Farm Fun!!

Here are some pictures of today's field trip to Heyser Farm!! 

We are authors!!

Hello parents!!  Last week in reading and writing we identified the beginning, middle, and end of stories. We read a lot this week!  Some highlights were, The Secret Birthday Message, The Wind Blew, and One Day, One World.   We also read books about wind and the seasons in science! 

In writing, we wrote our own books called My Day.  We worked on a page each day, and we are proud to say that we are officially authors.  Our first book is a success!    

 In math we continued to work in our math zones while I worked with small groups to practice number concepts and counting.  The students are getting really good at subitizing, or knowing how many there are without even counting.  Their number sense is growing as well, as they are starting to recognize greater and less, and ways to make numbers in different ways.  

We had Andres' dad come Wednesday to be the mystery reader!!  Also Wednesday the class had their first substitute teacher. I got a great report from the sub and I'm proud of everyone for being respectful and responsible while I was at a curriculum study meeting. 

In science we are studying the seasons!! We also did a fun experiment with wind on Friday. Students made a hypothesis about what items would move in front of the fan. Then we tested 20 classroom objects. The students were really thinking like scientists today!  You can try this experiment at home too.  All you need is a fan and some heavy and light objects.  

Please let me know if you can volunteer in our classroom. I'd love for you to come either as a mystery reader for 15-30 minutes, or as a classroom volunteer if you can stay for an hour or so. The cafeteria and recess para educators also love volunteers too!!  I just had to snap this picture of Thomas' dad, who volunteered last week.  Everyone wanted him to read to them! 

We are gearing up for a fun class party on October 30th!! A sign up sheet came home today if you would like to sign up to bring decorations, food, drinks, or paper products. We could also use volunteers starting around 1:30 to help with decorating, helping children change into costumes, and running activities or games after the costume parade. 

Thanks for all of your support! 

Fire Safety Week!!

Last week was Fire Safety Week!  We read books this week all about firefighters and staying safe around fire.  On Thursday, firefighters came to our school and showed us all of their tools in the firetruck and what they have to wear to fight fires. It was a fun surprise for the kids!

We also had a bus evacuation drill on Thursday.  We all got to go on a bus and meet a bus driver, and hear about how to safely exit a bus in an emergency.  In writing we continued to work in our weekend journals and wrote lists.  We are working on stretching out the sounds in our words to write a beginning, middle and end sound for each word.  The words of the week were to and the this week, and we practiced those everyday!  This week in math we started have new math centers to continue building our number sense.  Some of our favorites are playing grab and count, roll and count, and using the Promethean Board and computers during math zones.  We finished up learning about U.S. Symbols this week and talked a lot about leaders this week.  We identified leaders in our families, school, community and country.  Juniper was a great star of the week!  She shared some toys she made, pictures of her family, and made a great poster.  She also brought in a favorite book that I read to the class. We had two mystery readers this week.  Thomas' grandma from Seattle came and Christopher's Tia also came to read to us.  

Monday is Open House!  If you have some time between 9 and 12 to stop by, we would love to show you around our classroom!   Please send back library books, book buddy bags, and homework tomorrow.  If you haven't sent the field trip permission slip and money, please try to send that in this week!  There is no school Friday!  

Our first field trip is coming up at the end of the month.  We will be visiting Heyser Farms in Colesville, MD.  It's a local farm that produces many things, including apple cider.  We will get to observe the process of making apple cider from start to finish, and we will even get to take home a sample!  Please send field trip permission slips in with cash or check.  We have space for one parent volunteer to come with us on the bus.  Please let me know if you are interested!  

This week we read informational books about Fall and U.S. Symbols in whole group reading. In guided reading we worked in small groups to learn reading strategies and practiced letters and sight words. Some groups made "cut up sentences" with a familiar part of the book. As beginning readers, your child will use picture clues, sight words, and familiar language patterns to help them read.  We have new centers, including a play-doh sight word center.  Thanks to Linus' mom for making homemade play-doh this month!  

In writing, we took a huge step forward developmentally.  Up until now, we drew pictures and added labels to them. This week, we wrote lists! We wrote letters together to make words and drew our pictures last.  We wrote a grocery list, a list of colors, and a list of toys.  One day, we went to the computer lab and made a list of animals using the program Kidspiration.  It was really fun!  In math, we continue to count and represent numbers in different ways.  We can show a number with words, tallies, a picture, a domino, on a ten frame, on a die, with fingers, or just a numeral.  We only have six or seven children left to bring home the counting jar, so it's almost your turn if you haven't gotten it yet!  Here's what Sonora brought one day to count!! 

We had a fun and educational visit from Thomas' dad this week.  He came as the mystery reader and taught us all about oviparous animals.  

Exciting news!  We have five members of the shoe tying club!  If your child is still working on learning this skill, don't worry!  We will add more children to the shoe tying club next month.  

The October sign up for volunteers and mystery readers will be sent to you this evening! 

Guided Reading has begun!

In reading this week we focused on setting!  We read Good Night Gorilla, Memoirs of a Hamster, Memoirs of a Goldfish, and Library Mouse. 

Each day we predicted and then identified the setting in each story.  Help your child remember that setting is WHERE and WHEN a story takes place.  Ask them about setting in the stories you read at home!  In writer's workshop we drew and wrote about the setting of each of these books, as well as worked on our weekend journals.  We are getting really good at using colors, details and labels in our pictures.  At the end of the month, I will send home a bundle of writing your child has done, and I know you will be so impressed!  We practiced lines with diagonals or slants in handwriting. We focused on the letters Xx, Vv, Ww,  Zz, Kk, and Zz this week. Try practicing these at home in any way you can.  You can use pens, pencils, crayons, playdoh, or get really messy with shaving cream or sand!   We also practiced our new words of the week, go and up every day this week.

Guided reading is the most important part of the literacy block.  Now that testing is almost complete, and the students are pros at working independently and in small groups at their literacy centers, I can start instructing students on reading skills in small instructional groups.  We learn strategies for reading and decoding unfamiliar words and focus on reading comprehension too.  This week we talked about using the picture to help you figure out a word  Most of the books we start with in Kindergarten have a repeating pattern. Once your child picks up on that pattern, they can use the pictures to help them read!  Today your child brought home the "Book Buddy Bag" for the first time! Inside is a guided reading book that your child read in small groups this week.  There is also a chart for you to complete, letting me know who your child read to, and what comments you have. Please take some time this weekend and read the book together.  Practice good reading skills like using the pictures to help identify unknown words, pointing to words, going from left to right, identifying letters and practicing sight words. Once you help your child get started you'll see that they are starting to read! It is very important that these books come back on Monday so I can use them next week with different children.  Thanks for you help in remembering these books on Monday.  Homework and library books are always due Mondays too!!  

 

This week in math we continued to use the counting jar to practice our number sense.  If you haven't had a chance to fill the jar at your house, your turn is coming soon!  It's great to see how creative everyone is with what they put in the jar!  This week, we not only counted, but we worked on the correct formation of numerals, and learned some number words too!   We started completing pages of a counting book.  We show a number in a lot of different ways including pictures, tallies, in a ten frame, in numeral and word form.  We also are learning how to identify one more, one less and even and odd.   Math zones were new this week, and we even have a new math zone on the Promethean Board. Here are some math zones pictures!

   We learned a new game called "Grab and Count".  We will get to play in small groups next week.  The last math concept that we have just started is called subitizing.  Subitizing is "instantly seeing how many."  You probably haven't heard that word before, but I'm sure you can subitize.  Think about when you see the numbers on the dice when you play a game.  You don't have to count the dots to know how many.  We will play some more games next week to practice this skill.  You can practice at home by playing games that have a die to roll, or by quickly showing your child a pictures of a small amount of things and then cover it or hide it to see if they can tell you how many were there! 

This was our last week of learning about the weather in science, and it was a fun one.  We did a very messy, but very exploratory lesson about making something that sounds like rain.  Basically I just put a bunch of materials out on the tables, and let the kids explore with what they had to make a rainstick.  They had a blast!

  Next week our focus shifts back to Social Studies as we learn about United States symbols and songs.  

On Tuesday,the entire school practiced two emergency drills.   A shelter drill is called when danger could be outside or near the school.  We close exterior doors and windows, close the window blinds, report attendance to the office, and continue instruction.   A lockdown is called when danger is imminent.  We close and lock all windows and doors, turn off lights, and sit quietly in the cubby area. Your child may tell you about these drills that we practiced this week so I wanted you to be aware of the vocabulary and procedures for these events. Please let me know if you have any questions about either of these drills. I explained them to the children in very simple and kid-friendly terms, so as not to alarm or scare them.  

New Scholastic Book orders came home this week!  You may order online or send in the paper order form with cash or checks.  

Does your child know how to tie shoes?  Students who know how will join the Pete the Cat Shoe Tying Club in our class.  They will get an official "License to Tie" card and something out of the prize box.  Practice tying those shoes at home any chance you get! 

Clouds, Characters and Counting!

Hello parents! 

This week in reading, we focused on characters.  We read several books with memorable characters, including Froggy Goes to Bed, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, Kitten's First Full Moon, Betty Bunny Wants Everything, and Olivia.  As we read, we focused on describing the characters, as well as what they did and said in the story.  Then, in writing, we drew pictures of some of our favorite characters.  In handwriting we practiced more letters with straight lines and even letters with diagonal lines.  We also practiced writing our word of the week, can. 

This week, we went ALL the way up to the 3rd floor to Mrs. Carlson's classroom for reading buddies.  We read the story The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Then we drew a silly picture of something else she might swallow!  It was exciting seeing a 3rd grade class and getting to use markers and colored pencils. 

The kids are doing an amazing job during literacy centers while I finish up my reading and Kindergarten readiness assessments.  They rotate through 3 centers each day and independently do all of the following:  work on the computer, listen to a book on CD, use magnetic letters to match and make words, complete alphabet puzzles, sort letters, stamp letters, play alphabet games, highlight sight words, independently read and practice writing!   Wow!   Ask your child which literacy center they like best.  Today we had "ketchup and pickle time" and finished a lot of our work.  Next week, I will finish my assessments and then begin to meet with small groups to begin reading instruction.

Stefanos was a great star of the week.  We enjoyed his toys, pictures and poster.  His mom was the mystery reader on Wednesday.  If you'd like to be a mystery reader, please let me know.  It only takes about 15 minutes and the kids would LOVE to see you. 

In math we continue to build our number sense with counting. Several students brought back the counting jar this week with fun things for us to count.  We counted glass marbles, toys, legos, and marbles this week.  I'll continue to send home the counting jar until everyone has had a turn.  This week at math zones, we explored counting in small groups with tiny counting jars and represented the numbers in different ways.  We used color tiles to create patterns.  We counted and sorted buttons, and made long links to match numerals.  We also used pattern blocks to make geometric pictures.  

We had a lot of fun cloud gazing this week.  What a perfect week to observe the sky!  The kids loved going outside to see if the clouds looked different from day to day.  We read books about what clouds are made of, different types of clouds and what weather they might bring, and even saw some shapes of objects in the sky. Today we painted clouds with q-tips!

Here are some reminders: 

Monday is Library Day and Homework Day.  Please send both to school on Mondays. 

Wednesday is an early release day.  Students will be dismissed at 1:00.  Please make sure your child knows how they will get home on Wednesday.  

There is no school Thursday!  

Please return the front page of the discipline policy that came home in the folder last Thursday. 

Please email me with any questions, comments or concerns.  I'd love to hear how your son or daughter is enjoying Kindergarten. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Colorful Week

It's been a colorful week!  It was so fun to see all of the kids dressed up for color week.  Thanks for participating! 

We read a lot of great color books this week: Clifford the Big Red Dog, Otto's Orange Day, The Yellow Tutu, Emeraldalicious, Pinkalicious, Purplealicious, One Brown Bunny, and The Black Book of Colors.

Monday was our first time meeting our third grade reading buddies from Mrs. Carlson's class.  We listened to a story and worked together to draw a picture of ourselves and wrote something that made us special.  We will read with our buddies most Mondays!   Don't forget that Mondays we also go to the library for lessons and book exchange, so bring back those library books!

 

In writing, we practiced our handwriting of letters with straight lines.  E, L, F, H, i and l are good letters to start with because you pull your pencil down to start. Keep practicing these letters with your child.  It's also important that your child can correctly write his or her name, with an uppercase letter to start and lowercase letters.  Next week we'll work on letters with diagonal lines.  Each day this week, we practiced writing color words and drawing pictures of things that are usually that color. We labeled our picture with beginning sounds. 

In math, we can now draw a picture to match the number of objects in our counting jar.  Be on the lookout for our class counting jar coming home to your family.  You will get the chance to fill it up with something for our class to count!  

Thomas was our first star of the week!  We learned all about his hobbies and interviewed him about favorite things.  He brought in two cool toys and we got to see pictures of his family. Today we made him a book of pictures that he will get to take home next week.  Stefanos is the star of the week next week!  

We are becoming such experts at learning about the weather.  Maybe you'll see one of the kids in our class as the local meteorologist someday!  We can identify weather symbols, and we know all about different kids of weather and how to be prepared for different types of weather conditions. Next up, clouds!  We will also start something new in Social Studies next week.  Now that we know all about classroom rules and responsibilities, we will learn about important United States symbols.   

Scholastic Book orders were due today.  If you were thinking about ordering, let me know as soon as possible, or order this weekend!  I didn't submit the order yet, since the internet was down all day at school today.  A new order form will come home next month.  

Do you ever make play-doh at home? If you are willing to make donate some to our class, it would be greatly appreciated! Let me know if you are interested! 

I'm anxious to have parents come in as classroom volunteers, but I have to finish my primary assessments of the students first.  Be on the lookout for a link for a Sign Up Genius soon if you'd like to be a mystery reader, or come into the classroom to help out!   I'll probably be ready for volunteers in about two weeks.