CLNL+May+2011

** Olga Iris Guzmán - Principal **
 * May 2011 **

** Early Childhood Magnet School of the Arts **

** 32-65 93rd Street **

** East Elmhurst, N.Y. 11369 **

** (718)899-5799 Fax (718)899-7323 **

** “The Little School with a Heart” **

** Carmenza Ramirez –Assistant Principal **

PARENT CURRICULUM NEWSLETTER

** PRE-K **


 * // READING: //** **PreK has been having so much fun with our Growing and Changing unit that we will be extending it into the month of May. We will be reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Tiny Seed both by Eric Carle. We will also read poems and sing songs related to caterpillars and seeds.** **// WRITING: //** **The Pre-K children are always busy in the writing center. Here the children have pencils, markers, colored pencils, crayons and different types of writing paper where they can write, write, write. We also have writing materials in our other centers, such as housekeeping where the children can create a shopping list or write an invitation to a party.**
 * // MUSIC: //**** Pre-K enjoyed a special performance by the “once Upon A Theater” group. The children watched the dancers and actors perform scenes from The Toy Maker, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. **
 * // MATH //**** : ** **We count everyday as part of our circle time as we take our daily attendance. The children are also counting backwards from ten. They get very excited when they can shout, “blast off”. We are reviewing concepts such as bigger than and smaller than, in front of and in back of.**
 * // TECHNOLOGY: //**** PreK loves working on Starfall where they can review letters of the alphabet and the letter sounds. They can also listen to poems and sing along to familiar songs. **
 * // Social studies: //**** The children love sharing their baby photos and looking at their friend’s photos as well. If you have not sent in your child’s baby photo, there is still time! **
 * // science: //**** Pre-K planted seeds on the classroom windowsills as well as planted flower seeds in the outdoor playground. Many of the seeds have started to grow. The children have learned that it takes sunshine and water to help their seeds grow. **
 * // PHYSICAL ED. & HEALTH: //**** Now that the warmer days are here, the children are able to enjoy the outdoor playground. The children make sure to be safe on the playground while following rules such as no pushing, no running and no screaming. **

** KINDERGARTEN **


 * // READING: //**** Unit – Readers Learn About the World Through Theme-Based Reading Clubs. **
 * During this month, we will work in theme-based book clubs. We will read books focusing on a particular topic and learn how to identify similarities and differences among these theme-based books. We will work independently and in partnerships, gathering and sharing information about various topics. Our goal is to help us understand and develop big ideas as we read. **
 * // WRITING: //**** All About Books in Science – This month we will be writing all about things in nature. We will look closely at the world around us through careful observations, readings, and hands-on experiences. We will then focus on a topic and write all that we have learned across the pages of booklets. **
 * // Music: //**** Composer is Camille Saint Seans and the music is Carnival of the Animals. Songs are Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, and Zoo Song. Bells: Blue Bird. Games: London Bridge and Bluebird. **
 * // MATH //**** : **** During this month, we will be introduced to division concepts by understanding how to distribute or share objects evenly within a group. We will use manipulatives and participate in classroom activities that will help us understand how we can divide into equal groups. **
 * // SCIENCE: //** **How do animals live? How are animals alike and different?**
 * // Social STUDIES //**** : **** We will identify things in the natural environment that are important to all living things. We will learn about the characteristics of maps, globes, and areas such as: forests, mountains, and oceans. We will also begin to identify the importance of various national symbols such as the American Flag, and the pledge of allegiance. We will also learn about the countries we will be representing in our Multicultural Dance Festival. **
 * // TECHNOLOGY //**** : We will continue to develop our literacy and mathematics skills through interactive lessons on SMART BOARDS and educational websites and games which we can access through classroom laptop computers. **
 * // PHYSYCAL ED. & HEALTH //**** : ** **We will continue to develop our ability to follow the steps of a dance sequence as we prepare for our dance festival. We will also discuss playground safety.**

** FIRST GRADE **


 * // READING: //**** We read non-fiction books and read about science topics to become experts at different topics. **
 * // WRITING: //**** We learn how to write facts and interesting words we have learned about our expert topics. **
 * // MUSIC: //**** The composer is Camille Saint Seans and the music is Carnival of the Animals. Songs are **
 * Old Lady, Down by the Bay, and This Old Man. Xylophones: Bluebird. Games: 7-Up **
 * // MATH //**// : // **In May, we begin to learn about fractions and equal shares using objects and money. her.**
 * // Science: //** **What affects weather and temperature? How does the sun affect our weather and our light? How do we use a thermometer to tell the temperature?**
 * // SOCIAL STUDIES: //**** We learn about where we find communities and compare communities in the past to communities now. **
 * // TECHNOLOGY: //**** We use our school website http:PS228.wikispaces.com, in order to practice our typing skills **
 * // PHYSiCAL ED. & HEALTH: //**** We learn more about safety while playing outdoors and in the school gym. We learn about working cooperatively and not hurting ourselves or others. **


 * SECOND GRADE **

- **To review measuring with yards and meters** - **To measure longer distances** - **To develop the concepts of perimeter and area** - **To know units of weight**
 * // READING: //**** Reading about Science and Living like Scientists: **
 * In this unit, our second grade students will read books about a topic in science, and they will also practice non-fiction comprehension skills. They will use their background knowledge to understand and monitor their comprehension. They will take notes on what there are reading and use those notes to build more knowledge about the topic they chose. **
 * // WRITING: //**** We will be publishing our fairy tales and folktales and then we will start our unit on writing about science. In this unit, we will study different plant varieties. We will record observations and write informational reports about those observations. **
 * // Music: //**** The composer is Camille Saint Seans and the music is Carnival of the Animals. Songs are Old Lady, Down by the Bay, and This Old Man. Xylophones – Bluebird. Games – 7-UP **
 * // MATH //**** .: Unit 9 Objectives: **

- **United States is a land of people of diverse backgrounds** - **What does the Statue of Liberty stand for?** - **American celebrations/holidays** - **Community, state and national landmarks**
 * // SCIENCE: //**** How do plants grow? What is the life cycle of a red bean seed? Start sprouting seeds and observe the growth. **
 * // SOCIAL STUDIES: //**** Unit Objectives: **
 * // TechnolOGY: //**** We will continue practicing our online reading program raz-kids.com, uptowneducation.com and samsonclassroom.com in which students will be practicing reading, spelling and math skills. We will also be practicing our typing skills by writing our fairy tales or folktales using the Microsoft Word program. **
 * // PHYSICAL ED. & HEALTH: //**** Students will play outdoors to maintain physical fitness participate in physical activity, and maintain personal health. **


 * WE ARE DEDICATED TO THE SUCCESS OF ALL OUR CHILDREN. **


 * Please note that you may find the Parent Curriculum Newsletter at ps__228q.wikispaces.com__ every month. **