Tuesday, 9/20/17

This morning, the Chicken Group began the day with a review of the special sounds they learned last week. They will be working on this special sounds chart for the next few days. This will help them to sound out words as they come to them in their reading. The kids did a great job sounding out words quickly today and will be working more with the new special sounds at home tomorrow. This group will also be beginning a new spelling list. We will play some fun review games of the list on Thursday!

The Guinea Group spent their morning learning their new spelling list for the week. We went through the phonics rules in each word, writing them on whiteboards as we moved along down the list. The class then continue their work on the poem, The Dual. They are making popsicle stick puppets that they will use in their recitation video.  I can't wait... it's going to be adorable!

Each group worked on their vocabulary lists in the Wordly Wise books. Mr. Jim discussed the questions that the students completed at home, making changes as needed.  They have done an excellent job with these lists!  

Each child is working at their own pace and handwriting. With such small groups they are getting some one on one time!

In history, the class reviewed what they learned in the first chapter of the Story of the World. They have learned a lot about Rome, already! Mr. Jim helped the kids to deeper into the Roman Empire. The class completed a map exercise to help them get a better idea of where these stories are taking place. He will be integrating the history lessons into writing class as the students take their own magic carpet rides through history.

In grammar, the Cow Group learned more about linking verbs. They worked to make their own sentences using nouns, linking verbs, and adjectives. We also reviewed the definitions of a noun, verb, pronoun, and reviewed common and proper nouns.

The Horse Group has been learning correct ways to form plural nouns. We have spent the last few days talking about when to use "s", when to add "es", when to change a "y" to an "i" and add "es", and when to leave a "y" alone and just add "s"! We also talked about common and proper nouns today. The class did a relay race, placing nouns into the correct bucket before racing back to tag the next student in line. Finally, we touched on pronouns, and we will be memorizing the list of pronouns beginning tomorrow.

The class spent time reading out loud with Mr. Jim. They absolutely love this time where they can share parts of books with each other! It's not only good for reading fluency, but it is also excellent for building listening skills as well.  The class finished designing their magic carpets today, as well. These will be used in Thursday's writing class as they begin their journey!

After math independent study time, the students began this week's science class. We finished our Sun, Earth, and Moon projects. These really help to them understand how the different orbits work simultaneously. After a review of how the earth experiences seasons, we began to dive into the earth itself, discussing its layers. We will learn more about this at home and will further explore this in next week's science class.

Keep up the good work at home! The only way to make a hybrid class work is to make each and every weekday a true day of learning. I will be continuing to encourage the children to take ownership of their learning, and parents, please let me know if I can help with any at-home assignment issues!