* Note- anything underlined in the table above or highlighted below is a link *
Key to Abbreviations:
GP- The Gospel Project- Home Edition
HIG- Singapore Math Home Instructor's Guide
TB- Singapore Math Textbook
WB- Singapore Math Workbook
MM- Mental Math (see appendix in HIG)
AAS- All About Spelling
FLL- First Language Lessons
SF- Sounds First Phonemic Awareness Program (click here and scroll down to Grade 1)
OPG- The Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading
SotW- Story of the World
G&B/A- The Good and The Beautiful, Arthropods
G&B/MB- The Good and The Beautiful, Marine Biology
COMING SOON...
Tuesday, August 24- Co-teacher Training (optional) @ 9am; Topic this month is geared toward new families
Thursday, August 26- Spirit Day & Pizza Day & DOGS Day- Students may wear Fortis spirit shirts with jeans or jean shorts. Pre-paid pizza lunch will be served (contact Sheryl Johnston if you need to pay for pizza). DOGS (Dads of Great Students) will hold a special Morning Assembly!
Monday August 30- Fortis Open House @ 6-7pm
Tuesday, August 31- Grammar Play Date @ 3pm
Tuesday, September 7- No School- Labor Day holiday
Tuesday, September 21- Picture Day
Hello Parents!
"A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son brings grief to his mother." -Prov. 10:1
We're making steady progress on filling up our Joy Jar! Some instances that brought me (and Jesus!) joy this week: A student used creativity to fix a broken captain's wheel on the playground equipment. All of the students were working so well together, encouraging each other and staying on task. A student obeyed my request the first time I asked. I can't wait to see what's going to happen when the jar is all the way full...
While most of our work is kindergarten review at this point, we are starting to get into more "meaty" topics. I pray you and your student are enjoying the process together! We have some fun and interactive lessons coming up this week that I'm excited to share with the children.
A Note on Absences:
We all know and expect that absences will occur at times. When your child stays home from school, you should consult the blog for the assignments that we will be covering in school that day and go ahead and do those at home with them. If your child misses on the day of a Spelling Assessment, give them the test in their journal and send me a photo. If they miss on a day when I'm giving a different assessment, I'll be in touch with you on instructions for that. Of course, if you or they are feeling too ill to accomplish the tasks for the day, you can work on them when you/they are feeling up to it.
Math:
Math:
Use any extra time this week to really work with the number bonds we've covered, especially parts of 10. Use a 10 frame and counters to help students see the relationships until they become automatic. Ask them real-world application questions throughout the day, such as: "You've got 4 stuffies on your bed; how many more to make 10?" Students will be utilizing this rapid recall in order to master quickly-approaching mental math strategies. Here is a fun video and song to practice "friends of 10." These number bond flash cards may also be helpful. The games on pg 23 of the Textbook are great to replay often if your child needs more concrete practice. Continue this type of practice as we move on through our math lessons. Students will need to build on this basic concept throughout the year.
Roll a Die Number Bonds game instructions: Roll a die, then say the number that makes ten with the number rolled. For example, if a 6 was rolled on the die, your student would say "4." If a 2 was rolled, your student would say "8."
Reading:
Sounds First: This week in Cut Off the Sound, instead of making the initial sound and then making the scissor motion to cut it off from the rest of the word, the students will actually delete the first sound in the word.
Remember, phonics understanding is important even for children who already read fluently! In most of the text they encounter now, the ideas are familiar to them. That won't always be the case, and they will need these tools to decode unfamiliar words in unfamiliar contexts.
Read Aloud:
It's important that the required reading is an enjoyable part of your student's homeschool day. You will mostly be reading "Little Bear" to your child, as there are many words the students have not yet been taught to decode. However, I encourage you to work as a team and ask your child to read words they can decode (for example: made, it, on, hat, pants, can, and, not, that) as well as sight words (the, I, a, of, have, give, to, two, too) while you read the remaining words. I know you will both love Little Bear!
Writing:
It's important that the required reading is an enjoyable part of your student's homeschool day. You will mostly be reading "Little Bear" to your child, as there are many words the students have not yet been taught to decode. However, I encourage you to work as a team and ask your child to read words they can decode (for example: made, it, on, hat, pants, can, and, not, that) as well as sight words (the, I, a, of, have, give, to, two, too) while you read the remaining words. I know you will both love Little Bear!
Writing:
At home, please help your child to make proper strokes (see handout in Language Arts tab of binder) and correct pencil grip (see below) into a habit. It's important to correct any poor habits before they become too ingrained. This will greatly improve efficiency in their writing, and writing will become more enjoyable instead of a daunting chore.
If your child is struggling with holding their pencil correctly or maintaining control of it, check out the tips at this link. I also have many fun fine motor activites to suggest to strengthen those handwriting muscles.
Grammar:
Grammar:
Who knew "people" nouns could be so fun?! The children were very creative in our game of charades! This week we will concentrate on the difference between common and proper nouns.
Spelling:
Any time the blog directs you to dictate words or sentences in the Spelling Journal, those are words or sentences the students should be writing without help or coaching. If there are mistakes, please don't erase, but instead have your student rewrite the word correctly underneath or in a different color after you have reinforced the concept. Please check dictation work done in class for accuracy as well.
Spelling:
Any time the blog directs you to dictate words or sentences in the Spelling Journal, those are words or sentences the students should be writing without help or coaching. If there are mistakes, please don't erase, but instead have your student rewrite the word correctly underneath or in a different color after you have reinforced the concept. Please check dictation work done in class for accuracy as well.
Geography:
Map & Song and Game to help learn Continents and Oceans (due 9/9)
History:
Map & Song and Game to help learn Continents and Oceans (due 9/9)
History:
This week you'll read about mummies and embalming in ancient Egypt. Some of the descriptions are quite detailed; I know my squeamish 15-year-old would be uncomfortable hearing them! Feel free to use your discretion to edit as you deem appropriate.
Chapter 4 journal entry: Egyptians made mummies and pyramids.
Science:
Science:
Now that we have a good background knowledge of insects in general, we get to explore some specific ones in detail. On a personal note, growing up in the desert, I had always dreamed of seeing a real firefly. Not until we moved to Texas did that bucket-list item come true for me! It was truly magical. I'm excited to share about fireflies with the children, and to remind them that we, too, are beautiful lights for Christ in this world! I leave the mosquito and it's spiritual application to you, my dear co-teachers.
I've listed Lesson and page numbers for both the newer and older versions of the textbook, so be sure to look for the one that pertains to you. If you purchased the book new this year, you have the newer version. If you purchased/borrowed a used copy or reused the book from a previous year, you have the older version.
