**Report Cards Went Home in the Friday Folder Today (December 17th)!!**
I just finished my Christmas party snack and I think the kids would agree with me when I say it was the BEST Christmas party ever! I would like to thank all the parents who showed up to help us celebrate and a HUGE thank you to our room parent, Stephanie Perenyi, for another great holiday party! I think that the whole class is really in good holiday spirits now. A parent who took pictures offered to email them to me, and as soon as I get them I will be sure to post them on this blog so that you may all see the fun we had! (Edit- See below! Thanks for the pictures, Lisa!)
This week was so fun and busy for the kids. We worked on the letters "v" and "w," reviewed units 2 and 3 in math, and read many holiday stories together. The kids were able to make wrapping paper using splatter painting that I think they really enjoyed. This paper was used to wrap those check boxes (and tissue boxes I used when we were short a few) you brought in to make a holiday craft. That is for you, the parents/guardians, to keep and it is made with lots of love from your kid. We also went to Heritage Square for a field trip on Thursday. We watched the play Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus! This play was particularly good for kids as it was very interactive. Many parts included audience participation, like throwing fake snowballs and singing songs! Some lucky kids were even chosen to go on stage and help with other parts in the play.
I've had a few parents ask me what they should be doing with their child over the break to make sure they stay successful. My answer is simply to read with/to your child, and just have a very relaxing and fun break! We have all worked hard to get here and the kids need some play time to come back refreshed. Just keep their love of reading alive and that will be the perfect thing to do over the break!
I would like to give another HUGE thank you to my class! Because of you, I feel very loved and I enjoy teaching you every day of the school year. I hope you have a fabulous Winter Break and that it snows so you can do a lot of sledding! Be safe, have fun, and I will see you in January for 2011!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Week of Dec. 6th-10th
This week in the classroom, students worked on the letters "p" and "j." They practiced writing these letters and also writing about topics like "puzzle," "jar," "pie," and more. In reading, they worked on decoding strategies in their groups to try to figure out words before asking for my help. When you read with your child at home and they ask you what a word is, ask them what are some things they can do to try to figure it out. They can put a sound for every letter, look at the picture, cover up part (we call it "chunk the word" because they are breaking it into smaller chunks), or look for a word inside of the word they know. In math, we worked on probability a little more with discussing what is certain, likely, or unlikely to happen. We also learned a new math game called Growing and Disappearing Train. This helped students work with addition and subtraction.
Next week is very busy! We have our field trip on the 16th, then our Christmas party on the 17th (11-11:45). All parents are welcome to join us and help celebrate! Report cards will also go home on the 17th, so be sure to find those in your student's backpack.
Next week is very busy! We have our field trip on the 16th, then our Christmas party on the 17th (11-11:45). All parents are welcome to join us and help celebrate! Report cards will also go home on the 17th, so be sure to find those in your student's backpack.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Week of Nov. 30-Dec. 3
I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday! Grandparent's Day last week was wonderful! The kids worked so hard on the show and I know that this was a memory that will stick with them when they think back on their days in kindergarten.
Please continue to send in check boxes for our holiday craft coming up! I know that we will need extras for kids that may not get any in.
This week in the classroom, we continued to look at word families by completing an -op family book. All the groups are working on decoding words using different reading strategies. Kids are learning how to use the picture cues, put sounds to every letter (sound and say), and to chunk large words into smaller. In math we worked on probability by reading the book And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street then discussing what is impossible, what is certain, and what might happen. In writing, we continue to work on spaces between words and end marks at the end of a sentence. Be sure to reinforce this at home as kids write. I've noticed a lot of periods put after names and at the end of lines, even if it isn't a sentence. So help me catch this and explain why both things are not a sentence! In Fundations, we are starting three letters a week as we finish up the alphabet. This week we did l, k, and h and wrote about topics that started with these letters like, "lollypop," "kangaroo," and "horse."
Please continue to send in check boxes for our holiday craft coming up! I know that we will need extras for kids that may not get any in.
This week in the classroom, we continued to look at word families by completing an -op family book. All the groups are working on decoding words using different reading strategies. Kids are learning how to use the picture cues, put sounds to every letter (sound and say), and to chunk large words into smaller. In math we worked on probability by reading the book And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street then discussing what is impossible, what is certain, and what might happen. In writing, we continue to work on spaces between words and end marks at the end of a sentence. Be sure to reinforce this at home as kids write. I've noticed a lot of periods put after names and at the end of lines, even if it isn't a sentence. So help me catch this and explain why both things are not a sentence! In Fundations, we are starting three letters a week as we finish up the alphabet. This week we did l, k, and h and wrote about topics that started with these letters like, "lollypop," "kangaroo," and "horse."
Friday, November 19, 2010
Week of November 15-19
Grandparents Day Information
On Tuesday, November 23rd Special Guests or Grandparents are invited for class presentations and refreshments. A 3:00 performance by the Leawood Choir tops off the afternoon. The schedule is below:
AM Kindergarten:
10:50 Check in, name tags
11:00 Classroom activities, goodies and coffee/tea in classroom
December Field Trip
Last week, permission slips for the December field trip to Heritage Square went out in the Friday Folders. These were due on Thursday, November 18. If you misplaced yours and would still like your child to go, please turn them in to me ASAP! I took the first 5 parents who said they could help as volunteers for the trip. I wrote a note in your child's Friday Folder if you were one of these parents and I will also send out an email with more details for these parents when we get closer to the date.
Movie and Snack with Ms. Kellogg
If you purchased this student activity at the PTSA Silent Auction, I will be sending out an email to you with the date/time. We will watch a movie, enjoy snacks, and have a special time together!
Weekly News
This week in the classroom, kids further explored symmetry in math. As kids find pictures of symmetry in newspapers, magazines, or in nature, have them bring them in so we can add to our "Symmetry All Around Us" poster hanging in the classroom. Kids also created a graph in math where kids picked their favorite classroom activity (recess won, how shocking :). They also looked at pictures of dominos and matched them to their numbers on our classroom wall and they continued to work on their number sense by rolling a dice then recording the numbers. We will soon make another graph with the results. Kids explored the concept of weight using a pan balance and items in the classroom.
In reading, all the groups read different books that match their reading level and worked on word families -ap and -at. We also discussed how action words can have the ending -ing and how knowing different ending sounds make us better readers. All groups are working on the reading strategies of looking at the picture, sounding out the letters, and asking if it makes sense for unknown words. All the groups are really impressing me with how well they are learning how to read! Keep it up kids!
Our letters of the week were "e" and "u" so kids practiced handwriting and writing topics starting with these letters. Topics in writing included egg, umbrella, elephant, and more. The Sight Word Reader this week was I Did It! Kids will now only have one day in class to practice using Sight Word Reader books, so they will need a little more assistance at home after they make their own books.
On Tuesday, November 23rd Special Guests or Grandparents are invited for class presentations and refreshments. A 3:00 performance by the Leawood Choir tops off the afternoon. The schedule is below:
AM Kindergarten:
10:50 Check in, name tags
11:00 Classroom activities, goodies and coffee/tea in classroom
December Field Trip
Last week, permission slips for the December field trip to Heritage Square went out in the Friday Folders. These were due on Thursday, November 18. If you misplaced yours and would still like your child to go, please turn them in to me ASAP! I took the first 5 parents who said they could help as volunteers for the trip. I wrote a note in your child's Friday Folder if you were one of these parents and I will also send out an email with more details for these parents when we get closer to the date.
Movie and Snack with Ms. Kellogg
If you purchased this student activity at the PTSA Silent Auction, I will be sending out an email to you with the date/time. We will watch a movie, enjoy snacks, and have a special time together!
Weekly News
This week in the classroom, kids further explored symmetry in math. As kids find pictures of symmetry in newspapers, magazines, or in nature, have them bring them in so we can add to our "Symmetry All Around Us" poster hanging in the classroom. Kids also created a graph in math where kids picked their favorite classroom activity (recess won, how shocking :). They also looked at pictures of dominos and matched them to their numbers on our classroom wall and they continued to work on their number sense by rolling a dice then recording the numbers. We will soon make another graph with the results. Kids explored the concept of weight using a pan balance and items in the classroom.
In reading, all the groups read different books that match their reading level and worked on word families -ap and -at. We also discussed how action words can have the ending -ing and how knowing different ending sounds make us better readers. All groups are working on the reading strategies of looking at the picture, sounding out the letters, and asking if it makes sense for unknown words. All the groups are really impressing me with how well they are learning how to read! Keep it up kids!
Our letters of the week were "e" and "u" so kids practiced handwriting and writing topics starting with these letters. Topics in writing included egg, umbrella, elephant, and more. The Sight Word Reader this week was I Did It! Kids will now only have one day in class to practice using Sight Word Reader books, so they will need a little more assistance at home after they make their own books.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Week of Nov. 1-5
This week in the kindergarten classroom, kids explored different words in the -at family. We used our magnetic letters to make -at words in our reading groups. We also introduced two new letters this week- "o" and "g." We wrote about many "o" and "g" topics in our writing notebooks, including "octopus," "grass," and "goat," among others. In math, we looked at teen numbers and practiced putting them in order. At home, you can play a fun game with your kid with teen numbers. Play "I'm thinking of a teen number" and give hints about what teen number you picked. For example, "I'm thinking of a teen number between 12 and 14," or, "I'm thinking of a teen number that has a 1 and 5 in it." This will give your child a fun way to practice those tricky teens. We also worked on filling in a number grid and talked about patterns in math this week. In reading, groups works on finding rhyming words, what sounds they hear at the start and end of words, and retelling the story. When your child reads at home, have them practice retelling! This is something that is new and still rather difficult for most students. Ask them what happened first, next, and last. All groups read a new Sight Word Reader book titled Animals. They practiced writing and using the words "like" and "to."
In the Friday Folder this week, I included a sight word list and also a note about the large white blank feather that went home today. When you work on this feather with your child, explain how one side of the feather is the same as the other. It would also help to draw a line down the middle so they make both sides the same. This is an introduction to symmetry that we will start in math.
In the Friday Folder this week, I included a sight word list and also a note about the large white blank feather that went home today. When you work on this feather with your child, explain how one side of the feather is the same as the other. It would also help to draw a line down the middle so they make both sides the same. This is an introduction to symmetry that we will start in math.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Week of October 25-29
Our Halloween party was a great success! Thank you to all the parents who helped and a huge THANK YOU to our room parent Stephanie Perenyi for organizing it all! The kids wore some very cute costumes and enjoyed a craft table, a Halloween game, and listened to a spooky story.
This week in the classroom, we learned a new math game called Spin A Number. As children played, they worked through a game board and developed their number sense. This game, and others, can be found on the Everyday Math site. Use the card inside your child's Friday Folder to log in and play!
Our letter this week was "r," and kids practiced writing and writing about "r" topics. Kids wrote about rats, rainbows, and the letter "r" itself. Next week, we will start learning two letters a week, now that kids are more comfortable with the class and handwriting. In reading, we practiced listening to words for their sounds. We stretched out words for kids to hear the beginning, middle, and end sounds. We are also encouraging our kids to start trying to spell words by putting letters down that they hear. We created a fun Halloween book where children illustrated their own pages with the costume they planned on wearing, as well as writing the word as they hear it on the line provided. It came out great! The class also learned a new Sight Word Reader book That Hat. The kids only had one day with this book, so they might need a bit more help with it at home.
I hope all the kids have a safe and fun weekend!
This week in the classroom, we learned a new math game called Spin A Number. As children played, they worked through a game board and developed their number sense. This game, and others, can be found on the Everyday Math site. Use the card inside your child's Friday Folder to log in and play!
Our letter this week was "r," and kids practiced writing and writing about "r" topics. Kids wrote about rats, rainbows, and the letter "r" itself. Next week, we will start learning two letters a week, now that kids are more comfortable with the class and handwriting. In reading, we practiced listening to words for their sounds. We stretched out words for kids to hear the beginning, middle, and end sounds. We are also encouraging our kids to start trying to spell words by putting letters down that they hear. We created a fun Halloween book where children illustrated their own pages with the costume they planned on wearing, as well as writing the word as they hear it on the line provided. It came out great! The class also learned a new Sight Word Reader book That Hat. The kids only had one day with this book, so they might need a bit more help with it at home.
I hope all the kids have a safe and fun weekend!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Week of October 18-22
Halloween Party Information
On Friday, October 29th, we will have our Halloween parade and party. Please have children come to school wearing their costumes and a change of clothes in their backpacks. Please do NOT have masks that cover faces and NO swords or other costume weapons. The parade will start roughly around 9:15am and our party will start when the parade ends. The party will go to 10:40 and we will then have children change and continue the rest of our day. If you would like to help, please contact our room parent Stephanie Perenyi at intouchwithsteph(at)hotmail.com.
Cold Season
Many of our children have sniffles and other signs of a cold. This is a friendly request for any hand sanitizer you would be willing to donate to the class to help prevent the spread of germs. Please be sure to model good hand washing at home (saying the Happy Birthday song while rubbing hands with soap and water), and how to catch sneezes and coughs in our elbows. And as always, if your child has a fever or signs of the flu, please keep them at home, thanks!
Class this Week
For our literacy centers, we introduced Learning Passports. Every child received their own passport and it was their responsibility to take this with them to their centers. They get a stamp for behaving well (on task, not yelling, etc.) and a stamp for finishing their work. I'm going to use these passports to reward the kids who work really hard and well together by granting special rewards. So please encourage your child to do their best to get as many stamps as they can!
The letter "i" was our letter of the week. So many activities revolved around this letter. In writing, children wrote about ice cream, igloos, and many other topics that begin with "i." In reading, we worked on really looking at beginning and end sounds in words, and how sounds in words help us read. Children listened closely to words to pick up on sounds. We also learned to count syllables in words and used clapping to find out how many syllables we hear. This will help kids with their fluency and to really listen to what sounds make up words. We are training our ears to really hear all the sounds! In math, we looked closely at shapes and what makes each shape special. Then kids had to find shapes, without looking, in a bag. So their fingers would have to walk the shape to find the certain kind I asked them to find. Next week, we will learn a new math game called Spin the Number.
Keep practicing letter names and sounds at home using flash cards! For kids ready to work on sight words, here is a link to a website that has the sight words that you can easy print out to make flash cards and find other grades too when they are ready for an extra challenge like first grade words!
http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/kindergarten.htm
Have a great weekend!
On Friday, October 29th, we will have our Halloween parade and party. Please have children come to school wearing their costumes and a change of clothes in their backpacks. Please do NOT have masks that cover faces and NO swords or other costume weapons. The parade will start roughly around 9:15am and our party will start when the parade ends. The party will go to 10:40 and we will then have children change and continue the rest of our day. If you would like to help, please contact our room parent Stephanie Perenyi at intouchwithsteph(at)hotmail.com.
Cold Season
Many of our children have sniffles and other signs of a cold. This is a friendly request for any hand sanitizer you would be willing to donate to the class to help prevent the spread of germs. Please be sure to model good hand washing at home (saying the Happy Birthday song while rubbing hands with soap and water), and how to catch sneezes and coughs in our elbows. And as always, if your child has a fever or signs of the flu, please keep them at home, thanks!
Class this Week
For our literacy centers, we introduced Learning Passports. Every child received their own passport and it was their responsibility to take this with them to their centers. They get a stamp for behaving well (on task, not yelling, etc.) and a stamp for finishing their work. I'm going to use these passports to reward the kids who work really hard and well together by granting special rewards. So please encourage your child to do their best to get as many stamps as they can!
The letter "i" was our letter of the week. So many activities revolved around this letter. In writing, children wrote about ice cream, igloos, and many other topics that begin with "i." In reading, we worked on really looking at beginning and end sounds in words, and how sounds in words help us read. Children listened closely to words to pick up on sounds. We also learned to count syllables in words and used clapping to find out how many syllables we hear. This will help kids with their fluency and to really listen to what sounds make up words. We are training our ears to really hear all the sounds! In math, we looked closely at shapes and what makes each shape special. Then kids had to find shapes, without looking, in a bag. So their fingers would have to walk the shape to find the certain kind I asked them to find. Next week, we will learn a new math game called Spin the Number.
Keep practicing letter names and sounds at home using flash cards! For kids ready to work on sight words, here is a link to a website that has the sight words that you can easy print out to make flash cards and find other grades too when they are ready for an extra challenge like first grade words!
http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/kindergarten.htm
Have a great weekend!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Week of October 11-13
Thank you to all who came for our Fall parent/teacher conferences! We have set some great goal for our kids and it's always nice to meet and discuss how things are going in the classroom. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!
This week in the classroom, we continued to talk about the changing season and what it means for it to be Fall. With the help of a parent volunteer and Scholastic Weekly Reader, kids learned a song about Autumn leaves falling down.
In math, we looked closely at the shapes of the circle and square during math and also practiced our number poem that helps us remember how to form the numbers. Soon we will begin the concept of symmetry, so anything around the house that you notice to be symmetrical, point this out to your kid so that when we talk about it they can better apply their knowledge. In reading we have been stretching words out to hear all the sounds (beginning, middle, and end). This will help us become better readers and give kids a tool to use to decode new words. We also read a new Sight Word Reader book titled Me Too! This is a fun story about a little brother trying to be just like his older brother that teaches kids the new sight words "me" and "too." These words will be added to our Word Wall next week, so please encourage your kid to use the resources in the room, like the Word Wall, to help them spell words. In writing, we did topics beginning with our letter of the week "a." We described an alligator, the letter a, an ant, as well as our oral language picture of a kid playing in puddles. Our goal in writing is to put spaces between words, so as your kid writes at home, please remind them if they forget spaces. We also began creating a class book devoted to words kids already know how to read from their world! After the book is made, I will pick super kids to borrow the book over the weekend so that families can read it together.
Last week bookmarks went home for kids to list books they read. This is for Scholastic's Book Challenge. If kids in our class read 10 books each by December 17, 2010, Scholastic will donate one million books to kids in need! As your child reads and fills in the titles of their books, they can bring the bookmark to me and I will add it to our wall then enter the books on the website. So far 4 kids have finished their book marks and we are 210 books away from reaching our goal of 250 books! Great job kids! Next week I will send the November and Holiday book club catalogs home. The due date for the November books ordered is November 15.
Be on the lookout for a slide show on this blog highlighting photos kids have taken for Fall. Please email or give me hard copies of Fall pictures your kid may want to show the class and I can add them in.
This week in the classroom, we continued to talk about the changing season and what it means for it to be Fall. With the help of a parent volunteer and Scholastic Weekly Reader, kids learned a song about Autumn leaves falling down.
In math, we looked closely at the shapes of the circle and square during math and also practiced our number poem that helps us remember how to form the numbers. Soon we will begin the concept of symmetry, so anything around the house that you notice to be symmetrical, point this out to your kid so that when we talk about it they can better apply their knowledge. In reading we have been stretching words out to hear all the sounds (beginning, middle, and end). This will help us become better readers and give kids a tool to use to decode new words. We also read a new Sight Word Reader book titled Me Too! This is a fun story about a little brother trying to be just like his older brother that teaches kids the new sight words "me" and "too." These words will be added to our Word Wall next week, so please encourage your kid to use the resources in the room, like the Word Wall, to help them spell words. In writing, we did topics beginning with our letter of the week "a." We described an alligator, the letter a, an ant, as well as our oral language picture of a kid playing in puddles. Our goal in writing is to put spaces between words, so as your kid writes at home, please remind them if they forget spaces. We also began creating a class book devoted to words kids already know how to read from their world! After the book is made, I will pick super kids to borrow the book over the weekend so that families can read it together.
Last week bookmarks went home for kids to list books they read. This is for Scholastic's Book Challenge. If kids in our class read 10 books each by December 17, 2010, Scholastic will donate one million books to kids in need! As your child reads and fills in the titles of their books, they can bring the bookmark to me and I will add it to our wall then enter the books on the website. So far 4 kids have finished their book marks and we are 210 books away from reaching our goal of 250 books! Great job kids! Next week I will send the November and Holiday book club catalogs home. The due date for the November books ordered is November 15.
Be on the lookout for a slide show on this blog highlighting photos kids have taken for Fall. Please email or give me hard copies of Fall pictures your kid may want to show the class and I can add them in.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Week of October 4th-8th
I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to my whole class and their parents/guardians for a wonderful birthday! I was so surprised and truly had a great day. I was also very impressed at how well the kids used the calender so they were the ones who informed their parents. I have such a great class!
Cold season is approaching fast and our classroom supply of hand sanitizer is getting low. If you're looking for a way to help the class, we could really use any that you find on sale! Also, as you use eggs at home and empty the egg cartons, I could use those for some math activities. Our school is also collecting pop tops for McDonald House, so as you pull those off soup cans, pops, etc. please send those in. For every pop top collected, McDonald House donates .01 for sick kids. We also have a basket in our room to collect Silent Auction items. Thanks ahead of time for anything you can donate!
This week we worked on a new letter, "c" with many activities. Kids described topics beginning with the letter "c" in their writing journals, as well as brainstormed "c" words. We explored how to make leaf rubbings and worked on matching color words to the rubbed leaves. These rubbing papers will provide the backgrounds to the descriptive writing about leaves to be put on display in the hallway. If you are unable to stop by the hallway outside of our class, pictures of both this display as well as the Ten Apples Up On Top display will be posted soon on this blog.
Are any of the kids photographers? When you go on hikes or walks, do the kids like to take pictures? As the seasons change and we see such spectacular sights in Colorado, feel free to send pictures the kids take to my email address! I would like to make a slide show on this blog illustrating the seasons as seen through the kids' eyes.
Cold season is approaching fast and our classroom supply of hand sanitizer is getting low. If you're looking for a way to help the class, we could really use any that you find on sale! Also, as you use eggs at home and empty the egg cartons, I could use those for some math activities. Our school is also collecting pop tops for McDonald House, so as you pull those off soup cans, pops, etc. please send those in. For every pop top collected, McDonald House donates .01 for sick kids. We also have a basket in our room to collect Silent Auction items. Thanks ahead of time for anything you can donate!
This week we worked on a new letter, "c" with many activities. Kids described topics beginning with the letter "c" in their writing journals, as well as brainstormed "c" words. We explored how to make leaf rubbings and worked on matching color words to the rubbed leaves. These rubbing papers will provide the backgrounds to the descriptive writing about leaves to be put on display in the hallway. If you are unable to stop by the hallway outside of our class, pictures of both this display as well as the Ten Apples Up On Top display will be posted soon on this blog.
Are any of the kids photographers? When you go on hikes or walks, do the kids like to take pictures? As the seasons change and we see such spectacular sights in Colorado, feel free to send pictures the kids take to my email address! I would like to make a slide show on this blog illustrating the seasons as seen through the kids' eyes.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Week of September 27th-October 1st
This week in the kindergarten classroom, kids learned about Johnny Appleseed and created many projects devoted to the apple! Kids loved listening to the story of Johnny Appleseed, and we discussed what a Tall Tale means (making a little story big with a lot of make believe details). We also read (and thoroughly enjoyed) Ten Apples Up on Top then made pictures with ten apples stacked on our heads like the characters in the story. All of the pictures came out so good that I will put them on display outside our classroom next week.
Earlier in the week, I finished DIBELS with the class. Kids were assessed on letter names and the results will be discussed during Fall conferences. Reminders for the conference date and time you signed up for are in the Friday Folders this week. There are some who haven't signed up, but there are still time slots available. Either stop by to sign up outside my door, or drop me an email so I can discuss available times with you!
In Fundations, our letter of the week is "m" and we wrote about many topics that begin with this letter, such as, "monkey," "mouse," and "marble." Have kids be on the look out for words that start with "m" at home!
In math, we continued to look at sorting and kids sorted coins into muffin tins. Kids also explored patterns using sound, motion, and colors. I would create a pattern clapping, stomping, talking, and the kinder kids were awesome at mimicking my pattern! Next week, we will further explore patterns using the Smart Board.
In reading, we learned two new sight words, "play," and "with" using the book Play Time. Copies of this book are included in their Friday Folders to add to their home book bags. We also added a new poem to our Poetry Folders that uses color words. Children also created books inspired by one of our classroom's favorite books, Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. This book is included in their Friday Folders and took them a couple days to complete as they really put a lot of effort into each page! Besides illustrating, children filled in the blank on each page that focuses on beginning letter sounds.
We all continue to work on classroom behavior, so please discuss with your kid what times are appropriate play times. Our day is so busy that any time spent on correcting this behavior takes away from valuable learning time, so please help me by discussing this with your kid! I have certainly seen some improvements, but we need to keep up the hard work and get to be even better students!
Earlier in the week, I finished DIBELS with the class. Kids were assessed on letter names and the results will be discussed during Fall conferences. Reminders for the conference date and time you signed up for are in the Friday Folders this week. There are some who haven't signed up, but there are still time slots available. Either stop by to sign up outside my door, or drop me an email so I can discuss available times with you!
In Fundations, our letter of the week is "m" and we wrote about many topics that begin with this letter, such as, "monkey," "mouse," and "marble." Have kids be on the look out for words that start with "m" at home!
In math, we continued to look at sorting and kids sorted coins into muffin tins. Kids also explored patterns using sound, motion, and colors. I would create a pattern clapping, stomping, talking, and the kinder kids were awesome at mimicking my pattern! Next week, we will further explore patterns using the Smart Board.
In reading, we learned two new sight words, "play," and "with" using the book Play Time. Copies of this book are included in their Friday Folders to add to their home book bags. We also added a new poem to our Poetry Folders that uses color words. Children also created books inspired by one of our classroom's favorite books, Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. This book is included in their Friday Folders and took them a couple days to complete as they really put a lot of effort into each page! Besides illustrating, children filled in the blank on each page that focuses on beginning letter sounds.
We all continue to work on classroom behavior, so please discuss with your kid what times are appropriate play times. Our day is so busy that any time spent on correcting this behavior takes away from valuable learning time, so please help me by discussing this with your kid! I have certainly seen some improvements, but we need to keep up the hard work and get to be even better students!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Week of September 20th-24th
This week in the classroom, kids learned more about what it means to be respectful, responsible, and to make good choices. They listened to books about the subjects and then we had a discussion. If you haven't already, please talk about what this can mean at home and how they can show how to be respectful and responsible at home. If your kid came home on Thursday with red, green, or black fingers, don't worry! Their fingers were used to make fingerprint apples on the first poem in their poetry folders. Every week kids will learn a new poem and at the end of the year, these folders go home for kids to read and enjoy.
In Fundations, the letter of the week was "n," and children used their fingers to skywrite "n" and later write on worksheets. Have them look for the letter "n" at home, and ask them if they can come up with any words that start with the letter "n."
In math, children explored sorting in many different ways! First, Mrs. Lawrence played a sorting game with the kids. She would come up with a rule on how to sort the kids, and they would have to guess the rule. They loved this game! Kids also sorted keys and zippers in class and we discussed all the ways they sorted. Some sorted by color, others by size, type, and many other ways. It was great to see kids applying those thinking skills to math!
In reading, we worked on a new Sight Word Reader book titled Ride On! We picture walked the book then used our fingers to frame the words while we read. A copy of this book will be included in their Friday Folders to be added to their home library. Every week we will add a new book. Last week, the first book (Farm Friends) was sent home in a large bag. This bag is to keep all the books that go home together to be a stay at home book bag. From now on, the books will be sent home in their folders. They will need to be cut and assembled before read, and the kids may need help on the order. There are letters in the bottom of every page to help with order. You just need scissors and a stapler to make these books and start filling those book bags!
In writing, we continue to work on the description genre and kids described a "nest," "nickel," "number 8," among other topics that started with the letter of the week, "n."
Johnny Appleseed's birthday is coming up on the 26th of September, so many activities for the rest of the month will be about the apple. Kids will create apple books, talk about the seasons, and learn about this historical figure in class.
In Fundations, the letter of the week was "n," and children used their fingers to skywrite "n" and later write on worksheets. Have them look for the letter "n" at home, and ask them if they can come up with any words that start with the letter "n."
In math, children explored sorting in many different ways! First, Mrs. Lawrence played a sorting game with the kids. She would come up with a rule on how to sort the kids, and they would have to guess the rule. They loved this game! Kids also sorted keys and zippers in class and we discussed all the ways they sorted. Some sorted by color, others by size, type, and many other ways. It was great to see kids applying those thinking skills to math!
In reading, we worked on a new Sight Word Reader book titled Ride On! We picture walked the book then used our fingers to frame the words while we read. A copy of this book will be included in their Friday Folders to be added to their home library. Every week we will add a new book. Last week, the first book (Farm Friends) was sent home in a large bag. This bag is to keep all the books that go home together to be a stay at home book bag. From now on, the books will be sent home in their folders. They will need to be cut and assembled before read, and the kids may need help on the order. There are letters in the bottom of every page to help with order. You just need scissors and a stapler to make these books and start filling those book bags!
In writing, we continue to work on the description genre and kids described a "nest," "nickel," "number 8," among other topics that started with the letter of the week, "n."
Johnny Appleseed's birthday is coming up on the 26th of September, so many activities for the rest of the month will be about the apple. Kids will create apple books, talk about the seasons, and learn about this historical figure in class.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Week of September 13th-17th
This week we continued to work on literacy center rotations and behavior. Kids are getting much better at staying on task and using their time wisely! I would like to thank all the parents who have volunteered thus far because they have been so patient and understanding in the classroom as our class is learning how to make good choices. Kids worked on a lot of projects this week during centers and some are in various degrees of completion. I included all their work this week into their Friday Folders. If kids are looking for something to do this weekend, there should be some projects they were unable to finish in class as an optional project. As always, any classroom work sent home will not be graded since it is guided and modeled, so we create as a group and not as an individual.
In Fundations, we introduced the letter "f" and had children practice writing this letter on worksheets and in their writing notebooks with subjects that begin with "f," like "flag," "frog," and "firetruck." The kids enjoyed the story about Echo having to find dinner. Ask them if they remember the story and what Echo's problem/solution was and where the story took place.
In math, we talked about numbers and where we see them in the room. We learned a fun number poem together that teaches kids how to write the numbers 1 through 9. We will continue to practice this poem so that soon kids can sing a few lines at home! Next week, we will start to discuss ways we can sort objects. Attached to all the folders is a card with the students Everyday Math login information. Please feel free to take advantage of this service anytime!
In reading, we continued to work with the alphabet. We created little books together titled "Farm Friends." This is the first book in a series that will help kids learn sight words. In this story, the sight words are "I" and "see." The books will go home Friday in a large Ziploc bag so that these can become their book bags at home. Every week, students will get a new book to create at home in this sight word series and they can build their own little library of books!We also worked with the nursery rhymes Little Miss Muffet and Hickory Dickory Dock. Learning nursery rhymes is great for fluency so have kids practice saying them at home! Next week, we will continue to learn more nursery rhymes as well as introduce a poetry folder.
I also sent home a Scholastic Book catalog. I set up the online service so that ordering books is easier than ever for parents. Attached to the catalog is the step-by-step information on how to order online. The classroom library earns extra money for books for all the order placed online! Please let me know if you have any questions about this. If you are unable/prefer the paper form of ordering, that still works! The deadline for order forms is September 30th.
In Fundations, we introduced the letter "f" and had children practice writing this letter on worksheets and in their writing notebooks with subjects that begin with "f," like "flag," "frog," and "firetruck." The kids enjoyed the story about Echo having to find dinner. Ask them if they remember the story and what Echo's problem/solution was and where the story took place.
In math, we talked about numbers and where we see them in the room. We learned a fun number poem together that teaches kids how to write the numbers 1 through 9. We will continue to practice this poem so that soon kids can sing a few lines at home! Next week, we will start to discuss ways we can sort objects. Attached to all the folders is a card with the students Everyday Math login information. Please feel free to take advantage of this service anytime!
In reading, we continued to work with the alphabet. We created little books together titled "Farm Friends." This is the first book in a series that will help kids learn sight words. In this story, the sight words are "I" and "see." The books will go home Friday in a large Ziploc bag so that these can become their book bags at home. Every week, students will get a new book to create at home in this sight word series and they can build their own little library of books!We also worked with the nursery rhymes Little Miss Muffet and Hickory Dickory Dock. Learning nursery rhymes is great for fluency so have kids practice saying them at home! Next week, we will continue to learn more nursery rhymes as well as introduce a poetry folder.
I also sent home a Scholastic Book catalog. I set up the online service so that ordering books is easier than ever for parents. Attached to the catalog is the step-by-step information on how to order online. The classroom library earns extra money for books for all the order placed online! Please let me know if you have any questions about this. If you are unable/prefer the paper form of ordering, that still works! The deadline for order forms is September 30th.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Week of September 6th-10th
This week the kindergarten class started their literacy centers and group names have an under the sea theme of jellyfish, seahorse, turtle, and crab. As I mentioned last week during the Back-to-School night, members in groups will change as I constantly assess student's reading levels so that the group is a good fit for your kid! These centers include a listening center/independent work, writing, parent volunteer, and guided reading.
In the classroom, we are working on using positive talk and outlook so that all days are good days. Please work with me on helping kids know that they should always do their best, and that we never want to use the word "can't" because all kids "can!"
In Fundations, we introduced the letter "b" and children practiced writing this letter all week long in addition to more practice with the letter "t." We used dry erase boards and socks as erasers so that all kids could practice writing these letters again and again. The handwriting of names has improved greatly! All kids must have worked hard on the homework last weekend. Please keep having them practice their names at home so that it gets easier and won't be a struggle for them in the classroom.
In math, we explored the concept of zero by singing Five Little Monkeys and eating pretzels! I believe all the kids really enjoyed this surprise treat. Next week, we will look closer at numbers and where we see them in our everyday lives to improve number sense.
In reading and writing, we worked with the alphabet and started building that groundwork for reading with letter sounds. Next week, we will continue to look at letter sounds and the words for colors. Kids are currently working on descriptive writing with topics so far of apple, dog, and ball.
In the classroom, we are working on using positive talk and outlook so that all days are good days. Please work with me on helping kids know that they should always do their best, and that we never want to use the word "can't" because all kids "can!"
In Fundations, we introduced the letter "b" and children practiced writing this letter all week long in addition to more practice with the letter "t." We used dry erase boards and socks as erasers so that all kids could practice writing these letters again and again. The handwriting of names has improved greatly! All kids must have worked hard on the homework last weekend. Please keep having them practice their names at home so that it gets easier and won't be a struggle for them in the classroom.
In math, we explored the concept of zero by singing Five Little Monkeys and eating pretzels! I believe all the kids really enjoyed this surprise treat. Next week, we will look closer at numbers and where we see them in our everyday lives to improve number sense.
In reading and writing, we worked with the alphabet and started building that groundwork for reading with letter sounds. Next week, we will continue to look at letter sounds and the words for colors. Kids are currently working on descriptive writing with topics so far of apple, dog, and ball.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
This second week in kindergarten was very busy as kids practiced center rotations and learned more about what it means to be in school. They all seem to be adjusting well to their time in school and are learning fast our classroom routines and rules. Many kids earned Pride Bucks this week, as they showed positive behavior on the carpet and in the hallway. I see many making new friends and I hope that even with a large class, kids will see this as an opportunity to make new friends, learn, and grow from each other!
In Fundations, kids met Echo the Owl and made him proud when they echoed our first letter sound /t/. Then we practiced writing it together. We will continue to practice writing T and exploring new letters. In reading, I read many fun stories to the children and I'm interested to see which was their favorite by the handy poll on this page. Next week, we will start guided reading for our literacy block. In math, we explored pattern blocks and some new shape words. I introduced octagon, trapezoid, and rhombus, and we will continue to practice these shapes. When you see these shapes in the world around them outside of school, be sure to point them out and have them practice. A good example are stop signs! We also worked on pairing strips of paper cut to different lengths. As children found their pair (from another student), they learned something interesting about the other person and hopefully made a new friend or two. In writing, we began to fill out our Year in Kindergarten books. Each month, children will illustrate a page and fill in the blank about something special that month. At the end of the year, these books will go home and show all the incredible progress they made! Next week, we will begin their guided writing groups and start descriptive writing together.
I want to send out a big thank you to all the parents who have signed up to volunteer, help with parties/party supplies, and/or were able to find the time to make Back-to-School Night tonight. I feel very fortunate as a first time teacher to have such giving and kind parents! If ever your volunteer time needs to change for the following month, or if suddenly you can/want to volunteer, please let me know. Also, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns- Your child's success and happiness in the classroom is a priority to me!
In Fundations, kids met Echo the Owl and made him proud when they echoed our first letter sound /t/. Then we practiced writing it together. We will continue to practice writing T and exploring new letters. In reading, I read many fun stories to the children and I'm interested to see which was their favorite by the handy poll on this page. Next week, we will start guided reading for our literacy block. In math, we explored pattern blocks and some new shape words. I introduced octagon, trapezoid, and rhombus, and we will continue to practice these shapes. When you see these shapes in the world around them outside of school, be sure to point them out and have them practice. A good example are stop signs! We also worked on pairing strips of paper cut to different lengths. As children found their pair (from another student), they learned something interesting about the other person and hopefully made a new friend or two. In writing, we began to fill out our Year in Kindergarten books. Each month, children will illustrate a page and fill in the blank about something special that month. At the end of the year, these books will go home and show all the incredible progress they made! Next week, we will begin their guided writing groups and start descriptive writing together.
I want to send out a big thank you to all the parents who have signed up to volunteer, help with parties/party supplies, and/or were able to find the time to make Back-to-School Night tonight. I feel very fortunate as a first time teacher to have such giving and kind parents! If ever your volunteer time needs to change for the following month, or if suddenly you can/want to volunteer, please let me know. Also, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns- Your child's success and happiness in the classroom is a priority to me!
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