We have almost filled one whole box with items for the food drive. Thank you so much! We have until Friday, and another entire box of space available.
In reading, we've been working on the next sound 'u'. This sound does not exist in English, so your child will need to teach it to you. It is a very tight-sounding (and looking) vowel. When you make it, your lips scrunch right up into almost a fish face. We practised this a lot yesterday! Some beginning words are tu, une and la lune.
I have also started meeting with readers one at a time to check on how their reading is coming along. I am quickly checking their letter and sound recognition, seeing if they can read a few simple words that we've practised together, and then we're trying to read a short book together to see if they can apply the sounds they know. Over the next 2 weeks, ask your child if they have had their interview, and how it went (was it easy, hard?). So far, everyone has been excited to get to show off their skills and have a formal interview with me.
One cool idea that you might like to try at home is to encourage your child to look for the sounds in a word before trying to read it. First, look for all the 'a' sounds in a sentence, then all the 'e' sounds etc. We circle each sound in a different colour, and then read the sentence slowly, using all the sounds we've identified to figure out the words. I made photocopies of a short book for everyone, and today each reader started circling the sounds on their own, using a colour scheme that we talked about. This helps us to really think about what we know, and helps us read all the way through each word slowly, rather than rushing and missing sounds that we know.
We also talked briefly about apostrophes today. It came up because it was in the title of a book I was reading called "P'tit Jean et la Sorcière". Ask your child what the apostrophe's job is, and what letter it is replacing in this case! (Also, what happened in the first 3 chapters??)
In math, we have begun working on a strategy called "Faire 10" (Make 10). We have been using pictures and manipulatives to figure out all the different combinations that make 10 (e.g., 5 + 5, 4 + 6, 1 + 9 etc). It's been interesting to discover that the numbers can be reversed, and they still make 10. For instance, 6 beads plus 4 beads is 10, but a group of 4 beads plus a group of 6 beads is also 10. This concept will help students with addition and subtraction for years to come. You can try this at home by asking your student to complete a group so that there are 10. For example, Here are 6 pennies. How many more pennies do I need to make 10?
In science, we are soon going to wrap up our unit on Daily & Seasonal Changes - although it's the type of thing that we will keep talking about as more changes take place during the year. Our clothes sort today went well, thanks for the items you sent in. We ended up with 4 hula hoops, to represent the 4 seasons, filled with seasonal items and we discussed why it's important to dress appropriately for the weather. We have also worked very hard, in groups, to create 3-dimensional representations of the 4 seasons using various arts & craft materials. Each group chose an animal to include in their seasons, so we can see how that animal adapts to the changing weather. I was very impressed by the teamwork and group problem-solving I saw during this activity!
We've also made some spinning plates representing day and night. The bottom plate shows one or more daytime activities, while the half top plate shows the night sky, or nighttime activities. The two are attached using a brass fastener so that the night plate can spin revealing the daytime activities underneath. Cool eh?
Today, we received our beautiful picture proofs. You can order prints online, or by returning the picture envelope with with payment by November 8th. The company asks that all proofs be returned by November 8th, even if you are not ordering prints. Photo retakes are a couple weeks later, on November 21st.
I know how much you do to get your kids packed and ready for school each day (believe me, it's crazy trying to get them all back to you at the end). I am trying to help all my students to become gradually more independent by dressing and packing bags on their own, and I am constantly giving speeches about how important it is to have the yellow communication folder at school. I will keep on stressing this because it should really be their job, not yours, to bring it to school and put it in their mailbox. However, if you think of it, please remind them to make sure it's in their bag before school so that they have a safe place to put any notes I have. Thanks so much!