Hi Ho, Hi ho, it's off to work we go...

And we have been working hard, Moms and Dads! And hopefully, you have seen the result of your kiddos hard work.

In English/Language Arts, we have been working on tapping and dragging out CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words to sound them out. For example, the word cat, we would start by tapping out the words twice. That is simply saying the sound each letter makes /c/ /a/ /t/. Then, we drag out the sound of each letter to determine what the word says /cccccccccc/ /aaaaaaaaaa/ /ttttttttttt/ (I tell the kiddos to visualize dragging a BIG letter that is really heavy). We have learned to drag the word out several times, then, a bit more quickly so, they can determine what the word is. We have used this skills during writing as well, when we want to try and spell a word we don't know. Speaking of writing, we are finishing up our unit on opinions this week  and will move into creating 'how to' pieces. In both units, the kiddos create a pictures with details, then use 2-4 sentences to relay their thinking. As always, we continue to work on using capital letters, spacing between words, punctuation at the end of each sentence, and sounding out words.

In math, we are finishing up our unit on 2D and 3D shapes and will move into addition. The kiddos always feel so 'big' when they start adding and the pride that they have when they realize they can do it is priceless!!! As always, you can reinforce the objectives we are learning at school at home by incorporating them into your real life. Research indicates that the more kids can integrate math in real life, the more likely they will master it. Encourage your kids to identify shapes in their own lives and have them describe the shapes using the number of sides, length of the sides, number of vertices (corners), number and shape of faces (if it is 3D), does the shape roll? or does it stack?.

Next week is a BIG with with Monday being our 100th day of school and Thursday being Valentines Day. Thank you to everyone who has signed up to volunteer or bring something in (or both) for our 100th Day. The kids are really looking forward being a 100 days smarter!!

Donations needed for Dental Awareness Month
In two weeks, we will be celebrating Dental Awareness Month. As a part of an activity to reinforce foods that help/hurt your teeth, I am asking for donations of grocery store flyers. If everyone donates 2, we will have plenty! Thank you in advance for helping with this:-)

Interims/Progress Reports
In kindergarten, report cards do not go home third quarter (just as in quarter 1). Instead, progress reports go home. Keep an eye out for them Friday, February 22nd in your child's Friday folders.

Mystery Readers
Our Mystery Readers are starting March. Keep an eye out for a signup genius form to sign up:-)