Friday, January 7th

Happy New Year and Welcome Back to School!

It has been a VERY productive week in Room 301 as we have gotten back into the routine of school! I hope that everyone enjoyed their two weeks off (or perhaps it was two weeks "on" with your kids at home). It has also been a VERY cold week outside at Dublin. Please make sure that your child has snow pants, boots, gloves and a hat to wear outside daily with their coat. Even when there is not snow on the ground, these warm clothes will help protect them against the wind. Many of the kids without warm clothes have been complaining this week about “freezing” outside.


Reader’s Workshop – This week in Reader’s Workshop we started a new mini-book that features the lyrics to the “Pledge of Allegiance”. This tied in perfectly with our Social Studies lessons this week as we have been learning about the American Flag! We also started working out of our Poetry folders this week, practicing poems we have been learning all year to help build fluency in our oral language. Over the course of this past week and next week I will be conducting Reading and Language Assessments with each child. Look for new reading groups to start after the MLK Jr. holiday break!


Writer’s Workshop – This week in Workshop the kids began keeping their very own Word Wall within their folders. We have been working on five new sight words this week: I, a, in, the and my. Each has been placed on the big Word Wall in our classroom and the small Word Wall in the kids’ folders. These are five words that the kids are now being held accountable for in their writing, reading and spelling. Next week look for a packet of writing to come home with your child. This is a collection of stories they have created in the first few months of Writer’s Workshop.


Math – This week in Math we have done a couple of different things. We have been working on writing our numbers in a Numbers Book as well as working on counting items using stickers within the Numbers Books.


Social Studies - In Social Studies this week we talked first about the flag. Be sure to ask your child how many stars are on the flag today and challenge them to see if they can remember how many stripes are on the flag (13). We also spent time talking about rules and why rules are important to us. The kids brainstormed a giant list of rules which will lead nicely into a class project we will be working on next week to help keep our classroom safe (as rules help us to do this)!


NEXT WEEK we will begin a unit on Colors! Please use the schedule below to help your child wear something in the color listed on each day.


Monday = Red


Tuesday = Yellow


Wednesday = Green


Thursday = Blue


No need to buy new clothes – just try to find something that your child can wear on each of the days!


Snack Leaders: Monday = Thomas, Tuesday = Lily, Wednesday = Benjamin, and Thursday = Kasey


**Remember there is NO school on Friday, January 15 (Teacher Records Day) and Monday, January 18 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance).


Have a wonderful weekend – Stay warm! :-) Mrs. W.