Blenda Smith

SMITH'S LIL' PIRATES SCOOP NOVEMBER 20, 2010

 

We had a great week discussing and writing about the facts we have learned about the Pilgrims and Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving!  I was very proud on the writing the boys and girls produced!  They have progressed so much and are blossoming into terrific writers.  Thank you to everyone who sent food items in and helped us set up our feast on Thursday.  The boys and girls really enjoyed it and were so cute in their Pilgrim or Native American costumes.  We got to present our sing to read book The Indian's Week at PLANK on Friday morning. 

We could still use some small prizes/party favors for our small prize treasure box.  We have a group of boys and girls with GREAT behavior so we go through small prizes very quickly.  If you could send in things like little bouncy balls, plastic critters, toy rings, etc. we would really appreciate your donations!!

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends!  We have so much to be thankful for, especially our wonderful students, school and our super fantastic administration!

 

Next week's curriculum focus:

Language Arts:  Making Inferences

Books:  An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni

 

The Elf on the Shelf  by Carol V. And Chanda A. Bell Aebersold and Coe Steinwart

 

The Elves and the Shoemaker  by Freya Littledale and Brinton Turkle

 

 Skills:  Blending and reading short vowel words and words in the –an and –en word families.  Using words from the story to help us understand more about the characters and what they are like.  Using words the character says and things the character does to help us get to know a character like getting to know a friend.

Phonics Focus:  Ee letter sound association- short sound as in elf and long sound as in eagle

 
Sight Words:  we, help, zero

Handwriting:  Ee

Writer’s Workshop:  Practice writing a sentence using correctly spelled sight words, phonetic spelling, spacing, capitalization and punctuation.  Practice stretching our idea with more details. Using our five senses to help us think of good describing words or “sparkle, dazzle” words to use in our writing.

Math:  Identifying and matching numerals to sets for numbers 11-20; counting sets to 20; penny, nickel, dime and their values; fair trades with pennies and nickels and pennies and dimes; counting groups of pennies and a nickel or a dime; creating and extending patterns and identifying the missing piece in a pattern.   

 Science:  Day and Night- students will need to be able to describe the changes in the day and night sky as well as the sunrise (night changing to day) and sunset (day changing to night)  We will learn that the sun is not really moving as it seems, but the earth is turning towards and away from the sun. 

    

Health:  The Five Senses- comparing and contrasting the five senses and how they help us to learn about our world.

Upcoming Dates: 

Monday -Friday, November 22^nd-26^th- Thanksgiving Holidays

Thursday, December 2^nd- media center story and book check out

Thursday, December 2^nd- PTA meeting with 4^th grade musical

Monday,December 6^th-Tuesday, December 14^th- Celebrations Around the World 

 
 Download CELEBRATIONSAROUNDTHEWORLD[1]

                                                                                                     

 

 

 

SMITH'S LIL' PIRATES SCOOP NOVEMBER 12, 2010

 November 13, 2010

This week we were busy learning about the First Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Native Americans, and comparing the past to the present.  Wow, things are much different now than they were in the past!!  Ask your child to name some ways things have changed since the early days of America. 

Next week, we will continue our study of Thanksgiving.  Your child should be able to answer the following questions:  Who was at the first Thanksgiving? (Pilgrims/Native American Indians) Why did they have the first Thanksgiving? (the Pilgrims were thankful for their first harvest and for their new friends who helped them -the Native Americans)  Why do we have Thanksgiving today? (to celebrate and remember what we are thankful for)  On Thursday afternoon during our snack time, we will have a mini "snack" feast to replicate the first Thanksgiving.  The boys and girls will wear either their Native American gear or their Pilgrim gear made in centers last week.  Thanks in advance for those who are sending in food items to help us with this activity! 

FYI: Breakfast will no longer be sold on Monday through Thursday mornings after the Thanksgiving break, but chicken biscuits can still be purchased on Friday mornings.

Next week's curriculum focus:

Language Arts:  Vocabulary and Concept Knowledge

Books: 

 
The Scarecrow’s Hat written and illustrated by Ken Brown

 
The Indian’s Week a sing to read booklet by Lorraine Long and Mary Lou Roberts

Skills:  Using picture clues to help decode vocabulary words and noticing repetitive words in the text.  Review the words for the days of the week and color words.  Students should be able to recite orally the days of the week and months of the year at this point and this skill will be evaluated for GKIDS.

Phonics Focus:  Hh letter sound association

 
Sight Words:  he, she, five

Handwriting:  Hh

Writer’s Workshop:  Practice writing a sentence using correctly spelled sight words, phonetic spelling, spacing, capitalization and punctuation.  Practice stretching our idea with more details.

Math:  Identifying and matching numerals to sets for numbers 11-20; counting sets to 20; penny, nickel, dime and their values; fair trades with pennies and nickels and pennies and dimes; counting groups of pennies and a nickel or a dime; creating and extending patterns and identifying the missing piece in a pattern

Social Studies:  Thanksgiving Day past and present

 

Upcoming Dates: 

Wednesday, November 17^th- 8 am preschool story time in the media center- please RSVP to Julie Fletcher

  Download November preschool storytime at Pickett's Mill

Tuesday, November 16th-  Star Tree letters and permission forms will be sent home in PTA communication folders.  Students may begin choosing stars  with persmission slips on Thursday morning, November 18th. 

Thursday, November 18^th- Thanksgiving “Feast Snack” during our snack time at the end of the day.  This will be part of the  culmination of our Thanksgiving unit. 

Friday, November 19^th- media center story and book check out

November 22^nd-26^th – Thanksgiving Holidays

Thursday, December 2^nd- PTA meeting with 4^th grade musical

Monday,December 6^th-Tuesday, December 14^th- Celebrations Around the World

 
Download CELEBRATIONS%20AROUND%20THE%20WORLD[1]

 

  Have a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends!!  Mrs. Dillon and I are thankful for you and your wonderful, enthusiastic, hard-working children!!!

Blenda Smith and Lynn Dillon

                                                                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

SMITH'S LIL' PIRATES SCOOP NOVEMBER 5, 2010

 November is here and the holidays are approaching!  Next week we will celebrate Veterans Day by honoring all of those who have served and are presently serving to keep our country safe.  We have a "Hall of Honor" here at Pickett's Mill and I hope the boys and girls are learning that we as Americans hold these men and women in high regard.  We are also learning about the first Thanksgiving and why it was held, as well as, why we have Thanksgiving today.  We will be learning about the Pilgrims and Native Americans and how they "synergized" and learned from each other.  We will see that life was very different in the past as compared to the present way of life.  We will be talking and writing about the things we are thankful for today.

If you have any small prizes you could donate to our small prize treasure box we would appreciate having them.  This would be small party favors like bouncy balls, plastic insects or reptiles, stickers, etc.  We have a good supply of big prizes so no need for those at the moment.  Thanks!

Please don't forget to send warm coats for the playground.  It is usually windy and feels colder on the playscape than it might at your home!

Next week's curriculum focus:

Language Arts:  Using Background Knowledge

Book:  Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall

  

Skills:  Thinking about what we already know about a topic and discussing it with others helps us better understand what we read.

Phonics Focus:  Oo letter sound association- listening for the short o sound in the initial or medial position of words.  Blending and reading words with the medial short o sound.

Sight Words:  like, here, four

Handwriting:  Oo

Writer’s Workshop:  Practice writing a sentence using correctly spelled sight words, phonetic spelling, spacing, capitalization and punctuation.  Practice stretching our idea with more details.

Math:  Identifying and matching numerals to sets for numbers 11-20; counting sets to 20; penny, nickel, dime and their values; fair trades with pennies and nickels and pennies and dimes; creating and extending patterns and identifying the missing piece in a pattern

Social Studies:  Veteran’s Day; Thanksgiving Day past and present

 

Upcoming Dates:

Sunday, November 7^th- Daylight Savings Time Ends turn your clocks back one hour

Thursday, November 11^th- Veteran’s Day; media center for story and book check out

Thursday, November 18^th- Thanksgiving “Feast Snack” during snack time at the end of the day.  This will be part of the culmination of our Thanksgiving unit. 

November 22^nd-26^th – Thanksgiving Holidays  

Pickett's Mill Foundation Legacy Brick Orders

  

Last chance for "prime real estate" by the flagpole!

  Get your order in by next Monday, November 8th

and your brick will be placed with the first "round" of bricks

 within the coming weeks. 

  

4 x 8 bricks (2 lines, 14 characters per line) are $35.00

8 x 8 bricks (4 lines, 14 characters per line) are $75.00

 

Don't miss this great opportunity to leave your mark at Pickett's Mill!

 

Make checks payable to "PMES Foundation".

 

  Forms are available to print online at http://pickettsmill.typepad.com/pickettsmillfoundation/legacy-bricks.html

 

 

Or forms are available in the Main Office at the school

(on the small table by the lamp).

Have a great weekend and stay warm!!

Blenda Smith and Lynn Dillon

 

HAT DAY, FOOD DRIVE and PRESCHOOL STORY TIME INFORMATION

 

HAT  DAY, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5th

As some of you may know, Scott Cole owner of Johnny's Pizza, a Partner in Ed for some with Pickett's Mill and also a big supporter in the Acworth community, was recently diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig disease).The AHS NHS students would like to coordinate a "Hat Day" - pay $1 to wear a hat, at AHS and the 5 feeder schools (Frey, Lewis, Pickett's Mill, Durham & McClure) on Friday, Nov. 5th to raise money for the "Stroll for Cole" team walking in the Atlanta Walk to Defeat ALS on Nov. 6th in Centennial Olympic Park.  Each school participating will be listed as a sponsor. The best part is that there is little for you to do but say, YES!  Envelopes with instruction for collection will be provided.  AHS NHS students & parents will help with the collection & counting on Nov. 5^th.

Sincerely, Jason Gerrits, Senior AHS, Chairman of Community Service for the National Honor Society (NHS).

 

FOOD DRIVE through November 17th

The Student Council’s Food Drive to benefit Cobb families will continue through Wednesday, Nov. 17^th. The class that brings in the most cans from each grade level will win an ice-cream party

 

 NOVEMBER PRESCHOOL STORYTIME    

Download November preschool storytime at Pickett's Mill