This 9 weeks has flown by...
I have been finishing up the kiddos end of quarter assessments to compare to our initial assessment data, and it amazing how much they can grow in just a few weeks. Speaking of data, I will be sharing with your child's data with you during our conferences October 18th and 19th. If you haven't signed up yet, head on over to www.signupgenius.com and look over the available dates/times. If for some reason, you cannot meet on those dates, please email me, so we can work out another time.
Also, since the kids are tracking out, Friday folders and Kid Connection envelopes will not be going home. With the little guys and gals, we have found it is harder to get the folders back after 3 weeks. Instead, any papers and forms will be stapled and placed in your child's backpack.
Also, in your child's backpack, you can find their sight word books that we have worked on all quarter. In them, you will find stories using the sight words I, a, my, the, and see. With the combination of using the strategy of illustrations and beginning letters/sounds to determine words, as well as using the sight words themselves, the kids will amaze you with how the can 'read'.
A big thank you to you and your children for a wonderful first 9 weeks. Enjoy your track out and I will see you back October 22nd:-)
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Fall Festival Class Basket-donations needed
The Fall Festival is just around the corner. There will be fun things for the whole family to do, including bidding on 'themed baskets' that will help raise money for our grade level. This year, we have decided to pair up with Ms. Little, a track 2 kindergarten teacher. Students from each class will donate items that go with our theme, that can later be bid on during the Fall Festival. The proceeds will go towards helping students who cannot afford to pay for field trips such as, our trip to Smith's Nursery.
The theme we have chosen is “Warm Your Sweet Little Soul". Some examples of items people can donate include: gourmet hot cocoa, specialty chocolates, hot cocoa mugs, chocolate spoons, fun marshmallows, and other items of that nature.
If you would like to help, but do not have the time to shop, you can make a monetary donation (please label with a note that says 'PTA Basket' ) and send it in with your child.
The last day to donate is this Friday, September 28th.
The theme we have chosen is “Warm Your Sweet Little Soul". Some examples of items people can donate include: gourmet hot cocoa, specialty chocolates, hot cocoa mugs, chocolate spoons, fun marshmallows, and other items of that nature.
If you would like to help, but do not have the time to shop, you can make a monetary donation (please label with a note that says 'PTA Basket' ) and send it in with your child.
The last day to donate is this Friday, September 28th.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Apples Galore!
What a fantastic day! There were apples galore...apple sauce, apple graphs, apple art, apple patterns, red apples, yellow apples, green apples. I almost felt like Bubba from Forest Gump, lol. A great day was had by all. Besides getting to taste the apple sauce, the kids LOVED getting a turn to try the apple peeler/corer.
A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated apples.
In case you are interested, here is the recipe for the applesauce we made today. They taste great warm with vanilla icecream or cold, as a side dish.
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
10 large apples, peeled, cut, and cored
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Take a potato masher and mash. This can be eaten warm or cold. Refrigerate the remaining sauce.
*Note* I made a batch and a half that was perfect for our class of 23.
What else did we do this week?
We learned about the letters "Dd" and "Ff", the sounds they make and how to write them. In writing, we continued to practice writing sentences with a focus on using two fingers to make a space between each word, as well as, creating pictures with labels that represented the kiddos favorite part in the book, "Ellen's Apple Tree".
In reading, our focus was on making predictions about a story before we start to read, as well as a continued focus on print concepts such as, understanding punctuation marks (period, question marks, and exclamation point), where the title page is, what the author/illustrator do, left-to-right/top-to-bottom reading, etc....
In math, we began to use 5 groups with the numbers 6-10. For example, we counted the number 7 on our hands. We then,were able to see that seven is the same value as 5 and 2. This is a very important concept, as being able to see and use 5 groups gives children a trememdous advantage when they move into addition and subtraction.
As always, these concepts can easily be reinforced at home through 'teachable moments'.
Conferences
Keep an eye out for an email with details on how you can sign up for quarter 1 conferences.
Wishlist
Thank you to Ms. Hughes for finding and donating the elusive 8quart dishpans (they were so rare, it was almost like seeing Big Foot), as well as cookie sheets for our classroom.
Thank you to eveyone who donated 'kid-friendly' magazines to use at our Word Work station.
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers, Ms. Walters, Ms. Moose, Ms.Davis, and Ms. Salpeck for making copies, stuffing folders, making min-books, and tearing out math pages every week. You are very much appreciated by both Ms. Gardner and myself.
A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated apples.
In case you are interested, here is the recipe for the applesauce we made today. They taste great warm with vanilla icecream or cold, as a side dish.
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
10 large apples, peeled, cut, and cored
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Take a potato masher and mash. This can be eaten warm or cold. Refrigerate the remaining sauce.
*Note* I made a batch and a half that was perfect for our class of 23.
What else did we do this week?
We learned about the letters "Dd" and "Ff", the sounds they make and how to write them. In writing, we continued to practice writing sentences with a focus on using two fingers to make a space between each word, as well as, creating pictures with labels that represented the kiddos favorite part in the book, "Ellen's Apple Tree".
In reading, our focus was on making predictions about a story before we start to read, as well as a continued focus on print concepts such as, understanding punctuation marks (period, question marks, and exclamation point), where the title page is, what the author/illustrator do, left-to-right/top-to-bottom reading, etc....
In math, we began to use 5 groups with the numbers 6-10. For example, we counted the number 7 on our hands. We then,were able to see that seven is the same value as 5 and 2. This is a very important concept, as being able to see and use 5 groups gives children a trememdous advantage when they move into addition and subtraction.
As always, these concepts can easily be reinforced at home through 'teachable moments'.
Conferences
Keep an eye out for an email with details on how you can sign up for quarter 1 conferences.
Wishlist
Thank you to Ms. Hughes for finding and donating the elusive 8quart dishpans (they were so rare, it was almost like seeing Big Foot), as well as cookie sheets for our classroom.
Thank you to eveyone who donated 'kid-friendly' magazines to use at our Word Work station.
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers, Ms. Walters, Ms. Moose, Ms.Davis, and Ms. Salpeck for making copies, stuffing folders, making min-books, and tearing out math pages every week. You are very much appreciated by both Ms. Gardner and myself.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Week 7
Hi everyone! Can you believe the first quarter is almost over? By now, the kids know our classroom procedures and routines, and we are making strides towards identifying all of our letters/sounds, print concepts, and understanding of numbers 1-10. Keep an eye out for an email with a link to www.signupgenius.com to sign up for a conference day/time over track out, so I may share your child's growth this quarter with you.
Fun Friday
Our first "Fun Friday" is here! Our first theme for fun Friday is apples. We will be sorting apples, tasting apples, making patterns with apples, graphing our favorite kind of apples, reading apple stories, and making apple sauce. And this is where you come in. I am asking for donations of (drum roll, please), you guessed it, APPLES!! Red, green, or yellow...either kind is fine. One apple, a couple of apples, or a bag of apples. Whatever you can donate would be greatly appreciated : -)
Homework
Homework will begin when we come back from track out. It will go home in your child's Friday folder and will need to come back the following Friday. This way, homework will not have to be completed on a specific night, giving families more flexibility for extra curricular activities, etc...
Field Trip
Thank you to those of you who filled out and returned the permission forms/money for our field trip. Don't forget to fill out the back of the permission form with emergency contacts, etc.. Thank you for those of you who have volunteered to go on our trip with us. If you haven't already, please make sure to sign up to be a volunteer in the front office. This is very important as you must receive clearance from Wake county in order to go on our trip.
Picture Re-Take Day
Picture re-take day is next week (9/25). If you are planning to have your child's picture taken again, or if you missed the first picture day, please email me and I will send you an order form in your child's "Kid Connection" envelope.
*Don't Forget* The last day to order scholastic books is September 28th : -)
Fun Friday
Our first "Fun Friday" is here! Our first theme for fun Friday is apples. We will be sorting apples, tasting apples, making patterns with apples, graphing our favorite kind of apples, reading apple stories, and making apple sauce. And this is where you come in. I am asking for donations of (drum roll, please), you guessed it, APPLES!! Red, green, or yellow...either kind is fine. One apple, a couple of apples, or a bag of apples. Whatever you can donate would be greatly appreciated : -)
Homework
Homework will begin when we come back from track out. It will go home in your child's Friday folder and will need to come back the following Friday. This way, homework will not have to be completed on a specific night, giving families more flexibility for extra curricular activities, etc...
Field Trip
Thank you to those of you who filled out and returned the permission forms/money for our field trip. Don't forget to fill out the back of the permission form with emergency contacts, etc.. Thank you for those of you who have volunteered to go on our trip with us. If you haven't already, please make sure to sign up to be a volunteer in the front office. This is very important as you must receive clearance from Wake county in order to go on our trip.
Picture Re-Take Day
Picture re-take day is next week (9/25). If you are planning to have your child's picture taken again, or if you missed the first picture day, please email me and I will send you an order form in your child's "Kid Connection" envelope.
*Don't Forget* The last day to order scholastic books is September 28th : -)
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the computer lab we go!
We made or first trip to the computer lab today. With the help of Mrs. O' Grady, the technology teacher, we learned how to log onto the computer using our NC wise numbers, which is no small feat considering most of these numbers are at least 6-digits long! Tomorrow, we will go to the computer lab again and learn how to go to www.starfall.com. Here, the kiddos can practice their letters, sounds, and beginning reading skills. Click on the link to check it out...it's FREE!
In other classroom news, our reading stamina is now up to 6 minutes and 45 seconds (can I get a woot! woot!). We are making a lot of progress towards our daily 5 structure this week. The kiddos have continued to explore the activities in our word work and writing stations and are doing a great job! And big thank you to Mrs. Zajac and Mrs. Maslow for making our "Mystery Sight Word & Mystery Classmate" bottles for our writing station.
In reading this week, our focus is on making connections while we read. This means, being able to relate what we are reading to something we have done (text-to-text connection), something else we have read (text to text connection), or something we know (text-to-world connection). In class today, we tried to encourage these connections after reading our poem of the week by saying, "This reminds me of..." You can help reinforce this when you are reading at home and model for them these connections.
In math, we continue to work on our understanding of numbers 1-10, as well as graphing these numbers to be able to demonstrate and explain more, less, or equal. "Teachable moments" for number sense are all over the place at home, for example, "Do we have more girls in our family or more boys?", "Count the chocolate chips in this bowl." And the best part is, the kids don't even realize they are learning!!!
Thank you all for participating in our 'Spirit Week' this week. The kids have had so much fun dressing up! Also, thank you for donating your loose change to support students in kindergarten who may not be able to go on our field trips.
*Special Note*
Be on the look out for field trip information going home in this week's Friday folder.
**Donations Needed**
Kid-friendly magazines and/or catalogs that the students can use to cut out& paste pictures and words are needed for our Word Work station.
In other classroom news, our reading stamina is now up to 6 minutes and 45 seconds (can I get a woot! woot!). We are making a lot of progress towards our daily 5 structure this week. The kiddos have continued to explore the activities in our word work and writing stations and are doing a great job! And big thank you to Mrs. Zajac and Mrs. Maslow for making our "Mystery Sight Word & Mystery Classmate" bottles for our writing station.
In reading this week, our focus is on making connections while we read. This means, being able to relate what we are reading to something we have done (text-to-text connection), something else we have read (text to text connection), or something we know (text-to-world connection). In class today, we tried to encourage these connections after reading our poem of the week by saying, "This reminds me of..." You can help reinforce this when you are reading at home and model for them these connections.
In math, we continue to work on our understanding of numbers 1-10, as well as graphing these numbers to be able to demonstrate and explain more, less, or equal. "Teachable moments" for number sense are all over the place at home, for example, "Do we have more girls in our family or more boys?", "Count the chocolate chips in this bowl." And the best part is, the kids don't even realize they are learning!!!
Thank you all for participating in our 'Spirit Week' this week. The kids have had so much fun dressing up! Also, thank you for donating your loose change to support students in kindergarten who may not be able to go on our field trips.
*Special Note*
Be on the look out for field trip information going home in this week's Friday folder.
**Donations Needed**
Kid-friendly magazines and/or catalogs that the students can use to cut out& paste pictures and words are needed for our Word Work station.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Reading sight word books, a book picnic, and using all of our 5 senses!
What a great day!
Using the sight words 'I' and 'see', as well as the reading strategy of using the illustrations to help us understand the text, we were able to read our first sight word books! The look on all the kiddos faces was one of accomplishment and joy. Don't worry though, these books will be coming home to you soon, so your child can read them at home to you.Using the information gathered from our 'interviews' last week, our 4th grade book buddies checked out a book or two that they thought our little ones might like. We then headed outside with our towels for a 'book picnic' where the older kids read to our little ones.
Lastly, we ended our day by using all of our 5 senses to make popcorn the old fashioned way, using a popcorn popper (courtesy of the most fantastic teacher assistant at Banks Road, Melanie Gardner). The kids got to see, hear, and smell the popcorn being made. However, the best part hands down for everyone was getting to touch and taste the popcorn. Ask your child about the 5 senses we have been singing this week.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
It's already Thursday??
Okay, so it's technically Wednesday night, but still...where has the week gone?
Today, the kiddos were introduced to another part of our Daily 5 literacy structure...WORD WORK! As you know, one of the many ways we become better readers is to read every day (as evidenced by our daily reading stamina practice) and work with words. In kindergarten, working with with words looks more like working with letters and sounds, but will progress into working with words later in the year. For now, students will work with words in several ways, including, but not limited to...
-matching letters (uppercase and lowercase)
-matching pictures with beginning letter sounds
-using play dough and wikki sticks to create and form letters (uppercase and lowercase)
The kids had a super fun time learning and trying out these new ways to become better readers. Ask your child what their favorite word work activity was. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to slowly roll out our daily 5 structure (read to self, word work, writing, listen to reading, guided reading), so that students can independently work on their own during our literacy block. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities to monitor and work with these groups.
Volunteers
Thank you to Mrs.Salpeck, Mrs. Davis, Mrs.Moose, and Mrs.Walters for volunteering for our weekly jobs. Ms. Gardner, our class assistant, will be holding a short orientation meeting Wednesday morning (9/12) @ 9:15 to share with you some important information. If anyone is still interested, we still have 2 jobs available (morning work person and copies/laminating person)
Reminders
Don't forget! The deadline to order scholastic books is September 28th!
Check out our new "September Reminders" in the right hand corner of our blog. Next week is Spirit week and there are some 'fun days' where the kids can dress up, etc...
Today, the kiddos were introduced to another part of our Daily 5 literacy structure...WORD WORK! As you know, one of the many ways we become better readers is to read every day (as evidenced by our daily reading stamina practice) and work with words. In kindergarten, working with with words looks more like working with letters and sounds, but will progress into working with words later in the year. For now, students will work with words in several ways, including, but not limited to...
-matching letters (uppercase and lowercase)
-matching pictures with beginning letter sounds
-using play dough and wikki sticks to create and form letters (uppercase and lowercase)
The kids had a super fun time learning and trying out these new ways to become better readers. Ask your child what their favorite word work activity was. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to slowly roll out our daily 5 structure (read to self, word work, writing, listen to reading, guided reading), so that students can independently work on their own during our literacy block. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities to monitor and work with these groups.
Volunteers
Thank you to Mrs.Salpeck, Mrs. Davis, Mrs.Moose, and Mrs.Walters for volunteering for our weekly jobs. Ms. Gardner, our class assistant, will be holding a short orientation meeting Wednesday morning (9/12) @ 9:15 to share with you some important information. If anyone is still interested, we still have 2 jobs available (morning work person and copies/laminating person)
Reminders
Don't forget! The deadline to order scholastic books is September 28th!
Check out our new "September Reminders" in the right hand corner of our blog. Next week is Spirit week and there are some 'fun days' where the kids can dress up, etc...
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