Language Arts
This week we continued to work on our Friendship theme and discussed different scenarios where we show kindness and positive thoughts towards others. This was a great opportunity to review expectations. Everybody was so helpful, supportive, collaborative, responsible and patient, especially during our fire drill.
The writing assignment for this week was to write a note or a
card to someone special. We discussed the reasons people exchange cards and worked on vocabulary associated with this topic. There is no better way to culminate our Friendship unit than celebrating Valentine’s day next Tuesday! We are all looking forward to it! As our friendship unit is coming to an end, we have spent the week reviewing some key literacy concepts seen to this point (please refer back to previous newsletters). Students have shown so much progress and are ready to take their reading to the next level. 
One fundamental literacy concept taught in Spanish speaking countries is the manipulation of silabas (syllables). Students need to be able to recognize silabas and put them together in order to form words. Students have taken home a silabas page that they can practice reading along with their Spanish readers every day. You will notice that when students blend silablas, their reading will become more fluent and smooth. You can definitely apply this concept at home by claping the sounds in a word. Great job kindergarten readers!
Math
Evelyn explaining to maestra Paola how she used the shapes triangle and rectangle to make a witch’s hat, broom and a cat <3.
Children’s understanding of shapes begins at a very young age when they observe the world that surrounds them. In school, instruction not only focuses on expanding and enhancing that prior knowledge, but also teaching precise ways of describing these shapes. They begin to compare and contrast shapes. Geometry helps children to describe the world around them.
Owen using a solid shape(3D) to make a flat shape. They experienced first hand the relationship between a solid and a flat shape.
In class we have provided rich opportunities to interact with geometrical shapes, both solid and flat, to make real-world connections. We have used our senses and a variety of manipulatives to describe how geometrical shapes look/feel and how they don’t.
Interesting shape, Evie. Students had a chance to create their own shapes.
English History and Science
Social studies
This week we began a new social studies unit on presidents and American symbols. Our objectives were to :
• name the current president of the United States
• recognize the White House as the president’s home
• describe Washington, DC, as a city where the current president lives and where monuments of past presidents can be found
• identify the American flag and describe its characteristics
• describe the differences between a president and a king
• name George Washington as someone admired for his honesty
The First President
• understand that the cherry tree story is a legend
• recognize the difference between a true story and a legend
• describe George Washington as a general who fought for American independence
• recognize that General Washington led his army to victory even though his army was smaller than the English army
Science
We continued on with our Seasons and Weather domain. Our objectives were to :
• identify the following characteristics of thunderstorm: heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and strong winds
• identify and describe different types of severe weather
• describe safe and unsafe behaviors during severe weather
• identify ways in which weather affects daily routine, such as dress, activities, etc.
• understand why weather prediction is important in our daily life
• record daily weather for a week in a weather journal, including temperature and an illustration
• explain what a meteorologist does
• retell important facts and information from our read aloud
Our word family was “ot”. Our new sort this week was the consonant sounds C & D. We used the poem Hickory Dickory Dock to help us hear these sounds. Our color song was “Black”. Students were able to share things that are black. Next week our color will be pink in honor of Valentine’s day.