Bits and Pieces of Info to Make Life on the Ranch Easier to Manage

November 4, 2011

Whats Happening Around Town

Answers to Questions on the Ranch

Thank you all for coming to conferences! I am thankful for the opportunity to talk with you about your childs growth, and I so appreciate the wonderful questions I received from you! One question, in particular, was a delight to hear! Many of you asked, What can I do at home to help my child? The answer is simple, read! A great way to prepare your child and help him or her become a fluent reader is to be a model reader! I encourage you to spend time reading to your child each night and talk about the pictures, the words, and the plot, and each day you read together for ten minutes, mark it down on your Book It! calendar so your child can earn his or her personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut! Another way you can help your child is by listening to him or her read blends. At conferences, you received a stack of blend cards for you to keep and practice with your child in the weeks and months to come. Please ask if you have any questions about the activities page, entitled Rarin to Read, that was attached to the blend cards. Just five to ten minutes of practice each day using the cards and one of the activities will make a huge difference in your childs success as a fluent reader! Another great resource for practice is starfall. com! Students really seem to enjoy the phonics activities, read-aloud books, and games on the website, and you can select grade level material and activities based on your childs needs. Five or ten minutes of starfall time might be a blessing and build some of those basic skills! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

A: Our Harvest Party will be held on Friday, November 18, and we will most likely hold our party from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. If you are interested in helping or providing supplies, touch base with me, and I can direct you to the person in charge!

A: We have an early dismissal on Friday, November 18th as well as Wednesday, November 23rd. Please take note that this is a change from from a full day of school to a noon dismissal that was on the calendar at the beginning of the year. In kindergarten, we gather with Miss Brenners class for some activities and food. Our kindergarten class will have Pilgrim costumes, and Miss Brenners class will have Indian costumes! It is quite the sight! I also hope to announce a field trip soon, but due to the craziness of my schedule this past month, I have been running a little behind! I appreciate your patience!

A: We will be wrapping up our unit on Community Helpers this month! We will focus on farmer, baker, waiter/waitress, and sales clerk as we finish up. At the conclusion of our unit, we will celebrate by dressing like what we want to be when we grow up and will also go on a field trip! In phonics, we will wrap up our study of each of the 26 letters and will be preparing for reading circles. It looks to be an exciting month!

Upcoming Lessons and Skills - Generosity; Letter U Bible Verse - Letters K and V - Community helpers - Farmer and Baker - Twenties family; telling time to the hour; pennies; forming numbers in ones, teens, and twenties families - Letters K and V - Growing plants/raising animals

A Bible Course Map for the Upcoming Week Intentional Generosity (Deut. 24:19- 22) God commanded the Israelites to be generous with others because they were once at the mercy of the Egyptians when they were slaves in Egypt. God wants us to be merciful to those less fortunate than we are. He says blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy (Matt. 5:7). We can intentionally be considerate of those less fortunate by giving generously to those who are poor. Review of previous lesson. Chapel review and extension. Grace Like Gods Grace (2 Cor. 8:1- 7) When we give to others, even when we think they don't deserve it, it is called grace. God demonstrated grace when He sent Jesus to die so our sins could be forgiven. We practice grace when we share God's love with others through forgiving them. It is important to excel in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in love, but it also important to excel in the grace of giving. Giving can be giving money, but it can also mean sharing what we have and sharing God's love by forgiving those who have hurt or upset us. Review of previous lesson.

Quick Glimpse Calendar Wednesday, Nov. 9 - Primary Chapel - Theme: Self-control; Show and Tell Friday, Nov. 18 - Harvest Party; Early dismissal due to teacher in-service Wednesday, Nov. 23 - Early dismissal due to teacher in-service Thursday, Nov. 24 - No school; Happy Thanksgiving! Friday, Nov. 25 - No school; Happy Thanksgiving!