**Our FIELD TRIP to the MAZE LIBRARY is tomorrow-June 6th. We will begin our walk at 12:05 and return by 1:35 pm. If you would like to join us--please do! I think I neglected to choose volunteers.
**Our last day of school is Tuesday, June 7th from 8:00-9:00 am. It is a family hour. We will have a mini breakfast (granola bars, fruit and juice), sign our autograph books, get report cards/summer tips AND kleenex please---LEAP into FIRST GRADE!!! I am going to miss this class!!!
**The report card packet will include xtramath pin numbers and lexia usernames for use over the summer. Check out the cool website on Herman the Worm. It is in your child's Science Journal.
**We had an informative, fun and hot time on our field trip to the Oak Park Conservatory. Our docents, Jean and Karen were absolutely a wealth of knowledge. We toured each plant room and got to touch, smell and observe various plant types. The students loved the desert room fill with many cactus varieties. Sadly, it was too hot to sketch in the desert room. Something to do with your child over the summer! Thanks to D. Donaldson, S. Marko and M. Chlebek for volunteering to walk with us.
**Pizza and Play at Rehm Park was lots of fun! The students had a simply gorgeous day to interact with their peers and families. The pizza was good too! A big thanks to the many volunteers who helped make our day special.
This week: We planted our baby cucumbers and used our red wiggler compost. We will also add 2 tomato plants and some marigolds (to keep away pests). Our science unit on seeds and plants has concluded. We were out and about in our community, visiting the conservatory and park. We are writing thank you notes to individuals who have helped to make a difference in our lives--Reading Grandma Mary, Ms. Applebey, Finn and Sam......
Reading: We continue our review of everything in the area of phonemic awareness and phonics. We continue to work on our reading fluency, practicing our reading with partners, having Ms. Gullo listen to reading, reading aloud in a group and beginning to understand what reading silently means. We read our last two decodable books and did an oral story mapping.
Math: We continue to work in our math journals on addition and subtraction stories. The students read and wrote numbers to 120, 150 and some students read and wrote to 220! More and more the students are using their "heads" to figure out answers to addition and subtraction problems. We experimented with using number model frames.
Writing: The students continue to reflect in their journals. This week, we had journal "free" days where the topic was the students choice. Some of the entries included family, friends, summer vacation activities, movies to be seen, pet adventures. Everyone is now writing in their green journal. This will be their summer home journal. Please encourage your child to write 2-3 times a week about their thoughts or activities. Don't forget to start with a capital letter and have an ending mark. Watch where you place your upper and lowercase letters!!
Science: The students observed and discussed how much water to give a plant and that too much or too little can effect its growth. We looked at different stems and leaves. At the conservatory, we learned that a cactus stem can hold water or moisture inside and some pointed leaves in the rain forest called "drip tip" leaves let the water from the rain drip down to the plants on the bottom of the ground. The students observed their table plants turning toward the sunlight. They had much to reflect in their science journals
Literature: "The Garden Detective," "Fishes," "Who Made Me Jump," "When It's the Last Day of School," "Hooray for the Last Day," "The Ramp," "The Quilt," "Butterflies," "Ms. Bindergarten Celebrates the Last Day of Kindergarten."
