Focus on the Family Article

10 ways to boost your child's academic potential



Click the title above to read a great article about how you can encourage academic success at home!

Good Deeds Tree

We are eager to fill up out tree with all the good deeds your child is doing at home and in their community.  

Please write something good your child has done on the leaves and flowers we have sent home.  Remember to send them to school so we can encourage & congratulate your child on their successes!  

A good deed can be as simple as helping mom fold laundry, cleaning up after a baby brother or sister, helping a friend or giving compliment etc.  Feel free to write on each leaf or flower anything you want to praise your child for!

Learning Goals

This week the students will be learning:

- the name & sound of the letter Uu

- words that start with Uu

- SK's are continuing to learn double letter sounds (th, sh, ar, or etc.)

- recognizing & naming 2D shapes (square, circle, hexagon, diamond etc.)

- tracing & cutting out different shapes

- creating 2D shapes out of different materials (Popsicle sticks, toothpicks, pipe cleaner etc.)

- using 2D shapes to create pictures & art (a house, castle etc.)

- how we can be healthy (eating a balanced diet, exercise, getting enough sleep, hygiene etc.)

- about healthy foods & meals

Cutting Skills

Being able to hold scissors & to cut accurately is an important skill to learn.  It also strengthens hand muscles which will assist with other fine motor skills.

In class we were cutting pictures out of flyers for our class shape book and most of the JK students struggled to cut out their pictures - either cutting through the picture (because they didn't know how to turn their hands) or ripping the paper (because they didn't open & close the scissors enough or correctly).  As much as we work with your child at school it is important that you also work with them at home to ensure they are practicing & learning.

Please give your child flyers & assist them in cutting out pictures.  Have them look for a theme & cut out pictures that match that theme.  Ex: cut out the healthy foods, or cut out anything that is a square shape, or cut out anything that is red etc.

Watch your child & teach them to:

- hold the scissors correctly

- hold & move the paper with their other hand

- open & close the scissors as much as possible so they aren't just ripping the paper with the tip of their scissors

- cut around the object they want

The little bit of time & effort you put in each weekend will go a long way in their development & confidence.

Planting

Today we learned how to plant!

FIRST - put the soil in the pot & pat it down

NEXT - carefully put the seeds in the soil

THEN - put water on the seeds

LAST - put the pot in the sun beside the window

Ask your child to tell you how they planted! 

Encourage your child to use the words: first, next, then, last when describing how to do something (set the table, put their toys away, help with dinner etc.).

Learning Goals

This week the students will be learning:

- the name & sound of the letter Ff

- words that start with Ff

- about seeds & how to plant flowers

- how to name, describe & identify 2D shapes: square, circle, triangle, rectangle

Welcome Back

IWelcome back!  We hope everyone had a restful and fun week!

Thank you to all the students who returned their finished picture of their family!  The students enjoyed sharing them with the class and talking about the different people in their families.  Students who brought back their pictures  received a prize for their hard work at home!  If you forgot to send the picture to school students can finish it tonight & bring it tomorrow so they can share them with the class & get a prize.

Also cookie dough orders are due tomorrow.  Please send your completed order forms & money to school tomorrow!

March Break

Tomorrow is a PA Day & next week is March break.  School resumes again on Monday March 17.

Today we sent home a homework kit with fun activities you & your child can do over the break.  The activities included in the kit reinforce the learning happening at school.  Please take some time to complete the activities as often as you can with your child.  Instructions are included inside the kit.

Students who return the lacing activities & the art work of their families on Monday  March 17 will get a small prize!

Also, please remember cookie sales are also due back on Monday March 17.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow Panino Cappuccino will be giving all the students in the school a free hotdog lunch!  

Therefore you do not need to send lunch to school tomorrow.  But your child will still need snacks for the rest of the day. 

Our first snack of the day is at 9:30 am.  It is important that the students eat breakfast every morning BEFORE coming to school.  Also, chocolate bars & candy is not an appropriate snack for the morning.  Therefore, please make sure you are sending a healthier snack for the morning like fruit, cereal, granola bars etc.

Pancake Tuesday

In preparation for the start of lent tomorrow we had pancakes for snack!

The students had fun making the pancakes & eating them.  We learned about procedure: first, next, then, last when talking about how we made the pancakes.  

The SK's wrote & illustrated our pancake procedure & the JK's used picture cards to show it.  Encourage your child to use these words at home when describing a process or procedure.