Thank you for coming to conferences!

It was wonderful to meet with you last week and talk about your favorite student! If you have not been able to schedule a time please email me to set up one at your convenience. It’s hard to believe that the year is almost ¾ the way through…

Reading- We continue to work on long vowels during our Storytown lessons; long a has been our focus this week and next week we will look at the patterns of long i. In all of our stories we have been trying to identify the problem and solution as well as cause and effect. A poetry book came home this Thursday… the directions are included in the booklet, but if you have any questions please let me know. This activity is intended to help support our work with reading fluency.

Writing- Writing this week has us thinking about memories. For this end of quarter writing project, each child has selected a favorite memory to write about. They have thought about what they felt, saw, heard… and maybe even smelled and tasted during that memory. They will turn this brainstorming into a final writing project after completing the writing process.

Math- We have concluded our practice of unknown addends and next week we will begin an exciting unit on shapes. In second quarter we talked about what the shapes were called and the various attributes of each. This quarter we are going to practice combining shapes in order to make new designs/shapes. We will do this with plane shapes and then 3D shapes.

Social Studies- Last week we wrapped out study of dental health with an adorable project creating tooth fairies and listening to a dentist come speak to us about how to take care of our teeth. This week has been all about the presidents! We have a few kiddos who performed a reader’s theatre about George Washington and Abe Lincoln. We have talked about their importance in our country’s history. This week we also created a portrait timeline of 18 of the past presidents in our history. (The pictures are precious.) Next week we will begin to talk about matter… solids, liquids, and gasses. You might begin talking to your child about each of these stages and where they can be found in your own home!

Just a few notes:
I am looking for a few parents who would like to help with supplying materials for Dr. Seuss day March 2nd. I am looking for help with the following: pink lemonade, blue jello jigglers, green eggs, ham, napkins, and forks. If you would like to help with some of these please email me, so we don’t double up.

On March 2nd… your child is welcome to bring in their favorite stuffed animal to read with on this special day.

If you wish to order Autism Awareness t-shirts, order forms are due Monday.

A note from Mrs. Gipson…Mark your calendars: What could be more fun than a day spent exploring the loveable characters of Dr. Seuss? Well, our lucky students will follow our tradition and enjoy such a fun-filled day on Friday, March 2nd as Nike celebrates our
5th Annual Read Across America/Dr. Seuss Day!

Many exciting activities have been planned by teachers, our kitchen, the library, special staff members, and Nike’s PTO, so how can STUDENTS make the day even more memorable? The answer lies in what we wear that day!. Students and staff alike will “dress” the part. Be creative and help your student dress as a favorite Seuss character, wear a Seuss shirt or hat, or do something as simple as dress in black, white, and red. Let’s celebrate together the joy and value of reading!

Happy Birthday Kansas!

Happy Birthday Kansas!
Last week we celebrated the birthday of our great state! We have spent so much time studying the Native American tribes and first explorers from Kansas. Last Monday we reviewed out state symbols, sang our state song, and even made our own “edible Kansas”!
In math we have been studying about “smart groupings”. Smart groups are pairs of numbers that equal 10. The equation (8+2)+3=13. By using this strategy and identifying a 10 team, we are learning a quicker way to count on when adding three digit numbers. This week we are beginning adding and subtracting with an unknown addend. 12-___= 5. This is probably the hardest concept of the quarter. Thank you for all of your support at home with homework!
In Storytown we have really been focusing on long vowel patterns. It is fun to see the kids pick out these patterns in their reading! This week we are working on long A patterns –ay, ai, and a_e. Our comprehension skill of cause and effect will carry over into this week. Have conversations with your child at home when reading about cause and effect examples you might find in their book.
In social studies we are working on our mapping skills and have been taking a look at our place on a map. This was a great subject to transition into after studying so much about our state. Your kiddos are excited to share many of the projects we have been working on at conferences with you next week! Speaking of conferences…. Thank you so much for returning conferences schedules! I am looking forward to seeing you and having your child share many special things from this quarter with you! If you have any questions on time please let me know.