Newsletter #18

Newsletter #18

We started the week with a meaningful day of remembering Martin Luther King Jr. as well as talking about community and cooperation. We also make the connection to our fruit of spirit this month which is kindness. We talk about how we can show kindness in our daily life.

I sent home the homework and flashcard on Friday for the coming week because we don’t have school this coming Monday. We introduced the word wall words/high frequency words already for next week, and we will be working on framework U3W4 from Tuesday-Friday and assessment will be on Friday like usual.

What did we learn and What will we learn?

Mandarin/Language Arts: We enjoyed “Inferring” together as a class as we read the book 我的后面是谁呢. We tried to guess and predict what he next animal will be (while reviewing our animals in Mandarin and constantly practice our positional words)! We reviewed how Daily 5 goes and starting to make our own choices of Daily 5 each day! First week of official assessments of the word wall words and high frequency characters also went great 🙂

Bible: We started our Jesus’ Ministries stories – this week we focus on the story of Jesus and the children, Jesus teaching us to pray through the Lord’s Prayer, as well as the encounter of Jesus and Nicodemus. We started talking about how Holy Spirit (that stays in our heart) helps us to make good choices and to remember not to sin. Next week we will be learning about Jesus and Zacchaeus, Jesus and the Samarithan woman, and possibly Jesus visiting Mary and Martha.

Memory Verse/Fruit of the Spirit: These are always a little harder to understand so when you practice at home with your child, feel free to expand and help them make more connections too.

We are talking about our January Fruit of Spirit: Kindness. We will be reviewing how we can be kind and safe with our looks, words, actions and gestures. We started talking about our January Memory Verse and talk about why Jesus says we have to be like little children as we enter heaven. We are also practicing the Lord’s Prayer, you can find the recording of bible memory verses on our blog for practice at home 🙂

Math: We practiced our numbers (1-10) the school and writing numbers in Mandarin as well. If you notice your child writing their numbers backwards, or the wrong way, try asking them, does that look right? Giving them the reminder to flip their numbers. We have wrapped up unit 2 and is starting unit 3 where we are focusing on teen numbers, more addition and subtraction, as well as other concepts. Our first 4 lessons next week will teach us links between math and the real world, explore the concept of 10-groups within teen numbers, find partners of numbers 2-6 and tell addition and subtraction stories.

Exploring God’s World (Sci/SocStu): We are learning about Motion in Science! It is an exciting unit with a lot of movements involved. This week we focus on talking about gravity, and did some experiment to see if things remain on top, or will naturally? We are also reviewing concepts of Self-Discipline, Responsibility and Fairness, it ties in with coming back and the children knows more about their responsibilities at this time of the year.

Writing: This week I modeled writing another story with pictures and words, we wrote stories together as a class. We will start trying to write our stories with not only pictures, but also words now.

Play: We are enjoying cooking and serving food to each other. We also enjoy playing house with each other 🙂 The children are practicing their Mandarin while playing!

Things to Note:

Towels and Water Bottle: Towels and water bottle were send home to clean, please send them back on Monday.

Guided Reading: I hope you are enjoying reading with your children at home! Please read the post about it before and ask me if you have any questions! Book bags go home on weekends and come back to school at start of week (mostly Mondays) 🙂

Report Cards: By January 27th I will complete a report card for each child. They will be available to view online shortly after that so please watch for details on how to view it. I’m excited to see all of the progress that your children are making!

Field Trip: Our next field trip will be to the For the Kidz Gym on February 10th. Please complete the waiver online (sent through email last week), so that your child can participate in this field trip.

Valentine Quarters: Looking ahead – We will raise money for our sponsor child in the Philippines this month. The Valentine Quarters package/letter will be send home this coming week. The heart sheet attached is the sheet your child will be turning in at the end of February. For each “task/job” they completed, you are welcome to tape a quarter (or more) or the heart sheet ? We will learn to love the others during this time of the year, as we earn money to support our friend Wayne at Philippines. 

Classroom Valentines: Looking ahead – We are also going to show our love to our neighbors by having classroom valentines. We will make a small basket for each children where they can exchange valentines. It is optional – if your child is thinking of sending valentines, there are 10 kids in the class and please make sure it is peanut/tree-nut free!

100 Day Snack Challenge: Looking ahead – We will also have 100 Day 100 Snacks Challenge! I will be sending home a detailed note about this challenge – it is optional! If you are participating PLEASE help me make sure that all the snacks are PEANUT/TREE NUT FREE.

Needs/Wants: Thank you for your willingness to donate materials for our parables unit! We have volunteers for each thing on our list already 🙂 If you have signed up to donate an item, you can send it any day before February 10th!

Mandarin Homework&Flashcard: Homework and Flashcard this coming week are from U3W4. Please continue to help me in keeping your children accountable for following stroke order and word proportion on Homework, and recognizing characters for Flashcard. Thank you for all you do at home. When I assess on Fridays I have them listen for the words in the sentences I make, write it out, and also recognize words and fill in the blanks (verbally) for the sentences – it tells me if the children knows how to write the word wall words, recognizes high frequency characters, and knows what the word means/how to use it!

From the Immersion Program Coordinator – On Tuesday, January 31 at 7:00 pm we will host an informational meeting for anyone interested in learning more about the Spanish or Mandarin immersion programs at ZCS. We will present an overview of what immersion looks like at Zeeland Christian, hear from an immersion parent, and open it up for a question and answer time. This meeting will be geared towards potential families but will also address many questions that existing families might have, so spread the word to parents of young children and consider joining us yourself. Grandparents who want to understand immersion education better are also invited!

What’s Coming Up?

Specials: Monday – Spanish, Art, Tuesday – Music, Spanish, Wednesday – Library, Spanish.

Featured Friend: Soren 屈子勇 is featured on the week of January 30th. Kennin 徐陈序可 is featured on the week of February 6th, and Abi 韩明慧 is featured on the week of February 13th.

Teacher In Service Day – NO SCHOOL: January 23rd.

NO Hot-Lunch: January 27th.

Report Card Posted: January 27th.

Immersion Information Meeting: January 31st.

For The Kidz Fieldtrip: February 10th.

100th Day Celebration: February 13th. Please read the 100th Day Snack Challenge Note that will be send home and consider participating!

President’s Day – NO SCHOOL: February 20th.

Prayer Request:

We are officially halfway through Kindergarten – It’s exciting to see where the students are, thinking back to how we started the year. It felt like yesterday! Please continue to pray for our class and the kindergarteners – we are taking on more independence and challenges in class as the children continue to grow 🙂 The weeks ahead are busy (with usual framework/subjects learning), with school events here and there!

谢谢!

- 黎老师

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