February Newsletter

Valentine’s Day is around the corner! You will be getting more information about card exchanges in our classes.

Phonics:Early in the month, we will be wrapping up instruction on the short medial vowels found in CVC words. The students will be building and reading words that belong to all sorts of short u word families. Then, we will move onto learning all about “magic e” and how its sneaky powers allow the long vowel to say their own name.

Sight Words:Keep practicing these words with your children. Continual sight word practice will increase recognition of these words and enhance reading and writing abilities.

Reading Workshop:Now that we are nearing the end of our nonfiction unit, we will be touching more upon ways of decoding tougher words in all sorts of fiction and nonfiction texts. Much of our new focus will be directed toward comprehension both literally and using critical thinking. It is important for children to be able to think outside the box about characters, settings, plots, information, and make connections to the stories.

Writing Workshop:Reading and writing workshop go hand in hand! In the previous month, the students have explored a variety of informational texts to learn the difference between fiction and nonfiction, acquire knowledge about text features and their purpose, and get a sense for the factual style of writing. Now, it is time to take everything they have learned about nonfiction and generate informational chapter books about topics they know a great deal about!

Mathematics:The children will be practicing addition and subtraction operations cohesively. They will learn about fact families, the concept of equal versus not equal, and keywords that signal addition or subtraction in word problems. Continue to practice addition and subtraction facts and strategies at home to make way for a smooth transition into this chapter.

Science:This month, we will be focusing on the topics of forces, energy, magnets, and light. Toward the end of the month, ask your child to tell you about the STEAM activity that has to do with light!

Social Studies:International Day is around the corner! The children will be traveling around to different classrooms to learn about countries around the world and specific customs and traditions that make them unique.

There are many holidays in the month of February. Groundhog Day traditions will be discussed, cross-curricular Valentine’s Day activities will be completed, and students will gain more insight as to why Presidents’ Day is such an important national holiday and who we honor on this day. During the month, we will reach our 100th day of school. Stay tuned, your children will have a lot to talk about regarding this fun day in our classrooms!

Health:February is Dental Health Month. The students will be learning about their teeth and how to keep them clean and healthy each day. Attached you will find fun ways to practice dental health at home.

Punctuation Song

I am a period, I look just like a dot. Every time you see me, you must stop, stop, stop.

I am a question mark, you might ask me why? Every time you see me, your voice will go up high.

I am a comma, I look just like a hook. Every time you see me, slow down and take a look.

I’m an exclamation point, I’m full of surprise! Every time you see me, widen up your eyes!

We are “quotation marks”, we come in groups of two. Every time you see us, “talking” is what we do.

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In the Car Activities Please take advantage of the time you spend

with your little ones in the car!

Generate rhyming words

Read street signs & billboards

A -Z: Find signs for each letter in alphabetic order!

Vowel Search in spoken & printed words

Count the syllables in spoken & printed words

Find shapes on billboards (2D & 3D)

Name the different types of clouds in the sky

Count the change in your mom’s purse or dad’s pocket

Mental Math: add & subtract up to three numbers in your head

Think of a number: what’s 1 more than the number? One less? Ten more? Ten less?

Make up addition & subtraction story problems

Count backwards from 20, 7, 13, etc.

List the four problems of different fact families

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Count to 100 by 1s, 2s, 5s, & 10s

Odd or Even? Look for license plates & addresses

Count a specific color of car during a drive

How much did gas cost a fill up? Make change from $100

Look around for symmetrical objects

Guess My Number Game: Let your child think of a number between a stated range of numbers. You try to guess the number by asking questions. Change places!

Make a paper plate clock & ask your child to show you the same time displayed on the dashboard or a made-up time

Retell a favorite story. Make sure to include the beginning, middle and end!

Play I Spy with shapes, colors or size

Share the plot, setting and characters of a movie you’ve recently seen

Use your imagination to make up a story

And many, many more! Be creative & have fun!

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