Sunday, January 17, 2016

Newsletter Updates for the Week of January 18th

DATES TO REMEMBER:
-Thurs., January 21st—1/2 Day—Dismissal @ 11:55
-Fri., January 22nd—1/2 Day—Dismissal @ 11:55
-Friday, January 29th—Report Cards Home
-Friday, January 29th—Homecoming Game

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:  
Our student of the week is Shelby Simmons.  Shelby enjoys singing and dancing. She likes to eat shrimp and her favorite movie is Rapunzel. Shelby aspires to learn to downhill ski, roller skate, and ride a bike, which I’m sure she will master in no time! Congratulations to Shelby on being Student of the Week!

SLEDDING PARTY:  
We are planning our annual sledding party for this Friday, January 22nd.  We will go outside around 10:45, sled for a half hour with the other Kindergarten classes, and then come back inside for hot chocolate before going home @ 11:55.  So far, I have Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Thomas, & Mrs. Peterson planning to come in and help out.  Parent volunteers should plan to arrive around 10:30.  If anyone else is interested in coming in to join in the fun, please let me know—you are more than welcome!:)

READING: 
This week our class will be focusing on plants and what they need in order to grow, such as water, food, and air. Children will read stories about gardens.
Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.
· Vocabulary - require, plant - Help your child understand that plants need water, food, air, and sunlight to grow.
· High-Frequency Words—my & at— Encourage your child to say sentences using the words my & at. Record the sentences on paper and leave a blank where the words should be. Then have your child write the words in each space.
· Category Words - size words—Play a game called “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down.” For example, say a true or false statement. Have your child do a thumbs-up gesture if the statement is true. If it is not true, have your child show a thumbs-down gesture.
· Phonics—Hh—Play a rhyming game. Say, What word starts with and rhymes with pen? (hen) If your child cannot think of the word, provide a clueContinue the activity with other words.
· Comprehension - character, setting, events—Have your child think of a favorite story. Then ask questions about the main characters, where the story takes place, and what events happen at the beginning, middle, and end.
· Beanie Baby Strategies—This week we will introduce a new Comprehension Strategy—Repair Bear.  Repair Bear reminds us to stop while we are reading and check to see if we are understanding what we are reading, if not, we need to go back and reread.
· This week is also exciting because the students will begin shopping for their own ‘good-fit books’ to add to their book boxes. They will learn what a ‘good-fit book’ is, as well as how to shop for/select ‘good-fit books.’ Students will then practice building their stamina and using their accuracy strategies while reading during Read to Self time.

WRITING: 
This week we will take some time to write about something in the world that we would like to change (I have a dream), and wrap up our I Can pattern books about things we can do in the Winter time in Michigan, by editing, adding a ’wow cover, conferencing with Mrs. Brinks, and finally sharing them with the class during Author’s Chair.

MATH:  
This week we will play roll and record using 2 dice, graph our results, and discuss the data together. The students will also be reassessed on AIMSWEB to monitor their progress in math.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 
We will continue our study of Winter this week—as we learn about the different things animals do during the Winter months. We will also take some time to learn about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to promote equality, fairness, & justice—values we embrace today!







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