November 12th - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Tues., Nov. 13th—Thanksgiving Lunch

-Thurs., Nov. 15th—No School—Deer Day

-Mon., Nov. 19th—Delayed Start

-Tues., Nov. 20th—Thanksgiving Rotations (am) & Cutting Up Veggies (pm)

-Wed., Nov. 21st—Feast (pm)

-Wed., Nov. 21st—K Report Cards Home

-Wed. Nov. 21st—Mobile Dentist rescheduled

-Nov. 22nd-Nov. 25th—Thanksgiving Break

STONE SOUP:  

In celebration of Friendship and Thanksgiving, we will be making and sharing Stone Soup together next week. As in the story of Stone Soup, everyone will bring an item to contribute to our soup and then work together to create a delicious meal. Our class is bringing in Beef Broth & onions. Your child is bringing home a note indicating what ingredient they should bring. Next Monday, we will meet up with the other Kindergarten classes to make ‘fair trades’ in order to obtain all of the ingredients that our class needs to make our soup.  Then on Tuesday, November 20th, we will be cutting up our vegetables in preparation for our feast on Wednesday afternoon. It is going to be a busy couple of weeks in Kindergarten!

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:

This week we will read several informational texts related to the Pilgrims and how they endured many hardships. We will also compare and contrast their lifestyles then, to our lifestyle now. We will be talking about the difference between a ’want’ and a ’need’ and what constitutes a ‘fair trade.’ With the opening day of deer season this week we will also 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!

READING: 

This week our class will be focusing on the rules we follow at home and in school. Children will also be reading stories about the laws people follow in their neighborhoods and communities. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

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

· Sightwords—Review—to & it—Fill a small tray with shaving cream and have your child write the words in the shaving cream—a great activity to do in the bathtub as well.

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

· Phonics—Letter Ii—Help your child think of words that include the letter I; write the words on paper and have them circle the letter i.

· Beanie Baby Strategy—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, ig, in, & ip.

WRITING:  

Last week we took a nature walk to the Butterfly Garden and collected some items. This week we will continue writing like Scientists as we draw and write about the things we collected.

MATH: 

This week we will practice different ways to represent numbers (ten frames, fingers, tally marks, dots, etc). We will also play several card games that involve ordering numbers from smallest to biggest.

WINTER DRESS: 

Looks like we can’t delay it any longer:(  Please be sure to send everything to outfit your child for recess—snowpants, boots, warm coat, hat, & mittens so that they can enjoy recess and stay warm and dry.  Also, please be sure to send shoes for the classroom that your child can take on and off independently.  If there are things you’d like your child to leave at school (shoes, extra mittens, hat, etc) they are welcome to keep them in their lockers.  Also, please be sure to label everything with your child’s name, as we will inevitably have duplicates.  I try to dry their mittens on the heater between middle and last recess, so it’s very easy for mittens to get mixed up in that process.  Our last recess is from 1:40-2:05 which means their snowpants & mittens are usually still wet when we pack to go home.  I will be giving each student a garbage bag to keep in their backpack to put their wet things in to bring home.  That way they don’t get their backpacks wet and muddy. Please be sure to check their backpack every night for things that need to be dried and return the bag in their backpack.  This is the best system I’ve found so far:)