Reminder

Hi - Just a reminder that tomorrow is Pajama Day, our Sing-a-long, & our Christmas Party.  Please be sure to dress your child in their jammies and slippers (we will NOT be going outside for recess)!  Also, if you haven't yet, please be sure to send in their gift for our class gift exchange:)  Dismissal is at 11:55 tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!!

Newsletter Updates for the Week of December 12th & 20th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Monday, December 19th—Delayed Start

-Tuesday, December 20th—Wear your Beautiful/Ugly Christmas Sweater

-Wednesday, December 21st—1/2 Day, Pajama Day, Sing-a-long, Christmas Party

-December 22nd-January 2nd—Christmas Break

-Tuesday, January 3rd—School Resumes

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:  

Our student of the week is Delainee Bode. Delainee likes to dress-up & play with her babies; during free choice time, you’ll most likely find her in our dramatic play area doing just that! She likes to eat strawberries, apples, mac & cheese and cupcakes, and she enjoys reading Bible stories. She aspires to learn how to read and write, which she is well on her way to accomplishing! Congratulations to Delainee on being our Student of the Week!

CHRISTMAS GIFT EXCHANGE: 

For our class Christmas party, we are planning to have a gift exchange. We are asking that girls bring a gift for a girl and boys bring a gift for a boy. Please select a gift that is between $3.00-$5.00 and send it to school wrapped and labeled with who it is FROM (To: a girl From: Mrs. Brinks).  Our class tree is up now, so you are welcome to send your child’s gift for the gift exchange in at any time.  Also, attached you will find the sign-up for our class Christmas Party—thanks in advance for your generosity!! :)

PAJAMA DAY:

Wednesday, the 21st, will be our annual Christmas Sing-a-long, our Christmas Party, as well as Pajama Day. Students are welcome to wear their pajamas and slippers in the classroom.  Dismissal will be at 11:55.

HOLIDAY HOMEWORK:

Next week the students will be bringing home an envelope of ‘goodies.’ In this envelope you will find some special booklets that your child has made and can read, as well as a sheet explaining some fun Holiday Homework that they can do over break, if they choose.

READING:

This week our class will be reading about different cultures that make up the communities around the world. Your child is learning how to appreciate the different customs that people share. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

· Vocabulary—cultures & appreciate

· Sightwords—do & up—Think of things your child likes and doesn’t like and ask simple questions. Encourage your child to respond with “I do like . . .” or “I do not like . . . “

· Category Words—kinds of foods—Use sticky notes to make labels for different foods in your kitchen. Help your child sound out each word and write it. Then affix the label on the food.

· Phonics—Letter Dd—Search for objects that begin or end with the letter d. Make a list of the words; encourage your child to read each word and then underline the letter d.

· Comprehension: character, setting, events—Read a story together and then invite your child to draw pictures of the main character, the setting, and an important event that happened in the story.

· Beanie Baby Strategies—This week we will introduce Peekin’ Poodle who combines several of the accuracy strategies that we’ve learned so far. When we come to a word we don’t know we . . . “Check the picture, check the word, does it look right, does it sound right, does it make sense, keep trying!”

WRITING:  

Over the next couple of weeks, we will complete some fun journals related to Christmas, including drawing a map for Santa to find our houses, with the help of Google Earth. We will also write another pattern book, this time with a surprise ending.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will wrap up our Science unit on the 5 Senses.  We will also be reading several stories related to Christmas, as we anticipate it’s arrival! :)

MATH: 

This week we will explore the concept of weight and practice counting by 1’s, 5’s, & 10’s.

Thank you for sharing your children with me each day; what a true blessing they are!

I wish your family a very Merry Christmas

filled with joy, hope, & laughter!   

~Sherry Brinks

Christmas Party Sign-Up

Here's a Reminder for those who signed up to provide items for our Christmas Party:)

Thanks for your generosity!!

Recess is a mess!!

Melting snow = wet and muddy snow clothes.  Here is the problem: Our last recess ends at 2:00 on M,W,F so the kids come in with wet and muddy clothes, take them off, and then have to put them back on in a half hour, which doesn't give them time to dry out.  Here's what I'm going to try. I'll give each student a trash bag to put their wet snowpants and gloves in to bring home at the end of the day, this way they don't have to wear them home wet and they don't have to get everything in their backpacks wet and muddy.  Please check their backpacks when they come home and take these wet items out of the trash bag to wash and/or dry.  Also, put the the trash bag back in their backpack so I can reuse it each day. :)  I don't know if this is a solution or not, but we'll try it until I come up with a better one. Once it stays cold and the snow is here to stay, that will help tremendously!  Thanks for your help with this! :)

Newsletter Updates for the Week of December 5th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Monday, December 19th—Delayed Start

-Tuesday, December 20th—Wear your Beautiful/Ugly Christmas Sweater

-Wednesday, December 21st—1/2 Day, Pajama Day, Sing-a-long, Christmas Party

-December 22nd-January 2nd—Christmas Break

-Tuesday, January 3rd—School Resumes

BRRR: 

Please be sure your child has everything they need to stay warm and dry at recess—snowpants, boots, mittens/gloves, hat, warm coat, etc.  It is difficult to enjoy recess when you are cold and/or wet :( Also, please be sure to pack shoes for the classroom.

CHRISTMAS GIFT EXCHANGE:

I know many of you are beginning your Christmas shopping. For our class Christmas party, we are planning to have a gift exchange. We are asking that girls bring a gift for a girl and boys bring a gift for a boy. Please select a gift that is between $3.00-$5.00 and send it to school wrapped and labeled with who it is FROM (To: a girl From: Mrs. Brinks).

WELCOME PEPPERMINT: 

One of Santa’s elves, Peppermint, has joined our classroom for the month of December to help us count down to Christmas and to also keep an eye on our behavior as Christmas approaches.  She adds a little extra excitement and fun, as well as an incentive to make good choices :)  Several of the students have mentioned having elves at home, which means double the fun and that their behavior is being monitored at home and at school! :)

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on different jobs that people have in the community. Children will read stories and learn about the tools and equipment that workers use. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—equipment & uniform—Brainstorm some different kinds of workers in your community. Encourage your child to tell about the equipment a worker uses and the uniform a worker wears.

· Sightwords—you & on—Take turns spelling out sightwords with your finger on each others arm or back. I have the students do this with a partner while waiting in line and they love it!

· Category Words—jobs—Play a game called “Guess the Worker.” Give your child clues about what a worker does and act it out and see if they can guess the job.

· Phonics—Letter Oo

· Beanie Baby Strategies—This week we will use Chunky Monkey to help us read and write words with the ot, op, & og chunks. We will also introduce Dot the Giraffe who helps with our Fluency & Voice as we read by looking at the punctuation clues. We will also introduce Flippy the Dolphin who reminds us that when we come to a tricky word we can ‘flip’ the vowel sound (long or short sound) to figure out the word.

WRITING: 

This week we will continue to learn about pattern books and practice writing our own pattern books about the things we like. We will complete a class book about things we see using the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? as inspiration. We will continue to work on sounding out our words, writing the sounds we hear, and putting spaces between our words.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will continue our Social Studies unit on Families, as well as our Science unit on the 5 Senses.  This week we will conduct several hands on experiments that involve the senses of hearing & smelling. The students are enjoying baking holiday treats and goodies in our classroom Bakery Shop.

MATH:

This week we will work on the ‘tricky teen’ numbers and experiment with different combinations for making numbers (ex: 2+3=5, 0+5=5, & 1+4=5).

Photos from our Feast

Here are a few photos of our Feast - Food, Friendship, & Fun + Adorable Pilgrims!!!

Newsletter Updates for the Week of November 28th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Monday, December 19th—Delayed Start

-Wednesday, December 21st—1/2 Day, Pajama Day, Sing-a-long, Christmas Party

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:  

Our student of the week is Sophia Kline.  Sophia likes to eat cheese and PB&J; her favorite movie is The Diamond Castle and her favorite book to read is the Bible. Her goals for this year include learning how to read, which she is well on her way to accomplishing, and riding her bike without training wheels. Congratulations to Sophia on being our Student of the Week!

THANK YOU:  

Phew! Last week was a busy week of learning and fun! Special thanks to Mrs. Nelson, Mr. McCrimmon, and Mrs. Grill for coming in to help out—I couldn’t have done it without you!! :)  Also, thanks to everyone who provided food and supplies! I’ll try to post some photos of our feast on the classroom blog this week.

BRRR: 

I’ve been impressed with how quickly and independently the students have been getting dressed and undressed for recess—Way to Go! Please be sure to label all items and please be sure to pack shoes for the classroom. I don’t let the students wear their boots in the classroom because we spend a lot of time sitting on the floor and we try to keep it clean and dry:) Students are welcome to leave a pair of shoes in their locker to keep at school if that is easier.

CHRISTMAS GIFT EXCHANGE: 

I know many of you are beginning your Christmas shopping. For our class Christmas party, we are planning to have a gift exchange. We are asking that girls bring a gift for a girl and boys bring a gift for a boy. Please select a gift that is between $3.00-$5.00 and send it to school wrapped and labeled with who it is FROM (To: a girl From: Mrs. Brinks).

READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about the places we visit in our neighborhoods and communities. Here are some activities that you can do to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—routine & neighborhood—Talk about a routine you have in your family; use the words first, next, then, & last.

· Sightwords—go & in—Take turns using go and in in a sentence. Ask the question: Where do you like to go? Invite your child to complete the sentence: I like to go to the ___.

· Category Words—sequence words—Play a game called “What are we going to do?” Encourage your child to use sequence words such as first, next, then, & last.

· Phonics—Letter Cc

· Comprehension—character setting, events—Guide your child in telling a story. Ask your child to think of the characters in the story, where the story takes place, and what events will happen.

WRITING:  

This week we will edit our November Journals and bring them home to share. We will begin a new unit for Writing that teaches us how to write pattern books; we will begin by writing about things we see.

MATH: 

This week we will work on identifying and sorting objects and shapes according to various attributes (shape, color, size, thickness, etc.). We will collect classroom data about everyone’s favorite color. We will introduce the calculator app and the students will be bringing home their ‘Countdown to Christmas’ Chains to hang up at home and help them keep track of how many days until Christmas.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:  

This week we will be reading several books about families, since the Holidays are all about spending time with our families and caring for each other. We will also begin our Science Unit on the 5 Senses.

 Please be sure to return your

November Book-it Calendar

Important Reminders

We have an exciting week of learning and fun coming up this week!

A couple of reminders:
-Please be sure to send in your potato tomorrow (Monday)
-Please look over the Thanksgiving Sign-Up sheet for items you volunteered to provide and which day they are needed - some are needed on Monday and others by Wednesday:)
-Parent volunteers for Monday, I'll need you by 12:15 but you are welcome to come early and have lunch with your child.
-Parent volunteers for Tuesday - I'll need you by 8:15 to begin helping students wash and cut up the veggies.
-Parent volunteers for Wednesday - I'll need you by 1:00, but you are welcome to come earlier.

Please be sure to send your child with all of their warm outer clothes for recess - looks like Winter has arrived!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  It's going to be a great week!

Newsletter Updates for the Week of November 14th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Tuesday, November 15th—No School/Deer Day

-Monday, November 21st—Delayed Start & Kindergarten Thanksgiving Activities (pm)

-Tuesday, Nov. 22nd—Cutting up our Veggies (am)

-Wednesday, Nov. 23rd—Our Feast (pm)

-Thursdays, Nov. 24th—No School—Thanksgiving

-Friday, Nov. 25th—No School

-Saturday, Nov. 26th—PTO Craft Show

CONFERENCES: 

Thank you for taking the time to come in a meet with me for conferences.  I really enjoyed meeting with each of you and I am confident that together we can build a great academic foundation for your child:)

FRIENDSHIP SOUP: 

In celebration of Friendship and Thanksgiving, we will be making and sharing Friendship Soup together next week. As in the story of Stone Soup, everyone will bring in an item to contribute to our soup and then work together to create a delicious meal. On Monday, we will be trading among the Kindergarten classes to obtain all of the ingredients we need for our soup. Please remember to bring your ingredient (a potato or barley) by next Monday.

READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about sounds we hear in our neighborhoods and communities. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be learning:

· Vocabulary—listen & volume—Go outside together and invite your child to listen to the sounds in your neighborhood. Talk about what makes the sound. Describe the volume of the sound.

· Sightwords—and & but—Write the words and & but, then have your child trace them. Have your child search for them and circle their sightwords in the newspaper or junk mail.

· Category Words—sound words—Sit outside together and listen for different sounds. Ask your child to identify what is making the sound. Have your child describe the sound.

· Phonics—Letter Nn—Search for objects that begin or end with the letter n, such as nails and pan. Write the words on sticky notes and have your child put the notes on each object.

WRITING: 

Last week was a beautiful week to take a nature walk! We’ve sketched, labeled, and written about our nature items. This week we will finish our books by ‘zooming in,’ editing & revising, and adding a ‘WOW cover,’ as we continue to practice writing like Scientists.

MATH:

This week we will play several games that involve ordering numbers. We will learn a new game called ‘Monster Squeeze’ which involves identifying a mystery number on a number line. This is a game that students can also play on their ipads and is always a favorite! We will also incorporate several Thanksgiving activities into our math tubs this week.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will read several informational texts related to the Pilgrims and learn how they endured many hardships. We will also compare and contrast their lifestyles then, to our lifestyles now. We will continue to discuss wants, needs, and fair trades as we prepare to make our fair trades for our friendship soup ingredients next Monday. With the opening day of deer season, we will also be talking about Gun Safety. We met Eddie Eagle who teaches children what to do if they ever find a gun lying around: Stop, Don’t Touch, Leave the Area, Tell an Adult!