Week of November 4 - 8

Reading - Nature Spy
This week we learned what it means to be a "nature spy." We added the following Amazing Words to our Oral Vocabulary: discover, nature, spy, pattern, pod, acorn. We went on a nature walk to the church yard and the area behind the playground, where we found many specimens of leaves, flowers, pinecones, rocks, and other treasures.  We brought our collections back to the classroom and examined them with magnifying glasses to get a good close look. We also learned to write a list of the items collected.  We focused on the sound /s/ as a beginning sound and as an ending sound in words.  Miss Wilson is encouraging all students to write words by using the sounds they hear.  This invented spelling is developmentally appropriate.  Some students are able to identify and spell middle sounds, but most are only able to get the beginning and ending sounds for most words.

Math - Counting up to 20
We have learned to recognize, read, and write the numbers for the quantities 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.  We use counters to show each number.  We use a ten-frame as the main format to show these numbers.  This helps us keep our thinking organized and helps us understand that these numbers are greater than 10. IN the coming week we will continue to count, read, and write numbers 16 - 20.

Religion
We read the story of Zacchaeus and created a picture of Zacchaeus in the tree being called by Jesus.  We also read the story of the Loaves and Fishes, where we learned that Jesus multiplied the gift from the little boy to feed the multitude of people.  We learned that Jesus can do the same with the gifts that we have to offer.

Social Studies 
In preparation for Veterans' Day, we learned the song "Yankee Doodle." We made hats and decorated them with macaroni to go with the song and to wear when we sing the song at the Veterans' Day Assembly on Monday.

Upcoming Events
Please see Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express for the most up-to-date information.

Monday, November 11 - Veterans' Day Assembly 1:45 in the gym.  Families are invited.  Students may wear Red, White, or Blue shirts with regular uniform bottoms.

Book Fair - open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. An information flyer was sent home on Friday in the Take Home Folder. Your child will visit the book fair on Monday to create a wist list.  You may then decide what books you are interested in purchasing.  If you choose to send the money with your child to make the purchases during school hours, please send a note with the wish list indicating what your child is allowed to buy. I will not allow students to spend money without a note from you.  Of course, you may visit the book fair and make the purchases yourself.    

Week of October 28 - November 1

Thank you so much to all who planned and contributed to the Halloween party. The kids had a great time.

Reading - Flowers
We experienced reading an informational text that included a table of contents, glossary, and index. The book told about flowers and how they are important to plants.  We learned 6 new Amazing words: seeds, fruit, buds, stems, bloom,  and petals. We added "have" and "is" to our list of high frequency words.  We have started blending words together by listening for the sounds made by individual letters and then blending those sound.  We have focused on words ending with "at" and "am." Additionally, we focused on the short a sound when it appears in the beginning of a word and in the middle of a word. We learned that pictures sometimes have words to label the different parts. We used the comprehension strategy of compare and contrast.

Math - Counting and ordering numbers through 10
We have continued to practice counting sets up to 10 and naming the number that is 1 more or 1 fewer than the set.  We also used manipulatives to show sets that are 2 more or 2 fewer than a given number. Finally we practiced putting the numerals that name these quantities into the correct order from least to greatest.

Religion - God hears my prayers
We spend our religion time this week focusing on prayer, especially praying with the saints.  We discussed Halloween as being the night before All Saints' Day and All Saints' Day being the feast for all the people who are in heaven, but who don't have their own feast days. We prayed the Litany of the Saints and prayed for people in our lives.

Science - Spiders    
We learned many facts about spiders. We learned a rhyme and created a book called Five Hairy Spiders, completed a color by letter picture, created a model of a spider with the help of our 5th grade buddies, and drew a picture of a fact we learned about spiders.

Upcoming Events - Please see Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express   for the most up-to-date information.
Tuesday, November 5 - Meet me at the Pole - at 7:40 a.m. The entire school will gather at the flag pole to pray for our nation.
Wednesday, November 6 - Picture Retake Day - if you wish for your child to have retakes, please send the original photo packet to school on this day. All children should dress in Mass Uniform.
Friday, November 8 - Spirit Day - Corpus Christi Spirit wear shirt or Holy Spirit shirt,  with uniform bottoms.
Saturday, November 9 - Dinner Auction Fiesta
Monday, November 11 - Veteran's Day Assembly at 1:45 in the gym.  Please come join us to honor those who have and are serving our country in the armed forces.