I am having so much fun getting into a learning routine with your little ones! At Fortis we not only value academics, but their heart and their spirit as well. We have been focusing on love, joy, peace, patience, and what it looks like to care for others. We are reading some wonderful stories, as well as beautiful scripture.
~Love, Miss Chun
Important Dates:
8/30 - T/TH Playdate at Lions Foundation Park 3-4
9/1 - Pizza Day/Spirit Day/DOGS day! Students can wear a Fortis T-shirt and jeans or uniform bottoms.
9/6 - Labor Day: No School
9/8 - Picture Day
9/15 - Spirit Day (no pizza)
9/16 - Falcon Moms at Taco Kitchen 9-10
9/27 - T/TH Playdate at Lions Foundation Park 3-4
9/29 - Spirit/DOGS/Pizza Day
We are ready to read! This week we will start the lessons from Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading (OPG) beginning with lesson 27 in class. Continue daily practice of the 26 individual letter phonograms from step 1 of All About Spelling. We will be working through step 4 of All About Spelling because the lessons are applicable to reading. After step 4, we will be taking a break to establish reading prior to introducing spelling. If you notice that your child is struggling with some of the letters and their sounds, please use a little extra time for practice. This step is crucial as we begin reading short vowel words this week!
***Assessment results are now posted in Alma. Please go to fortis.getalma.com and sign in to see your child's results. For all objectives that your child has a 1 or 2, please provide your child with extra practice in these areas. Some of these assessments were done the first or second week of school so they may have learned more since then!
Math : ***Please make sure that the assignments for Friday are completed before class on Tuesday. If your child is in Friday electives, I understand that is can be difficult to get the assigned work completed along with the school day. My suggestion is to have them do the Friday work on Monday or over the weekend. Monday's assignments are light, so they can be combined. Also please make sure that your child only does the pages that are assigned. Do not allow them to work ahead in their math books.
- Please make oral counting is part of your daily routine. This can easily be done on your car ride to school! Also give them opportunities to count large groups of objects such as buttons, dried pasta, crayons, etc.
- Numbers 0-10 may seem like an easy skill, but in class, we are using tools such as a ten frame, number line, rekenrek, and subitizing cards to really solidify the understanding of these numbers. We want our students to have a very strong number sense. We encourage you to use these tools at home as well. You can find them here: http://www.fortisacademy.net/singapore-math/
- Story problems are another great tool you that you will be adding to your math lessons. Your child will receive a math journal and monthly journal prompts this week. Please have your child cut out the journal prompt and glue it into their journal. Read the prompt to your child and give your child manipulatives or one of the different math tools mentioned above if needed (this won't be necessary in September). Let them choose how they would like to solve the problem. After they come up with an answer, have them explain to you how they came up with it. In the beginning encourage them to draw pictures in their journal to represent the story problem instead of writing number sentences. You are welcome to add additional story problem prompts to their journals beyond what is assigned.
Examples:
- I see 4 bees and 3 ladybugs in the garden. How many insects do I see?
- Johnny had 7 apples. He gave 2 to his brother. How many are left?
- Sally had some cookies. Her friend gave her 3 more. Now she has 7 cookies. How many cookies did she have to start with?
- There were 6 crickets. Some hopped away. Now there are 3 left. How many crickets hopped away?
- Sarah baked 3 pies. She used 2 apples to make each pie. How many total apples did she use?
Reading:
- Please read the instructor note in lesson 27 about sounding out words - when sounding out, phonograms should not be separated, they should be blended - no pausing or stopping between letter sounds.
- Review phonogram and key cards.
- Continue to review the first 3 lessons for practice with pre-reading skills.
Enrichment:
Read Aloud: Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure by Bill Peet
Poem: "The Elephant" by Arnold SundgaardArt: Jungle with Lion by Henri Rousseau
Music: "Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev
History : Manners- proper way to greet someone, shaking hands, eye contact, opening doors and saying thank you.
Science: We will be learning more about African Lions this week!
Geography:
- Kindergarteners will be expected to be able to point to the Continents and Oceans on a map. Click here for the song we use in class. There is a map in your child's blue folder to use to practice pointing. Due 9/20
Memory Work:
- Please work on memorizing our poem "Jesus Died Your Soul to Save". Students will say title, author, and then recite poem on September 27th.
