Weekly News (Oct. 30-Nov. 3)

It's hard to believe Halloween has already come and gone! Take a peek to see what we have been learning during this fun and busy week!

Math
We finished our second math unit this week which focused on building confidence with the numbers 0-10. This week we focused on comparing two sets of objects using one-to-one matching. We also practiced solving "one more" and "one less" number stories using counters and cubes. We have been practicing counting up to 100 by 1's and talking about the pattern for each group of ten. The class LOVES the video below, which is a great way to get a little exercise while practicing how to count to 100!

Jolly Phonics
We're on a roll learning our Jolly Phonics sounds! It's amazing to see how the children are growing and learning their sounds. I can tell many of them are practicing the sounds on their rings in their blue book bags. Keep up the great work! We learned the following three sounds this week:

Zz as in "zebra"
Ww as in "wind"
ng as in "sing"

Click HERE to watch the video for the letter Z.

Click HERE to watch the video for the letter W.

Literacy
Reading Workshop
We are excited to begin our new reading workshop unit that focuses on fiction books. We will learn that authors of fiction write stories that are made up from their imaginations. They write books to entertain us or to teach us an important lesson. We will also learn that there are two types of fiction stories:

Realistic Fiction: stories that could happen in real life

Fantasy: stories that are imaginary or make-believe and can't happen in real life

The students also loved "shopping" for books for their individual book boxes that they get to read in their comfy spots throughout the classroom. They are remembering the different ways to read a book, and they are doing a great job building their reading stamina!

The morning class reading in their comfy spots at home!

The afternoon class reading in their comfy spots at home!

Writing Workshop
Now that we have learned a good number of Jolly Phonics sounds, the children are ready to begin our writing workshop routines. This week we practiced matching letters and sounds as students worked to label the different parts of a pumpkin. When stretching out sounds in words, the first and last sounds are easier for children to hear and record, but as they continue to practice writing, it will be easier for them to hear the middle sounds too. We will keep a writing portfolio at school, but I look forward to sharing some of their writing with you at conferences.

All About Me
The morning class loved learning all about Gianna this week. We learned that Gianna enjoys swimming and doing ballet. She also likes Hello Kitty and building with Magna-Tiles. She loves reading and listening to stories, and she enjoys spending time with her family!

A big thank you to Gianna's mom for coming to read!

The afternoon class loved learning all about Damian this week. We learned that Damian is a big Cubs fan, and he loves pizza! He also enjoys playing with his car and truck collection, and he likes to visit the library. His favorite colors are red and blue, and loves spending time with is family and their two cats!

A big thank you to Damian's mom for coming in to read!

Happy Halloween
The biggest highlight of our week was definitely our Halloween celebration. Click the links below to see more photos from our Halloween parade and party!

Click HERE for more Halloween photos from the morning class.

Click HERE for more Halloween photos from the afternoon class. 

Click HERE for other photos from throughout the week

Thanks for reading!