*Focus Letters  -  Aa, Cc, Mm, Gg, Hh    Please have you child practice writing these letters.  Remember to start at the top.  What sounds do these letters make?  Can you think of some words that start with these letters?  
*Focus Numbers  -  0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10  Please help your child practice identifying, writing, and showing the 1-1 corespondence of these numbers.  
*Number Words  -  zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
*Superkids' Focus Words  -  instructions, adjust, imagine, pretend, inspiration
*Aa is for our Superkid, Adam.  What does Adam like to do?  (go on adventures)  What grade are all of the Superkids in?  (kindergarten - they are 5 or 6 years old)  How does Adam go on his adventures?  (Adam relaxes in his backyard and pretends to go on his adventures to far away places.  He uses his imagination and he uses the animals and nature around him as inspiration)
*Where would you want to go on an adventure?  Who would you want to go with you on your adventure?
*Adam is teaching us that we all can have different likes and dislikes.  What are some kinds of things that you like or dislike?  What are some of the reasons that you like or dislike the things?  What are some things that others around you like or dislike?  Is it okay to like and dislike different things than your classmates, or your family?  
*The letter Aa has a few sounds that we can hear.  Practice saying and listening for the strong, short a /a/ sound like you hear at the beginning of the words - add, active, alligator, astronaut, after, Adam. 
*In the Superkids curriculum, the short vowel sounds are taught before the long vowel sounds.  This is because the phonemic sounds and spelling of these sounds is much easier/simpler than the spelling of words with long vowels.  Long vowel words often have a lot more tricky rules to follow.  I will introduce the long vowel sounds too, but we will primarily focus on the short vowel sounds and words in kindergarten.
*We enjoyed listening to the book, The Fort by Laura Perdew.  ​The two ​characters of the book, both were children who wanted to play in the same fort.  But, they did not want to play what the other was playing.  The boy, who was dressed up like a prince wanted the fort to be a ​castle.  The girl who dressed up like a pirate wanted the fort to be a pirate ship.  ​Can the pirate and the prince learn to share?  ​Yes, they were able to share.  They decided to play something completely new and play together.  That was their solution.  Did their solution work?  Yes, it did!  They decided to turn the fort into an imaginary space ship and blast off into space as astronauts.  
*In honor of our Superkid, Cass and Johnny Appleseed, we made and enjoyed eating a special treat.  ​Did you enjoy the apple pie in a cup?  What were the ingredients that we used?  What were the steps - ​first, second, third, and last?  Did you like the special treat?
*On Tuesday, we met our ​6th grade mass buddies.  ​What is your mass buddies name?  

*Focus Letters  -  Ee, Ff, Gg, Mm, Cc
*Focus Numbers  -  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.  Please help your child practice identifying, writing, and showing the  1-1 corespondence of these numbers.  Remind you child to start at the top when writing their numbers and letters. 
*Focus Math Vocabulary Words  -  fewer, less, fewest, more, most, one, two, three, four, five
*Focus Superkids' Vocabulary Words  -  masterpiece, cobbler, Cass, cook, create, favorite, select
*Focus Sentences  -  Cass likes to cook.   Mya likes to make things.
*Number 0 Poem  -  Around and around just like an O, that's how we make the number ZERO!
*Number 1 Poem  -  Straight line down, and now we're done, that's how you make the number ONE!
*Number 2 Poem  -  Around and back on the railroad track, TWO, TWO!
*Number 3 Poem  -  Around the tree, around the tree, that's how you make the number THREE!
*Number 4  Poem -  Down and over, and down some more, that's how you make the number FOUR!
*Number 5 Poem  -  Down and around and then we stop, we finish five with a line on top!  or  Little line down, BIG belly, and a hat on top!
*Number 6 Poem  -  Make a curve and then a loop, there are no tricks, we've made a SIX!
*Number 7 Poem  -  Across the sky and down from heaven, that's how you make the number SEVEN!
*Number 8 Poem  -  Make an S but don't you wait, go back up and close the gate.  EIGHT!
*Number 9 Poem  -  Make a loop and then a line, that's how you make the number NINE!
*Telling sentences tell us information or something.  All telling sentences end with a period.  Can you think of a telling sentence?  Examples  -  I like the color blue.  I like school.  I can run fast.  
*We read the folktale, The Elves and the Shoemaker.  Our Superkid, Mya love to make things.  The Shoemaker also likes to make things.  A shoemaker is a person who uses tools and makes shoes by hand.
*A folktale is a fictional, made up story that has been told for many, many years by lots of different people. Folktales often take place in the past and the characters in the story are usually humans.  Usually folktales teach us something or helps us learn how to live our lives better.  
*Who is our second Superkid?  We met Cass this week.  What does Cass like to make?  Cass like to cook with her Dad and her cat, Coconut.  
*What are some words that start with the hard Cc c/k/ sound?  Cass, Coconut the cat, crackers, cream cheese, cucumbers, corn, carrots, cupcakes, cocoa,....  
*We are practicing listening for details in stories and songs.  What are some details that we learned about Cass?
*We colored a thank you note for the Friars in honor of Priesthood Sunday   - Fr. Michael, Fr. Theo, Fr. Martin, Fr. Raymond, and Fr. Mark - thank you for all that you do for St Paul School and St Paul Church.
*Our class did an amazing job sharing their All About Me Bags!

*Focus Letters  -  Aa, Bb, Cc, Mm
*Focus Numbers  -  1, 2, 3
*Focus Letter Mm Vocabulary Words  -  Mya, mouse, moose, markers, macaroni, mug, monsters, makes, moon, marbles, measuring tape, mirror, model
*Focus Vocabulary Words  -  favorite, kindness, celebrate, create
*Can you sing our rhyming song to your parents?  Hat, bat.  They both say -at.  Hat and bat, rhyme (clap). Try a tricky rhyme with the words back & sack.  Can you challenge yourself and come up with some of your own rhyming words?  Feel free to use "nonsense" words like Dr. Seuss.
*In math, we are comparing groups of items and determining which group has more, which group has less/fewer, or are the groups equal.     
*Try this at home too.  Can you identify groups of items with the same number of objects?  Can you make groups with as many objects as the given group?  Can you make groups with less/fewer objects than the given group?  Can you make groups with more objects than the given group?
*This week we met our first Superkid.  Who is our first Superkid?  (Mya)  What does Mya like to do?  (make things, especially art projects)  What letter does Mya begin with?   What sound does the letter Mm make? How do you move your lips when you make the Mm/m/ sound?  Can you think of some words that start with the letter Mm?  
*Can you answer this riddle?  I start with the letter m and the m/m/ sound.   I am soft and white.  I taste sweet.  Mya used some of these to make some mini animals with.  What am I?  (marshmallows)
*We are talking about our favorite things.  We are working on an All About Me craft with lots of our favorite things. 
*In honor of National Talk Like a Pirate Day, we read the book, There Was An Old Pirate Who Swallowed A Fish by Jennifer Ward.  It is a silly book that has lots of rhyming words.  Our favorite part of the book was when the pirate would say, ​"Blimey!  But that fish was slimy!"  Our class Pirate puppet help us learn a few Pirate words.  Ask your child to share them with you.

*Focus Letters  -  Aa, Bb
*We celebrated Mother Mary's birthday on Tuesday.  Who is Mary?  Why is she so special to us?  Can we talk and pray to Mary anytime that we want?  Mary our Heavenly Mother who is always looking out for us and who is always there for us. 
*Please share your Let's Find Out Booklet.  What is our number 1 rule in kindergarten?  We have fun and learn while being kind and safe!
*What is a friend?  What does it mean to be a good friend?  We focused on the words kind, welome, safe and sharing.
*We read some story books about being a good friend, being kind, welcoming other, and using good manners.
*Ask your child about the book, Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg.  It is an amazing, funny book that kept us all laughing and smiling when we saw all of the oops turn into masterpieces.  Some examples are:  a torn piece of paper can become an alligator, a spill of grape juice can become lots of possibilities and maybe an elephant, a bent corner of a piece of paper can turn into a family of penguins,....   The possibilities are endless....
*I share with your children everyday that it is okay to make oopsie dupsies (the term that I use for mistakes) because that is how we learn and grown.  That is why we are in school, in kindergarten!
*What are the parts of a book?  Show your parents the front and back covers, the title.  Who are the author, and the illustrator,....  What do authors and illustrators do?
*We are doing some directed drawing.  We are practicing drawing lines and shapes by using the proper handwriting strokes.  Can you practice writing a straight line going from left to right?  Can you make a rainbow line?  Can you make a slanted (diagonal line) from top to bottom?  Try turning these lines into a flower or a person, or something else.
*In math, we are sorting items into groups or categories.  Groups that are the same, alike, and different. We are also learning to sort by size, shape, and color.  We are looking at the likeness or attributes of each item.  Practice doing this at home too by using various toys, or things that you can find around your house.  Have your child practice using their words to tell you what they are doing.
*We read the fable of The Lion and the Mouse.  A fable is a short story in which the characters are often animals.  Sometimes the animals even talk!  Fables often teach a life lesson or give a reminder.  We are making connections and building background - with themes such as - the importance of doing your best, telling the truth, or being a good friend.
*Can you share the nursery rhyme, Hey Diddle Diddle with your parents?  Nursery rhymes are short poems that can be sung or read aloud.  They are great for helping young learners hear and recognize rhyming words.  
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*Our class did a wonderful job with our first full week of school!
*We enjoyed listening to the book, Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan Higgins.  Why did Penelope Rex want to eat her classmates?  At the end of the book, do you think Penelope Rex was being a kind friend?
*We also enjoyed listening to the book, We Don't Lose Our Class Goldfish by Ryan Higgins.  How do you think Penelope Rex was feeling after she lost the class goldfish, Walter?  
*How many letters do you have in your first name?  We made a rocket name craft.  We are blasting off into a great school year!
*In our first Superkids' skills book, we are practicing sorting by groups or categories.  Which of these items belong in the same group?  What name would you give this group?  Example -  pencils, erasers, a bed, crayons, scissors, a tree.  The category/group could be named - tools that we use at school.  The items that do not belong would be a bed and a tree.  
*Help your child sort some items at home too.  What name would you give the group?  What would be in the group?
*We will be practicing patterns all year.  This week we learned about AB and AAB patterns.  An example of an AB pattern is - crayon, pencil, crayon, pencil, crayon,......   An example of a AAB pattern is -  glue, glue, book, glue, glue, book, glue, glue, ......
*Grab a handful of small toys and make some patterns with them.  Share the pattern with your family.
*Can you identify and sort some letters and numbers into two groups/categories?
*Our big topic - Making New Friends.  What does a friend do?  How can we be a good friend?  Our class came up with some ways to be a good & kind friends.  Some of the ideas - A friend helps others, uses kind words and actions, takes turns, says sorry, shares, welcomes us,....