Fort Sam Houston Elementary

As we settle into these sunny summer weeks, I want to wish all of our students and families a wonderful, refreshing break! Summer is a very special time—a well-deserved opportunity to slow down, rest, and reset after a year of hard work and incredible growth.

While I want our students to fully embrace the chance to relax and play, it is also the perfect time to keep their minds active in fun, low-stress ways. Two of the best ways to do this are by diving into a fantastic book and turning learning into a game.

Whether you are reading together as a family or your child is reading independently, regular reading keeps comprehension skills sharp. Here are a few highly recommended titles to look for at your local library:

Pre-K through 2nd Grade

• "The Watermelon Seed" by Greg Pizzoli – A hilarious story about a crocodile who panics after swallowing a seed. Perfect for early readers!

• "Jabari Jumps" by Gaia Cornwall – A beautiful story about a little boy finding the courage to jump off the high dive. Great for building confidence.

• "Mercy Watson to the Rescue" by Kate DiCamillo – A fantastic, heavily-illustrated chapter book series about a lovable, buttered-toast-eating pig.

3rd Grade through 5th Grade

• "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown – An incredible story of survival and friendship when a robot washes ashore on a remote island.

• "InvestiGators" by John Patrick Green – A fast-paced, laugh-out-loud graphic novel series perfect for keeping readers engaged.

• "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate – A beautifully written, heartwarming story told from the perspective of a gorilla living in a shopping mall circus. It’s an unforgettable tale of friendship, art, and hope.

You don't need worksheets to practice math over the summer. If you have a box of dominoes at home, you have a powerhouse tool for math practice! Try these simple, engaging games:

• Domino Top-It (Great for PK-2nd): Place all dominoes face down. Each player draws one domino and adds the dots on both sides together. The player with the highest total wins that round and keeps the dominoes.

• Domino War (Great for 3rd-5th): Similar to Top-It, but players multiply the two sides of their domino. The player with the highest product wins the round.

• The Sorting Game (Great for PK-K): Have younger students sort dominoes by their total sum, creating stacks or lines of "all the dominoes that equal 5," "all that equal 6," etc.

• Fraction Action (Great for 4th-5th): Turn a domino vertically to create a fraction (the smaller number on top is the numerator, the bottom is the denominator). Players draw two dominoes and have to determine which fraction is larger, or practice adding them together!

Finally, as the temperatures rise, please remember to stay safe during these hot summer days. Make sure our students are drinking plenty of water, wearing sunscreen, and taking frequent breaks in the shade or air conditioning when playing outside.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. Enjoy this beautiful time with your children, stay cool, and I cannot wait to see everyone back on campus, refreshed and ready to learn!

Warm regards,