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Reading & Math

Here are some of the things we are working on this week.  During small group time students work on number writing with Grandma Rose.  Here the kids are writing from 10-20.  Grandma Rose will also roll 2 dice and the kids have to write a two digit numbers.  For example, if she roll a 5 and a 4.  Students could write 54 or 45.

Here we are working on popcorn words.

 Here we are working on sounding out words.  These are plastic plates from the dollar store and dry erase markers.

At Math time, we learned how we can measure using linking chains.  At home, students could use paper clips.

 Measuring our friends!

 Measuring our feet!

Keep working on those popcorn words!

Minnesota Twins & MLK

This week a couple of the Minnesota Twins stopped by! It was a great opportunity to see Bert Blyleven, Anthony Zwarzach, Trevor Plouffe, Terry Steinbach, and TC.

It was also Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday on Monday.  We have been discussing his message with students.  We talked about how although we might look different on our skin, we all have hearts, brains, and feelings.  We used eggs to show this.  The eggs may be different colors on the outside, but inside they are the same.

Addition Practice and Rainbow Fish

Wow!  For a short week, we sure have been busy!  The kids have not been outside for recess in forever due to the extreme cold weather.  Today was the first day in a long time. 

In Math, we rolled two dice and added them together.  Then we recorded our answer.

Do you want to play this at home?  Click here.  You will have to create an account to access the sheet.

We also worked on a writing project this week.  We were learning about animal body parts, specifically the fish as we read a story called The Rainbow Fish.  You can listen to this story, here.

After we read the story, we labeled the parts of the fish.  Then we used a graphic organizer to organize what we were going to write about.  Our last step was to put our work on fancy paper.  They turned out wonderful! It is nice to have a bit of color during this cold January!

Keep practicing those popcorn words!

Happy New Year!

Christmas break is over and it is time to get back into the swing of things. Because this week is only two days, I thought I would share some of the activities we did during our Christmas party.  We were very lucky to have some extra helpers with our Christmas centers. At this center, students had to use dice to "Roll-A-Christmas Tree".  You can find a copy here to play at home.

At this center, students made a snowman ornament.

We also got to decorate a gingerbread cookie.  This was a highlight. Yum!

Keep practicing your popcorn words!!!!

Flashcards can be found here to print and practice.

Letter Sounds & Sweets

This week we are learning a lot about letter sounds.  Some of the activities that we have completed include using blue boards (plastic plates purchased at The Dollar Tree) and dry erase markers to sound out words and use them to begin to write sentences.

We also used m&ms to find a letter or a sound.  You could use any edible treat like marshmallows, gum drops, and goldfish crackers.  You can find this ABC chart here.

Then we used a treat to find where they hear a particular sound either at the beginning, middle or end of a word.  For example, this smartie found the Xx sound at the end of the word.  

I used Deanna Jump's Stretchy the Snake from this packet.

Stay warm!  We have been inside with no recess for the past week!  

Writing & Math

Well we are back in school after a great Thanksgiving break.  I thought maybe the kids would be tired from eating all that turkey and shopping.  I was wrong!  The kids came back ready to learn.  Students are beginning to use their popcorn words in their writing.  Sometimes students will free write and sometimes after reading a book, they will write about it. Students are realizing  that print has meaning.

In math today, we played card games.  They learned how to put their cards in order from least to greatest.  Then they played a game where one child steals a card and the other child has to figure out what card is missing.