Merry Christmas!!! Our Christmas break is moving quickly and we are fast approaching the new year!! I can't wait to see all the smiling faces back to school in 2013! Here are some highlights from the past month of December...
Language Arts:
We've really been working hard on learning new sight words! The children are doing a fabulous job as we start reading short stories. They are very excited about their new skills and love using the highlighter to find our new sight words in there printable take home readers.
We also started a word family..the 'at' word family! It's been great to hear the children discover new words as they are able to use the sounds they know to figure out words!
Math:
The children have been working really hard on counting and identifying numbers. We've been practicing counting to 100 and are excited as we get closer to our 100th day of school! The children have been working on identifying and writing numbers 0 - 10 and also being able to read those number words. We also continue to practice skills such as identifying shapes, colors and patterns.
Religion:
We've talked a lot about Jesus as we were all getting ready to celebrate his birthday! The children heard many stories of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We talked about the wonderful 'gift' that God sent us in His son, Jesus. We also learned about St. Lucia and St. Nicholas as we celebrated both of their feast days.
Science:
We talked a lot about living and non living things and what they need to survive. We had fun identifying different items that are living and that are not living and talked about the 'why' of each choice. We've also had a lot of fun talking about science in various topics that have come to us in our Weekly Readers!
Social Studies:
We've talked about traditions that we often have during this holiday season. We identify that different groups, even different families may have different things they like to do during the holiday season. We also talked more about our families and even did a family tree with our families at home. The children brought them back and we have had fun talking about grandmas, grandpas & aunts, uncles, etc.
The Christmas Concert was wonderful! The Kindergarteners were little snowflakes (thanks Mrs. Punjak for putting extra work to make their little headbands!) to go with the songs they sang.
All of the school children did an excellent job!
The last week of school before Christmas break brought a lot of fun! We did the 'OLL Polar Express' on Monday afternoon...we got to wear our pajamas that day, watch 'The Polar Express' on the big white board, and have a treat of hot cocoa and cookies with our 5th grade Mass buddies.
We got to listen to lots of great Christmas music that week too. We listened to the Preschool Christmas Program and also listened to the Jazz Band from Ashland High School. Some of the children even got to go up and help with the bells with the jazz bands fun tunes. Mrs. Hulmer (the Jazz Band director) also talked to the children about the instruments the high schoolers played. I loved hearing the trombones!! (I played trombone in high school and college!)
That week we also got to go shopping! The children were all a-buzz with excitement as they chose gifts for their family members and then had our special elves (parents and volunteers) help wrap them. It was a great time and so fun to watch. (One of the highlights of our Christmas was watching Ben, my son, watch US open the gifts he picked for us. I just love that!)
Our Christmas Party was so fun!! We had treats and juice, played games and exchanged our gifts! Each child brought in a gift (less than $5, and if the child was a girl, they brought in a girl gift, boys brought in a boy gift) and I put all the boy gifts in one box and the girl gifts in a different box. I attached a ribbon to each gift that draped over the side. Each child picked a ribbon (not their own) and we unwrapped! They were all thrilled with their gifts and really enjoyed our party!
Sunday, December 30, 2012
December pictures!
Fun in the snow!!
Celebrating St. Lucia
on December 13th!
Christmas Concert night!
Monday, October 8, 2012
September Memories 2012
Hello! Time has certainly flown by! My apologies that it's taken me so long to post again!! So many things to do and so little time!
Here are some highlights from the month of September:
Making Gingerbread after we read 'The Gingerbread Man'!
We had Cook Sherry bake him while we were in Gym Class. We were excited to return to a tasty treat waiting for us!
But he escaped! So we searched the WHOLE school looking for him...he left notes with all the teachers!
We were lead back to our room after all the chasing and looked high and low for our gingerbread man.
We finally found him hiding in our kitchen area under the table cloth!
After a long search through school and getting to meet all the teachers and staff, we were ready for our treat!
Having fun in the September sun!
Fun on the playground with friends!
So cute!
Here are some highlights from the month of September:
Making Gingerbread after we read 'The Gingerbread Man'!
We had Cook Sherry bake him while we were in Gym Class. We were excited to return to a tasty treat waiting for us!
But he escaped! So we searched the WHOLE school looking for him...he left notes with all the teachers!
We were lead back to our room after all the chasing and looked high and low for our gingerbread man.
We finally found him hiding in our kitchen area under the table cloth!
After a long search through school and getting to meet all the teachers and staff, we were ready for our treat!
Having fun in the September sun!
Fun on the playground with friends!
So cute!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
WELCOME!! We're off to a great start of a new school year! We started our first day of the 2012-2013 school year off with a special school blessing from Fr. Paul and Fr. Ed. It was so wonderful to see all of the children's bright and shining faces!
We headed into school and put our things away and started off the day! Prayer and pledge come first, and then we went on to 'business' stuff...attendance and lunch count. The children to were thrilled to learn of their jobs for the week!
We did calendar and weather and then listened to a story about Liturgy. We talked about good behavior in church and being a good listener for Fr. Paul and Fr. Ed and learning about God. We were then off to Mass and got to sit with 5th grade buddies! The Kindergarteners did an excellent job at Mass and I was very proud of a couple of them who were brave enough to answer some of Fr. Ed's questions during the homily. =)
Snack was next after Mass ended and I treated the children to yummy watermelon! They enjoyed it down in the lunchroom (Social Hall). We then returned to our classrooms and worked on a school time coloring page that we will finish cutting and glueing later this week.
We ended the morning with some much needed and deserved playtime! The children really enjoyed the toys and things around the room. BIG thanks to the Pliss family for the donation of a large kitchenette set for our house area.
Lunch was PIZZA!!! The kids loved it and did a great job at lunchtime. They then headed outside (thankfully the rain had subsided) and had recess with Preschool through 4th grade.
The afternoon went by quickly! We started with a quick drink of water after our hard playing outside and then laid down on our mats for some rest time.
After rest, we listened to 'The Kissing Hand' by Audrey Penn. The children really enjoyed the story and said that "Chester is so cute!!" We were then able to do a handprint activity and poem to go along with the story before heading to Music with Ms. Betzold. Ms. Betzold reported that they did super well in Music and was all smiles when I came to pick them up!
We ended the day with a light snack of pretzels (if they wanted) and some water and playtime. We don't usually have snack in the afternoon, but some were asking for it, so I was certainly happy to let them sit and nibble on something before playtime.
All in all, a very very good start to the year! The morning did find some "I miss preschool" as they walked into our room and not they're old room at preschool from last year...which isn't uncommon. I was SO happy to hear, however, later that day some of the children saying "I like Kindergarten BETTER than preschool!" That certainly made my day!
I look forward to many many more days with the children and families and lots and lots of fun and learning throughout the year!
That's all for now...stop by again later in the week for more tidbits for the month of September!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
We headed into school and put our things away and started off the day! Prayer and pledge come first, and then we went on to 'business' stuff...attendance and lunch count. The children to were thrilled to learn of their jobs for the week!
We did calendar and weather and then listened to a story about Liturgy. We talked about good behavior in church and being a good listener for Fr. Paul and Fr. Ed and learning about God. We were then off to Mass and got to sit with 5th grade buddies! The Kindergarteners did an excellent job at Mass and I was very proud of a couple of them who were brave enough to answer some of Fr. Ed's questions during the homily. =)
Snack was next after Mass ended and I treated the children to yummy watermelon! They enjoyed it down in the lunchroom (Social Hall). We then returned to our classrooms and worked on a school time coloring page that we will finish cutting and glueing later this week.
We ended the morning with some much needed and deserved playtime! The children really enjoyed the toys and things around the room. BIG thanks to the Pliss family for the donation of a large kitchenette set for our house area.
Lunch was PIZZA!!! The kids loved it and did a great job at lunchtime. They then headed outside (thankfully the rain had subsided) and had recess with Preschool through 4th grade.
The afternoon went by quickly! We started with a quick drink of water after our hard playing outside and then laid down on our mats for some rest time.
After rest, we listened to 'The Kissing Hand' by Audrey Penn. The children really enjoyed the story and said that "Chester is so cute!!" We were then able to do a handprint activity and poem to go along with the story before heading to Music with Ms. Betzold. Ms. Betzold reported that they did super well in Music and was all smiles when I came to pick them up!
We ended the day with a light snack of pretzels (if they wanted) and some water and playtime. We don't usually have snack in the afternoon, but some were asking for it, so I was certainly happy to let them sit and nibble on something before playtime.
All in all, a very very good start to the year! The morning did find some "I miss preschool" as they walked into our room and not they're old room at preschool from last year...which isn't uncommon. I was SO happy to hear, however, later that day some of the children saying "I like Kindergarten BETTER than preschool!" That certainly made my day!
I look forward to many many more days with the children and families and lots and lots of fun and learning throughout the year!
That's all for now...stop by again later in the week for more tidbits for the month of September!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
May 7-11, 2012
Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Ben and I really really enjoyed the wonderful Spring Concert! Everyone sounded and looked SO good! Great job to all the kiddos and a special thanks to Ms. Betzold for all of her hard work in coordinating and teaching all of the music students at OLL! She does a fabulous job with the kids!!!
We also spent the weekend hanging out with my sister. Ben and I had fun swimming with her on Saturday at Splashland!
Sunday brought rainy weather but a WONDERFUL First Communion Mass for the 2nd graders! Congratulations to all!!
Hard to believe the weekend is ending so quickly, but Monday is just around the corner again...
Here's what we're up to this week:
Language Arts:
We'll be learning our last consonant Alphafriend: Jumping Jill! We'll be exploring the sound of 'Jj' and practice writing it in words we can think of with this letter!
We'll be starting our final section in our Language Arts series "A World of Animals". We will hear stories this week about various animals and make a list of animals we can think of that we see in our area. We will use this list in our journal writing during small group time!
Our reading strategy focus will be on asking questions before and during our reading of the stories. Our comprehension strategy focus will be on thinking about and identifying the beginning, middle and end of the story.
Math:
We will start our chapter on measurement! This week we will explore concepts of longer/shorter; longest/shortest; capacity and weight. We will have time to explore these concepts using a variety of manipulatives and with a small group center on capacity.
Religion:
We will talk about forgiving others. We have talked a lot about God's forgiveness for us, and now we will discuss God's desire for us to be forgiving. We will talk about friendships and how, at times, they can get damaged and discuss ways that we can repair this damage by being forgiving, as Jesus asks of us. Saying "I'm sorry" is a difficult thing for some, but if we are to live the life that God wants us too, it is something we have to do at times.
Science:
Our National Geographic for Young Explorers has a section on Family Life, not from a human perspective, but from that of an elephant. (This fits in well this week as our main story from Lang. Arts is about a baby elephant.) We will read this article and talk about what the baby elephant learns from his parents and then discuss what we, as humans, learn from our parents. We will compare these lists to see how they are different and how some aspects are the same.
We will also learn about the different 'tools' that the elephant has on his body to help him with day to day tasks. We will then identify 'tools' that we use each day that make it easier for us.
Social Studies:
We will review past cultures that we have explored throughout the year. We will talk about how they have been the same and different. Some of the differences in these cultures have to do with the area of the world that they live in (e.g. eskimos live in igloos made of ice). We will talk about Africa and what it would be like to live there (differences from the other cultures) and then ready the National Geographic for Young Explorers section on the Maasai tribe from Africa.
Important Upcoming Dates:
May 18th ~ Field Trip to the Duluth Zoo **please get in permission slips and money!
May 24th ~ Moments with Moms from 2 PM to 3 PM (can be mom or another friend...just not dad!)
May 28th ~ No School - Happy Memorial Day!!
May 30th ~ Kindergarten & 1st Grade Liturgy - 9 AM to 10 AM
June 8th ~ LAST DAY!!! - half day of school!
We also spent the weekend hanging out with my sister. Ben and I had fun swimming with her on Saturday at Splashland!
Sunday brought rainy weather but a WONDERFUL First Communion Mass for the 2nd graders! Congratulations to all!!
Hard to believe the weekend is ending so quickly, but Monday is just around the corner again...
Here's what we're up to this week:
Language Arts:
We'll be learning our last consonant Alphafriend: Jumping Jill! We'll be exploring the sound of 'Jj' and practice writing it in words we can think of with this letter!
We'll be starting our final section in our Language Arts series "A World of Animals". We will hear stories this week about various animals and make a list of animals we can think of that we see in our area. We will use this list in our journal writing during small group time!
Our reading strategy focus will be on asking questions before and during our reading of the stories. Our comprehension strategy focus will be on thinking about and identifying the beginning, middle and end of the story.
Math:
We will start our chapter on measurement! This week we will explore concepts of longer/shorter; longest/shortest; capacity and weight. We will have time to explore these concepts using a variety of manipulatives and with a small group center on capacity.
Religion:
We will talk about forgiving others. We have talked a lot about God's forgiveness for us, and now we will discuss God's desire for us to be forgiving. We will talk about friendships and how, at times, they can get damaged and discuss ways that we can repair this damage by being forgiving, as Jesus asks of us. Saying "I'm sorry" is a difficult thing for some, but if we are to live the life that God wants us too, it is something we have to do at times.
Science:
Our National Geographic for Young Explorers has a section on Family Life, not from a human perspective, but from that of an elephant. (This fits in well this week as our main story from Lang. Arts is about a baby elephant.) We will read this article and talk about what the baby elephant learns from his parents and then discuss what we, as humans, learn from our parents. We will compare these lists to see how they are different and how some aspects are the same.
We will also learn about the different 'tools' that the elephant has on his body to help him with day to day tasks. We will then identify 'tools' that we use each day that make it easier for us.
Social Studies:
We will review past cultures that we have explored throughout the year. We will talk about how they have been the same and different. Some of the differences in these cultures have to do with the area of the world that they live in (e.g. eskimos live in igloos made of ice). We will talk about Africa and what it would be like to live there (differences from the other cultures) and then ready the National Geographic for Young Explorers section on the Maasai tribe from Africa.
Important Upcoming Dates:
May 18th ~ Field Trip to the Duluth Zoo **please get in permission slips and money!
May 24th ~ Moments with Moms from 2 PM to 3 PM (can be mom or another friend...just not dad!)
May 28th ~ No School - Happy Memorial Day!!
May 30th ~ Kindergarten & 1st Grade Liturgy - 9 AM to 10 AM
June 8th ~ LAST DAY!!! - half day of school!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
April 23rd-27th
Hello! Happy Easter to All! It's been a crazy couple of weeks but all went very well. The past two weeks have brought us our Preschool/Kindergarten Open House, the Youth Rally at the Bad River Casino, Kindergarten Round Up and Bump Up Day!
We had a great time at Kreher Park with the Preschoolers on Friday! They had lots of fun playing together. The preschool headed back to school before us, we took a little time to walk around the park area and explore signs of Spring!
I loved hearing all the great things they had to say about their day in 1st Grade! They wrote their last pen pal letter and explained 'I am excited for 1st Grade because...' All of the children are super excited for our field trip to the Zoo in May when we will meet our pen pals.
Here's what we'll be working on this week:
Language Arts:
We'll meet a new alphafriend: Yetta Yo-Yo and learn the new sight word: she. Many of the children have mastered this word already, but we'll review it and work on fluency! The children who are ready are certainly moving on to bigger words and stories during our small group times. These small group times really allow me to work with the children on their individual learning needs!
We'll also be working on the -en word family. We'll be reviewing past word families: -at, -an, -it, -ig, -ot, and -ox. We'll also use these word families to talk about rhyming words and patterns that we can (and sometimes can't) find in rhyming words.
Math:
We'll continue to work with Money! The children will get a chance to use the coins to help identify them and learn the value of each. We'll also be playing some games to learn how to total up various sets of coins.
Religion:
We'll be learning about service in our community and in our church. We'll talk about saying 'Yes!' the to call to serve and talk about ways that we can do this.
Science:
We'll be reading another section of our National Geographic for Young Explorers and be learning about plants and seeds. We'll start seeds in a baggie and record in our journals how they change in the next couple weeks.
Social Studies:
We'll be talking about different community helpers and what the children want to be when they grow up.
That's all for now! Have a great week!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
We had a great time at Kreher Park with the Preschoolers on Friday! They had lots of fun playing together. The preschool headed back to school before us, we took a little time to walk around the park area and explore signs of Spring!
I loved hearing all the great things they had to say about their day in 1st Grade! They wrote their last pen pal letter and explained 'I am excited for 1st Grade because...' All of the children are super excited for our field trip to the Zoo in May when we will meet our pen pals.
Here's what we'll be working on this week:
Language Arts:
We'll meet a new alphafriend: Yetta Yo-Yo and learn the new sight word: she. Many of the children have mastered this word already, but we'll review it and work on fluency! The children who are ready are certainly moving on to bigger words and stories during our small group times. These small group times really allow me to work with the children on their individual learning needs!
We'll also be working on the -en word family. We'll be reviewing past word families: -at, -an, -it, -ig, -ot, and -ox. We'll also use these word families to talk about rhyming words and patterns that we can (and sometimes can't) find in rhyming words.
Math:
We'll continue to work with Money! The children will get a chance to use the coins to help identify them and learn the value of each. We'll also be playing some games to learn how to total up various sets of coins.
Religion:
We'll be learning about service in our community and in our church. We'll talk about saying 'Yes!' the to call to serve and talk about ways that we can do this.
Science:
We'll be reading another section of our National Geographic for Young Explorers and be learning about plants and seeds. We'll start seeds in a baggie and record in our journals how they change in the next couple weeks.
Social Studies:
We'll be talking about different community helpers and what the children want to be when they grow up.
That's all for now! Have a great week!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
Sunday, March 18, 2012
March 19-23, 2012
Hello! I hope everyone's Spring Break went well! I certainly enjoyed some R&R at home with my family. The weather was gorgeous!! I'm hoping the nice weather keeps up! Over Spring Break I was able to go and visit our pen pal class. Mrs. Salus and the Kindergartners of St. Rose in Proctor did have school this past week, so I went to see them on Thursday, March 15th. They were excited to see me, but bummed to find out that my students didn't come with me. I told them not to fret...they will meet up at the end of the year...which is just around the corner! We exchanged pen pal letters and they were so excited to get ours. I know our students will be anxious to get the letters from their pen pals too!
Here's what we're doing this week:
Language Arts:
We will revisit the past weeks stories: 'The Wheels on the Bus' & 'Vroom, Chugga, Vroom-Vroom!' and talk about the wheels that we find in all of them. We'll review our reading strategy focus: questioning while reading. This strategy will help us understand different stories that we read! We'll also review our comprehension focus: making predictions.
We'll review the alphafriends: Dudley Duck and Zelda Zebra and do different activities throughout the week while practicing their sounds and printing.
Math: We'll continue to work with our larger numbers. As we continue to practice those 'teens' we'll work our way up all the way to recognizing and writing to 30!
Religion: We'll be learning about St. Patrick on Monday and doing a fun St. Patty's day project. The rest of the week we'll be learning about Jesus as a leader and following him with all that we say, think and do. Wednesday we DO NOT have Liturgy. The older children will be receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation during our regular Mass time. We will also be ending the week with Stations of the Cross.
Science/Social Studies:
We'll have a special treat this week as we travel to the Great Lakes Visitor Center on Monday. For the afternoon we will be attending a presentation on archeology and paleontology. It's sure to be a great time! Thanks to Mrs. Mukka and Mrs. Mika for being drivers and chaperones!
Another special treat this week...Mrs. Leona Pliss will be doing a fun dinosaur cookie activity with the Kindergartners on Tuesday afternoon! Thanks Mrs. Pliss!
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for the great snacks that you send...the children love them! Our healthy snacks really help to give us that boost we need to stay focused and stay happy at school!
Have a great week!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
Here's what we're doing this week:
Language Arts:
We will revisit the past weeks stories: 'The Wheels on the Bus' & 'Vroom, Chugga, Vroom-Vroom!' and talk about the wheels that we find in all of them. We'll review our reading strategy focus: questioning while reading. This strategy will help us understand different stories that we read! We'll also review our comprehension focus: making predictions.
We'll review the alphafriends: Dudley Duck and Zelda Zebra and do different activities throughout the week while practicing their sounds and printing.
Math: We'll continue to work with our larger numbers. As we continue to practice those 'teens' we'll work our way up all the way to recognizing and writing to 30!
Religion: We'll be learning about St. Patrick on Monday and doing a fun St. Patty's day project. The rest of the week we'll be learning about Jesus as a leader and following him with all that we say, think and do. Wednesday we DO NOT have Liturgy. The older children will be receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation during our regular Mass time. We will also be ending the week with Stations of the Cross.
Science/Social Studies:
We'll have a special treat this week as we travel to the Great Lakes Visitor Center on Monday. For the afternoon we will be attending a presentation on archeology and paleontology. It's sure to be a great time! Thanks to Mrs. Mukka and Mrs. Mika for being drivers and chaperones!
Another special treat this week...Mrs. Leona Pliss will be doing a fun dinosaur cookie activity with the Kindergartners on Tuesday afternoon! Thanks Mrs. Pliss!
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for the great snacks that you send...the children love them! Our healthy snacks really help to give us that boost we need to stay focused and stay happy at school!
Have a great week!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Catholic Schools Week 2012 is here!
Hello! Happy Catholic Schools Week!! We've got lots of fun things planned for this week to celebrate our wonderful school!! It's sure to be an exciting week. The kids have been getting really excited with all the activities we have planned!
Monday:
Dress as your favorite movie/book character day!
For Language Arts, the Kindergarteners are going to focus on Jan Brett's story of 'The Mitten'. We will read through it and point out the beginning, middle and end. We will also be practicing to act this story out. We will have headbands with the different animals and other props to help us. We'll be practicing this all week and finally doing for an audience during the Variety Show on Friday!
The afternoon fun will be gathering together with other classes to watch a movie in the library!
Tuesday:
(will run with Wednesday's normal schedule)
Red & White Day!
Mass with the Bishop at 10 AM...please feel free to join us for this wonderful occasion!
Wednesday:
(will run with Tuesday's normal schedule)
Crazy Hat Day!
Language Arts:
We'll continue to practice 'The Mitten'. We'll also be reviewing our sight words and our word families and writing in our journals.
Religion:
We'll be focusing on learning about Jesus as a storyteller and teacher. We'll listen to many stories from the bible that guide us in learning how Jesus wants us to live our everyday lives. The big lesson this week will be: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR!
Thursday:
Spelling Bee Day!
Happy Groundhog's Day!
We'll be hearing stories of Phil the Groundhog and what the whole meaning behind this day is. The children will pretend that they are groundhogs and decide if they would want to see their shadow or not and write about why they would choose what they did. We'll also do an groundhog art activity in the afternoon to go with this.
In the afternoon, we'll go to the Social Hall to watch the Jr. High students do the Spelling Bee!
Friday:
Favorite Team Sports Day!
We'll have a final practice for 'The Mitten', as we get ready for the Variety Show in the afternoon. The Variety Show is at 1 PM, in the Social Hall. All are welcome to join us...we hope that you can make it!
Saturday:
Home & School Bake Sale
Sunday:
All School Liturgy at 10 AM Mass
Pancake & Sausage Breakfast by the KC's...benefits go to support our school!
That's all for now!
Thanks for stopping by!!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
Monday:
Dress as your favorite movie/book character day!
For Language Arts, the Kindergarteners are going to focus on Jan Brett's story of 'The Mitten'. We will read through it and point out the beginning, middle and end. We will also be practicing to act this story out. We will have headbands with the different animals and other props to help us. We'll be practicing this all week and finally doing for an audience during the Variety Show on Friday!
The afternoon fun will be gathering together with other classes to watch a movie in the library!
Tuesday:
(will run with Wednesday's normal schedule)
Red & White Day!
Mass with the Bishop at 10 AM...please feel free to join us for this wonderful occasion!
Wednesday:
(will run with Tuesday's normal schedule)
Crazy Hat Day!
Language Arts:
We'll continue to practice 'The Mitten'. We'll also be reviewing our sight words and our word families and writing in our journals.
Religion:
We'll be focusing on learning about Jesus as a storyteller and teacher. We'll listen to many stories from the bible that guide us in learning how Jesus wants us to live our everyday lives. The big lesson this week will be: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR!
Thursday:
Spelling Bee Day!
Happy Groundhog's Day!
We'll be hearing stories of Phil the Groundhog and what the whole meaning behind this day is. The children will pretend that they are groundhogs and decide if they would want to see their shadow or not and write about why they would choose what they did. We'll also do an groundhog art activity in the afternoon to go with this.
In the afternoon, we'll go to the Social Hall to watch the Jr. High students do the Spelling Bee!
Friday:
Favorite Team Sports Day!
We'll have a final practice for 'The Mitten', as we get ready for the Variety Show in the afternoon. The Variety Show is at 1 PM, in the Social Hall. All are welcome to join us...we hope that you can make it!
Saturday:
Home & School Bake Sale
Sunday:
All School Liturgy at 10 AM Mass
Pancake & Sausage Breakfast by the KC's...benefits go to support our school!
That's all for now!
Thanks for stopping by!!
~Mrs. Westlund =)
Sunday, January 22, 2012
January 23rd - 27th, 2012
Hey All!
Hope the 2012 is treating everyone well! The year is moving right along and we're off to a great start in this new year! The children have really enjoyed a new song I found for our mimio board about the 12 months of the year...ask them to sing it for you...it's a great tune!
Here's what's happening this week:
Language Arts:
We'll meet our new alphafriend for the week: Fifi Fish! She'll teach us all about the letter/sound of Ff! We'll revisit some of our stories that we've been reading - all counting stories! We'll compare/contrast them and talk about what we liked and didn't like. Our strategy focus this week is on asking questions during a story to check for understanding. Our reading comprehension focus will be on recalling the beginning, middle and end of the story.
We'll review our sight words that we've learned so far and we'll also review our word families: -at and -an. The children are really moving right along with their reading progress! I have just completed all of the children's Guided Reading levels and they are all doing so so well...well on the way to being ready for 1st grade!
Math:
We have finished up our section on numbers 0-10 and are taking a break for numbers for awhile to work on GEOMETRY! =) We'll review shapes and then go onto harder ones...sphere, cone, cylinder and explore some other early concepts to geometry.
Religion:
We'll finish up our section on learning about God's wonderful gift of our world and how it is our duty to take care of it. I can't wait to see the posters they will make about caring for God's world. We'll then move onto learning about Jesus as a teacher and how he teaches us many lessons through stories from the bible.
Science/Social Studies:
We'll learn all about the Chinese New Year (celebrated on Monday, Jan. 23rd) and make a dragon puppet during Center times with helpers Mary Jane Grande (on Monday) and Mary Jo Gingras (on Wednesday).
We'll be learning about Polar Animals...focusing on the Polar Bear and the Penguin.
I'll be working with them in Centers to learn about Polar Bears from their National Geographic for Young Explorers magazine.
The 2nd Grade have buddied up with us to learn about Penguins. We'll be doing a penguin book with them on Tuesday and a Heart Shaped Penguin Art Project on Thursday.
Please keep your eyes open for FEBRUARY Snack & Center Calendars and also information concerning Catholic Schools Week.
Last year the Kindergarteners and I decided to to a short little play for the Variety Show and I'm planning on doing that again (different story this year.) Hope you can plan to attend this!
Keep those Movie Themed Items coming! We've got a good start on our basket...thanks for your donations for our Silent Auction basket!
Have a wonderful week!
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Mrs. Westlund =)
Hope the 2012 is treating everyone well! The year is moving right along and we're off to a great start in this new year! The children have really enjoyed a new song I found for our mimio board about the 12 months of the year...ask them to sing it for you...it's a great tune!
Here's what's happening this week:
Language Arts:
We'll meet our new alphafriend for the week: Fifi Fish! She'll teach us all about the letter/sound of Ff! We'll revisit some of our stories that we've been reading - all counting stories! We'll compare/contrast them and talk about what we liked and didn't like. Our strategy focus this week is on asking questions during a story to check for understanding. Our reading comprehension focus will be on recalling the beginning, middle and end of the story.
We'll review our sight words that we've learned so far and we'll also review our word families: -at and -an. The children are really moving right along with their reading progress! I have just completed all of the children's Guided Reading levels and they are all doing so so well...well on the way to being ready for 1st grade!
Math:
We have finished up our section on numbers 0-10 and are taking a break for numbers for awhile to work on GEOMETRY! =) We'll review shapes and then go onto harder ones...sphere, cone, cylinder and explore some other early concepts to geometry.
Religion:
We'll finish up our section on learning about God's wonderful gift of our world and how it is our duty to take care of it. I can't wait to see the posters they will make about caring for God's world. We'll then move onto learning about Jesus as a teacher and how he teaches us many lessons through stories from the bible.
Science/Social Studies:
We'll learn all about the Chinese New Year (celebrated on Monday, Jan. 23rd) and make a dragon puppet during Center times with helpers Mary Jane Grande (on Monday) and Mary Jo Gingras (on Wednesday).
We'll be learning about Polar Animals...focusing on the Polar Bear and the Penguin.
I'll be working with them in Centers to learn about Polar Bears from their National Geographic for Young Explorers magazine.
The 2nd Grade have buddied up with us to learn about Penguins. We'll be doing a penguin book with them on Tuesday and a Heart Shaped Penguin Art Project on Thursday.
Please keep your eyes open for FEBRUARY Snack & Center Calendars and also information concerning Catholic Schools Week.
Last year the Kindergarteners and I decided to to a short little play for the Variety Show and I'm planning on doing that again (different story this year.) Hope you can plan to attend this!
Keep those Movie Themed Items coming! We've got a good start on our basket...thanks for your donations for our Silent Auction basket!
Have a wonderful week!
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Mrs. Westlund =)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)