Newsletter_November 20_2015

We learned the song, Albuquerque Turkey, and it ends with a suggestion to eat something else for Thanksgiving dinner. The children love the song, and are amused by the ending. They have painted some beautiful turkeys and gave each of them a sign with suggestions for alternative meals.

I hope that you are able to attend our program on Tuesday afternoon at 1:00. We will sing a few songs and do a fun dance. I schedule it for this time in case grandparents or other family members are visiting. The children will bake bread and we will enjoy that afterwards.

Literacy: During Writers' Workshop we have experimented using speech and thought bubbles. It helps bring the character to life. Our word work, in the morning is really helping the children with writing their stories.

We have been looking at familiar story books at school during Readers' Workshop. The children are using the pictures to retell the story. They are trying to use some of the exact language from the story and are speaking the way they think the character might. Try this at home, it is fun! 

Math: We have practiced representing numbers many different ways such as writing the numeral, using a ten frame, tally marks, dots, and pictures. They are also using their math vocabulary during math games...positional words and measurement words. You should see the unit 3 assessment coming home today.

Art: The children have made some Native American costumes complete with a turkey hat. We have also made some Native American homes. The children are learning how the weather might affect what type of home they might have. We decided longhouses were practical for winters in the North East.

***PROGRESS REPORTS ARE COMING HOME. THEY ARE FOR REPORTING ATTENDANCE ONLY. PLEASE SIGN AND RETURN THE ENVELOPE. WE DO NOT NEED THE PROGRESS REPORT BACK. 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Handwriting Letters: C,O,&Q

Phonics Sounds: l & r

Word of the Week: the

Book Fair: 11/30-12/4

Thanksgiving Break:11/25-11/27

Thanksgiving Program: 11/24@1:00 (frog classroom)

Gingerbread Decorating:12/22@1:45

Winter Vacation: 12/24-1/4

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. Wishing you happiness and good health.

Frog News October 25

Frog Class News

Safety Month

The children have been learning a lot about safety. We have practiced fire drills with the whole school and a lockdown with Mr. Goldsmith. They have been really attentive during these and have done a great job. The children also practiced a bus evacuation with the bus drivers and Mr. Fosher spoke to all of the kindergarten children about bus safety. Mrs. Griffith, our school guidance counselor spoke to the children and showed them a video about personal safety. Some key points made were:

You own your body.

If someone tries to touch you in a spot that would be covered by your bathing suit you should yell no, get away, and tell an adult right away.

Literacy:

 We read the book, Yuck Soup, by Joy Cowley and then made our own versions, Yuck Soup and Yum Soup. The children had a lot of fun doing that.We have been reading up a storm during Readers' Workshop. The children have been sharing with their partners and making thoughtful connections to themselves and other books. During Writers' Workshop they have been asking lots of questions to add more details to their writing. They have also been working on stretching out the words to write all the sounds they hear.

Math:
I am in the middle of assessing the children. We have completed Unit 2. They have been having fun playing lots of math games and practicing number stories.

Upcoming Events

• 10/29 - Picture Retakes
• Halloween Celebration - 10/30

• Early Releases - 11/5 & 11/18 for Parent Teacher Conferences
• No School - 11/6 Teacher Workshop
• No School - 11/11 Veterans' Day (Welcome home, Mr. Poteet!)
• Thanksgiving Break - 11/25-11/27
• Word of the Week - see
• Phonics - a
• Handwriting L & U

Enjoy the Foliage!

Newsletter October 3

Frog Class News

The children are doing a great job entering the building and they do not need their bus tags any more. 

Language Arts:

We have practiced the sight word, he, this week. The children found it in the book, Little Brother by Joy Cowley. They also did a search paper, stamped it in play dough, and did a "magic" painting to reveal the word. We have practiced the letters, D & P, in our handwriting books, on the iPads, and with wiki sticks.

Readers" Workshop has officially started and the children got their own book bins. They have been really enjoying Writers' Workshop and are keeping their wonderful stories in their own folders. 

Math:

We have enjoyed playing dice games. The children are learning how to recognize how many dots there are without counting. We have also tried some counting on. The class continues to explore shapes. 

Science:

Our temperature graph provides us with some good information about temperature changes as the season changes. The weather graph, in their calendar binders, kept track of sunny and cloudy days for our days in school during the month of September.

Upcoming Events:

Handwriting letters: B & R

Phonics: k & g

Sight word: no

Book: No David by David Shannon

Song: Apples & Bananas

Cider Hill Field Trip -10/7

No School - 10/12

Music Hall Field Trip - 10/14

October is Safety Month, please help your child practice your telephone number and address.

Frog Class News 9/25/15

Happy Fall!

What a wonderful beginning of the year! The children are starting to fall into the routines with ease.

Thank you for helping them determine what is snack. A lot of them have brought in a change of clothes which is very helpful in case of accidents. I see lots of sneakers in their cubbies which will be even more helpful once boot season begins.

Our Cider Hill Field Trip is a fun trip. The children are looking forward to it. There is no limit on chaperones and younger siblings are welcome. We will meet you there because only the students and teachers are allowed to ride the bus.

We have been talking about the life cycle of apples and how the weather affects them. We will be doing some fun art projects, reading stories, science projects and math with the apple theme.

We did a fun science project today. Ask your child if pea pods all have the same amount of peas...they know the answer. We explored and shared our findings.

We have practiced writing F&E in handwriting and have practiced the phonics sounds of p&b. Our word of the week was, a. We are learning about ten frames, tally marks and graphs in math. We are also working with our calendar binders.

We have been learning about school rules. We have talked about keeping everyone safe and using kind words. A copy of the frog class rules will come home in your child's folder. Please review them with your child. 

Please remember to put all notes and papers in your child's folder because otherwise they could drop an important note in the hall or outside. Mrs. Howland empties the folders every morning.

 Upcoming Events

Handwriting letters: D&P

Phonics: t&d

Sight word: he

Song: The Numeral Song by Dr. Jean

Cider Hill Field Trip-10/7

No School-10/12

Music Hall Field Trip-10/14

Field Day was a huge success!

The weather really cooperated, no rain, and the heat was tolerable. The fifth graders really made it a lot of fun! ****Look on Flikr for the pictures taken today.

Don't forget the Grandparent Luncheon is Monday. Kindergarten lunch is first, they will eat and then have recess right after lunch.

Grandparents are welcome to come back to the classroom and wait for them to return. The grandchild can show off and read a story to them.

We have adopted 5 little chicks from other classrooms. The children love them and will get a chance to hold them on Monday.

*** Don't forget our last day is 6/16. We will have an end of the year celebration, starting at 9:30, in our classroom. Dismissal will be by 11:30. If this poses a problem for your family please let me know ASAP so I can plan accordingly. 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Thank you to all our service people!

Thank you to all the parents who donated items and volunteered for our May Festival. The children had a wonderful time. Look at Flikr to see the great pictures.

This past week we have done a lot of assessment, especially in math, but our super readers have been showing off for each other.

 We had a problem with our incubator so we will not be hatching any chickens. We will adopt some from the other classrooms.

There have been a lot of stubbed toes and little cuts. Our playground has wood chips so I do not recommend sandals on the playground, sneakers are best.

Don't forget Kindergarten Field Day (5/29) and Grandparents' Luncheon(6/1)

Last day of kindergarten is June 16th. We will have an end of the year celebration. Dismissal will be by 11:30. If this poses a problem for your family please let me know ASAP so I can plan accordingly.

 

Thank you Veterans! 

Happy Mother's Day!

May you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend, enjoy your delightful children!

The chicks are coming! We have eggs in an incubator and are waiting for the arrival of the baby chicks. We did a science talk and did a lot of wonderings...the biggest wondering was when they will be born. We also made technical drawings of a raw egg. (looking very carefully at the details)

We are in need of some supplies for our May Festival. We could use some baskets for floral arrangements, bubbles and glycerin. I will be looking for two volunteers to work with the children making the floral arrangements. It's usually a lot of fun.

I will send out a request for sundae supplies before the actual day. We will have a puppet show and enjoy sundaes in the afternoon. Younger siblings may attend the puppet show. More information will follow.