Kinder Week 2 8/13-8/15

K week 2	8/13/2018	8/14/2018	8/15/2018	8/16/2018	8/17/2018	Co-Teacher Notes
Discipleship	Attentiveness: Unit Verse: Proverbs 22:17-18 “Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.
Bible	Listening to wise parents and teachers Prov 4:1, 5-6, 20-22	Mary and Martha listen to Jesus Luke 10:38-41	Eager Listeners Mark 6:30-35, Psalms 25:12-14	Knowing the Shepherd - Jesus John 10:22-30	The Transfiguration Mark 9:2-13, James 1:5
Math	EM-A p15-16	EM-A p17-19	EM-A p20-21	EM-A p22-24	EM-A p25-26	Sets
Spelling	AAS-Step 2	AAS-Step 2 p21-22	AAS-Step 2	AAS-Step 2 p23-24		Oral Segmenting is VERY important!
Writing	D,P	HWT-p11-12 (D,P)	B,R	HWT-p13-14 (B,R)
Reading	Phonograms	Phonograms and Read aloud from book of choice.	Phonograms	Phonograms and Read aloud from book of choice
History	Little Pilgrims - p1-7 God's Great Story		Little Pilgrims - p1-7 God's Great Story			Focus: What is History?
Geography	Continents and Oceans - Due 9/24
Science	Insects		Insects	Parts of an insect worksheet		Insects
Memory Work	Quarter 1 Poem Due 9/26 and Timeline Song

I am enjoying getting to know your children! What a sweet treasure to be entrusted with helping to mold their hearts and minds. I hope your first week was a joyful and peaceful one. Do not be afraid to reach out to me or other parents if you feel overwhelmed or need some tips.

The next few weeks in class we are going to be learning about the special Fruits of the Spirit! These are actions that come from our heart when our heart is in the right place. These actions will help us to be wonderful students and friends. We will work on growing our fruit all year long! 

Mark 12:30 is our Kindergarten verse which we will recite every day.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] Mark 12:30 

 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.

***Our school wide scripture memory this year is Philippians 2:1-18 (KJV) We will be going over this during morning assembly, as well as in class and at home.

Important Dates:

Wednesday, August 15 – Spirit Day! Students may wear Fortis spirit shirts with uniform bottoms.

Monday, August 27 – Open House

Wednesday, August 29 – Pizza Day! Students may wear Fortis spirit shirts with uniform bottoms.

Math - This week we will be introducing the Estimation Jar...a kindergarten favorite.  We will be practicing our estimation and counting skills each day by guessing how many objects are in the jar then counting them.  If your child's guess is closest to the actual number of items in the jar then he/she will be able to take the jar home.  When your child comes home with the plastic jar please put up to 100 (no more than 100 please) of any object in the jar.  Please do not tell your child how many objects are in the jar so that they can participate in the following day's guess!  Anything from around the house is great. Examples include cotton balls, toy cars, markers, small candies, clothespins, unifix cubes, Pokemon cards, oranges, etc. You do not have to fill the whole jar!  Please return the jar on the next class day after you receive it.  Thank you so much for helping make math fun for your child! 

Reading:

•  Please use this time to go over letter sounds! (Yellow Phonograms)
• Ideas: *call out a phonogram and have student write it with sidewalk chalk, wet paintbrush on sidewalk, shaving cream, a tray with sand or salt, playdough, etc. * Play hopscotch with phonograms. They have to say the sound before hopping to the next.
• Read quality literature to your child to encourage the love of beautiful books!

Writing:

• Please have your child practice writing their first name correctly (beginning with a capital and the rest lower case).
• Check for proper grip and that your child is starting their letter formation in the correct spot (generally from the top).
•  Click here for a short video to help with correct pencil grip and using the handwriting paper correctly.

Spelling:

• If you have not already done so, please read over pages 6-14 in the AAS book to familiarize yourself with it.
• Phonograms, phonograms, phonograms! Go over them at least twice each home day.
• This week we begin oral segmenting. This is a crucial step for beginning readers. Please continue to practice this skill using your "chips" like the manual shows. **This can be a difficult skill for some students, so practice it each day at the beginning of your AAS lessons.

History:

•  This week we are discussing what history is, what is important to include in history, and how to measure history. It began with God and it is HIS story. For an optional extension activity at home, you could make a family tree starting with your child, then parents (you), grandparents for both sides and discuss that if we continued to fill this tree in, we would get to Adam and Eve.

Science:

• We begin our study on insects this week. Always a fun topic with Kindergartners! The first objective we will be covering is identifying the parts of an insect.

• THURSDAY: Worksheet "Parts of an Insect"- Discuss with your child the parts of an insect. Have your child cut and paste to complete the sheet.

Song: (tune-Head, Shoulders, Knees and toes)

Head, thorax, abdomen, 6 legs

Head, thorax, abdomen, 6 legs

Two antennas, compound eyes
Head, thorax, abdomen, 6 legs

Geography:

• Kindergarteners will be expected to be able to point to the Continents and Oceans on a map. The song that we will be using in class can be found under "Curricula", then "Geography", K-6,  on the Fortis website.

Memory Work:

•  We have introduced 'Jesus Died Your Soul to Save' in class. This poem will be assessed on September 26. Please practice daily! Don't miss the opportunity to really discuss with your child the meaning of this beautiful poem.
• TIMELINE SONG: We will be singing it in class a few sections at a time, and introducing the hand motions found in the link below. We have all year to work on this one! How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!!! Don't let the length discourage you! 
• Click here and here for Timeline song with hand motions. 

Kinder week 1 8/6-8/10

K week 1	8/6/2018	8/7/2018	8/8/2018	8/9/2018	8/10/2018	Co-Teacher Notes
Discipleship	Attentiveness: Unit Verse: Proverbs 22:17-18 “Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.
Bible	Listening to wise parents and teachers Prov 4:1, 5-6, 20-22	Mary and Martha listen to Jesus Luke 10:38-41	Eager Listeners Mark 6:30-35, Psalms 25:12-14	Knowing the Shepherd - Jesus John 10:22-30	The Transfiguration Mark 9:2-13, James 1:5
Math	EM-A p1-3	EM-A p4-6	EM-A p7-9	EM-A p10-12	EM-A p.13-14	EM-A is the Essential Math A book Same/different
Spelling	AAS-Step 1	AAS-Step 1 p17-19	AAS-Step 1	AAS-Step 1 p17-19		AAS = All About Spelling
Writing	Establish classroom procedures and expectations. Get to know you activity. Vertical strokes	Parents: read over p. 5-6 of HWT workbook.  Practice proper pencil grip.	F,E	HWT-p 9-10 (F,E) *Watch your student carefully to ensure that they are starting in the correct position and using correct pencil grip		HWT= Handwriting Without Tears workbook
Reading	Ms. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten	Phonogram Cards	Chrysanthemum story and activity	Phonogram Cards		Phonograms
History	"The Kissing Hand" and activity	Complete "God Made Only One Me!" sheet and return tomorrow for sharing.	"God Made Only One Me!" sharing and show and tell.
Geography	Continents and Oceans - Due 9/24
Science
Memory Work	"Jesus Died Your Soul To Save" Poem Due 9/26

Welcome to Kindergarten! I am looking forward to getting to know your precious little ones during this first week of school. We will be working on establishing routines and expectations and getting to know one another; because of this you will not see as much reflected in the subject areas on the calendar for the week.

Over the course of the next few weeks we will be learning about the Fruits of the Spirit. Monday is an introduction to all and then we will study one per day until all are covered. The Fruits of the Spirit will be used for classroom/behavior expectations as well as being incorporated into academics, such as discussing whether the character of a book was showing the fruits.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" Gal.5:22-23

Important Dates:
8/6 - First Day of School! Everyone(K-12) will start the day in the sanctuary for Morning Meeting.
8/27 - Open House
8/29 - Pizza Day and kids can wear a Fortis T-shirt and jeans or uniform bottoms.


Math:

•   Please make sure that you are doing the introduction lessons (the hands-on teaching portion) at the bottom of the page, not just the worksheet pages. I have marked your child's workbook with a flag so that they can quickly find the next lesson. Please make sure to move this flag to the next uncompleted page after each lesson. 

Reading:

•  We are skipping the first 26 lessons in Ordinary Parent Guide to Reading and instead teaching the single letter phonograms through All About Spelling. The All About Learning Press phonogram app is available on all tablet/phone platforms!
• Please go over the yellow phonogram cards (26 alphabet letters) at least once or twice EVERY DAY.

History:

• Please complete the "God Made Only One Me!" sheet with your child and return to school on Wednesday for sharing. Please write or spell any words that your child needs. It is not an expectation that they write the words, but they should draw themselves. :) Your child may also bring one special-to-them item for show-and-tell to share while they share their "God Made Only One Me!" paper.

Science:

•  Next week we will begin our unit on insects! You are welcome to check some books out from your local library to enhance our unit at home. 

Geography:

• Kindergarteners will be expected to be able to point to the Continents and Oceans on a map. There is a map in your child's blue folder.
• Here is the link to the song we use in class:  http://www.fortisacademy.net/kinder-6th-geography/

Memory Work:

• Our memory poem for this quarter is "Jesus Died Your Soul To Save." We will practice this poem daily in class. Please practice daily at home as well. 
• Here is the link for our poems for the year: https://www.fortisacademy.net/poetry/
• You should also find a copy of the poem in your child's blue folder.  

Have a wonderful first week of school!  Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions at any time.  It is going to be a fantastic year working together to guide your precious child into a greater understanding of the world God gave us.  

~Love, Mrs. McKethan~

5-7 to 5-11 Last week of Kindergarten

K week 34	5/7/2018	5/8/2018	5/9/2018	5/10/2018	5/11/2018	Co-Teacher Notes
Discipleship	Faithful Disciple + Matthew 5: 1-16					5/9 - Last day gramamr school, 5/11 - Last day logic and rhetoric school
Bible	Acts 10:34-48	Ps 98	1 Jn 5:1-8			5/9 - Grammar School Field Day, Logic and Rhetoric modified field day
Math	Review	Review				End of 4th Quarter
Spelling
Writing
Reading	OPG-L87	OPG-L88
History
Geography
Science

 
““The Lord bless you
    and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’

What an amazing year we have had together! Your little ones have grown so much in so many ways. I give thanks to God for the privilege to teach along side you. I pray that you all have a safe, relaxing, joy filled summer. I am going to miss your precious children more than you know! I love them with all my heart! I hope to keep in touch with you all and hear how your little ones are doing.

We look forward to a fun last day together on Wednesday. Remember, if you pre-paid for pizza days at the beginning of the year, our last pizza day is on Wednesday.  Parents and siblings are welcome to bring a lunch and enjoy lunch time with their student if they choose.

**Please send your child to school on Wednesday with an empty backpack, a full water bottle, snack, and a lunch (if you did not pre-purchase pizza at the beginning of the year)**

* Please refer to main blog page for last day schedule

Attire: Students may wear booster shirts and uniform bottoms.


Now that we are at the end of the school year, many parents have wondered what they can do to keep skills and knowledge up over the summer. Here are some optional suggestion for the summer months, but remember to have fun, enjoy your family time, and relax over the break!

• READ, READ, READ...have your student read passages from the OPG book as well as books on their reading level.  
• Read aloud daily. Choose a story that the whole family would like to listen to. It is great to read a few levels above your child's personal level so they are exposed to rich vocabulary. Have your child read to you as much as possible!
• Reading - First grade will pick up where we left off in Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading next year. Review the lessons that we covered this year and have your child read on a regular basis.
• Spelling -Keep reviewing the phonogram cards AND key cards.  They will forget them if they don't review them for 3 months!  Make it fun by having them jump, squat or do a jumping jack for each sound.  
• Dictate words, phrases and simple sentences that cover the spelling rules we have covered this year. Use dry erase boards, chalk on the sidewalk, handwriting paper, etc. 
• Math  - Continue oral counting and reading and writing numbers to 100 with gentle correction on backwards numbers. Count large groups of items by making groups of 10. Work on place value - tens and ones (p.143). Tell number stories - "John has 7 cats and 3 birds. How many pets does John have?"/ "Sam has some puppies. His mom gave him 3 more. Now he has 11. How many puppies did Sam have to start with?" Encourage them  to use their addition and subtraction skills, as well as the tools we have introduced (number bonds, number lines, ten frames). Have them count objects by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's.  Practice ways to make 10. 1st grade will start the year with this.
• Review all of the geography songs that we have done this year, especially Continents and Oceans and how to "blob" them.
• Dig deeper into those science units we covered (plants, animals, insects, planets). Go outside and enjoy God's beautiful creation!

4-30 to 5-4 Kindergarten HW

K week 33	4/30/2018	5/1/2018	5/2/2018	5/3/2018	5/4/2018	Co-Teacher Notes
Discipleship	Courage + Matthew 5: 1-16
Bible	C- Matt 19:23-24	1 Jn 4:1-11, Jn 15:1-8	D- Prov 26: 11-12	John 14:1-14
Math	EM-B p153	EM-B p154-155; Math Journal entry	EM-B p156	EM-B p157; Math Journal entry	EM-B p158
Spelling	AAS-Step 24	AAS-Step 24 p113-114 "Spell on Paper" and "Dictate Sentences" 1-3 in Spelling Journal to return tomorrow.	Review	Page 114 of AAS: Dictate sentences 4-6 for your child to write in Spelling Journal.	Review	These last few lessons have been a bit more challenging. Please review them as well as blue key cards 1-16
Writing	Oral narration and copywork	Read a classical book of choice to your student and have them dictate a sentence to you about something that happened in the story. Write it out for them to copy.	Oral narration and copywork	Read a classical book of choice to your student and have them dictate a sentence to you about something that happened in the story. Write it out for them to copy.
Reading	OPG-L84	OPG-L84	OPG-L85	OPG-L86	OPG-L87
History	Little Pilgrims - p114-121 Today and Tomorrow		Little Pilgrims - p114-121 Today and Tomorrow			Focus: Serving Christ
Geography
Science	Plants		Plants			Plants
Memory Work	Quarter 4 Poem Due 5/2; Timeline Song, Matthew verses

Important dates:
Wed. 4/30: Pacific States due
Wed. 5/2: Box tops due! Poem #4 due!
Wed. 5/9: Last day of school/Field day/Pizza day!

To save some teacher tears, there will be no mention in this blog post about how many days of school we have left. :) Please make sure that you are checking the main blog for school-wide information.

Math 

Objectives: count by 2's; group by 2's; understand even and odd numbers, halves and fractions

•  Please make sure that you complete the lesson at the bottom of the pages and extend it by using other numbers/scenarios.

• We are working on counting by 5's (to 50) and by 2's (to 20). Please work on this orally with your student.

Reading

Objectives: to read and accurately blend words and sentences with all long vowel/silent e pattern and with vowel pairs " ai and ay"

• Have your child read to you every day! READ,READ, READ!!!!

Writing 

Objectives: To write the capital letters and lower case letters correctly (typically top to bottom/left to right) on handwriting paper; to write first and last names correctly on handwriting paper; to be able to accurately copy a sentence, using handwriting lines correctly.

• Keep monitoring proper pencil grip and correct letter formation! Have your student self-correct any backward letter or number! They should be gaining speed and accuracy in their copywork, by this point in the year.

Spelling

Objectives:  To be able to identify open and closed syllables

• Please introduce Key Cards 14, 15, 16 this week. Continue to review all key cards (especially 11, 12, 13), along with phonograms at the beginning of each lesson.

History 

Objectives: to gain an understanding that history began with God and creation; to see God's hand in every event.

•  Song for the semester:  The Star-Spangled Banner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPKp29Luryc

Science

Objectives: to be able to identify the parts of a plant and what their job is; to describe the life cycle of a plant; to be able to discuss God's purpose for plants.

• see table

Geography

Objectives: to identify and name the Continents and Oceans on a map; to sing the names of the Southern States of the US.

• Click here for the Geography songs for the year.
• Pacific States will be the last Geography song for the year! Due 4/30

Memory Work

Objectives: To memorize true, good, and beautiful pieces and recite to the class.

• "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is our last poem of the year. In class we are singing it to this tune: DUE 5/2
• Please take a few minutes each homeschool day to review memory work! (Poem, Matthew verses, Geography song, Timeline song) 
  Click here for Timeline Song with hand motions