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PRE K - 2 Grade Level News Head Start Head Start is preparing for our annual Harvest Festival. Head Start families and guests will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving with their children. We are learning poems and listening to stories about how the pilgrims and Native Americans worked together and formed a friendship. In unit 2 of OWL we are learning about friendship. In science we are studying sky and weather, while continuing number sense in math. Please remember to check your child’s backpacks daily for important information. Also, If you have not had a home visit with you child’s teacher, please schedule one soon. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Gobble, Gobble PRE K PROGRAMS Each day our Pre-K students practice routines and procedures to become independent and by learning how to play and communicate appropriately with peers. Each month students concentrate on a specific theme. In the Intensive classes the theme is clothes items. In the Specialized classes the themes are weather, farm life and healthy habits. The AM/PM students are learning about transportation. The Intensive pre-k students are learning about different clothes items. Such as what type of cloth belongs to each part of the body. Also, students are able to identify the characteristics of common clothing items, sorted by color and size. The Specialized Pre-K students are learning about the weather and the atmosphere changes with Letter People Ms. W. The class has learned about wild animals and their habitats. The students are learning about farm life with Letter People, Ms. A and the animals that live there. We are also working on healthy Mr. H. The AM/PM students have been studying the theme transportation by learning how to classify vehicles into three groups. Those that travel on the road, those that travel in the air and that move in water. Some of the “vehicle” vocabulary they have learned are ferry, hot air balloon, blimp and rocket to name a few. The students saw and heard several miniature vehicles which made actual sounds of a siren, motor starting up, and a helicopter propeller going around. They discussed how the vehicles look, their parts and their use. The students also described which vehicles were fast and those that are slow. The next theme will be construction vehicles such as bulldozer, crane, cement mixer, etc. KINDERGARTEN NEWS Our Kindergarteners are growing by leaps and bounds. It is amazing how much they have learned in such a short time. In Social Studies we are learning all about our country. We had a great time learning about American symbols for Multi-cultural night. We learned about the Liberty Bell, the bald eagle, The American flag, Uncle Sam and The Statue of Liberty. We have also been learning about American holidays such as Election Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In math we learned how to identify and make sets to ten. We also learned how to compare numbers by greater than and less than. We are now learning how to count forward to ten from any given number. In Language Arts, we are continuing to learn the letter and sounds of the alphabet and reading sight words. In writing we have been drawing pictures and labeling them. In Science, we learned all about the five senses. Now we are learning about matter and that matter is all around us. We are learning that the three states of matter are solid, liquid and gas. We are also learning how we can change matter. In February we will be going on a field trip to Tradewinds farm. FANTASTIC FIRST GRADE It is hard to believe that the first quarter has come to an end! Your children have settled into classroom routines, made new friends and begun learning new and exciting things! On October 30th, the children enjoyed our Character Costume Parade, which tied into our literacy unit on characters and settings in fiction stories – one of our Florida Standards. As we began our second quarter, we compared and contrasted fiction and non-fiction books on the same subject. We looked at specific characteristics of each type of book and how they helped us determine if a book is fiction or non-fiction. Next, we will be looking at the text-features found in non-fiction books and how they help us find information. Much of our first quarter in math was dedicated to learning the many strategies we may use to add. Your child probably came home spouting words or phrases like “double plus one” or “counting on”. These are just some of the strategies that your children will be using as they work on mastering addition of two or three addends. As we move into the second quarter, get ready to hear a lot about “taking-apart” and “taking from” as we tackle subtraction! First grade science is filled with lots of fun and exploration! We have been practicing our observation skills by using science tools and taking notes in our science journals. We have done some fun experiments involving our five senses and learned how to use our senses as science tools! We have just begun our unit on living and non-living things. We will be learning how to differentiate between living and non-living as well as learn about the needs of living things. As part of this unit, will be visiting Butterfly World on December 16th to get a first hand look at the life-cycle of butterflies. Please watch for the permission slip and return it as soon as possible. As we head into the Winter Holiday Season, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a peaceful New Year. Watch for classroom notes about upcoming holiday celebrations. SENSATIONAL SECOND GRADE Multicultural night was quite an event with so many “countries” to visit and displays of your child’s work to admire. We researched Jamaica in second grade and even provided a taste of the culture with a bit of Jamaican beef patty for our visitors. Second grade attended a field trip to Parker Playhouse to view an updated rendition of Click, Clack Moo. We also have the same story in our Journeys reading books to use to compare and contrast. Students completed a book report and dressed as their favorite character for the class party as the end of their unit project. We are learning about maps of the oceans and continents to see where Native American Indians lived and how it affected their housing, food, cultures and beliefs. In math, we are now working in groups of 10 to develop strategies that will make addition and subtraction easier. We continue to play Chess weekly to foster critical thinking skills and good sportsmanship. As always, we continue with the Daily 5 to teach and improve reading comprehension and fluency skills, and monitor for progress.
