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New Unit

Howdy parents!

This week we began a new unit in our Reading Curriculum that is all about Families! We enjoyed a book called Tortillas and Lullabies….which was written in English and Spanish. We enjoyed using and learning Spanish words for mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother as well as for the numbers 1 – 4.

We had an interesting discussion about traditions. Some that we have in school and more importantly traditions we have in our families.

We are still working on simple addition, but we have also been investigating different ways to make 4, 5, 6 and 7. This may sound easy, but it can be a challenge. Help us work with the numbers when helping to set the table, or counting out objects at home.

We worked on needs versus wants and began brainstorming ideas for the Invention Convention. On top of all that, we have been working on the phonograms, math facts, sight words, reading skills, following directions, journaling, poetry, blending and segmenting onset and rime in words, new vocabulary in the Wordly Wise unit, and brainstorming about our favorite animal so we can write a paragraph report. (Just the usual!)

Have a great week!

Friday

This week in Hebrew and Judaics, we completed our unit of the Torah and the story of the creation. (The famous song the kids had learned is added in the scroll.) The kids learned some Hebrew words tied to the B’reshit story.

We discussed the Midah of Derech Erets and the Midah of Gemilu and Chasadim: of the way to help other people and heard a story about Miriam’s kindness.

We worked in our Hebrew dictionary and learned the letters: Gimmel and Dallet and the vocabulary of each letter by using flashcards.

During Parash, we learned about the life of Sarah who lived to be 127 years old, and about Isaac’s new wife called Rivka. The children are working on a few prayers with Mrs. Charles and enjoying being leaders.

Please keep writing the Mitzvah notes and enjoy the Torah we made!

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Kboudi

Skeletons and Such

This week has been busy and full of new experiences! We have been working on the five senses and our body. We learned about our bones and how they work and more importantly what they look like. In class, we examined some real x-ray pictures. The class compared them with their own bodies. We also looked at what all the x-ray pictures created when put together! I think we may have scared Clifford with the 5 foot tall assembled skeleton! (Check out the pictures below!)

We examined our spine and discovered that it is not just one long bone, but several bones that are spaced to let us move and wiggle! In conclusion, we created a paper spine to attach to our shirts. What fun!

We began working with number sentences and adding numbers horizontally as well as vertically. We discovered working with zero is quite easy!

This week we also concentrated on beginning sentences with a capital letter and ending with a punctuation mark. The kids had a blast correcting me and “teaching” me how to correctly form sentences.

In our Wordly Wise series, we worked with new vocabulary words and searched for pictures representing them.

We have concluded our reading unit, “Colors All Around”. The children have all learned the colors songs so well! With the help of the songs, we have learned to spell and to read the color words. I am impressed at how quickly they have succeeded! Encourage them to sing the different songs to you! We know RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, PURPLE, BLACK, BROWN, and PINK.

Hebrew and Judaics

This week we continued working on our Torahs and concentrated on Days 4 and 5. We worked on the Bet letter and vocabulary. Next week,  we will be dressing and decorating the Torah and learning about the Bima – stage, Aron Hakadesh – The Holy Ark, parochet – the Torah curtain and the Ner Tamid – the Eternal light.

The children are learning the key Hebrew words from the creation like: or – light, choshech – darkness and so on. Some of you have heard our creation song. I am very proud they could sing it all because it is a very long song. I will attach the words of the song in their Torah for all of you to enjoy.

We heard the Midrash story of why the moon only glows while the sun shines. We heard the parash Vayerah with Mrs. Charles and worked on some Tfillot.

Shabbat Shalom

Tuesday

Good day everybody!

Yesterday we had a treat! We had the opportunity to listen to the music of the Klezmer Band. The children loved learning about the different instruments and listening to the amazing performers. 

We read the story, “How The Bird’s Got Their Colors.” It is an old Native American tale from North and South America. We worked on isolating beginning sounds and matching like sounds in various words. In Science, we learned about our sense of hearing. We used the words cochlea, eardrum, membrane, outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. We also made a pair of “Hear Muffs”.

In our Wordly Wise Unit, we are learning new vocabulary: glance, leak, split, and empty.

We also worked with –ing endings on words. We located all of the –ing endings in a poem and practiced using them to change words.

In math, we are continuing to create and read graphs as well as practice simple addition. We are working on memorizing the zero fact family and correct placement of the sum in math sentences that are vertical and horizontal. I suggest buying a set of addition flash cards that you and your child can use to practice the math facts. Again, we are currently mastering the zero fact family and will be transitioning quickly into the ones family and so on. Mastering the addition facts in Kindergarten, will allow a greater ease of math this year, as well as into the First Grade (where they will be mastering the subtraction facts).

Continue working on sight words and reading books nightly. Parent’s, please ensure your child is doing the homework to the best of their ability. I encourage you to have them correct mistakes and use the green handwriting sheet (located in the Apple Binder) to insure proper size, placement, and formation of all letters.

Have a great day!

Notes from the Music Room

During October and November we will be preparing for our annual Thanksgiving Program.
Save the date: November 23, 2010 @2:00.

Monthly Homework

I am putting October Homework back into the Apple Binder. I am asking that the homework is done nightly according to the schedule. (We will begin this round of homework with October week 2) Please monitor your child as they  finish the homework each night. Please do not allow your child to complete the entire week or the entire month’s homework  in one night. This is not a true measure of your child’s ability. The written homework is short, so I am expecting the best effort is being presented each day. I am also insisting that a pencil is used to complete the work. I am placing another pencil in the Apple Binder that can be housed in the pencil pouch.  That way, your child can easily correct errors and again, do their best. I understand that sometimes, you will need your child to complete homework one day in advance because of a special occasion on the following evening. That is fine; I just do not want a week or month’s homework done in one night.

Thank you for working with your child nightly and reviewing the sight words and color words we are learning in class.  I will be collecting the weekly homework on Fridays. Have a great day!

Fire Safety Week and Next Week’s Special Homework

This week we began a new section in our Reading Program called, Colors All Around. We read the story, I Went Walking and I Need a Lunch Box. We have been working on color words and learning little songs to help us remember how to spell the different colors. We have also been working on beginning sounds in words and counting the number of words in a sentence.

In math, we are reading and interpreting pictographs and counting  sets of objects to discover which has more and which has less.

This week has been full of fun and educational experiences. As I am sure you know,  we have been studying fire safety and I hope the children have been sharing their knowledge with you at home. We have worked on Stop, Drop, and Roll, Stay Low and Go, smoke detectors, what a fire needs to grow, Don't Touch or Play with Matches, the tools of a fireman, touching the door with the back of the hand to feel for heat, not hiding in closets or under beds if caught in a fire, and the importance of having a planned meeting place and plan of action for our own safety.  We have put all that knowledge to work and play in our Fire House Centers. As a treat, we had the San Antonio Fire Department come and visit the Kinder and First Grade Class this past Wednesday. The kids loved it! As a thank you, we even gave them a box full of treats to take back to the Fire Station to share with the other firefighters. Here are a few pictures of their visit and some pictures of the things we have been enjoying this week!

 

     

Next week we will be working on the sense of touch and smell. I am encouraging the children to pick an item from home and bring it in an opaque container (backpack is fine). Practice at home describing the object (for a guessing game) and prepare to share with the class and let us guess what the object is. This is hard 1. to choose one item, 2. to keep the secret, and 3. to remember all the clues (a paper with the rehearsed description for me to aide your child with is a great idea). We will begin doing this on Monday and continue throughout the week.

Hebrew and Judaics October 7

Shalom,

The Fall Holidays are behind us and we can concentrate on learning our Hebrew letters: we learned the letter Alef, practiced how to write the letter correctly. Our Hebrew vocabulary for the letter Alef is: Abba – Dad, Eema – Mom, Ani – I am,         Adom – red, Aron Kodesh – holy ark

All the new words are in our Hebrew Dictionary. Also, our current unit in Judaics is about the Torah. We are learning about the first word in the Torah (Bereshit –in the beginning) and about the creation and we will make a beautiful Torah for us to keep. We are also learning about who writes the Torah (a sofer – a scribe) and how it is being made.

Mrs. Charles is coming to our class to do the parash (portion of the week) and work on Tfillot (prayers).

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Kboudi