Spirit Week Next Week!

• SIGN UP to be a Center Helper or Guest Reader!! If you would like to help out in our classroom, check out the options on the sign up genius! Specific dates and times are given to work with our class calendar in October & November. Please choose one time, and then check back in a few days if you would like to select more dates. This gives all parents a chance to help! :) http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040d49a5ae2da31-october1
• Conference sign ups are open! Conferences will be on October 12th from 8:00am-7:30pm. Please click the link to reserve your spot! https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Redwood_Elementary
• This week in reading, we read stories to answer the question: What makes a good pet? The story Flip was a fantasy about a dinosaur that sneaks into school and makes a huge mess! We went on a word hunt to find words with blends and bonus letters. We continued to work with the words be, come, pull, good. 
• In math, we learned the following strategies: doubles, near doubles, and ten frames. Near doubles is a bit tricky but once understood, can help students add quickly. For example if  3+3=6, then the near double 3+4=7, or 3+3+1 more makes 7. We sang this neat song about doubles... see if your child can remember his or her doubles facts! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jOzhiACB68
• In science, our bean plants are growing tall! We are being great observers and journaling how the beans are changing from seed to plant. Bean plants will come home soon so plant them in soil to be sure they survive with the soil's nutrients. 

Picture Day, W.O.W. Info, & Center Helper Sign Ups

• Picture Day is Wednesday, September 27th. Our class is taking a class picture at 8:45 AM... PLEASE come to school on-time so your child can join us! Remember to send in payment & selected options on the picture form or sign up online.
  
• W.O.W.- Walk on Wednesday is back this year! The children will not be receiving WOW t-shirts this year, however we have fun spirit days to celebrate. Parents/ grandparents/ etc are invited to walk with us on 10/25 @ 9 AM for "Invite a Friend" & Parents are encouraged to observe the whole school on 10/31 for the Halloween Parade
• Week 1 Oct. 4^th – Cleveland Pride, AL Pride, etc (this is Homecoming Week) 9AM
• Week 2 Oct 11^th – Wacky Hats, or just a hat – 9AM 
• Week 3 Oct 18^th – Bright Colors (wear your brightest colors)1:30PM
• Week 4 Oct 25^th – Invite a friend  (this is also 3^rd grade ELA test week)9AM
• Week 5 Oct 31 – Halloween Parade Walk (This is a Tuesday)9AM

• SIGN UP to be a Center Helper or Guest Reader!! If you would like to help out in our classroom, check out the options on the sign up genius! Specific dates and times are given to work with our class calendar in October & November. Please choose one time, and then check back in a few days if you would like to select more dates. This gives all parents a chance to help! :) http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040d49a5ae2da31-october1

Busy Busy Week!

• In reading we continued to work with bonus letters l*,f*,s*,z*. We read Go Pip to learn about making inferences and how clues in the illustrations can help us understand the story better.  Then, we began Week 3's Topic: What makes a pet special? We read Cliff and Slim, a silly story about a cat who has a clumsy pet pig. New high frequency words to know: be, come, good, pull. 
• In phonics, I introduced blends: 2 consonants right next to each other that make 2 individual sounds when tapping out. Examples of blends are: bl (black), cr (crab), dr (drink), sw (swim), sc, fl, sn, and many more. We out the blends into a blender and created a poster together for the classroom. All of the stories we read this week will focus on blends. We mark blends by underlining the 2 consonants, like:
•    s w i m    or    p l a n.
• In math we started topic 2: Adding and Subtracting within 10. Today, we practiced using a number line to "hop" forward and back to find the answer. Friday, we will learn doubles (2+2, 3+3, 5+5)
• A Girl Scout flyer went home Thursday! There is an ice cream social at ALPL September 26th @ 5:30pm for girls that are interested in Girl Scouts .
• An Avon Lake Rec Calendar Came home Thursday too. Look inside for tons of child friendly activities!

Library Field Trip

Part+Part=Whole Addition

• In reading this week, we learned the HF Words: very, down, up, & out. We read Six Chicks and practiced sequencing the story using the transition words first, next, then, last. We learned that bonus letters (double letters) are l,f,s,z and sometimes t; like the words fill*, cliff*, mess*, jazz*. You will notice bonus letters always get a star by their extra letter. The glued sound "all" gets a box around the word like ball and mall. We will be working with bonus letter and glued sounds all year long!
• In math we continued to break apart a whole number to find the missing part. We practiced story problems with putting together, taking away, and comparing. Ask your child what "partner, partner, partner STOP" means! We will review Monday and quiz next week on topic 1 math. ABCya Marble Math is a great way to practice part + part = whole.
• In Social Studies, we began to learn laws vs. rules and the importance of both. Today was Constitution Day and we read a mini book about who created the Constitution, why, and how it is still followed today. 
• In science, we continue to learn about living and nonliving things and their needs.  Next week we have a field trip to ALPL about this topic. 
• A signup genius went out to volunteer for PTA party planning. If you'd like to help with parties, become a PTA member and sign up to help us!
• PTA Membership: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0948afa822a5fe3-head1
• Party Planning: www.redwood-pta-2017.cheddarup.com
• Picture day is September 27th. More info and picture forms will come home next week.
• AL Spirit Wear order forms are due back to school by 9/20.

Nature Hunt with Buddies

Wednesday Buddies with Mrs. Wichman's Class- Living and Non-Living At My School

Week of September 5th

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• AVON LAKE SPIRIT DAY Tomorrow (Friday)! To kick off our football season and show city pride, wear your favorite Avon Lake Spirit Wear tomorrow! If you don't have AL spirit clothes, wear maroon and gold, or any football team colors. 
• Scholastic Book Orders are due in class or online tomorrow (Friday, September 8th). Class code GZDXL. The link to scholastic is also on the left side of blog. 
• If anyone would like to be a chaperone for our library field trip on September 20th from 1:00-2:15, please email me. I can accept the first 5 volunteers! I will email back with confirmation and more information about chaperoning that day.
• This week's High Frequency Words (HFW): what, school, not, does
• Reading: We read the stories  Jack Can, Nat and Sam, and Rules at School. We have been working with word families that have short a sound, such as the -at,-am,-an family. 
• In Math, we continued learning part+part=whole. Then, the students were given a whole, and asked to find the missing part.  Today's math was on comparing how many more items someone has. Please review the math that comes home throughout the week. We will have a small quiz on topic 1 next week. 
• In science, we began learning the difference between living and non-living things. We will dig deeper into the needs of plants and animals next week.
• PTA membership reminders came home today. Signups are online this year with the option to pay at school. Please use the link (click here) to sign up and enter your payment info online or send your money in a marked envelope to school. The class at Redwood that has the most memberships wins a class party!!!
• We started using the class clip it chart this week! A few students have made it to blue for making positive/ kind choices or for setting a good example for others. After blue is purple and then pink. Keep in mind, pink is really hard to accomplish!! Getting to pink in one day means exceptional behavior and the student will earn a jewel!