The week of Jan. 22-26.

We are finally having our first 5 day week since before Christmas break!  I'm sure we will all be very tired by the end of the week! Please make sure your child is getting plenty of rest each night and eating fruits and veges!  As you all know, all illnesses are traveling.  Kids are sick with Influenza and strep in our building!  I am really talking to the kids about saying the ABC's or counting 1-20 when they wash their hands to make sure they are getting them clean!

Please make sure to also email Lindsay Bolan in the office to let her know your child will be sick and what illness they have.  They will document it to see if there's a trend in our building.

100's day on Feb. 1!  I talked to the kids today about bringing 2 baggies with 100 collections.  One with food in it and one with something else.  Please make sure the food isn't individually wrapped, as we will eat it in class.  They shouldn't be eating it as they count, so it can be germ free!  Also, please make sure your child is the counter of both collections.  You can double check, but they need to count.  They can practice counting by groups of 5, 10, 2 and by 1's.  I will be asking them how they counted, so please make sure they are the ones doing the work.  It's a great way for you to see if they can count by 1's and 10's to 100 which is what they are tested on in class!

Reading this week!
This week we are doing an author study over the author, Barbara Parkes, that writes our books in our reading series.  Today we read her Three Little Pigs that she retold.  We will be looking for words that she uses to grab the attention of the reader, along with comparing the stories using the 5 finger retell.  We will also be reading The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Sight word:  that
Letter of the week:  Soft Gg and Hard Gg
We are also going to be reading a different version of The Gingerbread Man each day and do a comparison and contrast with The Gingerbread Man and The Gingerbread Girl.  We will do some fun Gingerbread Man activities on Friday!

Math this week!
Topic 7  Understanding Addition
We will be adding the plus and equals signs soon to our math sentences.  This week each child will get their own addition flashcards up to 5.  We will write the answers on the back, practice here a few days, then they will go home for you to practice with your child.  I always make it our goal to try to memorize the addition facts to 5 and subtraction facts to 5 by the end of the year!  It will really give your child a boost going in to first grade!  Keep in mind that memorizing the facts to 5 is not a Kindergarten required skill.  Understanding the concepts of addition and subtraction is.  So, I will not be counting it wrong if they do not know them with out using manipulatives.  But, they sure feel good about themselves when they know them!  

Social Studies!  We continue to learn more about Kansas symbols!  This week we will learn about the Kansas state seal, flag, and how Kansas got it's name. Can I tell you how?  We learned it today!  How many stars are on the seal to signify when we became a state in the union.
Monday is Kansas' Birthday and we will be doing many Kansas activities that  day!

Coming up!
Jan. 29     Kansas day (We will have fun celebrating!)
Feb. 1       100's Day--Has your child begun thinking about what to bring?
Feb. 9       Dental screening if you opt in for your child
Feb. 13     Valentine's Day Party   2:30-3:15  (party sacks made here)
Feb. 14/15  P/T conferences

Feb. 16/19      No School