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.