Week 22: If I Could Go to Antarctica

Story of the week: If You Could Go to Antarctica

Poem: The Jolly Snowman

Phonics: Ee /e/

Math: Measurement

Rainbow words:  do, go, good

Report Card Corner

We practiced writing the alphabet in order this morning. OUCH! This skill needs lots of work. For the upcoming report card, your child will have to write the alphabet in both capital and lowercase letters in order without the use of a model! I encourage you to practice this at home.

Does your child recognize that a calendar measures time? They should. BUT it might be a good idea to talk about calendars at home. Ask them what they know about the calendar. Talk about the calendar every day. This reinforces counting!

Dear Parents, 

            This is the second week of Miss Norris’s student teaching. I will be attending a writing conference in Nashville on Thursday, our 100^th day. I am sad to miss it, but I know the students will be left in good hands to celebrate the day.

            Please forgive my mistake in the behavior chart. It said that there would not be any school today! Oops. I’m not exactly sure how that one happened, but even after double checking I still got that one wrong. If there is ever any doubt about the calendar, please refer to the school calendar that is posted both online and in the calendar that your family received from the school system at the beginning of the year.  

            This week, the PTO is collecting spare change for the book fair. My class highly benefitted from this fundraiser last year because I was crowned the PENNY QUEEN. My class raised the most money and each child was able to go home with a book of their own on that Friday! I would love for that to happen again so please send in your money, I am NOT ready to relinquish my crown!

            If there is an extra field trip permission form or School Books Press permission form, it means that I do not have one from you! Please be reminded that I must have these forms soon! The field trip form is due on Friday and the School Books form is due ASAP. Please take the time to fill these forms out tonight.

            It is one of the requirements of my job that I reach the needs of each student. This means that I need to meet them at their own level to help them excel in skills that they already know, and help them to reach skills they have not mastered. Your student already receives reading instruction at their level in our small reading groups. Our reading program is fabulous and this is built into our schedule. The math program does not have this feature built in (yet). I am starting small math groups during our math time to meet the needs of each student. We might have to move many cards during this process as I train our Kindergarteners to follow procedures and expectations. Each child will spend time with the whole group learning and 10-15 minutes in four stations. The stations include, small group math instruction at their level, independent work completed at their desk, playing a math game on the carpet/computer, and working with Ms. Pat on other math skills that might need extra practice and reinforcement. I am very excited to start this next week!

Blooming Readers

Because Miss Norris is here, I have some time to sneak around and see more things that I don't usually get to catch. I spotted something wonderful in the Library Center today. Julia was reading Sleeping Beauty to Alayna and Hannah. While she did not read every word (or even one), she was doing what she knows good readers do! She told the story to her friends with excitement as she turned the pages and showed them pictures. They were so enthralled with the story that they had no idea I was watching!

Week 21: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Story of the week: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Poem:

Phonics: Gg /g/

Math: Measurement

Rainbow words:  we, was, with

Report Card Corner

Can your child spell their last name both orally and written? With proper capitalization?

Can your child recognize words with the same ending sounds? This is an important skill especially when it comes to recognizing rhyme. These two skills go hand in hand.

Does your child use words to describe time? We will be testing words like morning, afternoon, night, evening, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Initiate conversations with your child to help them use these words appropriately.

Dear Parents, 

            This week marks the first of two weeks that Miss Norris will be doing her “solo” teaching weeks that she is required to complete for her program at Lee University. She will be teaching every lesson for the next two weeks as I stand on the sidelines and watch. She has done a phenomenal job so far and I am excited to see what all she has up her sleeves for the next two weeks. I will be having a substitute in and out of the classroom as I take a personal day this week and attend a writing conference in Nashville next week. I am excited about learning how to implement more writing into my classroom!

            There are two permission forms floating around in our take home folders. One is for the Tennessee Aquarium field trip and the other is for the School Books Press book form. Please return those as soon as you can. Please be aware that the chaperone spots are limited and will be available only on a first come, first served basis at the reduced price. We already have four adults coming along with our class. Any additional chaperones will have to pay the full, regular price of $25. I will be sending extra copies of each permission form this week as a gentle reminder to get them returned in a timely fashion.

            The Measurement Unit is almost over and we will  be starting a new one next week. Buckle your seat belts, we have a huge undertaking coming up in math. We will be starting ADDITION. This skill either comes very naturally to students or requires extra attention and practice. I will be sending home more information about this unit of learning to help you guide your student at home.

            Cold and flu season is in our midst. We have four students absent today due to illness. We are doing our best at school to keep the germs from spreading. If your child is ill, please keep them at home to have a day of rest. Sending a sick child to school not only worsens their condition, it puts other students (AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND ME J ) at risk of getting sick too. Attendance is important, however wellness is more important. If your child does stay home, please remember to send in an excuse note from yourself or the doctor.

           

I can tie my shoes!

We have some very motivated students in our class. I have seen shoe-lace-tying practice happen all over my room. We have several shoes on our wall to honor the students who have shown the ability to tie shoes. This has been a great motivator! Up next, saying the Pledge of Allegiance...

Week 20: LOTS OF IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Story of the week: One Little Mouse

Poem: Snowflakes

Phonics: Consonant blends ch, sh, th, etc.

Math: Measurement

Rainbow words:  as, be, can

Report Card Corner

We are working on skip counting. We have songs for counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. This skill will be tested on our next report card. Ask your child to sing the songs for you. I will send home a 100 chart for practice.

Rainbow words are EXTREMELY important. Together they are a list of the 100 most common words in reading. As your child begins to read more and more, these familiar words will help them soar through the reading levels. Who wouldn’t want that for their child. I beg of you to practice these words at home.

Dear Parents, 

            For the first six weeks of this semester we have a student teacher from Lee University. Lee’s program is stellar and produces quality teachers, many of whom teach in our school. (Except for me, GO VOLS!) Our student teacher is Miss Whitney Norris. She has already started teaching a few lessons such as morning board and handwriting. Next week, she will begin teaching all day while I stand on the sidelines and guide her along. It has been fun to get to know her so far and I know she will do a great job. She is fantastic! The kids already love her. I know we will all hate to say goodbye in February.   

            Speaking of February, we have quite a few events coming up. Our closest event is our field trip to the Tennessee Aquarium! We will be reading Life in an Ocean, and If I Could Go to Antarctica. We will create quite a bit of buzz about aquatic life to be sure we are ready to take it all in. We will be going on Friday, February 10^th.  Because we receive Federal funding due to our Title I status, we are able to set aside some money to aid in the payment for field trips. The Kindergarten team saved our money to go on this field trip. The donation is only $5.50 per child! The usual admission charge is over $20! Chaperones will pay $9.85 (another excellent deal!). Chaperone spots are limited. We will only be accepting 6 spots for our class. These spots will be available on a first come, first served basis.  

            Stuart School has excellent resources within its community. Stuart has been given the chance to participate in a pilot program with School Books Press with our very own Tullock family. Our class will be participating in the project to write a story together and then have it PUBLISHED. (If you haven’t already thought about college, this is an incredible resume builder J). The books will be published and given to each student for free! If parents or loved ones are interested in purchasing the book, they will be available for purchase via Ingram Books, Amazon, and other ebook formats. (You could put it on a Kindle or iPad!) I am very excited about this opportunity to encourage writing in our class. I will send home more information and release forms later this week.

            Shoe lace club has five members so far! Keep practicing at home!

Sincerely,

Grace Avirett

If life give you lemons, make lemonade!

Today we made lemons from paper plates and waxed paper. While working on our craft, we had some lemonade! Isn't phonemic awareness so great? Enjoy the pictures of learning fun!

from week 6 to week 19.... oops!

Story of the week: My Lucky Day

Poem: Winter

Phonics: Ll /l/

Math: Fractions and Ordinals

Rainbow words:  yellow, dog, home

Report Card Corner

Today, report cards go home! I love being able to see each child grow throughout the year. Please take time to look at the report card and see areas where your child could use some help. Please sign and return the report cards  by Friday.

One area that needs some work class-wide is number recognition and quantities. Please work on this skill at home.

            Happy New Year! I am so excited to start off the year with Kindergarteners as sweet as these! I love this time of year because I get to “re-train” my students in everything. We have talked about rules and procedures, how to use scissors and how to use glue properly. We have had some changes in our room as well. The desks have been turned around and students have the chance to store their supplies INSIDE of the desk. It has gone very well so far. Your student is much more familiar with color words at this time of year. They now have all 24 colors from the crayon box in their bag. It has been fun to see their reactions to the different shades of green, blue, and red.

            This week, we will be working on cause and effect. The story this week is similar to Little Red Riding hood in that a small young pig tricks a fox into doing him favors instead of eating him.

            We will be learning all about the letter L this week in phonics. We will be making lemonade, lemons, and lions this week.

            Please be aware that it is cold and flu season. We have talked about germs in class, but remind your student at home to practice good hygiene and form good habits. It is incredibly important to boost the immune system by ensuring that your child is getting enough sleep. Institute a bed time and limit TV time. Be sure they are eating lots of fruit and vegetables as well!

            We will be starting new reading groups this Thursday. All children will be sent home with a book to read each night. Please be sure to have your child read the book three times to you. You may help them sound out the words, but don’t read it for them! It is very important that the book be returned to school in the bag each day. If a book goes missing, you will need to pay $5 to replace the book.

            I have started a Shoe Tying Club! If you child can tie my shoes, they will have their name in the Shoe Tying Club! I am hoping to motivate students to tie shoes by having a visual reminder. I plan to do the same with a “Pledge Club” to encourage students to say the pledge to the flag.

Sincerely,

Grace Avirett