Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Click, click, click....whee!

That's right, we have our hands up and are saying "Whee!" during our last two months of kindergarten!
We have been so busy. Take a look below to see what we have been working on. 

Reading
Reading/decoding strategies
-using picture clues
-sounding out words
-using our understanding of long and short vowels to decode words such as cake and time
-using our understanding of diagraphs (sh, ch, th) to decode words
-using our understanding of vowel teams (when 2 vowels go a walking, the first one does the talking) in words like boat, house, and leaf

Comprehension strategies
-re-telling fiction stories (character, setting, problem, and solution) or if there is no problem, re-telling the story in order
-matching the illustrations/photographs to words in a text
-making connections (that part of the books reminds me of....) while reading a text

In writing, we have moved onto creating true life stories (narrative writing) all about our fabulous kiddos! This is one of the kids' favorite writing genres, as they get to write and draw stories about themselves. Ask your kiddo what 3 things make an AWESOME true story (actions, feelings, and talking). Then ask your child to share with you their amazing writing skills.

Math
We are still working with our addition and subtraction stories, however we have also added representing the stories with equations to our goals. So in addition to drawing/using manipulatives to just solve math problems, students have been representing the problems to represent the math story and solution (4 + 2 = 6). 

Thank You
-Thank you to everyone who raised money for our Fun Run this year! Our class exceeded our goal of $420 and the best part is that 100% of the profits go to our school.
-Thank you to all of the parents who came in for our student led conferences. I hope you were able to get a glimpse of what your child mastered during the third quarter and how much they have grown academically in the past few months.
-Thank you to Michael and Melissa Sommerlad for donating pizza during our make up day on Saturday. The kiddos LOVED it, and it was the cherry on top to our pizza themed day.
-Last, but not least, thank you for all of the thoughtful teacher appreciation gifts this past week. The cards, flowers, gifts, and kinds words have really warmed my heart! Thank you for entrusting your children to me each and everyday. 

Upcoming Events
-Letterland is coming to Pullen Park! That's right, Clever Cat, Quarrelsome Queen, and all of your child's favorite Letterland characters will be there THIS SATURDAY, MAY 17th. Please click on the link in the email for more info.
-We will be participating in some fun activities the last week of school. Keep your eye out for a sign up genius email with more details. 
-Save the date! Thursday, June 26th, we will have an end of year celebration for our kiddos and their parents. More details are forthcoming.