Sunday, March 24, 2024

Holy Week

 This is Holy Week at BLS, the days we remember what Jesus went through before the cross. At Bible time we will go over the hard times that lead up to the joy of Easter morning. Our Bethlehem Buddies will be in on Tuesday to teach and share their wisdom on what Christ went through for our behalf. We'll practice our Bible verse and the song we're singing for our chapel play in April.

In reading and writing students will learn the digraph 'ch' as we begin to learn more sounds that letters and letter pairs can make. Students will use 'ch' in their writing and reading. New red words are: orange and purple. We'll begin identifying and counting syllables in words. Students will write their final draft of a narrative story. At story time we'll explore other narratives and review story events.

We are having fun combining 3D shapes with position words in math. We'll finish this short module this week just in time for our break. After working on paper, we have treasure hunts in class using position words.

In music our focus will be on learning the play and the song we'll sing for our chapel play. 

We'll get to see our 8th grade reading buddies early in the week before they take off for their trip to D.C. It will be a sweet Easter surprise!

Thursday is a special day devoted to literacy as grades K-2 have their annual Read-In. We will study 'Horton Hears a Who' in story and movie form. We'll make an artifact that fits with the story. Students will practice their listening skills as they hear a story, but don't see the cover or pictures in a book. Then we'll make our own titles and design a suitable front cover. We'll get comfy and cozy with books in our PJs. Students can bring a stuffie and small pillow if they choose.

The Read-In will cap off our four day week. Then we have Good Friday, Easter and Spring Break to enjoy. 

I'm hoping for a little rain, a little sunshine with joy sprinkled of top this week.

Mrs. Luoma


Sunday, March 17, 2024

Fall Fest Fun Day!

Thursday will be a real treat at BLS! The student body earned a whole day of fun activities from meeting one of our big Fall Fest goals. In the morning, we'll doing a wide variety of games and fun activities, and then The Zaniac perform in an assembly at the end of the day.

Our Bible story this week is about the Last Supper, when Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples for the last time. We will practice our March Bible verse and begin practicing for our chapel play which will be on April 24th.

It's and exciting time in kindergarten as we've finished our focus on individual letters and now will begin learning more rules and sounds. This week we'll introduce long vowels and practice understanding open syllable patterns in words. New red words are: they, any. Students will read, write and spell using their new knowledge of open syllables. We'll begin a rough draft writing on a narrative based on the perspective of becoming tiny or giant. At story time, we'll explore narrative stories, noting story sequence and style.

We'll finish up our short module on 3D shapes in math and take a quiz. Our next module is about position words. These tie into geometry and into many other subjects. Students will make life connections on the importance of position words.

In social studies we'll learn more about the types of goods Washington state produces. Students will make a map of our state, noting specific geographical features.

Our time in music will focus on learning a special song for our chapel play and active praise.

If the class works well on following directions, we may be able to have a reward ice cream party on Friday afternoon... I sure hope so!

We're excited to play outside as the weather warms up and feels like Spring. I'm looking forward to a joyful week of learning.

Mrs. Luoma

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Washington State Products

This week in social studies we'll learn facts about our state of Washington. Students will learn the types of good and products our state is known for growing and making. This ties into our study of economics.

Our Bible story will focus on how Jesus entered Jerusalem in preparation for the Passover. This leads into the stories that explain Jesus' going to the cross to pay for our sins. We will practice our March Bible verse and learn a new praise song.

In reading and writing our focus will be on the letters Qq and Zz. Students will learn that 'q' is never alone, but always wants his buddy 'u' by his side. This will finish up our study of the alphabet and set us up for learning long vowel sounds and digraphs. Students will read, and write words that use 'qu' and 'z'. Our new red words are: are, do. At story time we'll consider opinions and give reasons for our opinions. We'll finish up a writing assessment on our opinion of apples or carrots. On Fridays, we're beginning to invite students to read dialog with us as we enjoy characters that talk to each other. 

This week in math, we'll finish up our module on decomposing numbers to 10 and take a test. Next, we'll begin a geometry unit on shapes, starting with 3D shapes.

In music we'll be singing and then playing percussion as we experiment with different tempos. Students will read notes and rests and perform several short songs together.

On the iPads, we'll support our learning by playing red word games.

Mrs. DeGraaf will teach us about 3D art with a project inspired by the Northwest artist, Dale Chihuly.

We're looking forward to a good week of learning!

Mrs. Luoma



Sunday, March 3, 2024

Wants and Needs

This week we'll begin a new social studies unit on economics. We'll kick it off with defining wants and needs. Students are usually quick to understand the difference. It's a great time to tie in how Jesus knows our needs and generously gives us what we truly need.

Our Bible story is about how Jesus fed the crowd of 5000 by performing miracles. Students will see it's also about how we can trust Jesus to solve our problems. We'll begin practicing our March Bible verse using ASL signs.

We'll focus on two letters this week: Vv and Xx. Students will use them in words and sentences as they read and write daily. New red words are: give, my. As we move into the third trimester, we'll start off with writing an opinion piece. Students will fill out a graphic organizer this week. We'll be challenging students to write more independently in preparation for first grade. At story time, we'll enjoy serval new books from the recent book fair. It's always a blessing to receive new books for our class!

In math we'll finish our module on decomposing numbers to 10 using many different groupings. We are challenging students to understand equations written in different ways by flipping the equal sign or solving for a specific group.

Students will practice identifying musical instruments by listening to famous solo pieces in music. We also always spend time praising God through song.

We'll be working on projects to decorate our classroom for March and the coming of spring. 

I hope the sunshine comes out for recess!

Mrs. Luoma

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Celebrating Family

This Friday our students will be enjoying the morning with a Grandparent, family member or special adult friend. It's all about celebrating special family relationships and friends who are like family. Students will do activities to get to know their Grand-friend better. We hope this makes our students appreciate their family more and learn more about them.

This week in kindergarten we'll learn about the power of Jesus as He calmed the storm. We'll discuss how Jesus invites us to trust Him fully. Our Bethlehem Buddies will visit on Tuesday morning and share their wisdom on the story.

In reading and writing our focus will be on the letter Yy. Students will read, write and spell words that have a 'y'. We'll discuss how 'y' can act as a vowel and say many sounds. New red words are: now, new. We'll add to our poetry writing from last week. At story time, we'll review story events and details. We'll practice when to use different end marks. On Tuesday, we'll read a Mo Willems book and then add an art lesson on drawing the character, Pigeon.

We didn't move as fast as I'd anticipated last week in math, so we'll circle back with a review on Module 12 and take the test on Monday. Next, we'll begin to decompose numbers to 10, learning how to use different groupings to make a number.

Students will begin the last lesson on designing systems in science. We will design and test different combinations of creating a force that causes motion. I bet we'll come up with some great designs!

In music we'll review the different instrument groups and try to identify them as we listen to classical music.

Students will get to visit the Scholastic Book Fair in our library on Tuesday morning with their 8th grade reading partners. Our 8th graders will fill out a wish list for each student. If you want to send money in, come in with your child or give the list to your Grand-friend, this will help you find the books your child is interested in.

It will be a good week of learning and special events,

Mrs. Luoma


 

Monday, February 19, 2024

LEST...Wow!

 I had a great time at LEST! A couple of our kindergarten students got to go and cheer on their siblings and cousins, and it was great to see them wide-eyed and excited at all the competitions. I'm excited to for the future thinking about this class competing when they're in 5th through 8th grades. I already know some will be good athletes, some will excel in the arts and many will find the academic competitions fun. It's a wonderful experience to meet and compete against students from other Lutheran schools across the Northwest. It is character building to be a good sport when winning and losing. I hope all catch the joy of challenging themselves and encouraging others.

This week in our study of God's Word we'll discuss the 'I Am' statements of Jesus. We'll talk about how Jesus often used word pictures and comparisons to help people understand deeply. Students will practice our February Bible verse and we'll sing praise songs.

In reading and writing the focus will be on the letter Ww and poetry writing. Our new red words are: into and my. Students will read, write and spell using the letter 'w'. We will create a rhyming poem and discuss the many different types of poetry. At story time we'll review story elements and work on inferences.

We are working hard in math to finish our chapter on addition and subtraction to 10. Students are listening to word problems and writing accurate equations to solve for specific groups. On Tuesday, we'll check our fluency with problems from 0-5. If we stay on track, we'll be able to take our test on Friday!

Students will exploring the motions of twist and spin as we build tops in science. We'll apply our knowledge of forces and motion to describe these new systems.

In music, we'll begin learning about the different instrument groups and try to identify them when we listen to music.

Mrs. DeGraaf will have a fun art project for us on Friday. Check out our cute birds in the hallway from last week. We learned how to mix secondary colors using the three primary colors.

It's fun to see all the books our kids can read on Epic now. This online library is a great companion to our BLS library. It's good to give our students exposure to both online reading and reading real books.

I'll be finishing up all the 1:1 assessments needed to start report cards for the second trimester. It's really exciting to see all the ways our students are growing.

It's a four day week, but I'm ready to go. I've missed everyone and am excited to finish up the trimester in good form.

Mrs. Luoma

Sunday, February 11, 2024

A Big, Big, Little Week!

We'll see you at school for only three days this week, but boy, oh boy will they be big days! 

On Monday we'll begin the day with an assembly where the Tri-City Americans will play floor hockey with our 4th graders (top earning Fall Fest class). There will be time for each grade to ask a question about hockey to the team. Then we'll return to class to move into Day 100! This is a big day for kindergarten where we will do activities throughout the day based on the number 100. We'll be counting and writing a lot and have several fun surprises!?!

On Tuesday we'll practice reading and writing skills during morning center time. At math we'll continue to finish up any Day 100 projects. We'll be packing up early to get ready for the LEST Preview assembly at the end of the day. Our students will get to hear some of our musicians, see the dance team and meet the other teams competing at LEST. We hope it inspires them to join the competitive fun when they are in 5th-8th grade at BLS.

Wednesday, we'll have a chapel message from Pastor Josh and then a Valentine story in class. After recess we'll have a Valentine's Day party and go home early as it's an early release day.

Lots of learning, lots of fun all packed into a tiny package! I can't wait!

Mrs. Luoma