Monthly Archives: November 2011

Nov 29 2011

Economics

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In Social Studies we are studying economics. There are quite a few vocabulary terms to reinforce in this unit. We had a great time today shopping (both at the Santa Secret Shop and within the classroom). The children exchanged their tickets for play money to shop at my store. They were able to see how our unlimited wants and limited resources caused scarcity which meant that they couldn’t have all of the goods that they wanted. They had to make a choice. They found out that there were incentives while shopping especially when a truckload arrived. The choices that they made lead to opportunity cost. We also reinforced everything that we are learning about in math but determining/estimating our total cost, as well as, the change that we will receive.

 

 

For extra practice of the vocabulary used in this unit, Mr. Gort created on-line note cards that you can use  to practice.  This site allows you to print flashcards or complete a review online.  http://www.easynotecards.com/notecard_set/1543

Nov 28 2011

Holiday Program

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On December 1 we will hold our all school Holiday Program at Fair Haven Ministries located on Baldwin St. and 28th Ave.  Important details about this performance are as follows:

There are two separate programs:

Grade PK-2 at 6 pm and Grades 3-5 at 7:15 pm.

Drop off times:

* Grades 3-5 need to be dropped off between 6:45-7 pm. The program begins at 7:15 pm. Please keep your child’s coat with you.

Dismissal:

* Parents will be dismissed to pick their children up in the classrooms as soon as the program in completed.

Nov 8 2011

Reading & Math Update

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In math we are going to spend some extra time with estimating and money. In this unit, your child will be learning to estimate sums and differences by rounding numbers. They also use estimates to check that actual answers are reasonable, and compare numbers using the symbols greater than (>), less than (<) or equal to (=). The students will also identify and compare the values of a collection of U.S. coins and bills. It would be a wonderful time to have them counting change at home.

In reading, we just finished our 2nd unit focusing on visualization. The children loved the stories we were reading! They visualized to make sense of the stories we read by imagining sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations, and feelings. This strategy helps them to understand, remember, and enjoy reading. You can help your child visualize by stopping every so often while reading aloud and asking questions such as:

  • What do you see in your mind as I read to you?
  • What words did you hear in the story that helped you create that picture in your mind?

In addition to stopping and discussing the story with your child, you might:

  • Ask your child to close his or her eyes as you read and get a mental picture of the story.
  • Give your child the opportunity to draw what he or she visualized, and then talk about the drawing.