We Will Be Discussing Water Next Week. We Will Talk About What Will and Will Not Mix With
October 14, 2016
Dear Parents,
We will be discussing water next week. We will talk about what will and will not mix with water, the different forms of water (gas, liquid, and solid), and why and when we need clean water. We will look at a variety of objects and guess which ones will float and which ones will sink. Then we will experiment to find out if our guesses were correct or not. We will discuss what the words absorb and repel mean and why knowing that is important in our daily lives.
I would like for you to work with your child on a science activity involving the evaporation of water. This activity will also help your child to see that some materials soak up water (absorb) and some materials do not (repel). We will use the terms absorb and repel in our small group work.
____Have your child use a doll for this experiment. If your child does not have a doll, maybe he/she can borrow one from a sister or cousin. Actually, your child could use his/her own body for this experiment. First, have your child wash the doll (or his/her own body) using clean water and soap. Have him/her look for dirty spots to wash. Does any part of the doll absorb water? Which parts do absorb water and which ones do not? Let your child tell how he/she can tell that some parts of the doll absorb the water and other parts do not. Remind him/her to “think like a scientist!” Have your child examine the water. What happened to it? Why is the water dirtier now than it was when you started? What could one do with the dirty water to recycle it? Could one water the plants with it? What else could dirty water be used for?
____Next, have your child get clean water and wash the doll clothes (or a small piece of cloth) with it. Does the clothing absorb the water? What is happening to the clean water as you wash out the dirt in the clothing? After washing and rinsing the clothing, have your child wring it out and hang it up. Let him/her predict what will happen to the clothing. On the following day, have your child examine the clothing. What happened? What made it dry? Discuss how water evaporates into the air.
MATH FOCUS: We have been drawing shapes. Have your child trace and draw the shapes on the enclosed paper. After your child draws the shape, talk about the shape. How many vertices (corners) and sides does each one have? Does a circle have any sides or vertices? What is the difference between a square and a rectangle?
Songs to Learn By-I am enclosing a paper that will give you “tunes” to help your child learn the numbers 11-20. We have introduced and worked with the numbers 11-15 this week and will teach the numbers 16-20 in the next couple of weeks. Put this paper in your child’s “Songs to Learn By” folder. Keep the folder to review skills.
___Please send in an object that will either float or sink. We will use this item in an experiment. Make sure the item can be placed in water without being damaged. Put the object in a plastic bag and label it with your child’s name.
___We are beginning to learn “chunks.” “Chunks” are at least two letter sounds that blend together to make a sound. We learned ay/ai, aw/au, and ch this week. Knowing “chunk” sounds helps your child to read and to write more effectively.
____Review shapes and their descriptions, compare two shapes, identify numbers 0-15, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, days of the week, months of the year, the five senses, body parts, letters (Aa-Zz) and the letter sounds, counting to 50, and writing first names (first letter is a capital, the rest are lowercase; make sure the sizing of the letters is correct.
*Remember, if you don’t do anything else, please read to your child. This is the single most important thing you can do to help your child be successful in school (and life).
____I read the following books with my child.
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___My child and I read 50 minutes (5 books) together this week.
____The review words are: a, am, and, I, in, like, see, and the.
____Our new words are we, is, and it. The book, Fall, puts the words back into text. Have your child read the book to you several times. Have him/her sing the word songs (save these in the “Songs to Learn By” folder) or chant the letters in each word. Let him/her write the words in shaving cream. (Put a little shaving cream on a plastic mat, foil, or wax paper and let your child write the word.)
___Please remember to respond and return the Communication Connection. Your comments under the “Parent Observations” section are valuable to me in working with your child.
Updates
Thursday, October 20: Fall Festival-5:00-7:00-Please make plans to join us! There will be games and events for all of the children. (I sent home an orange sheet with more information on Wednesday, October 12.)
Fall Treat Bags-If you would like to send a bag of wrapped candy for our Fall treat bags, we would appreciate it. You may also like to send pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. We have 20 students in our class.
November 4-Parent-Teacher Conference Day-Students do not attend. I will be having some conferences before this day.
November 7-8-Fall Break-No school
Field Trip-If you have not returned your child’s permission slip with money ($7.50), please do so. Please let me know if money is an issue for you or if you need another permission slip.
Letter League-Please continue to work with your child on capital and lowercase letters so that he/she can help our class get a homerun. When your child gets to home plate (knows all of the capital and lowercase letters and sounds, a homerun will be added to Team Carter/Belk. The kindergarten class with the most homeruns wins a Grand Slam party. PLEASE help our class by helping your child.
Thank you so much for your support! The children are off to a great start!
Your Partner in Education,
Ginger Carter
Parent’s signature: Child’s name: