Community Helpers

Poem: Stretching Fun
Sight Words: and, like

Make sure you are practicing the sight words that are coming home. The ones your child should know at this time include:

• I
• a
• see
• the
• can
• we
• is
• at 
• to 
• me
• it
• look
• up
• my
• and
• like

Comprehension Strategy: This week we learned about the setting. The setting is where the characters are. Each story we read we recalled where the characters where by looking back at the pages and determining where they were. Later in the week we started drawing the setting and characters for books we are reading in the classroom.

Accuracy: This week we started learning about word families. Word families are families of words; they end the same way, which make them rhyming words. This week was the -at word family. We started by watching a short video that sing aloud -at words. Then we brainstorm a list of words that belong in the -at word family. We build -at words with magnetic letters and sing our word hunt chant. We will be working a lot on rhyming words. Can you child tell you a word that rhymes with hat?

Vocabulary: This week we read the story, "Good Morning Digger". In this story we learned 6 new words that were within the story. These words are early, cement, community, welding, and vacant.

iPads: This week we used the app Clever. This allows us to scan a QR code that signs us right in to apps with log-ins like Reading Eggs. We practiced skills that were appropriate for us on Reading Eggs. Then we practiced number recognition and counting with Numbers Pizza. The third round we went to ABC Magic 4.

This week in Writing, we began Writer's Workshop and learned about wordless picture books. Wordless picture books are stories that have NO words. The illustrator is someone who writes the pictures. We learned that we are illustrating our own stories! We read the story "The Day the Crayons Quit" and learned how important crayons are. We added the poster "Crayons Work Together" to our writing board and tried to use as many colors as we could in our illustrations. We also read the story "Not a Box". This story helped us understand that we can create bigger and more complex pictures by starting with a simple shape. The kiddos helped me draw a dog and a house by using simple shapes. 

This week we spent time learning about and making patterns. We used pattern cards and finished the patterns created with colored bears. Then we learned about different patterns like AB, AAB, and ABB. We used crayons to color a pattern that matched the rule. We finished the week with using the app Doddle Buddy on the ipad to create a pattern with the stickers. Their partner finished the pattern, then created their own.

Vocabulary: This week our word was pattern. A pattern is something that repeats. We added our word into our math vocabulary journal using the app Book Creator. We are working on using the font tool to add the word, using the pen tool to draw the meaning, and the sound tool to record our explanation. We are becoming experts!

Content: This week we spent time learning about community helpers. A community is where people live and work together. We were able to explore just a few community helpers and learn about their job and responsibilities through play! Take a look at what our week looked like!

Tuesday we learned about construction workers. We wore hard hats and safety vests as we used pretend tools and built buildings and structures for our community. We practiced hammering "nails" (golf tees) into playdoh with hammers and played in our sensory tub with construction trucks.

Wednesday we learned about what is like to be mail carrier. We started by writing a letter to a different teacher in the building. We added a stamp and put in the mailbox. Later in the day we pretended to be the mail carrier and came to retrieve the letters from the mailbox. We took the letters to the post office where the letters were sorted and then put in our mail bag to be delivered. We went to the office and put the letters in the correct teacher mailboxes.

Thursday we learned about the responsibilities of a veterinarian. We were in groups of 2, one person was the owner of a pet (stuffed animal beanie) and the other was the vet. The owner had to fill out their form about their pet and the doctor had to record their notes about the visit.

Friday we ended our week by learning about chefs and waitresses/waiters. Kiddos had a lot of fun taking orders and preparing food for costumers. We realized it was harder than we thought! 

SEL (Social Emotional Learning): Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

This week we learned about tattling. We learned the different between a tattle and report. We read stories like "Tattle Tongue" and "Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal" to learn that we need to ask ourselves if the person is in danger before telling a teacher. We have a few other questions that we need to ask:
1. Is someone in danger?
2. Is someone hurt?
3. Did I try to solve my problem first?
4. Am I minding my own business? 

I am looking forward to meeting with all of you next week! Please double check the schedule above! 

• October 11th-End of the First Quarter
• October 14-17th--Parent/Teacher Conferences
• October 18th-October 21st--Fall Break NO SCHOOL
• October 25th--Distinguished Breakfast @ 8AM
• October 31st/November 1st-Donuts with Dudes in the AM
• November 11th-Veteran's Day Program @ 10:00AM