Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Have a wonderful week off to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is a great time to reflect and “count my blessings.” As I “name them one by one” I will certainly remember each child and your precious families. Thank you for the privilege of teaching your treasures. God is good!

We have had a busy and exciting week. We’ve practiced for our upcoming Christmas Play, spent time with senior “giants,” met our new 5th grade buddies, attended chapel, and used the school’s new iTouch devices to practice skills (see pictures below). Finally, on Friday the K4 students got us ready for Thanksgiving by singing some great songs for us in the commons area. Thursday we thanked our SAGE dining staff for all the yummy ways they bless us each day. See the pictures below! On top of all of that excitement we were able to praise God for keeping us all safe from the tornadoes on Wednesday. 

This time of year is busy schedule-wise, but for our students it is also busy academically! The students have learned so much over the last few months and I am thrilled to see the progress they have made. Below you will see a peek at our plans for when we return on Monday November 28th.

Language Arts Skills:

• High Frequency Words: practice and review (look for flashcards to come home soon)
• Language/Writing Skills: action and weather words
• Phonics focus: /q/; blending words with “-it” and “qu”
• Comprehension skill focus: Fantasy and Realism

Handwriting Skills: Qq, Rr, Hh, Jj

Math: Odd and Even Numbers, Counting to 100, Counting Groups of 10, Patterns on a 100s Chart, Skip Counting by 2 and 5

Social Science: Christmas/Christmas Play Practice (Please help your child practice over the holidays.)

Bible: Samson -- God’s Strong Man; Memory Verse: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.”; Character trait: humility

November 14 - 18, 2011

What a busy, exciting week we had last week! Below you can see pictures of our class using Skype to meet a K5 class from St. George's Independent School in Germantown, Tennessee! Each child introduced themselves and shared something they like about their school. We have plans to visit with our Skype pals each month this school year. We look forward to sharing and learning with these friends throughout the year. See the pictures of this exciting experience below.

We also had a great time practicing and performing our reader's theater scripts! I am so proud of their great expression. They were all very proud of themselves! Below you can see videos of the students practicing together and performing for Mrs. Allen's class.

Finally, we are so excited to have the opportunity to serve God through Operation Christmas Child. Below you will see some pictures of ladies from the organizations sharing with our K4 and K5 students about the program. Our class would like to pack two boxes--one for a 5 year old boy and one for a 5 year old girl. Please help your child choose one or two appropriate items to contribute to the box. All contributions need to be brought in by Wednesday. Boxes will be packed and turned in on Thursday. Thank you for your support of this wonderful service project--we are teaching our little ones to serve others!

We are looking forward to another busy week ahead that includes practicing for the Christmas Play. I hope you have already made arrangements to attend on Friday, December 9th. You don't want to miss our students telling the story of Jesus's birth! Below is what we will be doing this week. 

Language Arts Skills:

• New High Frequency Word: here
• Language/Writing Skills: using weather action words
• Phonics focus: /k/; blending words with short i and short a
• Comprehension skill focus: summarize

Handwriting Skills: Review and practice learned letters

Math: Counting, Reading and Writing Numbers 11 - 20

Social Science: Thanksgiving 

Bible: Joshua and Jericho; Target verse: “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.” 1 John 2:3; Target truths: The Holy Spirit is God. God gives His people good leaders.

November 7 - 11, 2011

Can you believe it is November? Last Thursday I enjoyed attending the annual Alabama Reading Conference. I told the boys and girls that Thursday I got to be the student! I love learning! 

This week is full of excitement. Wednesday we will enjoy our band as they perform a special concert. We will Skype with another kindergarten class in Tennessee on Thursday and students will begin learning their parts for the annual Christmas Play. In addition, we have a short week. Friday we will be out of school to celebrate Veteran’s Day.

Language Arts Skills:

• High Frequency Words: is, it
• Language/Writing Skills: describing words
• Phonics focus: /l/; blending words with “-it”
• Comprehension skill focus: Fantasy and Realism

Handwriting Skills: Ss, Ll, Bb, Pp

Math: Complete Topic 7: Geometry (Solid Figures and Problem Solving)

Social Science: Thanksgiving and Veteran’s Day

Bible: Israel in the Desert; Target lesson: Thankfulness and self-control; Target verse: “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.” 1 John 2:3