Our 'Corny' Week

Last week we read "All That Corn." We had a snack of popcorn and an activity on Thursday. Thanks, Mr. Clayton for popping corn with us. On Friday, we ate lunch in the room and the kids got to have corn on the cob with their lunch. It was a fun week!

Week 7

This week we are reading "Dan's Pet." It is a story about a little boy who get a pet chick. The sound this week is short e. The vocabulary words this week are:

day

every

her

said

was

with

Spelling this week is:

hen

pen

men

end

send

set

all

call

very

that

of

want

walk

Questions of the week:

Monday - It is the birthday of the White House. Who lives there? Where is it?

Tuesday - It is Family History Month. Tell me something you like to do with your family.

Wednesday - List as many vegetables as you can. How many did you think of?

Thursday - List as many fruits as you can. Which one is your favorite?

Friday - It is Elbows Off the Table Day. Tell me two more things that show good table manners.

In math we will be working on money combinations and addition and subtraction facts.

Some are having trouble with spelling. Please go over the words with your child at home. They have practice at school, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

There have been questions about the blanket letter that was sent home about reading help. Please sign this letter. It doesn't mean that your child is having trouble with reading. Sometimes a child will have a problem with one reading skill (i.e. rhyming). This will allow the reading specialist or myself to work with your child during scheduled intervention time. Most times a few minutes of remediation can fix the problem right away.

We will be going on a field trip to Greer on Oct. 7. Please watch for a permission slip and a letter with the trip information

Remember that Friday is an Early Release for the Homecoming parade.

Have a great week.

Week 6

This week's story is "All That Corn". We will be learning the short o sound of the letter a as in ball. It is a non fiction story that traces corn from the farm field to your home.

Vocabulary words are:

buy

that

very

where

Spelling words are:

all

call

fall

wall

ball

tall

on

not

so

of

Questions of the week: Answer these on the lines for that day in the agenda.

*Monday - Tell me 5 words that rhyme with ball.

*Tuesday - It is the first day of fall. List 5 words that describe fall.

*Wednesday - Use the word where in a sentence.

*Thursday - What color is your house? Does is have an upstairs?

*Friday - What did you do on your afternoon off?

Please answer in complete sentences. Remember to use capitals and periods.

Math will be spent entirely on money. We will get pennies and nickels. We will be learning to count mixtures of those coins. You might play with money a bit at home.

Remember we have two early releases this week. The buses will load at 11:30. We go to lunch at 10:50. It is a quick day. I will be available Wednesday afternoon for conferences if you wish to call. I will be doing my regular conferences at report card time in October.

We will be going to Greer to the Nature Trail for a field trip in October. I am asking each child to bring $1 to help with busing costs. I will pick up the rest. The kids will need a lunch, etc. that day. I will send more information as the time approaches.

I will also be pledging $25 for our class for Jump Rope for Heart. I will be sending a note with an envelop attached. If you could contribute $1 for this, it would be great.

Some are struggling with the first 25 sight words. You can find the list on the blog or in the green book I passed out at parent night. I am busy recording them so the kids can practice on the computer. I will also get this on the website for you to use at home.

Speaking of the website, have you been able to download the Smarttech software to make it work??? If you have problems let me know. Hopefully I can help you or at least find someone who can.

Have a great week.

Monster Sandwich Day

Here are some pictures from Monster Sandwich Day. We ate well and had a great time.

Conferences

The early conference time fits the needs of the high school much more than the needs of the primary school. Most of us are waiting until mid October (our usual time) to do our conferences. If you have an immediate problem I will be available next Wednesday afternoon. Just give me a call and we will set up a time to meet.

Week 5

The story this week is called "Todd's Box". The new sound is short o. We will be reviewing short a and i also. We will continue to blend new words that are easily decodable. The new vocabulary words are:

don't

of

so

Spelling for this week is:

hot

hop

pop

pot

dot

not

back

pick

now

want

walk

they

Questions of the week:

Monday - It is Hot Air Balloon Day. Would you like to ride in a hot air balloon. What color would you like it to be.

Tuesday - It is National Breakfast Month. What do you like best for breakfast?

Wednesday - It is the birthday of the U.S. Post Office. What do they do for us?

Thursday - Who is your favorite Muppet?

Friday - List 5 words that rhyme with dot.

Please have your child answer the questions. You may help with spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. If your child doesn't know an answer, then help your child with the answer. This is especially true of the rhyming questions. Rhyming is one of the most basic of Phonemic Awareness skills. You might watch these questions to see if your child understands rhyming.

I just graded spelling tests. Almost everyone missed walk and they. I am adding them to the list for next week. These are words that are used a lot so we need to be able to spell them.

In math, we will be starting time and money. They are two of the hardest math concepts we will meet this year. We will do pennies and time to the hour. This might be something you could do at home for extra practice.

If your child has shoes that tie, please practice at home. I can't keep up with all the untied laces. They are too dangerous when not tied.

Friday will be "Monster Sandwich Day". I will bring sandwich stuff and we will eat in the room. This is usually a fun time for all of us. Your child will not need a lunch on Friday.

Using the Website

In order for your child to hear the words, you need to download software from Smarttech. If you google them you will get taken to the download. You will need to download the one that fits your computer needs. Eventually it will ask you for a product code. It is legal for me to give this out, parents are allowed to access this, because we have bought the program so we are allowed to give it to you.

The product code is: NB-AEASA-CAMST-TKAHC-6YDIM.

I hope that everyone that needs hard copies got one today.

The Web Site

I have linked the website to the blog. You will need to download software from Smarttech. I will post a product code that you will need here tomorrow evening. I don't have it at home with me. When you do this your child will be able to practice the vocabulary words for each story. That is all that is there now. I will slowly build on it as we go through the year.

Week 4

This week's story is a fantasy story called "Jack and Rick". It is about a bear and a rabbit who want to play together but are on opposite sides of the stream. By working together they solve their problem. We will be working on the digraph ck. The vocabulary for this week is:
help
now
play
too
want

Spelling words are:
pick
pack
tack
back
sack
sick
big
is
they
walk

In math we will be learning addition fact of 10. It will be taught by this method: If you have 3 pennies in your left hand, how many will be in your right hand? This is something you might practice a bit at home.

Questions for the week:

Monday - Holiday

Tuesday - It's football season. What is your favorite team?

Wednesday - It's Flags Across America Day. Where can you see flags?

Thursday - Tell me 5 words that rhyme with pick.

Friday - It is National Rice Month. How do you like rice?

If your child had a glue stick to start the year, chances are that it is already used up. If you have more you might send them or at least ask your child if they are out. I have some glue bottles that we use in the mean time.

Toys are being shared and loaned out and given away. Then the child changes his/her mind and wants it back. I am not entering that venue. Nor am I going to use valuable class time searching for lost toys. There is a risk when your child brings toys to school. Please help them understand that risk.

Agendas need to be in school every day. Please have your child answer the question on the lines allotted for the day. Sign in the yellow box if your child has read to you. Please change the date. I know these are last year's but it is all we have.

I don't know if I mentioned at Parent Night that I collect pop tabs and old cell phones to be donated to Ronald McDonald house. The phones are sold and the money used to provide Christmas dinner there.

Friday Fun

Last week we read a story called "Ants." We did two projects that show the inside of an anthill and the life cycle of an ant. We also made 'Ants on a Log.' It made for a good Friday afternoon snack.

Friday Fun

Our first story was "The Hat". We made hats!! We also did the book " The Birthday Cake." It was a fun book that reviewed the color words. We built birthday cakes using colored frosting and vanilla wafers. It made for a great day!!!

Our Class

Here we are. What a great class!! Please encourage your child to learn the names of the other children in the room.

Questions for the week.

Obviously I did not do well getting questions in agendas and some of them didn't do well getting agendas to me.

Here are the questions for this week.

Monday - Tomorrow is a new month. What one is it? How many days are in it?

Tuesday - Tell me 5 words that rhyme with sit.

Wednesday - What do you like to do on rainy days?

Thursday - Name 5 things that are red.

Friday - It is National Honey Month. List 3 words that describe honey.

Remember to answer in complete sentences and use capitals and periods.

I will post these as a part of the weekly blog. Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought about it before. Suggestions are always welcome.