We have now completed our focus on the names and sounds of the alphabet letters, having worked on W, Y, and Z this week. We will now work with word families. Yesterday, we started with the "at" family. We also continue to read and write CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words daily, listening carefully for the short vowel sounds. We played a short vowel "a" game yesterday that I will be sending home soon for at-home practice, should you choose.

In Math, we continued to practice representing numbers 1-15 using tally marks as well as identifying the value of a group of tally marks. Next week, we will be working at representing numbers using ten frames. Both of these skills are reviewed daily during our "Calendar" time. During Math times, we sometimes do what is called an Esti-Mystery. These learning activities are created by a teacher named Steve Wyborney. Here is a link to his website where you can see the type of Mathematical learning that takes place when students participate in this activity. 

https://stevewyborney.com/2022/10/170-new-esti-mysteries/

I hope you all found the subitizing game I sent home with your child on Wednesday. They have played it twice now and should be able to explain it. However, if they forget, all you need is one die and playing pieces for two people. The goal is to be the first to cover four squares in a row. This is a great game to practice subitizing skills (the ability to identify a group of dots/objects with little to no counting).

In Science, we have started to talk about Matter and the properties of Matter. The students worked in partners to use "properties vocabulary" to describe a toy. We will be applying this same vocabulary soon when describing pumpkins and other objects. Key terms are: rough, smooth, heavy, light, tall, short, etc.

We will be leaving for our field trip at 8:30 a.m. sharp on Tuesday. Please ensure your child comes to school on time. 

Please return Home Reading and Library books on Monday, if you have not done so already.

Important information regarding Halloween at MTS:

Please ensure your child does not wear a mask as part of their Halloween costume while at school. Also, we ask that children do not bring props such as swords and do not have any gore. Please ensure that your child's costume will allow for participation in all learning activities including Gym and that they will be able to go to the washroom independently (no assistance needed for zippers, buttons, etc.). Lastly, please do not send treats with your child to be handed out to other students. Thank you for your cooperation. :)