It is a rainy day here in Kalona, but we are keeping it exciting in the classroom.  This morning we introduced Compound Words. Students had a great time thinking of compound words and using them in sentences. They thought it was even more fun to write them as an addition fact, just like we do in Math. For example we wrote: sun+set=sunset and rain+bow=rainbow.  If I had to guess, I would guess that this has been one of the most fun Jolly Grammar lessons for the kiddos.  

Keep up with Jolly Grammar: thank you for working with your child each night with their spelling homework. I can see that the practice at home is making a huge difference here in the classroom with both daily work and the test on Fridays.  Also thank you for taking the time to review our weekly sound(s) in our sound book and helping your child come up with 3 words that use those sounds. 

Math: we have jumped in to Unit 8 this week. So far we have reviewed coins and talked more in depth about dollars.  We have touched a little bit on making change and adding different amounts of coins together. Stick with us this week as Math homework will continue to come home almost every night. Money is such a hard task to master, the more practice the kiddos get the easier it will be for them. When you are working on Math homework at home do not hesitate to get out real coins, scratch paper or have older siblings help.  Also if you have a busy night and do not have time for the homework, that is okay, go ahead and keep it at home to work on the next night.  

Book-It has come to end for this school year. Thank you for helping your child meet their monthly goal of 400 minutes read each month.  A few students met the challenge I set at the beginning of the year and will be enjoying some pizza for lunch in the coming weeks. The challenge was to bring back your completed Book-It calendar each month to earn a pizza lunch with Ms. Stumpf.

We opened our new Science kits this week as well. For the rest of first grade kiddos will be learning about sand, silt and pebbles.  We have a few lessons under our belt and they seem to be enjoying all of it!  So far we have learned about 3 new kinds of rocks: basalt, tuff and scoria. All of these rocks are volcanic rocks. Quiz your son or daughter on them at home, chances are they will be able to give you some information on each one of them. 

Thank you to everyone who attended the Soup Supper and Book Fair last week, it was a huge success.  Thank you to the Parent Boosters for providing another great meal and for Usborne Books for helping spread the love of reading.

You should have found a note in your son/daughters backpack last night about Fun Night Items. We are collecting Cubs and Cardinals items for Fun Night. These items will be put together with other donations and sold at both the silent and live auctions at Fun Night. Fun Night is all about the kids and Kalona Elementary. All proceeds go right back to KE!