Mrs. Jansen's First Grade Class
Weekly Newsletter: February 8, 2016
KEYSOR PRIDE
We are Respectful, Responsible and Safe.
Short Week With Lots of Lovely Fun!
As we began our leap month last week, the kiddos continued to shine in such kind ways. Thank you again to everyone who joined us for February's First Friday Reading! It was great to see some new family member faces too!
We also LOVED celebrating our friends Sawyer and Bella for the wonderful behavior demonstrated last week, as they were recognized as our Students of the Week. We additionally recognized Simone as our Leader of the Week. Simone has been doing an amazing job in being a positive role model not only in her learning, but in great listening choices being made throughout our days! Keep up the great work everyone!
We also LOVED celebrating our friends Sawyer and Bella for the wonderful behavior demonstrated last week, as they were recognized as our Students of the Week. We additionally recognized Simone as our Leader of the Week. Simone has been doing an amazing job in being a positive role model not only in her learning, but in great listening choices being made throughout our days! Keep up the great work everyone!
Special Classes/Activities Schedule:
Monday, Feb. 8th: C Day - Wellness with Mrs. Ehrlich; Mrs. Jansen away at a meeting until 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 9th: D Day - Library with Mrs. Ems w/ books being due; Speed Stackers meeting @ 8:00 in gym
Wednesday, Feb. 10th: E Day - Art with Mrs. Lang; Wellness Wednesday for walking, running or riding your bikes to school.
Thursday, Feb. 11th: A Day - P.E with Coach Widamen; Chess Club at 8:00 a.m.; *Valentine's Day Celebration beginning at 2:30 p.m. Thank you to all of our party planners!
Friday, Feb. 12th: No School due to KSD Professional Development Day
*In preparation of our upcoming celebration, please have your child bring in a class set (18 students, 2 additional teachers - Miss Feintuch & Mrs. Flesch) of valentines, addressed to their classmates, and signed by themselves. The children will be distributing the valentines within bags that will be decorated during our party, therefore no other decorated "mailboxes" will be needed. Thank you for your support!
Tuesday, Feb. 9th: D Day - Library with Mrs. Ems w/ books being due; Speed Stackers meeting @ 8:00 in gym
Wednesday, Feb. 10th: E Day - Art with Mrs. Lang; Wellness Wednesday for walking, running or riding your bikes to school.
Thursday, Feb. 11th: A Day - P.E with Coach Widamen; Chess Club at 8:00 a.m.; *Valentine's Day Celebration beginning at 2:30 p.m. Thank you to all of our party planners!
Friday, Feb. 12th: No School due to KSD Professional Development Day
*In preparation of our upcoming celebration, please have your child bring in a class set (18 students, 2 additional teachers - Miss Feintuch & Mrs. Flesch) of valentines, addressed to their classmates, and signed by themselves. The children will be distributing the valentines within bags that will be decorated during our party, therefore no other decorated "mailboxes" will be needed. Thank you for your support!
Book Creations!
Last week ended in an array of books being created and/or published. Often, the books the children have authored become a part of our classroom authors library. This is a tremendous showcase of the AMAZING efforts our kids have put forth in the writing process. Sometimes as well, books the children create (like our 'Amazing World of Clouds' book) come home immediately too. Please be sure to showcase these books as well because once again, it's a celebration of their learning and creativity.
Poetry: Visualizations through our Senses
During the end of last week, the children practiced creating visualizations of sections within the story they had heard. This week, we'll be extending those images into considering how our senses affect what we visualize. The children will be illustrating their visualizations, and then complete a summative illustration as based upon their friends ideas being shared. We will also be thinking about how what we hear, creates images due to our senses of smell, hearing, seeing, touching and tasting.
Birthday Curricular Celebrations!
I wanted to give a HUGE shout-out to each of our families who have made our class' birthday celebrations an AMAZING part of our year. Often, you have asked about what we're learning about and tied the celebration for your child to our learning. I truly appreciate this level of thoughtfulness not only for your little one, but our classroom day as well. Each birthday experience that we've had so far has been a tremendous highlight for the children's days together. Thank you for your amazing support! We had another great day on Friday making cloud observations for our friend Sarah's half-birthday and enjoyed some yummy cloud (marshmallow) treats too!
Sight Words and Sound Focus
Our sight words this week are: their, light, these, so, number
We will also be beginning our exploration of word ending blends for 'nk' and 'sp' in words like: pink, tank, honk, wasp, crisp
Lastly, the children will be thinking about sorting words by their ending sounds, including endings: -an, -ake, -at, -ay. They will also be playing a class version of concentration, while reviewing their previously learned sight words. This sight word review fun, would be a fun one to play at home as well!
We will also be beginning our exploration of word ending blends for 'nk' and 'sp' in words like: pink, tank, honk, wasp, crisp
Lastly, the children will be thinking about sorting words by their ending sounds, including endings: -an, -ake, -at, -ay. They will also be playing a class version of concentration, while reviewing their previously learned sight words. This sight word review fun, would be a fun one to play at home as well!
Writing Workshop: Publishing and Writing Kind Sentiments to our Classmates!
Our authors are busy at work, publishing their informational "How-To" books! We had one friend share, and he added his completed story to our Publishing Bookshelf in class. This week, we'll be adding many more pieces. Then, as we conclude the shortened week, the children will become little "cupids" sharing kind sentiments about each other, and delivering them to their peers. Each child will select three or more friends to write about and share these kind thoughts with their classmates in honor of the Valentine's holiday.
Adding Two-Digit Numbers, Through Joining Ones Whose Sum is Greater than 10
Our guided math experiences are off to a great start. This week, we will continue our work with thinking about how to add numbers, and regroup the loose or ones group, when their sum is greater than 10. As you've seen this past week, most papers have come home with a little more practice work needed. Please know, this practice is being provided to further support your child's development and usage of our addition concepts being shared. Thank you, once again, for supporting your child through these practice experiences. It is TRULY showing within our learning experiences each day.
Thinking About Our Culture
As we concluded our work last week with Patterns in the Sky, this week our learning is moving back into the subject of Social Studies, as the children will be thinking about culture. We will spend the first part of the week defining culture and learning about the Chinese culture, through their New Year of the Monkey. Then, the children will move into thinking about their own families and creating a flag representing their traditions. You will also receive a family homework project within Monday's folder, sharing more information.
Mrs. Traci Jansen
Email: traci.jansen@kirkwoodschools.org
Website: http://keysor.kirkwoodschools.org/pages/Keysor_Elementary/Classes/Jansen
Location: 725 N Geyer Rd, Kirkwood, MO, United States
Phone: 314-213-6120 (2164)
Twitter: @TraciJansen