December 16, 2016 Dear Parents, This week, we continued our in-depth study of letter/sound association by sorting initial and final /Pp/ and initial /Jj/. We reviewed /Bb/, /Mm/, /Tt/, /Gg/, /Cc/, /Ff/, and /Aa/ and participated in several multi-sensory activities, including tracing the letters in sand trays, on bumpy mats, on a partner’s back, as well as in shaving cream! We practiced manipulating the letters to blend and finger-spell CVC words, such as jam, jab, pat, tap, etc. We highlighted the sight words am, so, went, and up in our shared reading texts and added them to our Word Wall and word rings. We enjoyed reading the star book The Gingerbread Man, using our voices to demonstrate the fox’s sneaky, ulterior motives behind the friendly façade. We also loved decorating gingerbread figures! In Reading Workshop, we continued our focus on early reading strategies. We learned to notice, and identify, where and when the word pattern changes. We also learned that we can solve tricky words, by getting our mouths ready to say the first sound, looking at the picture for a clue, and thinking about what word would make sense. We noticed the punctuation on each page and practiced making our reading voice match. I am so proud of the children’s progress in reading! We continued to plan and draft three-page personal narratives during Writing Workshop. We began writing sentences by slowly stretching out the sounds in a word and writing a letter for each sound we hear. We also learned how to use a “spaceman” as a writing tool to add space in between each word in a sentence. We continued to use the alphabet chart on the back of our Writing Folders to help us add print to our pages. In Math, we deepened our understanding of the concepts of same, more, less, and How many more?, and How many fewer? We had fun practicing more and fewer by playing the card game War. We counted the sides and corners of a hexagon, identified objects with the hexagon shape, and practiced drawing a hexagon with straight lines. We absolutely loved attending the Holiday Concert on Thursday! We continued our discussion of family holiday traditions and were so excited to present our illustrations to the class. We read books and sang songs about Hanukkah and Christmas and began making holiday decorations and gifts. We noticed that while each holiday was unique and special, there were also many similarities, including lights, special foods, songs, giving and receiving gifts, celebrations with family and friends, and most especially love. A very special thank you to Mrs. Netzer, for teaching us how to spin the dreidel, as well as for the delicious jelly doughnuts and Hanukkah gelt! During our classroom Maker Monday Explorations, the children pursued their natural talents and interests by working in community stations of their choosing to design simple paper circuits, explore with Squishy Circuits, make Duck Tape wallets and coin purses, access How-to videos on YouTube to engineer Goldie Blox projects, build cardboard creations, and tinker with/take apart/and put together old toys to discover how they work. Mrs. Linzenbold even taught us about coding with Ozobots! What fun!

Welcome Winter Celebration Centers: Wed., Dec. 21 @ 1:30 p.m. Best wishes for a beautiful weekend! Linda Yelvington   Looking Ahead: Welcome Winter Celebration Centers: Wed., Dec. 21 @ 1:30 p.m. Warm and Cozy Day: Friday, Dec. 23- Wear pajamas to school (no slippers), bring favorite stuffed animal & favorite holiday or winter-themed book Minimum Day: Friday, Dec. 23 (1:05 p.m. dismissal for all- no Y bus) Winter Break- Schools Closed: Monday, Dec. 26 - Friday, Dec. 30 Schools Reopen: Monday, January 2 Special Notes: Please dress your child in layers or pack a sweater or sweatshirt in your child’s backpack to accommodate changes in classroom temperature. Kindly remind your child to point crisply under the words as he/she reads the shared reading texts to you. Practice reading and spelling sight words daily. Wanted!!! - We are in need of old/unwanted toys for our Maker Monday Explorations. If you have any toys which are no longer being used, please consider donating them for the children to examine, tinker with, take apart, and put back together. Broken toys are fine!