Newsletter Updates for the Week of December 1st

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Friday, Dec. 5th—Mobile Dentist

-Wednesday, Dec 10th—Library

-Monday, Dec. 15th—Delayed Start

-Thursday, Dec. 18th—Christmas Party

-Friday, Dec. 19th—Pajama Day for Kindergartners, Sing-a-long, & Movie

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:  

Our student of the week is Grace Bronkema. Grace enjoys reading, watching Frozen, fishing, arts & crafts, and riding her scooter.  Her favorite place to go is to the beach; and when she grows up, Grace aspires to care for animals as a Veterinarian. Congratulations to Gracie on being Student of the Week!

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 $3.50-$4.00 and send it to school wrapped and labeled with who it is FROM.  Our party will be held Thursday, December 18th in the afternoon.

READING: 

This week our class will be reading stories about sounds we hear in our neighborhoods and communities. Your child will experiment with ways to make sounds.

Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

Word Workout

· 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.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Words: and & but. Write the words and & but, then have your child trace them. Have your child search for and circle the words and & but in a newspaper.

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: n  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:  

This week we will edit our November Journals and bring them home to share. We will begin our December Journals by writing about our families.  We will also 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 continue to practice identifying and ordering numbers on a number line. We will also work on measuring length using various manipulatives and practice adding and subtracting within 5.

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. We will be reading several books about the sense of sight and smell this week, as there are a lot of neat things to see and smell at Christmas time!

BRRR:  

Please be sure to send everything to outfit your child for recess, as we will be going outside on most days.  Also, please remember to pack shoes for the classroom :)

*Remember to return your

November Book-it Calendar

A Few Reminders for this Week

Due to our short (and busy) week, I won't be sending home a newsletter this week. Tomorrow your child should bring home a December Snack Calendar, a December Book-it Calendar, and a note regarding the upcoming PTO craft show.

I've updated the Thanksgiving Sign-up online - Thanks so much for providing supplies!

Just a quick reminder to be sure to send winter clothing for outside recess. We will be going outside on most days.  Snow pants are required in order for students to sled on the playground.  I always dry their mittens on the heater between recesses, so please be sure to label mittens/gloves with names or initials so they can quickly identify their mittens/gloves.

I will be posting pictures this week as we prepare and enjoy our Friendship Soup.

On Wednesday, your child will bring home 3 Thanksgiving booklets that they've made so they can practice reading them to friends and family over the long weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Sign Up - Updated

Here is our sign up from Conferences as a reminder. 

Thanks so much for your willingness to bring in supplies - this will be one of our busiest weeks in Kindergarten!!

I've highlighted the items that will be coming in this week:)
Thanks again!

Supplies for Thanksgiving Activities

 (Monday, November 24th)

1 Bag of Red Apples (10-15) - Wesley

1 Bag of colored mini marshmallows - Gracie

1 Box of Toothpicks - Brooklyn

1 Pkg of 24 small paper plates - Clayton

1 Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream -  Grace

1 Box of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix - Josh

1 Box of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix - Anna

Supplies for Thanksgiving Feast

(Wednesday, November 26th)

24 Plates—Maisie

24 Bowls— Mason

24 Spoons— Avallina

24 Napkins—Gracie

24 Cups—Charlie

1 Bottle of Apple Juice —Wesley

1 Bottle of Apple Juice —Charlie

1 Package of Oyster Crackers—Akira

Parent Volunteers:

Monday, November 24th—Morning—Dave Schonert
Tuesday, November 25th—Morning—Aaryn Gilde

Wednesday, November 26th—Afternoon—Heidi Heuker

Newsletter Updates for the Week of November 17th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Wednesday, Nov. 19th—NWEA Testing (am)

-Mon., Nov. 24th—Thanksgiving Activities (am)

–Tuesday, Nov. 25th—Making Friendship Soup

-Wednesday, Nov. 26th—Our Feast (pm)

-Thurs., Nov. 27th—Thanksgiving (No School)

-Friday, Nov. 28th—No School

-Saturday, Nov., 29th—PTO Craft Show

FRIENDSHIP SOUP:

In celebration of Friendship and Thanksgiving, we will be making and sharing Stone Soup together the week of Thanksgiving.  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 amongst the Kindergarten classes to obtain all of the ingredients we need for our soup.  We will peel and cut up all of the vegetables on Tuesday, November 25th and then eat our soup together on Wednesday, November 26th at our Feast.  Our class is responsible for bringing the potatoes; we are asking each student to bring in 1 large potato on or before Monday, November 24th.

READING: 

This week our class will be focusing on the rules they follow at home and in school. Children also will be reading stories about the laws people follow in their neighborhoods and communities. Our focus text is How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?

Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

Word Workout

· Vocabulary: cooperate, rules Make a chart of the rules your child follows. Encourage your child to think about the ways we cooperate, or work together with others.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Words: to  & it.  Fill a small pan with shaving cream. Have your child write the word to in the shaving cream each time you use the word to in a sentence.

Category Words: action words Encourage your child to think of laws and rules to follow at home, at school, and in the community.

Phonics: i Help your child think of words that include the letter i, such asink, pin, inch, if, sit, hid, and in. Write the words on paper. Then ask your child to underline the letter i in each word.

Beanie Baby Strategies:

This week we will introduce Chunky Monkey—he helps us read and write by identifying ‘chunks’ or ‘word families’ that we know within words.  We will be using Chunky Monkey to read and write words with the chunks—it, ip, in, & ig.

WRITING: 

This week we will complete a couple of journals related to turkeys and practice writing an apology letter to Farmer MacNugget.  Students will also compile a list of their own rules/safety tips and write about them.

MATH: 

This week we will work on comparing numbers, comparing weights of objects using a pan balance, and practice matching dominoes with the corresponding numbers.  Students will also create patterned macaroni necklaces.

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 lifestyle then to our lifestyle now.  We will continue to discuss wants, needs, and fair trades as we prepare to make fair trades for our friendship soup ingredients next Monday.

Wednesday morning we will be taking a computer-based assessment for Reading —the NWEA.  Please be sure your child is well-rested and in attendance.

Newsletter Updates for the Week of November 10th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Tuesday, Nov. 11th—NWEA Testing (am)

-Monday, Nov. 17th—Delayed Start

-Mon., Nov. 24th—Thanksgiving Activities (am)

–Tuesday, Nov. 25th—Making Friendship Soup

-Wednesday, Nov. 26th—Our Feast (pm)

-Thurs., Nov. 27th—Thanksgiving (No School)

-Friday, Nov. 28th—No School

-Saturday, Nov., 29th—PTO Craft Show

STUDENT OF THE WEEK: 

Our student of the week is Charlie Schonert.  Charlie enjoys being outside and riding his Big Wheel Bike. His favorite place to eat is at Bob Evans and when he grows up, Charlie aspires to work with his dad at Voelker’s. Congratulations to “Char” on being Student of the Week!

CONFERENCES:  

Thank you for taking the time to come in and meet for parent teacher conferences.  I firmly believe that parents and teachers working together is what brings about success in students!

Tuesday morning we will be taking a computer-based assessment for Reading and Math—the NWEA. Please be sure your child is in attendance and well rested. :)

READING: This week our class will focus on different kinds of bugs and how they move. Children will also be reading about a variety of bugs they see in nature, including bees, ants, and butterflies.

Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

Word Workout

· Vocabulary: curious, observe Go outside and have your child observe different bugs. Have your child draw a picture of the bugs in a notebook and then label each one.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Words: the, we, see, a, like, I, can Write each word on paper, then have your child write it. Ask your child to try to find each word in a book.

Category Words: movement words Say simple riddles that describe the different movements made by animals or insects. Have your child guess the animal or insect.

Phonics: m, a, s, p, t Draw a five-column table on a piece of paper. Write the following letters at the top of each column: m, a, s, p, t. Guide your child in thinking of words that begin with each letter. Record the words under the corresponding columns.

Beanie Baby Strategies:

This week we will introduce Iggy the Inferring Iguana—who reminds us to make predictions and inferences as we read and then validate and adjust our predictions as we continue to read.  We will also introduce Pop the Weasel who reminds us to look for sightwords while we are reading; these are the words we know; they POP into our heads, and out of our mouths!

WRITING:  

This week we will be writing about bugs as we practice describing our bugs and editing our sentences to make them longer.  Students will also work with partners to create a poster about their favorite bugs.

MATH:  

This week we will introduce symmetry and practice identifying things that are symmetrical—letters, shapes, our bodies, items in nature, etc.  We will also practice ordering numbers 1-20.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:   

This week we will read books about America and Patriotism in observation of Veteran’s Day. We will also begin our Social Studies Unit on Market Economy as we learn about wants, needs, and making a fair trade.  We will read the story of Stone Soup to reinforce these concepts and to help us prepare for our upcoming Friendship Soup project.  With the opening day of deer season right around the corner, we will be talking about Gun Safety. We will meet 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!