Lovin' the Easy Breezy Weather...

 It is finally Autumn! One of my favorite seasons because that’s when Starbucks bring back the Pumpkin Spice Latte. The weather was absolutely perfect this week especially during recess time. We didn’t have 19 sweaty little kids like we usually do! I changed the “summer” classroom tree this week and surprisingly, no one in class even noticed it until I mentioned it! Last year when I changed it, the following day almost all my students noticed it right away. I like to change the tree every season so it helps the students see how trees change with every season.

We received our new class pet this past Wednesday. He is a little Fire Bellied Toad that likes to eat crickets. We have not yet given him a name yet but we will have him for 2 weeks.

In class this week, we started our unit on matter. We learned the 3 states of matter and categorized them. As a class, we agreed that a solid has a definite shape and size. If we touch it, we cannot put our hands through it. A liquid is something that we can pour and will fill the shape of its container. Lastly, a gas is something that does not have a definite shape or size. We even have our own hand motions to help us remember each state of matter.

Solid=Chấ́t đặc

Liquid=Chất lỏng

Gas=Chất Khí

 We started a new fashion statement with butcher paper and did a lesson with our “3 states of matter outfits.” I showed the kids pictures and they had to go type that picture on the outfits of the appropriate matter it belonged to.

In Vietnamese Language Arts, we have been working on our 6 sight words.

Thây- See

Thích- Like

Thương- Love

Có- Have

Ăn- Eat

Uống- Drink

We practiced writing sentences with our sight words for the first time this week. I gave the kids the options to copy the sentences the class came up with or come up with their own this week. Surprisingly, a lot of them decided to come up with their own which made me really happy to see. The sticker means that they read to me their sentences.

In math this week, we worked on subtraction word problems. We discussed about specific keywords that will help us know if we are adding or subtraction. When we add, our number gets bigger and our picture will build on. When we subtract, our number gets smaller and we cross out. We also circle the numbers we will need to solve the problem.

(Samuel has 17 shirts. Samuel gave Duong 7 shirts. How many shirts does Samuel have left?

(John has 20 oranges. He ate 6 oranges. How many oranges does John have left?)

Silly Quote of the Week:

Me: “What’s something that’s a solid?”

J: (Flexes his biceps and points to his muscles) This is solid. 

I noticed that sometimes some of my Vietnamese accents don't show up so it looks like the word is misspelled or the word looks funky :-/ It might be doing this depending on the internet browser being used. I will try to fix this but bare with me for now please! 

 Lots of new announcements for this month under the "Announcments" page!

Mid-Autumn Festival Week

 Meet our new class pet! His name is Nibbles and he is an outgoing little guinea pig. Nibbles looooves to eat and always comes out to play. He will be going back this upcoming Wednesday and we will be getting a frog next!

In science, we worked on using our 5 senses and science tools. We did a little nature walk and recorded our observations into our science journals. We also worked on a booklet about what we use our 5 senses on.

This week in math, we have been working on representing our word problems with pictures up to 20. This upcoming week, we will continue to work on word problems but with subtraction instead.

We also learned that when we add, the number gets bigger. When we subtract, the number gets smaller.

In my class, you will see a lot of art work. We do a lot of drawing and coloring throughout the year. I think it is so therapeutic. Last year, my class loved all the coloring and drawing we did. This also works on fine motor skills! 

This week was a special week because we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival! This event is one of the big 2 events the Vietnamese Dual Language Program hosts during the school year. In class, we learned about the celebration of this holiday and created lanterns to hang around the school.

I hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the show!

Click here to hear a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival Song!

I apologize…on the monthly calendar in their folders, I messed up their specials schedule. Labor Day threw me off and so the rest of the month got throw off too! Oopsies!!!

Please make sure the kids are bringing a water bottle to school with them that they can take out to recess! Even though we have a morning recess time, it still gets pretty hot and humid out there. We have very little transitioning time between recess to specials that leaves us NO TIME to stop by the water fountain L Also, please make sure the water bottle is labeled so it does not get mixed up with another student by accident.

Silly Quote of the Week:

J: “So...do you want to be the B and I’ll be the F?”

(Bf= best friends)

2nd Week of School

 We made it through the second week of school. The students are slowly getting adjusted to daily school routines. Even though it was only a 4 day week, it was busy, busy, busy! In my class we worked on a tear art project creating their names. This activity really worked on their fine motor skills. These beautiful art works can be seen above our classroom door.

 We received our first classroom pet on Wednesday. It is an albino hedgehog named….drumroll please….SPIKE! Spike is a little shy nocturnal little critter that the students don’t get to see much. Although the kids don’t see him much, they are very fascinated by him. Can you spot him in the above picture? Our next pet will be a gerbil. Mrs. Skalaban has a gerbil right now and it is very active. Can’t wait for it to arrive.

Every morning the kids come in and do their morning routine.

-Unpack backpacks and place them neatly in their cubbies

-Take our their daily folders and place it into the green basket

-Unstack their chair and place it at their tables

-Find their name magnets and do the check-in question

-Sit on their carpet spots and wait for “# of the day”

In science this week, we talked about who is a scientist and what exactly is science? We brainstormed what science is and here are some answers.

-study of volcanoes

- plants and animals

- weather

- storms

-nature
-rocks

After we brainstormed, we recorded this information into our green science journals. I was very impressed with some of their drawings. In class we have been practicing on completing neat and quality work. 

Please make sure you are reading with your child at least 15 minutes each night and completing homework! I will begin the TPRI and DRA testing this upcoming Monday which will determine their beginning of the year reading level.

Silly Quote of the Week:

G: “Cô Tracy, do you have a husband or a son?”

Me: “No I do not…”

G: “Well then, why don’t you just find one?”