April+curriculum+&+activities

Formation using Handwriting without Tears (HWT)- See attached HWT info for how to form letters. These are very hard for students to produce correctly. Please practice at home!
Learn Words that start with the letter- Continue with this at home. Very important for solidifing letter/sound skills. Went to the library for picture dictionary to look for some "V" words.
 * Letter Sounds**

Lots of discussion about sports as children are registering for Tball. Continue conversations about different types of balls for each sport, what some of "rules" are when playing sports activity and what "team work" is. Watch some sports on TV and discuss with your child. Look at newspapers and magazines for pictures and information about different sports. Visit a sporting goods store and look at all the equipment. Hope to see many students and parents at games as I visit Opechee park regularly in the evening.
 * Vocabulary**

Letter V- Vases, Violets (to decorate the bulletin board). Vegetable sort (vegetable/not a vegetable) Letter M- Mat Man, Mail Box with m words, ovals made into a mouse Letter N- nests, noodle necklaces, bowls of noodles
 * Classroom Activities**

Letter V: Vegetable Soup Letter M: It Looked Like Spilt Milk, If you Give a Moose a Muffin, Letter N: The Napping House
 * Nursery Rhymes, Poems, Stories and Songs**:

Ms. Matteson is teaching math using recommendations given by Mahesh Sharma. His focus is on AUTOMATICITY of number facts. He uses dice, cards and dominoes. All students have started with numbers 1-6 using dice patterns and cards. Children are also using the cuisenaire rods and doing well identifying the color and number value. We regularly play Go Fish in the afternoon class and are using the cluster cards up to 8. It is going VERY well!!!! Hope to give parents more information soon!
 * Numbers**: Slight change to how numbers are being taught in Ms. Matteson Class!!!!!

Afternoon students are learning last names by being introduced during circle as Miss or Mister. Last name recognition is coming along nicely. Students are doing a nice job shaking hands with classmates and asking how they are. Please practice this when visitors come to your home. Have your child shake hands and ask how the guest is. Students have learned they shake with their RIGHT hand. Morning students are shaking hand with teacher who asks how they are.
 * Social Emotional**

Afternoon students have done a great job with Man Man and most can draw a person with many parts. Practice this at home by asking your child to draw you or someone in your family. Remind them to sing the Mat Man song so they get all the body parts. Many students now know left and right hand. See if your child does!
 * Fine motor**:

Students are using In focus with mouse to move objects.
 * Technology**

Is very important. Please practice at home. Do a little homework every night!!! Even 15 minutes will help. Please email or call.
 * Review**