​a-z_countdown_2017.docx

     Thank you for all of your donations to our spring celebration and snack. We are always in need of snacks for the class. If you prefer to send a snack in for just your child, you are welcome to do that.
     Thank you for your help!

We have begun exploring force and motion with our unit titled Push, Pull, Go!​  We have discussed the terms: force, motion, push, pull, and gravity.  It has been interesting to hear our class' ideas on these concepts. My favorite is how many of them relate force to Star Wars. "May the Force Be With You." ;P  So far in this unit we have worked with partners to  build ramps and swings and experimented with the force used for each to work. More recently, we worked with dominoes and have played with forces with them.  The class LOVES when I go over the day with them and mention a Push, Pull, Go lesson!  This is a fun unit that incorporates a lot of hands on learning. Perfect for our young minds!

The focus of our number talks has shifted to place value, addition, and dot images.  We have been working to recognize that the number 14 really means 1 ten and 4 ones.  Recently, we are pushing our thinking to recognize that the number 141 does not necessarily mean 1 hundred, 4 tens and 1 one, but can also be looked at as 14 tens and 1 one.  
We have continued playing addition games, such as Double Compare, Racing Bears, and Roll and Record 2 which practice readiness skills for addition.  
​
To practice additiat home,  
Just this week, I have begun introducing open ended, numberless story problems to children.  These are very thought provoking, real life situations that require students to really direct the information they are given, decide what information they need, and then determine what may be asked of them with the information.  Then, we've had students choose a number they are comfortable with, and to set up their own problem with it. It has been fun and engaging, and is a great way for students to differentiate their own work! I have been able to provide relevant extensions for students without providing them more problems to work through! 
An example of one such problem is: Mia brought in grapes for snack. She wants to share some.
We discuss what we do notice about the story, what we wonder about it, what we think might be a question asked from the story, and what information would be useful to have for this story.  Then students pick their number and represent their story on the paper. What fun!

Our overall sight word development continues to amaze me! Your hard work with our sight word book is showing! The ability to read sight words (or Power Words) at flash speed is essential to building reading fluency and comprehension. Please spend a few minutes each night working on these words. 

Students word blending skills are also soaring, and their sponge-like minds have been soaking up concepts briefly mentioned  in mini lessons.  So many of them are ready to practice basic books!  You may find that books are sent home with your child in the near future.  It’s very important that these books are cared for and returned, as they are important tools for others in the class and for future classes.
While reading, continue to ask your child questions to ensure they are comprehending the stories. Is it fiction or non-fiction?  Who are the characters? Who is the main character? What is the setting/conflict/resolution? How do the pictures help you understand the story? What connections can you make?  Practice with these skills will be beneficial to their reading success in the remainder of Kindergarten as well as in their future schooling.

In terms of units of study, we are working in the unit titled Ready, Set, Grow! In this unit, students will explore living vs. nonliving as well as how plants grow. The real life application of this unit makes it fun and engaging!

Please consider using the reading journal sent in your child's folder as a tool for success!

*Work from top to bottom and left to right.
*Start sentences with a capital letter.
*Use punctuation marks to end sentences.
*Use the word walls to spell.
*Use finger spaces in between words.

SHOES: When dressing your child, please remember that we do go outside for recess most days. Proper footwear will help prevent injuries!  In addition, we have gym Mondays and gym shoes are necessary. If rain boots are needed, please send in a spare pair of shoes to change into.

CLOTHING: As the weather gets warmer, we will be using the air conditioner in the building. Tank tops and sleeveless shirts are not always warm enough. Please consider sending in a sweater each day with your child, or leaving one here with them in case.

WATER: As the weather gets warmer, I will encourage you to send a water bottle in with your child.  The screw tops are ok, but not preferred as they tend to get spilled often. Also, please stick with water because juices are very sticky when spilled.

Please look at the calendar sent home a few weeks ago with the schedule for star student.  We don't want to have anyone miss their turn!

Also, the ABC countdown calendar was sent home this week. Please try to participate to make it fun for everyone!Thank you!

We have been finished our unit on Wood and Paper! It was so much fun to see the children explore the properties of wood and paper and to make connections between the two items and items we use in our everyday lives.  Throughout the remainder of the year, we will be working on various constructions using wood and paper such as paper mache, paper weaving, and wood stacking. Next up, we will be exploring force and motion with Push, Pull, Go!​

As the 100th Day of school approaches, we will be preparing for a fun day of activities!  In past years, we have had fun dressing up as if we are 100 years old!  The kids get a kick out of seeing each other, and I like to join in on the fun!  Start planning outfits now!

Thank you to everyone who continues to supply our class with snacks! Any and all donations are welcome and very much appreciated at all times!

All of this snow has really slowed our progress through Unit 5: By the Sea.  This week we will finish our study of the sea and ocean life. We have had fun learning about different creatures that live in the sea, and the various places that the land meets the sea!  As we have read, I have been encouraging students to ask questions as they read. Please help them with this good reader skill by encouraging them to 'wonder' about stories and things in stories that confuse them or that they find interesting or want to know more about.  

Yesterday, a packet of sight word homework was sent home.   This is not homework that needs to be sent back to school. These are suggested practice activities for you to use at home!  The ability to read sight words at 'flash speed' (typically considered less than three seconds without decoding) is key to building fluency and strong comprehension skills. We will work on these words at school, but need the practice at home as well. Thank you for your support!

     In Math, we continue our work in Unit 4, but as we near the end, we are focusing on activities that lend themselves to primitive addition.  Games such as Build On actually build off of a previous game we've learned called Build It!  In Build It, students drew a card from a pile (0-10) and 'built it' on a ten's frame. In Build On, students draw a card (this time from 0-7) and 'build it' with magnetic chips on the tens frame. Then, they roll a 'die' with 1, 2, or 3 dots on each face and 'build on' that many more chips to the tens frame. Soon we will be playing Double Compare, which is much like the traditional card game 'War' but without face cards and by flipping two cards over each, and adding the totals.
     We will also continue to work with counting, sorting, set building, numeral formation and identification.  We are measuring with non-standard units such as bears and paperclips to gain a basic understanding of the concept.  Your children have also really enjoyed Number Talks.  During number talks, we  have conversations about what numbers look like in various forms, how to write them, and how we compose and decompose them. (4 and 2 more make 6. 7 take 1 away makes 6.)  Ask your child what they’ve learned today!
     We are working a lot on subitizing dot images on tens frames as well!  We are using the structure of a tens frame as a familiar reference tool for this skill! Students are given 2-3 seconds to look at a tens frame and then to identify how many dots were on it. It is important to ask how they saw it so that the can start to understand and verbalize their thinking. For instance, 6 dots on a tens frame as shown here would be described as, "I saw 5 on top and 1 on the bottom."  (We are also encouraging students to set items up in the tens frame format when they are counting quantities of objects.)
Below is a link to a video that shows practice with subitizing the tens frames. There are many more examples you can watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRR9LK3zfho 

Wood and Paper
   We have been working with our new science unit Wood and Paper.  In our investigations, we have introduced five different types of wood: redwood, basswood, pine, plywood, and particle board. We have begun to examine their properties, and experimented with putting water on different types of wood and sanding others.  As a culminating activity, we will be building small structures.
Next, we will begin work with paper and will make connections between wood, paper, and trees.

Welcome 2017, and Happy New Year!  This year has been moving along so quickly-June will be here before we know it!  January will be a great month for our class!  We have started a new unit in ELA,- Unit 5 - By The Sea!  In this unit we talk about why it is so interesting to live by the sea.  (We will also talk about how fortunate we are to actually LIVE by the sea!)  We are also putting a stronger focus on letter formation and handwriting as we review the letters of the alphabet.  It is important that children practice reading their books at home and learning their sight words.  I’m very proud of the progress they’ve already made this year!  We will be assessing progress in letter naming, sounds, and phonemic awareness through our midyear DIBELS testing in the coming weeks.  Any questions can be directed to me via note, e-mail, phone call, or in person. :) 

Star of the Class

We will begin star of the class activities soon. This is a special time we use to celebrate and get to know each of the children in our class.  When it is your child’s turn, they will be given a day to celebrate themselves in class!  
A paper will come home in your child’s folder the week before it is their turn.  Please be on the look out for it, as it is hard to reschedule students.

​ELA
 
We have begun our unit on friendship!  We have begun conversation about how to be a good friend, as well as the qualities a good friend possesses.  Some of the skills we have been practicing when reading are making predictions and connections, and asking questions/clarifying questions.  Visualizing is also a skill we’ve been working on, as your children have enjoyed illustrating poems and stories we’ve read! 
Sight words we should know now are the, and, go, had, has, have, he, a, I, and see.  Don’t forget to save the pre-decodable books for practice!
We are nearing the end of our introduction of the letters of the alphabet.  We will complete individual introductions of all letters prior to Winter Break, and then will review for the remainder of the year. At home, practice segmenting words into sounds (ie. cat /c/ /a/ /t/), and writing those sounds down on paper will give your child an advantage at school!
 
Listening Center
We have been discussing text features.  At this point, children should be able to identify a character, setting, event, problem and solution in a story they hear.  In our independent listening centers, students are expected to listen to the story and then illustrate a given feature.  This is an independent activity.
 
Handwriting Without Tears/Writing
We have begun using the HWT program for handwriting and formation.  When helping your child to form letters and numbers, please refer to the formation guides that were sent in folders.
 
Please continue to work on name writing. Please encourage your child to begin their name with a capital letter and then use lowercase letters for the rest of their name. Proportional sizes are also a focus.
 
Our writing focus has been on drawing detailed illustrations, labeling them with sounds we know (mostly initial/first sounds) and beign able to describe what is happening in their picture/story. We are now pushing towards using labels and small sentences to accompany our writing.  Phonetic writing is developmentally appropriate and encouraged in our classroom.  When working with your child, encourage them to spell sight words from our list (sent home) correctly, but to write down sounds they hear in words for unfamiliar words.  You can help them with this by 'stretching out sounds in words' with them.  (ie. cat is /c/ /a/ /t/)  At this time, many students will only hear beginning and ending sounds of words.  Practice will help them hear more sounds.  Using familiar terms and practice at home will help them develop their skills more quickly.
 
Mathematics
We continue our unit putting focus on measurement and counting and comparing numbers and items. One of the activities we've explored has involved flipping cards  with numbers 0-10 and comparing them to see which number is greater.  (This is a game similar to the traditional card game WAR.)  We have also worked with Inventory Bags during which children take the contents of a bag and draw/record it on a sheet and then write the amount. We play Comparing Inventory Bags by doing the activity with two bags and comparing how the contents are the same and different. Similarly, we've played Grab and Count and Grab and Count Compare (reaching in bins to grab handfuls of an item and then recording them/recording and comparing them).

At home, work with identifying numerals 0-20 and writing them correctly and counting to 100 will allow for more time to work on more advanced skills at school!
 
Science
In science, we have continued our study of trees! 
-We are reviewing the parts of a tree, with focus on the roots, trunk, branches and leaves.
-We have discussed what a tree needs to grow and live.
-We have begun discussing what makes a tree useful.
-We have begun to discuss different types of trees.

This winter, we will put more emphasis on our study of trees and wood/paper.
 
 
Social Studies
 
We continue to work on rules and responsibility (what it means and how it looks we are responsible for ourselves and our belongings). We continue talks about our ‘school family’ and making sure that our classroom is a comfortable environment for all of us to thrive in.

Please have conversations with your child to discuss how to be a good friend and a responsible student.  This will make a difference in their development as an adult in the future as well as the current climate in our classroom.  Thank you!

As the days become colder, I ask that you label the tags of your child’s sweaters or coats.  Surprisingly, our lost and found pile continues to grow as students don’t always remember what they wore to school or recognize their clothing. Also, please remind students act they MUST wear a coat outside during this season. We WILL be outside most days this winter and it gets COLD. Hats, gloves and scarves are also a good idea.  If it becomes warm, they will be told if they can take them off, but many children are coming in without coats or with thin sweatshirts on very cold days. Also, please encourage honesty as sometimes students try to pretend they do not have a heavy coat with them.  Safety of children is our top priority out there!
 
I encourage you to have your child decorate a ‘book box’ to store the books in to practice throughout the year.
 
Report cards were sent home last week.  If you have not done so already, please remove and review your child’s report card and then sign and return the EMPTY envelope in your child’s homework folder.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
 
Thank you for the wonderful participation and turnout for our Thanksgiving gathering! It was so nice to see families and to share recipes! I hope to do it again soon!

We are running low on snacks!  Thank you for sending them in! They are always welcome and very much appreciated!
If you are willing/able to donate any other small supplies, we do have a small wish list for future projects.  Please contact me if you’d like to help! Thank you in advance!

​ELA
 
We will soon begin our unit on friendship!  Over these next few weeks, we will spoken about how to be a good friend, as well as the qualities a good friend possesses.  Some of the skills we have been practicing when reading are making predictions and connections, and asking questions/clarifying questions.  Visualizing is also a skill we’ve been working on, as your children have enjoyed illustrating poems and stories we’ve read! 
Sight words we should know now are the, and, go, had, has, have, he, a, I, and see.  Don’t forget to save the pre-decodable books for practice!
We are nearing the end of our introduction of the letters of the alphabet.  At home, practice segmenting words into sounds (ie. cat /c/ /a/ /t/), and writing those sounds down on paper will give your child an advantage at school!
 
Listening Center
We have been discussing text features.  At this point, children should be able to identify a character, setting, event, and problem in a story they hear.  In our independent listening centers, students are expected to listen to the story and then illustrate a given feature.  This is an independent activity.
 
Handwriting Without Tears/Writing
We have begun using the HWT program for handwriting and formation.  When helping your child to form letters and numbers, please refer to the formation guides that were sent in folders this past week.
 
We are especially focusing on name writing. Please encourage your child to begin their name with a capital letter and then use lowercase letters for the rest of their name. Proportional sizes are also a focus.
 
Our writing focus has been on drawing detailed illustrations, labeling them with sounds we know (mostly initial/first sounds) and beign able to describe what is happening in their picture/story. Using familiar terms and practice at home will help them develop their skills more quickly.
 
Mathematics
Your children have really been enjoying math, and are picking up new skills quickly!  Our current unit puts focus on measurement and counting and comparing numbers and items.  We will soon begin working on making and testing conjectures. One such conjecture is that switching the order of factors does not change the sum of the factors.  At home, work with identifying numerals 0-20 and writing them correctly will allow for more time to work on more advanced skills at school!
 
Science
In science, we have continued our study of trees!  We have focused on fall trees and how they change, as well as the parts of a tree.  We will be looking more closely at leaves in the coming weeks.
We worked with the cycle of a pumpkin and compared will soon compare it to that of the apple.
This winter, we will put more emphasis on our study of trees and wood/paper.
 
 
Social Studies
 
We have focused this year on Bus and Fire safety as well as following rules.
Please review bus rules and safety with your child.  We had quite a few children struggling with remaining seated on the seat of the bus during our trip last week.  Most children ride the bus daily and we will likely have another bus trip this spring. It would be upsetting to know that my little friends are not riding safely during these times.
 
Please also remind your children about being kind to others and including them in their play. We speak a lot about our ‘school family’ and making sure that our classroom is a comfortable environment for all of us to thrive in.

As the days become chillier, I ask that you label the tags of your child’s sweaters or coats.  Surprisingly, our lost and found pile continues to grow as students don’t always remember what they wore to school or recognize their clothing.
 
I encourage you to have your child decorate a ‘book box’ to store the books in to practice throughout the year.
 
Report cards will be sent home next week.  Please remove and review your child’s report card and then sign and return the EMPTY envelope in your child’s homework folder.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
 
Thank you for the supplies of snacks!  They are always welcome and very much appreciated!
If you are willing/able to donate any other small supplies, we do have a small wish list for future projects.  Please contact me if you’d like to help! Thank you in advance!

READING
Books
We have recently begun reading decodable books.  Our first books, The First Day of Kindergarten and Apple Pie have already gone home  As you  noticed, these books were wordless.  We have been practicing the strategy of ‘taking a picture walk’ where children are encouraged to use the good reader strategy of using picture clues and details to help understand stories.  Encourage your child to tell you the story that they see!
Recent and future books focus on sight words.  Each book will come home and will  have a paper stapled to it.  Please have your children read it to three people (or pets or dolls!)  and then sign the paper.  Return the book to school for a treat!  
You will see many books like this coming home throughout the year.  They will get progressively more difficult, but the basic procedure will be the same at home.  I encourage you to have your child decorate a ‘book box’ to store the books in to practice throughout the year.
Routines
Your children have been learning and practicing nursery rhymes.  You will notice some activities coming home corresponding to these rhymes. There are many more that your children know well and are happy to sing for you! Having your child practice these at home will greatly assist in rhyme and rhythm, which will in turn strengthen their foundation in the language arts.  
Letters/Sounds
We have introduced the letters and sounds A, a (long and short) B, b, C, c, D, d, E, e (long and short) and now F, f.  We have also begun the formation of these letters and segmenting (stretching out) sounds that we hear in words.  Practice at home will give that needed reinforcement for success.  (FYI, we are using Handwriting Without Tears for formation.)

MATHEMATICS
In math, we are beginning numeral recognition, rote counting out loud, counting one to one (touch and count), AB patterns, exploration and observations with materials and manipulatives.  
Our class  has been practicing with buttons to compare and contrast them.  Button Match-Up is an introductory game into the practice of sorting items.  Students are encouraged to verbalize the connecting feature in the items they have sorted.  (ie, color, number of holes, shape, size, texture)  AB and ABC patterns involve items being patterned using 2 (AB) or 3 (ABC) attributes.  (ie. red, yellow or square, circle or red, yellow, green or square, circle, triangle).  We name them in as many ways as possible including letters.  All activities are practiced using the left to right, top to bottom technique.

TIDBITS

Please encourage your child to follow directions each day.. Following rules is important to do to make sure we have safe, productive days!

As the days become chillier, I ask that you label the tags of your child’s sweaters or coats.  Surprisingly, our lost and found pile continues to grow as students don’t always remember what they wore to school or recognize their clothing. 

Also, If your child wears rain boots to school, please send a change of shoes in with them, as they have become a distraction throughout the day. 

SUPPLIES

If you can help, we are in need of:    
snacks,
black paper plates,
small plastic, clear plates,
white bags with handles,
and a bag of cornstarch.

Thank you!