Cusano News Network Update as of November 30, 2009
It was great meeting and talking with most of the parents during our
conference days and the morning of our open house. Our first trimester is
over and the holidays are upon us. It's hard to believe how quickly time is
going by. Our winter concert is scheduled for Friday, December 11th at 10:30
AM. We hope to see you all there.
November was a very busy month. The children were busy learning about
Native Americans and their traditions and ways of survival. Some tribes we
learned about include the Navajo, Pomo, Tlinget, Sioux, Iroquois and of
course the Lenape who used to live in and around our area. Our trip to
Cliffdale Farm focused on the Lenape. The children played Native American
games and learned about the tools they used while trying out a few. We sat
in a longhouse and wigwam and experienced Native American housing. The
children also learned how the Native Americans gardened and made use of the
natural world around them. Ask your child about the "3 sisters"!
The following skills and concepts were also learned in November:
Fundations
-learned the suffixes: s and es (plurals)
er and est (comparative suffixes)
er (doer suffix - teacher, singer, dancer, etc)
ed (pasttime suffix)and its 3 sounds - /d/, /t/, /id/
ing (doing action suffix)
-how to mark up a baseword and suffix
-vowel teams: oa(boat), oe(toe), ow(snow,plow), ou(trout,soup), oo(school),ue
(blue,rescue), ew(chew), au(August), aw(saw)
-syllable division rules
-learned when to use ck or ic at the end of a word (pick vs. picnic)
-new trick words for level 2: here, use, used, water, knew, know
*Keep practicing short vowel sounds with your child.
(a as in apple, e as in Ed, i as in itch, o as in octopus, u as in up)
*Keep practicing to read and write the 93 “trick words” from Level 1
Math
-studied the features of 2D and 3D shapes by describing, sorting and
matching faces
-learned about polygon attributes and ways that they are catagorized
-used geoboards and square tiles to explore the properties of rectangles
-investigated symmetry using pattern blocks and mirrors
-completed symmetrical designs with color tiles
-also explored symmetry by folding and cutting out shapes
Science
-measurement continued with balance scales
Social Studies
-learned about our right as citizens to vote
-read "Duck for President"
-held a school wide vote for our favorite "spirit" day. The winner was
Western Day to take place in the spring.
-learned why we celebrate Veteran's Day
-revisited the first Thanksgiving between Pilgrims and Native Americans
Literacy
We read and discussed various Native American stories that were based
on the tribes that we studied. One story we read, "The Legend of the Indian
Piantbrush" was read as an introduction to our author study of Tomie dePaola
that we will begin in December.
We also read many heartwarming stories that allowed us to reflect on
what we are thankful for this season.
SEE YOU AT THE WINTER CONCERT!!
