Thanks for taking the time to meet with me last week. It was really lovely sitting down with you all and with your children to talk about all the great things, and how we can continue working together. It is always such a treat to work together with parents that care so much for their children and are there to support them, and even support their teacher, however they can. I really appreciate your involvement, feedback and support!
In addition to our personal goals, which each student is working hard on, we have had a little talk about big problems v. small problems. I explained to our class that many times, people come to me with problems even if their friend has already apologized. Sometimes, if a problem has been solved and everyone is OK, it's not necessary to tell me. I'm super thrilled when I can stand at a distance and watch the kids solve problems nicely on their own, and we gave many examples of what this might sound like. On the other hand, I've made it clear that if someone is purposefully hurting your feelings or your body, it's important to tell me. Or, if you've tried to solve a problem with your words, but it's not working, I am happy to help. To help us out with this, maybe you could ask us to tell you some examples of small problems and big problems, or check in now and then and ask if any problems came up at school, and how we solved them. Thanks!
Recently, we have moved on from vowels to learning the rest of the French alphabet. Most of the consonants are the same or similar to English, so many students are already quite confident. Therefore, as we go through the alphabet, I'm trying to teach them some of the exceptions and irregularities that exist in French. I don't expect that the kids will remember all of them, but hopefully the more we review it, the more it will support their reading later on. For example, last week we learned that the letter S is often silent at the ends of words.
We also learned that C can make 3 sounds. It can make 'sss', as in ce or cette, 'k', as in mercredi, and when combined with H, can make "sh", as in chat. Therefore, when we see a C in a word, we have a decision to make, and one tip I gave is that if C is followed by E, it will almost always sound like 'sss'.
This week, we are following up on C with our guided activity, which is to search for animals in our bin whose name begins with C and make a poster for our class. We have most of these, and we've thought of a few to add, such as crocodile and caméléon.
This week, we are learning the letters G and J. While they sound just like they do in English (G can make both a hard and soft sound), their names are reversed - something that can confuse us for years! G is called "jay" in French, and J is called "gee"! This is why we call Mlle Jaramillo, Mlle J (gee).
As you are reading with your child this week, pay special attention to these consonants and highlight when they make their assorted sounds!
We also learned that C can make 3 sounds. It can make 'sss', as in ce or cette, 'k', as in mercredi, and when combined with H, can make "sh", as in chat. Therefore, when we see a C in a word, we have a decision to make, and one tip I gave is that if C is followed by E, it will almost always sound like 'sss'.
This week, we are following up on C with our guided activity, which is to search for animals in our bin whose name begins with C and make a poster for our class. We have most of these, and we've thought of a few to add, such as crocodile and caméléon.
Un chat
Un chien
Le cheval
La chèvre
Le cochon
La coccinelle
As you are reading with your child this week, pay special attention to these consonants and highlight when they make their assorted sounds!
Recently, our students have been super interested in tracing and making puppets. We love all the fine motor practise we get through tracing and cutting! Last week, we set up a whole tracing centre and made some cardboard templates of shapes the kids wanted. Later, we watched a puppet show featuring some butterflies, ghosts and a fish (who, safe in the ocean, was the sole survivor of the ghost attack).
Here's a cool idea: measuring each other using our new blocks as the unit!
I finally received my order of additional storage bins, which we have been needing to help keep our books organized. Today, several students helped to sort our books by looking at the cover and matching it to one of the themes on the bin labels. Our book shelves look much better now!
We are waiting on 6 green bags to complete our exchange this week! Any Scholastic orders for
November are due Thursday. If you would like to order books as gifts and keep it a secret, simply send
the order in a sealed envelope and write a note for me. I will contact you when they arrive.
November are due Thursday. If you would like to order books as gifts and keep it a secret, simply send
the order in a sealed envelope and write a note for me. I will contact you when they arrive.