Homework Update

The week got away from me and I realized that I did not send home two math homework sheets.  Home Links 3.3 and 3.4 will be coming home today, but they DO NOT need to be returned.  The children can complete them and keep them at home.  Sorry about this!

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween! :-)

October 26th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week in reading we will concentrate on retelling and summarizing stories in order to check for comprehension.  Your child will be asked to identify characters and settings in a story.  We have been working on identifying nouns in sentences and we will also learn about plural nouns this week.  We will continue to work on writing in complete sentences.  Our chunk of the week this week is –ed  as in bed.

We will be starting a new unit in math.  The Unit 3 parent letter was sent home last week with information about this new unit.  This week we will be working on pattering skills, odd and even numbers, and reviewing basic number line concepts.  Your child should be able to add and subtract using a number line.  Look for Home Links 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4.  Ask your child to sing the “Doubles” song we’ve been learning, too!

This week we will be learning about fire prevention.  We will also be starting a new social studies unit on communities.  Look for a parent letter to come home today with a volunteer opportunity that goes along with our new social studies unit!

THANK YOU in advance to everyone who will be donating items or volunteering to help at the party this Friday.  The kids are already looking forward to it!

Special Points of Interest

• Remember to bring in your pumpkin for Pumpkin Days!
• Halloween parties will be on Friday afternoon, please send your child's costume in a bag.  The children will be changing right before the party.
• No school next Friday, November 6th.  It is teacher progress report writing day.
• Have a Happy Halloween on Saturday, October 31st!

Our Fall Tree

Our class went on a "field trip" to the outdoor classroom to take a look at our tree.  We will be looking at it each season to talk about how it changes and what signs of life we see.  After we observed the changes, we wrote about our tree in our journals.

Book Orders due this Friday

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: JBVLX

Dear Families,

Please remember to place your Reading Club orders by Friday, October 23rd.

You can shop and submit your order online or return the printed order form with payment directly to me. No matter how you order, every purchase you make earns FREE Books and educational supplies for our classroom.

The arrival of the book box is always a highlight-thanks for making it happen!

Happy reading,

Mrs. Majinski

Ordering online is fast and easy:

• REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub
• ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
• CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
• SUBMIT the order to me by the due date at the top of this letter
• EARN FREE Books for our classroom too!

October 19th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We will be concentrating on the main idea and details in the stories that we read this week.  We will continue to talk and write about animals that we see in the fall.  Additionally, the students will learn more about nouns.  The sound we are focusing on is the short o as in box and  pot.  Our chunk of the week this week is –ot.  We will also be adding some new fall poems to our poetry binders.  The kids have been enjoying adding new poems to their poetry binders each week.  The poems help us work on our fluency.

In math this week, we will continue to explore counting combinations of nickels and pennies.  Children will learn to exchange pennies for nickels.  We will also be working on subtraction number models and number stories.  Look for Home Links numbers 2.12, 2.13, and the Unit 3 Family Letter to come home this week.  Please continue practicing skip counting by 2’s and 5’s, counting combinations of nickels and pennies and memorizing addition and subtraction facts.

In science, we have been working on our Land and Water unit.  Your child has been learning about natural resources and their uses in the environment.

Special Points of Interest

• Pumpkin Days are October 26-30 - Bring a decorated pumpkin to school to be displayed in the IMC
• Our Halloween party is next Friday, October 30th.
• Scholastic Book Orders are due this Friday, October 23rd. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX

October 12th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our topic this week in reading will be all about sports and teamwork.  We will be talking about books that give information about a specific topic.  The students will also learn about nouns and we will work on incorporating nouns into our writing this week.  The sounds we are focusing on this week are nd, nk, nt, and st.  Our chunk of the week this week will be –et as in met.

This week in math we will be learning about counting up and back on a number grid, comparing quantities of pennies and nickels, and counting and writing by 2’s, 5’s and 10's.  We will be reviewing time and working on story problems.  Look for Home Links numbers 2.10 and 2.11 to come home this week.  Please practice counting combinations of nickels and pennies, telling time to the hour, and practicing subtraction facts to six.

This week we will be continuing our Land and Water science unit.  We will also be integrating our science unit into our guided reading groups by reading nonfiction texts about land and water.

Special Points of Interest

• Picture Retake is on October 21st
• Donuts with Dad is tomorrow morning before school, starting at 7:30 a.m.
• Scholastic Book Orders are due Friday, October 23rd. Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub Class Activation Code: JBVLX - Flyers will be coming home this week

Field Trip Reminder

                                               

Our field trip to Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary is tomorrow,

October 9^th.  Please remember to send a cold lunch and a drink with your child.  We will be outside most of the day, so make sure your child is dressed for the weather.  Thanks in advance!

Pencil Sharpener Purchased

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Hadleigh M.'s family.  They purchased a new pencil sharpener for our classroom.  Thank you for your generosity!

October 5th Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

In reading this week, we will be reading about pets.  Our main focus will be on characters, settings and sequencing.  As you read with your child, remember to ask them about the setting of the story, as well as the events that happened in the story.  We have been working on our reading strategies to help us with both our reading and writing.  Make sure to ask your child about the animals reading strategies they have been practicing at school.  Last week we worked on stretchy snake and this week we will be focusing on chunky monkey.  The students will be continuing to differentiate between telling and asking sentences.  Additionally, we will be working on r blends.  The blends are br, fr, cr, gr, and tr.  Our spelling test this Friday will be given in sentence form.  Having your child write their spelling words in sentence form at home would be very beneficial to them.

This week in math we will be learning about telling time to the hour and half hour and counting by 2’s and 5’s.  We will also continue to work on our addition and subtraction facts.  Please practice with your child at home until they become fluent with these facts.  Look for Home Links 2.4 and 2.5 to come home this week.

We are looking forward to our first field trip this Friday!  We are excited to see the animals up close in their habitats, which will enhance our fall animal study.  Please remember to send a cold lunch and something to drink with your child on Friday.  Also, remember to dress your child for the weather, we will be outside almost the entire time that we are gone.

Special Points of Interest

• Scholastic Book Fair begins this Thursday, October 9th
• Fall Family Fest is this Friday, October 9th from 5:30-8:30 here at Thorson
• Donuts with Dad is next Tuesday, October 13th starting at 7:30 a.m.
• THANK YOU to all of the families that sent in napkins, paper towels and brown bags, I appreciate your generosity!

Pencil Sharpener

Unfortunately, our pencil sharpener stopped working a few days ago.  If you have an extra pencil sharpener you'd like to donate to our classroom, we would greatly appreciate it!  Thank you in advance!