*Germs, Germs, GO AWAY!*

Hello, families!

I hope this post finds you in good health. I know that a lot of us have been feeling the effects of flu season and are battling many illnesses at the moment. I just wanted to give a few tips and resources about keeping germs at bay, as well as an update on what we've been up to (if your child has been sick for many days).

Here we go! Currently, we have had many students around the school with strep throat, influenza, conjunctivitis and plain old viral illnesses. Our class has been averaging with 4-6 students absent each day since last week. Yikes! Here are some things to know and review with your child:

1. Wash your hands! Today, we reviewed when and why we should wash our hands (even if they LOOK clean). Here is a poster that I found on one of my favorite teacher blogs, http://whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com/. It is now hanging up in our room!

2. If your child is sick, keep him/her home! As Laura Pesek (our school health specialist) stated in her e-mail, if your child has a fever, diarrhea, or has vomited in the past 24 hours of any day, please keep him/her out of school until symptoms have cleared. It is important that your child gets healthy and it will help speed up the process. Plus, the likelihood that it spreads will also decrease. We can catch your child up later!

3. Looking for kid-friendly information? Here is a website where your child can learn more about germs and how to stay healthy: http://scrubclub.org/home.aspx

SO...my child has been sick for days! 

What has he/she missed?

First of all, if your child is miserable and unable to process any information, don't worry. We can catch your child up when he/she returns. The first priority is to get better. However, if your child is still showing symptoms AND going stir crazy at home, why not try to get your child up to speed? Here are some things that we have been working on:

Math: 

• Fact families, name collection boxes, fact triangles: Please refer to the HomeLinks book for information regarding these topics. If you have any questions, please contact me!

Reading: 

• Author's purpose: Authors write for 3 main reasons: to teach readers something new (inform), to convince you to do or buy something (persuade), or to help readers have fun (entertain). When your child is reading, ask WHY the author wrote the book. Also, you can look around for different types of writing anywhere- think directions (even on medication bottles!), nutrition info, or commercials on tv.

• Words: This week we are working on words with the long /o/ sound and 3-letter blends (such as str, shr, spl, and thr). Please have your child read the words on the decodable poster that was on the back of this week's refrigerator wrap-up. Here is a jpg image of the poster:   

(source: http://oakes.scsk12.org/~hsamuelson/Swamp_Frogs/Decodable_Posters.html)

Grammar:

• MORE Adjectives: What types of adjectives do we use for size? (Think big, small, tiny, gigantic, huge, tall, short, etc.) Have your child look and listen for these types of adjectives as they read, talk, listen to conversation, etc!

Good luck and stay healthy!

:-) Mrs. Brignac