February 25th - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Fri., March 1st - Pastries with Parents—Wear Red

                           7:30-8:10—Breakfast

                           8:10-8:40—Activities in Classroom

                           9:00—Reading Month Kick Off

-Friday, March 8th—Wear Your Words—wear something with words on it

-Friday, March 15th—Move Star Day—wear your bling, boas, hats, ties, sunglasses, etc.

-Friday, March 22nd—Pajama & Popcorn Day; Half Day—Dismissal @ 11:35

PASTRIES WITH PARENTS:

Pastries with Parents is this Friday, March 1st.  This is an opportunity for you to come to school and have breakfast with your child, connect with other parents, and then come back to the classroom and engage in some fun reading activities with your child, as we kick off Reading Month.  We will be launching our Take Home Reading Folders at that time!! Please be sure to RSVP, so we can plan accordingly:)

READING MONTH: 

Our Theme this year is Lights! Camera! Read! and the genre that Kindergarten will be spotlighting is Nursery Rhymes!  Please send in a flashlight for your child to keep in their book box to read with for the Month of March.  The students will be earning tickets during our Read to Self & Partner Reading times at school.

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on the 4 seasons and how they are different. We will 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 4 seasons and describe how the weather is similar and 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 4 seasons and ask them to identify the season during which that item is worn.

· Phonics—Letters Bb & Ll—Search for things around the house that begin & end with the letters b & l.

· Beanie Baby Strategies—We will introduce Skippy 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 continue to write a pattern book that has a question & answer sentence structure. We will also be going back to the butterfly garden to observe that changes the occur in the Winter and document our observations on our Season’s Timeline.

MATH:  

This week we will learn about the addition symbol and play several games involving addition. We will practice arranging 2-D shapes into different combinations on mats & geoboards. We will continue to practice writing our numbers to 100, as well a skip counting by 2’s, 5’s, & 10’s.

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will be reviewing the 4 seasons and the weather patterns that come with each season.  In addition, we will begin learning about the Sun and it’s heating effects on Earth. We will read some books about Dental Health and reinforce the importance of good dental hygiene. We will also open up our classroom Post Office and begin writing letters and sending mail to each other as we wrap up our unit on ‘where we live.’ 

 Please be sure to return your library book on or before Friday!

100s Day - 100 Fingers in a Circle of Friends

Jump Rope for Heart

February 19th - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Thurs. Feb. 21st - 1/2 Day - PTC 4-7

-Fri., Feb 22nd—Smokey the Bear Visits

-Fri., March 1st - Pastries with Parents

PASTRIES WITH PARENTS:

You should have received a note last week regarding Pastries with Parents on Friday, March 1st.  This is an opportunity for you to come to school and have breakfast with your child, connect with other parents, and then come back to the classroom and engage in some fun reading activities with your child as we kick off Reading Month.  Please be sure to RSVP, so we can plan accordingly:)

REPORT CARDS & CONFERENCES: 

Due to circumstances beyond our control (snow days, ice days, frigid temperatures days) we have not had an adequate amount of time to complete our winter assessments for the students’ report cards. We are doing our best to get them done as soon as possible. Please be looking for them to come home in the next couple of weeks. I have parent teacher conferences scheduled with some of you this Thursday—we will go over your child’s DIBELS & NWEA reports, as well as any assessment data that I’ve collected in the classroom and discuss their next steps for success.  If we do NOT have a conference scheduled, I will send their DIBELS & NWEA reports home with their report cards.

HELPERS:  Here we go again . . . .

-Tuesday, Feb.19th—Sylas & Emmerson

-Wednesday, Feb. 20th—Max & Bella

-Thursday, Feb. 21st—Tenley & Citlaly

-Friday, Feb. 22nd—Adrian & Eli

-Monday, Feb. 25th—Kimberly & Ramara

-Tuesday, Feb. 26th—Jose’ & Pearl

READING:

This week our class will be reading stories about the kinds of fresh foods grown on a farm. Your child will be identifying different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—fresh & delicious—talk about the fresh fruits and vegetables you buy at the grocery store or farmers’ market.

· Sightwords—he & with—Have your child practice writing these words and using them in a sentence.

· Category Words—fruits & vegetables—Write the names of fruits and vegetables on index cards. Have your child draw a picture to match and them invite them to sort the cards into different categories (size, color, shape, etc.)

· Phonics—Letters Ff & Rr—Play ‘I Spy’ with your child using beginning or ending sounds.

WRITING:  

This week we will complete a journal page about a hibernating animal and begin writing a new pattern book that has a question & answer sentence structure. This is an exciting time of year as the students’ abilities and confidence for writing just seem to blossom!

MATH: 

This week we will work on identifying and building teen numbers using a variety of manipulatives—base 10 blocks, links, ten frames, bead frames, etc. We will also learn about the equal symbol and the addition symbol.

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will learn about ‘Where We Live’ as we study maps & globes.  Smokey the Bear will be visiting on Friday to teach us how we can be good citizens and help to prevent forest fires. Also, on Friday, Mrs. Freeland’s 3rd graders will be coming down to test out our ramps:)

Thanks to ALL of our great Parent Volunteers who came in for 100s Day, Kids Heart Challenge, & our Valentine’s Party!

 

Here's to a 'normal' week with NO snow days!!!! :)

Report Cards & Conferences

Dear Kindergarten Parent(s):

Due to circumstances beyond our control (snow days, ice days, frigid temperature days) we have not had an adequate amount of time to complete our winter assessments for the students’ report cards. We are doing our best to get them done as soon as possible.  Please be looking for them to come home in the next few weeks.

Thank you for your patience!

The Kindergarten Teachers

Parent Teacher Conference notices went home on Monday (green), please return the bottom portion to let me know if you can make your scheduled time. At conferences, I will be sharing your child's assessment results - DIBELS & NWEA, as well as any classroom assessments that I've been able to complete:)  In addition, we will be reviewing your child's IRIP (Individual Reading Improvement Plan) and talking about their next steps to ensure success in Kindergarten. 

For those who do NOT have a conference scheduled, all of your child's assessment data - DIBELS & NWEA will be coming home with their report cards in a couple of weeks.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or would like to schedule a time to meet:)

Valentine's Day & Kids Heart Challenge

Well - I was REALLY hoping to be at school today and give these reminders to the kids in person:(
Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so here are a few quick reminders.

-Kids Heart Challenge (AKA - Jump Rope for Heart) is tomorrow morning from 10:00-11:00.  Please be sure to dress your child in athletic wear (layers), tennis shoes, and send in a waterbottle as well:)  My parent volunteers are Jessica Neilsen, Becky Voelker, Tonya Hinton, & Heidi Roberts.

-Valentine's Party - We will begin our Valentine activities at 12:30.  Please send your child's Valentine's to school in a box or ziploc baggie - labeled with their name.  All of the cereal boxes are wrapped, and half of the students have theirs decorated.  I have a couple parent volunteers who are coming in tomorrow morning to help students finish decorating their boxes.  We WILL finish everyone's box before our party:)  Here's a quick reminder for who's bringing supplies & food for our Valentine's Party:

February 11th - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Mon. Feb. 11th—JR4H Envelopes Due

-Mon. Feb. 11th—Dental Presentation

-Wed., Feb. 13th - Count Day

-Thurs. Feb. 14th—Kindergarten JR4H—10:00

-Thurs. Feb. 14th—Valentine’s Party @ 12:30

-Fri., Feb 15th - No School - PD

-Mon., Feb 18th - No School - President's Day

-Wed., Feb. 20th - K Report Cards Home

-Thurs. Feb. 21st - 1/2 Day - PTC 4-7

-Fri., Feb 22nd—Smokey the Bear Visits

-Fri., March 1st - Pastries with Parents

THE 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL:

It has NEVER taken so long to get to the 100th day of school—but I'm excited to say that we’ve almost made it.  We are at 99 and holding, and ready to celebrate tomorrow—Monday!  We have several fun activities planned in the classroom and we will visit 2nd grade classrooms to view their 100th Day Collections.  For Kindergarten, we are encouraging our kids to have some fun and dress up like they are 100 years old.

A MESSAGE FROM THE LUNCH BUNCH:

Wowza! Another week of crazy weather! Hoping next week we can get the 4 days in that is scheduled. With that being said, I am really just trying to use some of the inventory I have, so thank you all for being patient with me.

Monday, February 11 will be Meatball Subs

Tuesday, February 12- Walking Taco

Wednesday, February 13- Cheddar Cheese Twisted Stix and Tomato Soup

Thursday, February 14- Meat Lovers Stromboli

Thank you once again for being patient and understanding!

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART & VALENTINE’S DAY:

February 14th is going to be a busy day in Kindergarten!  Our ’Stations for Heart’ begin at 10:00, so please send your child in athletic wear—if they want to wear shorts, please just put sweatpants over them to get them to & from school. :) Parent volunteers, please plan to come around 9:30 to help us transition to the gym.  Also, please be sure to send in a waterbottle—labeled with your child’s name, as they will get thirsty:) Our valentine’s party will begin at 12:30, so parent volunteers should plan to come around 12:15.  Please send your child's valentine cards to school in a baggie or box, labeled with their name.  We will play some games, exchange valentines, and then have ice cream sundaes.

HELPERS:  

Let’s try this :)

-Monday—Braelyn & Jose’

-Tuesday—Eli & Emmerson

-Wednesday—Dayana & Pearl

-Thursday—Ramara & Charlie

-Tuesday—Sylas

-Wednesday—Max & Bella

-Thursday—Tenley & Citlaly

REPORT CARDS & CONFERENCES: 

I will be sending home report cards next week Wednesday, so that you can look them over before conferences on Thursday.  I’m not certain that I’ll have ALL of the assessments completed by then, but I will send home what we’ve done:)  Almost every assessment that we do in K, requires meeting one-on-one with each student and with these snow days, it’s been a challenge for sure!  Also, I’ll be sending home your child’s DIBELS & NWEA results. Not every student will have a Winter Conference, as I only have a few slots to meet with parents, so you’ll either receive a conference note with your time or a note from me indicating that we don’t have a conference time scheduled.

e and Hoops for .

February 3rd - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Fri. Feb. 8th—JR4H Envelopes Due - Keep collecting those donations

-Mon. Feb. 11th—Dental Presentation

-Wed., Feb. 13th - Count Day

-Thurs. Feb. 14th—Kindergarten JR4H—10:00

-Thurs. Feb. 14th—Valentine’s Party @ 12:30

-Fri., Feb 15th - No School - PD

-Mon., Feb 18th - No School - President's Day

-Wed., Feb. 20th - K Report Cards Home

-Thurs. Feb. 21st - 1/2 Day - PTC 4-7

-Fri., March 1st - Pastries with Parents

HELPERS:  This week we will double-up for those students who missed their turn last week:

-Monday—Emmerson & Jose’

-Tuesday—Tessa & Brahm

-Wednesday—Nevaeh & Dayana

-Thursday—Bella & Pearl

LUNCH MENU CHANGES: 

Here is next week’s lunch plan, February 4-8. Monday will be Meat Lovers Stromboli, Tuesday- Bosco Sticks, Wednesday-Pancake Bites and Chicken Sausage, Thursday- Walking Taco and Friday- Meatball Subs. Thank you so much for understanding.

THE 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL:

The 100th day of school is fast approaching!  We’ve had 97 days so far, so we are on track for it to be Wednesday, if Mother Nature cooperates! :) We have several fun activities planned in the classroom and we will visit 2nd grade classrooms to view their 100th Day Collections.  For Kindergarten, we are encouraging our kids to have some fun and dress up like they are 100 years old.

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART & VALENTINE’S DAY:

February 14th is going to be a busy day in Kindergarten!  Our ’Stations for Heart’ begin at 10:00, so please send your child in athletic wear—if they want to wear shorts, please just put sweatpants over them to get them to & from school. :) Parent volunteers, please plan to come around 9:30 to help us transition to the gym.  Also, please be sure to send in a waterbottle—labeled with your child’s name, as they will get thirsty:) Our valentine’s party will begin at 12:30, so parent volunteers should plan to come around 12:15.  Please send your child's valentine cards to school in a baggie or box, labeled with their name.  We will play some games, exchange valentines, and then have ice cream sundaes. Please send in an empty cereal box, ASAP, as we NEED to get them decorated!

READING: 

This week our class will be reading stories about how living things, such as trees, change as they grow. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—develop & amazing—draw a picture of a tree and encourage your child to tell facts about trees.

· Sightwords—are & had—Have your child practice writing these words and using them in a sentence.

· Category Words—tree parts—Have your child draw a tree and label the parts—roots, trunk, branches, leaves, etc.

· Phonics—Letter Ee—Help your child think of words that have the short e and long e sound and make a list of each.

· Beanie Baby Strategies—This week we will use Chunky Monkey to read and write words with the en, et, ed, & ell word families & use Flippy the Dolphin to read and write words with the short & long e sounds. We will introduce Helpful Kangaroo who reminds us that if we are trying to figure out a tricky word it’s okay to ask for help, after we’ve tried all of our strategies.

WRITING:  

This week we will complete a journal page about a hibernating animal and create our own booklets to celebrate the 100th Day of School.

MATH: 

This week we will work on writing and building teen numbers using ten frames, base 10 blocks, & links. We will play some games involving 2D & 3D shapes and practice counting to 100 by 1’s, 5’s, & 10’s as we approach the 100th Day of School!

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:

This week we will continue to study Motion; we will proceed through the Engineering Process of building & testing out our ramps.  We will continue to learn about what animals do in the Winter—hibernation, migration, & active. We are anxious to see what Punxsutawney Phil predicts for the upcoming weather forecast.

RAZ KIDS:

The students have started reading ‘good-fit’ books on their ipads in the classroom. Last week I sent a letter home with information about how you can access it at home—it is a great resource for young readers! The school generously pays for the subscription, so it is free to our families. You can download the app on a phone, ipad, or tablet, or access it through a computer.  It DOES require an Internet connection.  As they read books, they will move up levels. An important rule that I teach the students is that they have to listen to each book twice, then read it independently twice, and finally take the quiz - we call it the '5 finger rule' - Listen, Listen, Read, Read, Quiz (for those on levels with quizzes). Also, as an incentive, they earn stars to build their rocket ship and robot. I don't let them spend their starts at school, BUT this is something they CAN do at home with the stars they have earned. Once you receive your letter, if you have any issues logging in or navigating the site/app at home, please let me know.  Also, if your child passes a level at home, please remind them to let me know:)

 

PARENTING RESOURCE: 

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Daniel Tiger on PBS Kids, but did you know that there is a FREE app for parents?  It is called Daniel Tiger for Parents.  It includes a menu of topics that young children often struggle with, along with short video clips, strategy songs, & talking points to work through social-emotional issues that young children face. :)

PARENT VOLUNTEERS:

The end of the marking period is fast approaching and we are trying diligently to get all of our assessments completed.  These snow days have set us back a bit, as it takes a lot of time to assess each student one-on-one for each skill.  If you have a morning or afternoon free and would be willing to come in and help with assessments and/or decorate valentine boxes, please let me know:)

Please be sure to return your January Book-It Calendar.