Saturday, April 11, 2026

April 13-17th 2026

 Hello!

We have been having fun adding to our Kapok tree all week. We have been learning about the animals of the Amazon Rainforest. 

This week, we will make a project that shows the layers of the rainforest and the students will learn which animals live in which layer.

FYI:
  • Monday- BMX bike show! I honestly do not know what to expect but it sounds cool!
  • THURSDAY- is a Shaker Lane Spirit Day: Time to Play Day! Students are invited to bring in a toy/game from home to play with during choice time- it should not be electronic.
  • We filled our heart ❤ jar! The students voted for a PJ & Stuffy Day (with movie and popcorn๐Ÿ˜†). This will be on Friday.
  • I still need THIS form filled out for our field trip info. If you haven't, please do! The kitchen will need to plan well in advance for what lunches to order/prepare. THX!๐Ÿ˜„
  • HERE is the link of important end of the year events!

This week, the children will be...
Language Arts-
  • practicing sight words, especially: look , was
  • reading "rainforest sentences"
  • spelling/reading words with digraphs (sh, th, ch, ck and wh) and short vowels
  • sequencing the beautifully illustrated
    story The Umbrella by Jan Brett
  • Begin the next art in Wit and Wisdom: Australia & South America
  • continue to learn how to expand a sentence
Math-
  • practicing composing/decomposing teen numbers
  • writing teen numbers and matching the written number to a quantity 
  • counting with 1:1 correspondence 
  • sequencing numbers to 100 (challenge!)
  • skip counting by 10s
Science-
  • learning about the importance of the Amazon rainforest and all the resources it provides
Social Studies-
  • learning about some customs and the geography of Australia and South America.
Here are some pictures from this past week:)

Our Bulletin Board



Thank you to Mrs. Alla for being
our Mystery Reader!

Making our own Kapok Tree







Our Amazing Mrs. DiNoia!

Choice Time






Saturday, April 4, 2026

April 6-10th Rainforests Week 2!

 

Hello Families!

We had a busy week with our intro to rainforest theme and learning about Africa and Antarctica. We had a trip to the Imagatorium and an amazing whole school assembly (thank you PTA!) that kept the students actively engaged for almost an hour! They heard traditional music from Africa played by a very talented group called Crocodile River.

Some things to remember:

The next few weeks the children will:
Language Arts-
  • practice the trick words: or, for and look
  • continue reading and spelling words with digraphs

  • read this book in Wit and Wisdom: 

  • practice syllable sorting
  • practice ABC order
  • listening to a short reading and then answering comprehension questions about what they heard
  • Read "rainforest" sentences that practice trick words and digraphs (and short vowels)
  • contribute to a discussion about the book The Great Kapok Tree

  • write an opinion on what they would do if they were the boy in the story
  • learn a song about the layers of the rainforest
  • label parts of the rainforest
In Math-
  • begin the next unit on teen numbers
  • compose/decompose numbers 10-20
  • practice skip counting by 10
  • practice adding to 10
  • use a 0-20 number line 
  • practice counting strategies
  • review shapes
We did not get the chance to go outside for science last week so I am hoping to do so this week! 

Here are a few pictures from last week!
Imagatorium










Using shapes to make jungle animals (trace, cut and glue!)







Using shapes to make pictures








Our AMAZING assembly: Crocodile River

Practicing those digraphs and other word work!





Observing our guppies and tadpoles and rainforest play