OMG! December Already...

This week ends November and begins December and I cannot believe we are already this far into the year.  The amazing thing is we have only had school approximately 30 days because of the unique schedule (this shows just how important being at school is every day).  I am pleased with how the children are working hard and learning a lot too.  I sure hope you have seen this at home.  In addition, please continue to work on letter sounds, sight words, and numbers at home daily.  The progress made would not be possible without your help at home as I only have them 2 or 3 days a week.  In addition, it is important for your child to be at school.  If they are ill and have to miss school please contact me and I can let you know what your child has missed.  It is helpful for you to review these things with your child.  In addition, if you another child in the school I am able to send home work with them.

This week we will be working on the letter Ii and its sound of /i/ as in igloo, insect, ink, etc.  This sound can be easily confused with the short e sound as in elephant, elevator, escalator, etc.  We will be working on this particular sound and reading a series of new words with short i and a.  This will allow us to have some new words to work with and to blend.  In addition, we will be working with new sight words or "popcorn words."  This week the words are for and he.  We will continue to work with segmentation and begin bridging this into our writing.  The children will begin to develop an understanding of when you are unsure of how to spell a word, you can segment the word to hear all the sounds.  Currently, it is developmentally appropriate for children to only hear the first and/or last sound of a word.  Some children may be able to hear the middle sound too, but be aware this is the last sound children hear.

In math, we will conclude our work with 2-dimensional shapes by learning about the hexagon (six sides).  We will also review all the shapes.  We are working with some children on a deeper understanding of 2-dimensional shapes by learning their attributes and why the shapes are this way (the difference between a square and a rectangle).  Research has shown us it is important to extend their thinking and develop a deeper understanding of a specific items (this means we just do not want them to identify the shape, we ask questions and delve into their thinking).

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!