Little Blue Bulletin 10/22-10/26

Dear Parents,
It's good to see that all of our children had a relaxing break.
Don't forget that next Tuesday, October 30th, will be Lunch on the Lawn at 11:30, followed by the Halloween Parade at 1:00. Please remember, all students must wear regular clothes to school. If you want your child to participate in the parade, you can help your child change into his/her costume after school at 12:30.

Check attached calendar for upcoming dates. Read again. We added some more dates!


Sharing:
Week of 10/29: Share your costume parade project
Week of 11/05: Your favorite Kevin Henkes book

Preparation Tips:
1. Start with your topic sentence to tell your audience what you're going to share about..
2. Add 2 or 3 sentences to describe your topic. Use transition words such as first, next, last.
3. Stand up straight, look at your audience, and speak clearly.


Book Bags:
The book bags are going home today! Remember to return the bag on Thursday. If you have any questions, please contact your family room teacher.


Language Arts:

This week we continued our author study, Kevin Henkes. This week we made text-to-text connections with the stories we heard. Children compared Chrysanthemum and The Name Jar in their response journal. With each book we read, we are keeping track of the main characters and the setting. Please practice this at home too!

This week we also read Weekend With Wendell and Julius, the Baby of the World. After we read Weekend With Wendell, we made a news flash to document what we did during fall recess. Each student then made a book about what they would do if they had a baby all of their own.

Please check out some books from the library written by Kevin Henkes and/or visit the website: www.kevinhenkes.com


Math:
This week we started our Time and Calendar strand. This is an important and useful strand that is easy to bring up in everyday conversation. Talk with your child about weekly and daily routines to reinforce the concepts. Concepts we worked on include:

• morning, afternoon, evening
• yesterday, today, tomorrow
• breakfast, lunch, dinner
• days of the week
• months of the year
• seasons
• hour, minute, second
  
• digital and analog clocks
  
• elapsed time (How much time between lunch and dinner?)
  

Social Studies:
We practiced our new Megaskill word: RESPONSIBILITY
You can practice at home by giving your child chores to do on a daily/weekly basis.

We started our new Social Studies Unit on symbols in our country and state. We learned a few new songs about them. When you see a flag or use coins, talk about what kind of symbols they see!

Other:
Save the date--November 5! Pizza Social is coming up! Look for the flyer that's in the bookbag.
This is a great way to meet parents and students in our village. We hope to see you there.



Little Blue Teachers

Little Blue Bulletin: 10/01-10/05

Dear Parents,
We hope you and your family have a fun and relaxing break. We will see you again on
October 22.

Check attached calendar for upcoming dates. Read again. We added some more dates!


Sharing:
Week of 10/22: Something special you did over fall recess
Week of 10/29: Share your costume parade project

Preparation Tips:
1. Start with introducing yourself.
2. Add 2 or 3 sentences to describe your topic.
3. Stand up straight, look at your audience, and speak clearly.
4. For something extra, bring a picture or photo from your vacation.

Book Bags:
Due to our October break, we will NOT be sending home book bags on Friday. You will receive a homework packet when you come back on Oct. 22. Please use this time to work on your Costume Parade Project that's due 10/25/07. If you have any questions, please contact your family room teacher.


Language Arts:
This week we started our first author study, Kevin Henkes. This week we made text-to-self connections with the stories we heard. With each book we read, we are keeping track of the main characters and the setting. Please practice this at home too!
After we read Chrysanthemum, we discussed how special our names are. We made flowers from vowel and consonant petals. We then read Owen and wrote about our favorite item we wish we could take to school. Finally, we ended the week reading Wemberly Worried and made a list of our worries.
Please check out some books from the library written by Kevin Henkes over the break and/or visit the website:
www.kevinhenkes.com


Math:
This week we finished our first number sense strand. We will revisit number sense later this school year. This is the most important of all the math strands. Concepts we worked on include:

• skip counting by two's, five's, and ten's
• matching numbers to pictures
• the vocabulary more/less/the same
• using symbols to compare amounts ( ">" , "<" , and "=")
• fact families
• using hundred's chart
• touch math

Social Studies:
We practiced our new Megaskill word: RESPONSIBILITY
You can practice at home by giving your child chores to do on a daily/weekly basis.

Friday, we read our Scholastic News magazine about Christopher Columbus. We learned where he was born, how he learned about sailing, and about his exploration to the new world. Ask your child if he/she remembers any facts from our lesson today.

Other:

• Natural Bridges State Beach is having a Monarch Butterfly Festival on Oct. 14. Visit http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=541 for more information.
  
• On our staff development on Tuesday, we saw a webcast that was very inspiring. Sir Ken Robinson discussed the importance of creativity and the freedom to express yourself. We hope you find it as thought provoking as we did.
  

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66



Little Blue Teachers