Newsletter Updates for the Week of February 27th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Wednesday, March 1st—Disney Dress Up—Wear a Disney shirt (no costumes please); Kick-Off @ 8:30 with Magician Joel Tracey

-Friday, March 3rd—Mad Hatter—Hat Day

-Friday, March 10th—Goofy Dress Up Day—Wear mis-matched clothes & Donuts with Dad

-Friday, March 17th—Chip & Dale/Twin Day—Wear Gray Kindergarten Shirts & Donuts

 With Dad & Irish Dance Assembly @ 2:00

-Fri, March 24th—Sleepy Dwarf/PJ Day; 1/2 Day; Movie in the Auditorium & Tea Party in the classroom

SLEDDING PARTY:

Well, we made the best of it and did some special activities inside and of course the highlight was our hot chocolate!  Special thanks to the Kline family for providing our hot chocolate & to Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Bronkema for helping out!

READING MONTH: 

March is Reading Month.  Our theme this year is Disney and our classroom theme is Alice in Wonderland.  Special thanks to Kruz’s family, who are letting us borrow their plethora of Alice in Wonderland decorations—it’s going to be an exciting month! We have a lot of fun activities and dress-up days planned, so please make note of them on your calendar.  I also would like to do several fun art projects with the students and have asked my sweet friend and retired teacher Grandma Linda to come in a day each week to help out, but we would love extra hands. Please let me know if you are available to come in.  Also, please send in a small flashlight for your child to keep in their book box for the month of March.

 READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about baby animals. The children will be using words to describe how the appearance and behavior of these animals are alike and different. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—appearance & behavior—Discuss the appearance and behavior of a kitten, as well as other baby animals.

· Sightwords—for & have—write sentences about baby animals using the words for and have. Read the sentences together and have your child circle the sightwords.

· Category Words—animal parts— Play ‘guess the animal.’ Take turns giving clues about an animal’s appearance.

· Phonics—Letter Uu—We will use Flippy the Dolphin to read words with the short u sound and long u sound (u with the magic e). We will also use Chunky Monkey to read and write words with the ug, ut, un, & uck chunks.

· Comprehension—compare & contrast—Have your child sort the animals according to whether the animals can fly, swim, or run. Then encourage them to tell the other ways these animals are alike and different.

WRITING:  

This week we will edit our January & February Journals and bring them home to share. We will also celebrate the completion of our first small moment story by sharing it via Author’s Chair.

MATH: 

This week we continue to work on measuring heights and lengths, subtraction, & 3D solid shapes. Please be sure to bring in 2-3 3D solid shapes from home, for our lesson on Monday.

I will be out of the classroom Wednesday afternoon and most of the day on Thursday to attend my Grandma’s visitation and funeral. Brianne Sikkema will be filling in for me and she does a wonderful job of keeping with our routines. Please remind your child to listen, do their best, and be on their best behavior:)

 Please be sure to return your library book & February Book-it Calendar! :)

Newsletter Updates for the Week of February 20th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Thursday, Feb 23rd—1/2 Day—Conferences 4-7

              -Sledding Party at 10:30

STUDENT OF THE WEEK: 

Our student of the week is Karen Diaz. Karen likes to play outside and visit parks where she can swing and play soccer. She likes to eat watermelon, chicken nuggets, and pizza. Her favorite movie is Cinderella and her favorite book is Scooby-Doo.  When she grows up, Karen would like to visit Mexico and have a good job so that she can buy a big house. Congratulations to Karen on being our Student of the Week!

SLEDDING PARTY:

So it appears as though the weather is not in our favor for a sledding party this year. Instead of rescheduling again, we will still go ahead with our hot chocolate on Thursday and have a couple of fun activities inside.  If you volunteered to come in, I’ll plan on you around 10:30 as planned:)

READING MONTH:  

March is Reading Month.  Our theme this year is Disney and our classroom movie is Alice in Wonderland.  I usually decorate the hallway, door, and bulletin boards to go with our theme. I’m in the process of collecting materials and ideas, so IF you have any thing that corresponds with Alice in Wonderland that we could borrow, please let me know. More details about Reading Month will be coming soon!

READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about how to stay safe in bad weather. Children will also learn about severe weather conditions, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, droughts, and floods. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

· Vocabulary—safe & prepare—Make a list and gather materials for a weather supply kit. Include items such as a first aid kit, canned food, and a battery-operated radio.

· Sightwords—Review—practice reading and writing sightwords from memory, look for sightwords in the newspaper and/or junk mail.

· Category Words—question words—Look for pictures of severe weather in a newspaper, or a magazine, or online. Ask your child questions about each picture.

· Phonics—Review letters h, e, f, r, b, l, k & ck—play ‘I Spy’ having your child guess the names of objects that begin with these letters.

· Beanie Baby Strategy—This week we will use Flashy the Peacock who helps us Expand our Vocabulary as we find and use interesting/fancy words while speaking, reading, & writing.

WRITING: 

This week we will finish up our individual small moment stories and practice using our strategies to sound out ‘tricky words’. Then we will edit, revise, and complete our WOW covers.

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:  

In observance of President’s Day, this week we will be learning about Presidents past and present. We will read several informational texts about Abraham Lincoln & George Washington and discuss some of the American Values that we continue to embrace today—Common Good, Equality, Justice, & Truth.

MATH:  

This week we will be working on measuring and comparing lengths using strings, links, and sticky notes. We will introduce subtraction and continue to work on 3D solid shapes. One of our homework assignments is to bring in 2-3 3D solid shapes from home, on or before Friday. We will use them for our math lesson on Friday and then I’ll send them back home.

Smokey the Bear & 100's Day

Sickness

Just wanted you to be aware that several kids in our class have been complaining of a sore throat, headache, stomachache, and/or earache.  If your child complains, please take it seriously as the handful that have went to the doctor have been getting a diagnosis of strep and/or ear infections.  If your child is running a fever, please be sure to keep them home:)

Newsletter Updates for the Week of February 13th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Tuesday, Feb. 14th—Valentine's Party—pm

-Friday Feb. 17th—NO School—PD for Teachers

-Mon., Feb. 20th—NO School—President’s Day

-Wednesday, Feb 22nd—Progress Reports Home

-Thursday, Feb 23rd—1/2 Day—Conferences 4-7

              -Sledding Party at 10:30

SLEDDING PARTY:

We’ve rescheduled our sledding party for Thurs.  February 23rd.  It is a 1/2 day of school, so we’ll plan to go outside around 10:45, sled for a half hour, and then come back inside for hot chocolate before dismissal at 11:55. We’d love some parent volunteers to join us outside, and at least one parent or grandparent to stay inside and prepare our hot chocolate.  Please let me know if you are willing to help out; we would need you from 10:30-11:55.

VALENTINES: 

Please be sure to send in your valentines on or before Tuesday morning.  The students will be delivering their valentines throughout the morning and then we’ll celebrate together in the afternoon.

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will read several books related to friendship and kindness, in observance of Valentine’s Day. We will also learn about the important role that our heart plays and have an opportunity to listen to our heartbeats.  In addition we will try to take a walk to the butterfly garden to observe and take photos related to what happens to plants and insects in the winter months and add our observations to our seasons timeline.

READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about different kinds of weather. Your child will be predicting the weather and learning how to describe it. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—predict & weather—look outside with your child and try to predict what the weather will be like later in the day. Try to predict the temperature for tomorrow.

· Sightwords—she & was—hopefully you still have your 51 sightword cards that I gave out at our first conference—these are a great way to practice reading and writing sightwords from memory.

· Category Words—weather words—Print off a blank calendar and each day have your child draw a picture and/or write a word to describe the weather.

· Phonics—initial K, final ck—Help your child find objects that begin with the letter k and end in ck. Make a list of the words.

· Comprehension—key details in a sequence—Have your child listen to a story, then put the story’s pictures in order, numbering them 1, 2, and 3. Invite your child to point to each picture and retell the story.

WRITING: 

This week we will finish up our 1st small moment story about Stone Soup and then begin writing our own individual small moment stories following the same process.

MATH: 

This week we will engage in several FUN math activities and games related to Valentine’s Day—going on a number hunt, measuring using hearts, determining the bigger number on hearts and adding with hearts. We will also be using string to measure how tall we are and compare lengths. We will be creating a graph of our pets as well.

Newsletter Updates for the Week of February 6th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Friday, Feb. 10th—Smokey the Bear Visits & 100’s Day

-Tuesday, Feb. 14th—Valentine Party—pm

-Friday Feb. 17th—NO School—PD for Teachers

-Monday, Feb. 20th—NO School—President’s Day

-Wednesday, Feb 22nd—Progress Reports Home

-Thursday, Feb 23rd—1/2 Day—Conferences 4-7

              -Sledding Party ????

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:  

Our student of the week is Dylan McCrimmon. Dylan enjoys fishing and jumping his bike.  His favorite movie is ‘The Angry Birds the Movie’ and his favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  He aspires to be a wrestler and a farmer when he grows up, both require toughness, which he’s got! Congratulations to Dylan on being our Student of the Week!

BEHAVIOR: 

The last couple of weeks have been a challenge for our class.  We’ve had several discussions about staying on task, paying attention, raising our hand at group, etc.  This time of year is difficult because we have frequent inside recesses and need to get our wiggles out.  It’s also a challenge for us because as the pace quickens, the students’ stamina and ability to work independently and stay on task also needs to increase.  My challenge is to be able to work with students in small groups to provide the interventions and support that they need, while ensuring that the rest of the students are on staying on task.  Here’s how you can help—ensure that they are well rested, model good attentiveness at home (it’s so difficult in this multi-tasking digital world to stop and focus on one conversation), practice turn-taking while talking, and of course a gentle reminder to be a good listener and to do their best. :) Particularly this week Wednesday and Thursday, as I’ll be out of the classroom for training and meetings. Thank you for your support! :)

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on the four seasons and how they are different. Children will also be reading stories and poems related to the weather in each season. Here are some activities that you can do at home to reinforce what we are learning:

· Vocabulary—weather & seasons—discuss the four seasons and describe how the weather is similar or different. Then invite your child to draw a picture of each season.

· Sightwords—is & little

· Category Words—seasons—Discuss some clothing that your child wears in each of the four seasons and ask them to identify the season during which that item is worn.

· Phonics—Bb & Ll—Invite your child to search for objects that begin with the letter b and then letter l. Write the names of the objects on sticky notes and label each item.

· Beanie Baby Strategies—We will introduce Skippy the Frog for Accuracy. Skippy helps us when we come to a word that we just cannot figure out; he reminds us that we can ‘skip’ the word, read on, try to use the context clues to figure  it out, and then go back and reread the sentence.

WRITING: 

This week we will dive into our Unit on Small Moment stories by writing about an experience that we’ve shared together as a class—making stone soup.  We will also work together to create a 100’s Day Class Book.

MATH:  

This week we will work with 2D & 3D shapes, practice building numbers (2+3=5, 1+4=5), and on Friday we will celebrate the 100th Day of School with some special activities focusing on the number 100!

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:  

This week we will read several books related to friendship and kindness, in preparation for Valentine’s Day. We will also be reviewing the 4 seasons and the changes that occur. Smokey the Bear will be visiting on Friday to teach us how we can be good citizens and help to prevent forest fires.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS: 

We’ve been blessed with several Watchdog Dads and Grandpas, but I also want to extend that invitation for volunteering to moms and grandmas.  Kindergarten is a busy place and I could always use extra hands to complete special projects and work with students.  Please let me know if there is a day or 1/2 day that you would like to come in and volunteer.