1. December 9, 2016
Dear Parents,
This week, we continued our in-depth study of letter/sound association by sorting initial /Cc/, as in cat, and /Ff/. We reviewed /Bb/, /Mm/, /Tt/, /Gg/, and /Aa/ and participated in several multi-sensory activities, including tracing the letters in sand trays and on bumpy mats. We had fun tracing a mystery letter on a partner’s back and trying to guess which letter it was. We practiced manipulating the letters to blend and finger-spell CVC words, such as cat, cab, fat, fab, etc. We highlighted the sight words green, blue, purple, will, and have in our shared reading texts and added them to our Word Wall and word rings. We began reading the star book The Gingerbread Man. We grew our thinking by discussing new vocabulary, as well as identifying characters, character traits, setting, problem, and solution. We were surprised to learn that the clever fox had ulterior motives and was just pretending to be a friend!
In Reading Workshop, we added shared reading texts to our independent book bins! These books contain sight words, predictable patterns, and simple pictures. We read these books together as a class and learned several beginning reading strategies: take a picture walk to get your mind ready to read the book, look for sight words and read them in a snap, notice the pattern in the words on each page, use picture clues to figure out unknown words, point crisply under each word as you read, and reread the book for fluency. The children are so excited to be reading for real!!!
In Writing Workshop, we continued to plan and draft three-page personal narratives. We examined several mentor texts to notice how the authors’ showed action in their stories. We discovered that the most interesting stories had lots of action and made us feel like we were right there in the middle of the action! We acted out action words and attempted to sketch our story characters showing action instead of standing like statues. We even learned to use action lines to show body movement or looking at something. We continued to use the alphabet chart on the back of our Writing Folders to help us add labels and words to our sketches.
In Math, we continued our focus on the concepts of same, more, and less. We explored one-to-one correspondence in scenes displaying characters and objects to determine if there was enough, if more was needed, and how many more were needed, using our language to articulate how we know. We played the game I have, Who has? to reinforce numbers to 20.
We enjoyed reading Light the Lights, a story about a family that celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. We learned that a tradition is something that families do the same each year to celebrate the holidays. We discussed, illustrated, and shared our own family holiday traditions. We also had great fun shopping at the Holiday Store on Wednesday to select gifts for all the special people in our lives! In addition, we enjoyed Spanish class this week with Senora Morgan.

2. Report Cards: Friday, Dec.16
During our classroom Maker Monday explorations, the children pursued their natural talents and interests by choosing to work in community stations to design simple paper circuits, create light-up animals and objects, buzzers, and motors 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 old toys to discover how they work. Constructing meaning with our own hands is learning at its best!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Linda Yelvington
Looking Ahead:
Report Cards: Friday, Dec.16
Welcome Winter Celebration Centers: Wed., Dec. 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 Friday, Dec. 30
Special Notes:
New pictures are now posted on my web site! If interested in viewing them, please be sure to sign in with your registered I.D. You may also wish to follow me on
Please remind your child to point crisply under the words as he/she reads the shared reading texts to you. Practice sight words daily.
Wanted!!! - We are in need of old 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, and take apart. Taking things apart helps us understand how they work!