Advent is Coming!

This is an exciting time of year... we just had a good break for Thanksgiving and soon we'll be counting down the days and weeks until Christmas! It's a busy and happy time, it's also a time to be thankful for the best gift of all, the birth of Christ.

In Bible we'll begin learning about Zachariah and Elizabeth and Jesus' cousin, John. Our Bethlehem Buddies will open the story for us on Tuesday. This will be the last week to say our November Bible verse. Next week we'll start learning our December verse.

This week in reading and writing we'll focus on the letter Pp. We'll add it to our reading and dictation practice. Students will begin practice writing their first and last names. At story time we'll practice identifying the problem and solution in a narrative text. Students will learn what rolls the author and illustrator play in writing. At centers, we'll practice identifying vowel sounds and the beginning, middle and end sounds in a three letter word.

In math we'll take a few days to dig deeper into the understanding of addition and subtraction by using pictures to find a missing group. This will help prepare our students for what's ahead in first grade. Next, we'll begin learning about number groups from 6-10.

We are diligently preparing for music our Christmas music program by incorporating practice into  worship times and any extra time we get throughout the week. Students also learn the elements of music and how to apply them in our music lesson each week. Mrs. Arnold is great at helping us to enjoy music and beat, especially as we worship.

In art we'll start decorating the classroom for Christmas! Students will design Christmas trees and make beautiful wreaths.

For social studies, students will learn more about the Yakima tribal nation. We'll learn more about their culture and make a poster on the specifics. We'll hear a legend and discuss oral story telling.

We'll do a fun science experiment that uses evaporation to separate salt from water. Students will see how processes of  separation help in recycling.

It will be busy and fun as we learn together. We've missed our class and we're excited to start a good, full week.

Mrs. Luoma