Week of September 2nd

Happy Friday Pandas!

General Updates:

1. I would love to extend open arms and welcome families into our classroom! This year we will be welcoming families in to be a "mystery guest"! This is a fifteen minute time slot that you are able to sign up for to either be a mystery reader or to teach us about your beautiful cultures! Please note, there are only two adults over the age of 18 allowed into the building for this volunteer opportunity at a time. 

   
   

   Some ideas of things you could share related to your culture (but are not limited to) are: photos (holidays, travels, clothing, etc), videos, music, games, stories, puppet show, art project, etc. You are also welcome to bring in any stories and read them to the class for enjoyment! If you are bringing in books, please bring 2-3 books to share during this time.

   
   

   Cultural connections are totally up to you and what you are comfortable with. We can't wait to welcome you into our classroom this year! If your work schedules are tight and the time slots available do not work for you, please reach out and we are able to plan this over Zoom or you are able to send a video in that we can share with the class!

   
   

   Please only sign up for one slot per family. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out :)

Click Here For Mystery Guest Sign Up

1. Willow Grove is in the process of creating a MakerSpace library. MakerSpace is a place during play where students can explore, design, and create. Students have the freedom to build and construct during our play. We are so excited to bring MakerSpace to our classroom, but we need your help! In order to have a successful MakerSpace for students to use, we are in need of donations year round. If you are able, we would so appreciate any donation you are willing provide. Below is a list of different items we would love to add to Willow Grove's MakerSpace library.

This week in literacy...

• Phonics: This week the students continued learning new sounds! The sounds we learned this week were /r/, /v/, /z/, and /p/. The pandas also did a wonderful job working on rhyming and determining the first sound in a word. The pandas were able to sort pictures based on their beginning/first sound, too!

Sound Collection: /m/, /s/, /l/, /n/, /f/, /r/, /v/, /z/, /p/.

• Reading: We continued our first cycle of literacy: exploring communities. In this cycle learners will understand that people participate in their communities in a variety of ways. This week we read Places in My Neighborhood. This is an informational text that teaches the reader true information. The students were encouraged to share what the main topic of this text was and share how the photographs help us learn even more about the topic. While students read independently, they were asked if their book was literature or informational.

• Writing: Our writing unit continued with pictures. The pandas practiced making a WOW! picture. A WOW! picture is a picture that is sketched in pencil (in case we make mistakes), has multiple colors (at least 5 if your child is 5 years old) and tons of details. This week the pandas learned that adding a label to a picture really makes the reader say, "WOW!" A label is a word that matches a picture. Pandas are encouraged to hear the sounds in the word and write what they hear. A label can even be just the beginning sound.

  
  

This week in math...

• In math we practiced forming numerals 1,2,3,4 and 5. The pandas then learned a new game called, Spill the Beans. In this game, students are given 5 beans. The front side is red and the back side is white. Students must shake the beans and drop them. Then, students count how many beans landed on the red side. There is a matching worksheet to find the matching numeral and trace it. This game encourages counting with 1:1 correspondence and writing numerals!  

Reminders

• Please label your child's snack daily and pack this separate from the lunchbox.

• Water bottles stay in the classroom, if you want your child to have a drink for lunch, please send a separate drink.

• If you would like your child to buy a drink at lunch, please make sure there is money in the account for the lunch card.

• Extra clothes and PE shoes should be labeled and stored in your child's cubby.

• Please see Mrs. Smith's Principal's Message for further information about Willow Grove: principal's message

Upcoming Dates

Friday, September 13th- Erin's Law presentation

Tuesday, September 17th- Early Release

Friday, September 27th- Willow Walk (more information to come)