We are READING! I am so excited about the progress that all of the kindergarteners are making in being able to sound out words. It is tedious and slow at first, but the more encouragement and praise they receive from you, the more excited they will get once they realize that they CAN do hard things! I will be sending home "word fans" this week (short lists of short vowel words). These are great to use in the car or stick in your purse to work on sounding out short vowel words as you wait in line somewhere. I hope you find them helpful.
We have begun adding "grades" into Alma. In kindergarten through 2nd grade your child will be graded on objectives and given a score between 1 and 4.
4. Mastered Objective: Can perform the objective easily without any help every time.
3. Met Objective: Can perform the objective most of the time, but may need a little reminder.
2. Approaching Objective: Can only perform the objective with guidance and help.
1. Struggling with Objective: Can not perform the objective or is not developmentally ready to perform this objective.
In Alma please ignore the percentages as Alma is not set up to do grading like we want. If your child has a 3 then that means they have mastered the objective. If they receive a 1 or 2 on any objective, please devote some extra time (beyond what is assigned on the blog) to that area and help them to master that objective. If you have any questions on how to help your child please let me know!
Important Dates:
9/26 - Spirit/DOGS/Pizza Day
10/10 - Spirit Day (no pizza)
10/15 - No School (Teacher/Co-teacher/Parent Conferences)
10/31 - Historical Dress Up Day (details coming soon)
**Tuesday, October 15th the kiddos will not have school. We have set aside this time for Teacher/Co-teacher conferences. These are not required. If your student has mastered all of the objectives and you don't have any concerns, you do not need to schedule a conference. However, if you or your child are struggling during home school days or your child is struggling to master concepts, I would like for us to get together so I can encourage you and offer some ideas on how to help. HERE is a link to sign up for conference times if you would like to get together.
Objectives:
1. To be able to count and recognize the numerals 1-10
2 To be able to write the numerals 1-10.
3. To be able to represent the numerals 1-10 on a ten frame.
- We are really working on not only identifying and writing numbers 0-10, but also looking at different ways to see those numbers. In class, we do this through the use of subitizing cards, ten frames, rekenreks, etc. Although it may seem as though we are moving slowly, please know that our goal is to really give the children a strong foundation in number sense. Numbers are beautiful! They are everywhere! Mathematics is one of God's languages. Take a look around at His wonderful creation and see where numbers can be found.
- Please have your student bring his/her math journal to class each day.
Reading
Objectives:
1. To recognize all upper and lower case letters.
2 To produce all of the sounds of each of the first 26 phonograms.
3. To be able to blend together CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words using short a, e, and i.
Objectives:
1. To recognize all upper and lower case letters.
2 To produce all of the sounds of each of the first 26 phonograms.
3. To be able to blend together CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words using short a, e, and i.
- Remember to review previous lesson before moving on to new one!
- The "Mini-books" that we do during class are a great way to review and practice. having your child re-read them to you before each lesson is a great way to review and practice. You might want to keep them all in a zip lock bag to have a great toolbox of books your child can read on his/her own. There will be one coming home every school day!
Writing
Objectives:
1. To be able to hold a pencil using proper pencil grip.
2 To be able to form all upper case letters properly.
3. To get all upper case letters sitting properly on handwriting lines.
Objectives:
1. To be able to hold a pencil using proper pencil grip.
2 To be able to form all upper case letters properly.
3. To get all upper case letters sitting properly on handwriting lines.
- Please keep working on pencil grip and making proper handwriting strokes! (generally left to right, top to bottom).
Spelling
Objectives:
1. To be able to write the correct phonogram when given the phonogram sounds.
2 To be able to segment 2 and 3 sound words.
3. To be able to blend sounds together to figure out the given word.
- Go over yellow phonogram cards and blue key cards at least twice a day.
- Please continue to review AAS steps 1-4. We will resume with step 5 in a few weeks.
- Continue blending and segmenting words (ex: cat=c/a/t, c/a/t=cat)
Geography:
- Kindergarteners will be expected to sing the song for the Northern States of the United States. Being able to point to the states as they sing is important, but will not be a part of the assessment. We will be practicing pointing to the states in class and you are encouraged to practice this at home as well. There is a map in your child's blue folder that you can use to practice. Click here for the song we use in class.
Memory Work:
- "Jesus Died Your Soul to Save". Students will say title, author, and then recite poem on Thursday.
