemic awareness and spelling. The letters are taught through a multi sensory approach of music, dance, characters and signs which help the students hold onto that information. The characters we learned this week were; Ellie Elephant and The Thick Thorny Thing

In math we are working with teen numbers, formation of numbers, making pictures to match the number written, addition and subtraction practice, describing patterns, counting and number recognition through graphing , using a pan balance as a tool to compare the weights of objects and continuing our calendar routines. Our routines at calendar time include; counting to the calendar number of the day, weather observations, tracking the number of days we have been in school and days of the week.

We are learning about the Woolwich Way! The Woolwich Way is made up of 6 qualities that will help us to be the best we can be! (Courtesy- I can use good manners, Compassion-I can help others, Respect- I can treat others kindly, Honesty-I can tell the truth, Responsibility- I can take care of myself and my stuff, Quality- I can do my best even when things are hard)

Upcoming Events:

January 16- Professional Day- NO SCHOOL

January 19- Martin Luther King Jr. Day- No School

January 23- End of 2^nd quarter