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 JANUARY

WELCOME BACK!!! It certainly was a nice break.  I hope you all came back refreshed and ready to work!

This month we will be talking about WINTER...brrrrrr.  We will be targeting listening, vocabulary, and speech sounds that talk about the season.

The week of Jan 4-8:  Penguins
The week of Jan 11-15: Snowflakes
The week of Jan 18-22: Snowmen
The week of Jan 25-29: Winter/Season

Students will be playing snow games, using creative writing with snowflakes, reading stories, we might even have some hot cocoa and marshmallows!!! All of this fun while working on our goals for speech and language.

SOME OF OUR BOOKS WE ARE READING THIS MONTH!!! 

When we use books in therapy, we transform them into lessons.  We can learn new vocabulary, strengthen our listening and attention skills, and we can work on answering those "wh" questions about what we heard.  There are always ways to get our speech sound practice in also.

If you want to do this at home, and need help, just ask me!  I can help make up the vocabulary list, talk about ways to improve your child's phonemic awareness skills with sounds/rhyme/letters. I can help you develop those "wh" questions. Besides all this, enjoy reading with your children!!  They love to listen to stories and what a great time to spend with them.

It is almost report card time, so I will be collecting progress data to show how your child is making wonderful progress!

***Don't forget!!  There is only a 1/2 day of school on Thurs., Jan. 28th, and no school for kids on Jan. 29th.  

Stay warm this month!

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DECEMBER

     **Christmas break is Dec. 23-Jan.3rd.  Come back to school on Monday, Jan. 4th.  

How did we make it to the Christmas season...again??!!!  Students have been making ornaments to decorate the tree.  We are coloring candy canes, elves, and of course reading some of my favorite books!

   

We have been talking about real vs. fake trees.  Did you know you have to water a real tree, but not a fake one.  Did you know that real trees will drop "needles" on the floor if you don't water them?! LOL  

*Question of the month: 

Do you have a real tree?   
               YES   10        NO  25    

December words we have been talking about: 

Santa, Stocking, Sleigh, Decorations, Ornament, Wreath, Reindeer, Candle, present, glistening, joyous, Elf, poinsettia, holly berries, eve, Traditions, 

The kids have been busy making their own game boards this month.  They will be able to bring them home during the break.  Go ahead, play their game!! I was surprised by how much those kids love to see you "go back to start!" 

                            WEBSITES FOR FUN!!!

**If you have not seen this before just type in your address or any family addresses and Postal Code then look through the window at  the snow falling outside your home.  It's amazing!!!!           Click HERE and follow the directions. 

**Click HERE for some fun activities to do during the holidays!

**and even MORE websites to have Christmas fun!

**I have been talking to my students about a neat website to watch Santa's Reindeer!  Click HERE to see it.  I think Santa shows up at 11am, 6pm and 9pm. We leave it on the computer all day to see the antics those reindeer cause.  This year I saw "The Grinch" steal a stocking and a wreath, while Santa was reading some mail!!   So exciting to share and watch as a family.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my students and their families. Have a great winter break!!

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NOVEMBER

This month we are going to be studying about Thanksgiving!  I have planned to read a few stories, make a few turkeys, and enrich the kids lives with fun facts!  

Books we are reading this month: 

Who Will Carve the Turkey This Thanksgiving? by Jerry Pallotta

10 Fat Turkeys by:  Tony Johnston

The Very Stuff Turkey by:  Katharine Kenah

The Great Thanksgiving Escape by:  Mark Fearing




We have started a "poll"!!  In talking about turkey, traditions, food, some of the kids started to tell me that they don't eat turkey!  So I wrote the question on the board:  

                Do You Eat Turkey??  Yes or No.. 

The results are in!!!  
         YES = 15           NO = 12
I admit, I am always a little surprised how many kids don't eat turkey.  When I asked them what they eat, they said they didn't know.  
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Thanksgiving break:
Wed. 11/26-28 - NO SCHOOL  

A few fun ideas to keep your kids busy during the holiday gathering:  

*Write out the word Thanksgiving Dinner - see how many words you can make using these letters. 

*Have the kids make placemats.  Use a piece of paper and have them draw pictures of Thanksgiving, or something they are thankful for.    

*Talk about Thanksgiving traditions your family might have. Maybe your kid has a new tradition they would like to try?!

*Take lots of pictures and make a scrapbook so your child can use their memory, recall, sequencing, and retelling skills. 

Still looking for more things to do? Click HERE to get some great coloring and activity pages!