Our USM Community

A totally new experience for SK children is French class. The teacher met each child at the door and taught them the customary greeting, Bonjour Madame Dupee. The children were thrilled
by the request.

We are beginning to explore both class and community routines this week. Our weekly schedule has been posted for you enjoyment. Frequently the children settle into an activity before our formal day begins. This week the children explored sorting coins, including pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. An important component that has been added to our day is Morning Message. The children are counting the number of words, capital letters, syllables, and punctuation to each daily message. Come see the process in action when you drop your child off some morning.
The journal entries written by the children this week focused on something they would like to learn in SK and the second, about an insect adventure. They enjoyed sharing their written work with one another.

Our first printing lesson focused on stokes that didn't look like printing at all. The second lesson gave terrific hints on how to print your name the Zanner-Blozer way. The children had great fun learning that the most important rule in printing is that all letters start at the top, a phrase I repeat often during the first several weeks of school!

Please share the blog with your child and certainly encourage them to talk about the pictures that are available to you by clicking on the blog link The math pictures should generate a conversation about longer, shorter, or equal objects. Please share the pre-decodable books with your child and keep them in the book box that your is bringing home today. The first two books are wordless and are meant to general conversations about the stories. Decodable books are meant to encourage a dialog, sequence the story, development of phonemic awareness skills, and introduce sight words to your child in an interesting manner.

Alert, the boys and girls were able to see a caterpillar actually turn into a chrysalis today! What an exciting experience for the children. We also received a new brood of tiny caterpillars through the mail, thanks to Monarch Watch; thus our insect study truly begins.

As the week comes to an end, I would like to give a big thanks to Liza's mom, Amy Damon, for being our Room Sponsor. She has already introduced herself to you through a welcoming letter, organized car circle sign-up, and sent the the volunteer field trip schedule home for you to make your selections for various classroom events.

In closing, the children are eager to learn and we are off to a terrific school year. Have a safe and relaxing long weekend! See you Tuesday! Patti