How to read with STAMINA!

We have spent much of the first quarter becoming acquainted with books.  We have learned how to use the pictures on the pages to help us understand what the book is about.  We have learned that all those letters on the page make all the words the author needed to tell a story, and we have learned how to use what we know about letters and sounds to help us read that author's words. We have a few of the basics--now we are ready to put our skills and knowledge to use!  We are ready to stretch our reading muscles and build some stamina!

We have learned that stamina is the ability to do something (by ourselves) really well for a really long time.  As a class, we are up to almost three minutes of reading stamina, and every day we are working to meet or beat our current time.  We have worked hard to understand what reading with stamina should look, sound, and feel like.  Encourage your child to talk about the things that good readers do and work to build stamina at home.  

Have fun learning to read longer and stronger!  

An Apple A Day

I am a mountain girl, so nothing says Fall, or home, to me like APPLES!!

We have used our senses to describe how apples look, feel, and taste; and we made a classroom graph to show our favorite varieties.  

We learned about how apples grow, and how apples get from the orchard to our house in the form of apple cider, applesauce, and apple pies. 

We even made our own applesauce!!  YUM!!

We also made a classroom graph to show how we like to eat our apples after an apple-riffic taste test!

I can't believe the apple cider beat our homemade applesauce!!

As you and your family get ready for the long weekend, consider a trip to do some apple picking.  Have your child spell the color of their favorite apple, use our new apple vocabulary (like blossom and orchard) to tell you how apples grow, or try out an apple recipe at home!  Your child should know all about making applesauce, or try out a new recipe together.  Be ready to use the words first, next, and last to talk about the steps you take.  Or just head to the library and look for some apple books (Apple Farmer Annie, The Apple Pie Fairy, or The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree are great choices).