Practice, Practice, Practice
We are learning so much these days and beginning to prepare for first grade. Here are some things you can practice with your child at home:

• Counting by 5 up to 100
• Counting by 2 up to 100 (We have not practiced this yet, but it would be great if you get a head start!)
• Blending words with three and four letters. (If your child can do that easily, challenge him/her with longer words with two syllables.)
• Read number words 1-10 (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten)
• Identifying all of our sight words (We have practiced all of the ones listed below and we are starting on additional words.)

Here are the sight words your child should know:
I am the little to a
have is we my like he for
me with she see look they you of
are that do one two three four five
here go from
yellow green blue red
purple pink black brown white
orange what said
was where come

Early Dismissal: We will be dismissing at 2:20 p.m. on Monday, February 28th due to high school district basketball starting at 4:00 in Portageville, Missouri. First load bus riders will leave school at 2:15. All other students will be dismissed at 2:20. If you have a kindergarten student that gets picked up, please be waiting outside by 2:15. Thanks!

Book Order Reminder: The February Book Order is due in class tomorrow morning or online before 3:30. Thanks!

Book Fair: The book fair has now been rescheduled to take place on the same afternoon as Parent/Teacher Conferences-- March 17th. It will be in the cafeteria from 3:30-6:30.

FEBRUARY BOOK ORDER:
Your child came home with a couple of Scholastic book order catalogs today. You can still send in your order/money in your child's blue folder or you can follow the steps below.

Here’s how it works:
1. SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Don't have a User Name and Password?" link, then register for your own username and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation: GQVPR . This code ensures that your order is sent to me. Or LOGIN at the link above with the username and password you previously used order.
2. SELECT the books you would like to order from over 500 titles available online...and take advantage of online-only specials and discounts.
3. SUBMIT your order to me online by the due date. Your credit card payment will go directly to Scholastic’s secure server, and the books you ordered will be delivered directly to our classroom for your child to take home.

February's Book Order is due next Wednesday the 23rd, before 3:00 pm.

Science: Today we reviewed what we have learned about "Animal Adaptations." After a quick review/discussion in class, we visited the lab to watch a video. The video was from Discovery Education's United Streaming website. This site allows me to search for videos that contain information related to what we are learning in class-- similar to YouTube, except educational. More than likely, every Tuesday from now until the end of the year, we will visit the lab and watch a science video. The videos really help the students understand that what they are learning in class actually occurs in real life and in the world all around them. The public cannot view the videos we watch from Discovery Education because it is by subscription only. However, I am sure you can find appropriate videos for your child to watch by searching for them online. Some search words you could use include: plant life videos, animal habitat videos, animal adaptation videos, landform videos, volcano videos, etc. Ask your child what s/he is most interested in learning about in science and go from there. Good luck!

The Book Fair has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled at this time. Sorry!

Don't forget to send your child's Valentine's Day Box to school before our party on Monday. If you don't get a chance to make one at home, we will have extras here at school. Also, I sent home a class list to help your child label individual valentine's cards. If you need another list, let me know.

School-Wide Patriotic Music Program: Just like last year, Mrs. Lanpher is organizing a school-wide music program that will be performed near the end of the year. There are a lot of expenses that come with putting on the show, such as props and sound equipment. We ask that you donate any amount you are willing to our music program to help offset some of the costs. We appreciate Mrs. Lanpher for volunteering her time and effort into making this year's program a success. Mrs. Lanpher does not have to do this each year, but knows how much the community enjoys it. Please support her and donate.

It is time for a new secret word. The word is "go." Please have your child write his/her name on a piece of paper, along with the secret word three times, and bring the paper to school. Your child will receive a prize just for doing it!

Landforms, Rocks, and Volcanoes: We have been learning all about the earth in science. The kids have really enjoyed learning about mountains, hills, plains, deserts, oceans, volcanoes, rocks, and so much more. Today we watched a real volcano erupting. The students also saw how volcanoes are formed and what happens to the earth after one erupts. It was such an amazing learning opportunity! Ask you child what she/he learned about volcanoes today!