Week 6: Max Takes the Train

Story of the week: Max Takes the Train by Rosemary Wells

Poem: Walk with Grandpa

Phonics: A a

Math: Numbers 1-5

Science: Animals

Reminders:

·         Tuesday is Open House from 7-8 PM

·         Practice poems at home.

·         Do “A” ONLY in the alphabet book.

·         Practice counting at home. Numbers 1-25

·         Start saving $5 for the Apple Valley! Our Field Trip will be Friday, October 21^st.

·         Welcome to our new student, Rayven! We are excited to learn with you.

Dear Parents,

            We have open house this week at Stuart. This is a great opportunity for your child to show you everything about their school day. They will show you their desk, their spot on the carpet, their cubby, their hook; they want to show it ALL to you. We will have all sorts of student work hanging throughout the classroom. I know that your Kindergartener is excited to show you everything they have done so far this year.         

            Parent Conferences will be coming up in October. If you requested a conference on the progress report, we can meet one of two ways. I will send home a note about your conference time on the designated evening and you can respond to come on that night.OR If you feel that a conference is more pertinent, please send in a note with times that work for you before our Parent/Teacher Conference night. My planning time is 9:20-10:20. I am available for conferences Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I am also available most days from 3:15-3:30. Conferences last about 15 minutes and will be planned in such a way that we discuss specific items.  I am happy to discuss any concerns you may have about your student.

            We will be learning all about the letter A this week in phonics. We will be making apples, alligators and drawing pictures that start with the letter A. We will listen for the /a/ sound as we listen to songs with lots of As in them. Please practice with your child at home. Anything that they are able to learn at home with someone they love will make their learning more meaningful.

            This week will be the letter A for Alphabet books. Let me remind you that it is important to only do the letter of the week.If students start writing letters and looking for pictures with the sounds in them that we have NOT learned, it will be very confusing and frustrating. I would NEVER ask that the entire book be finished in one week!

            In math, we will be finishing numbers 1-5. We have learned to read both number words and numerals, count with strategy, and we have also practiced writing the numbers. We will begin report card testing after we finish Topic 4. This is a transition year for our curriculum. We will test skills that have not been explicitly taught in the classroom. Practice counting objects at home. Kindergarteners are asked to count from 1-25, create and name patterns, count backwards from ten, and know their shapes.

            In Science, we will be continuing our investigation of animals. We will talk about how all animals grow and change. We will be learning about the life cycles of frogs and butterflies. We will start talking about classifying animals as well. We will begin with mammals and fish.

Week 5: Dig, Dig, Digging

Story of the week: Dig, Dig, Digging by Margaret Mayo

Poem: Bats

Phonics: T

Math: Patterns, Numbers 1-5

Science: Animals

Reminders:

·         Practice poems at home.

·         Do M and T in the alphabet book.

·         Practice naming and making patterns with colors, sounds, and shapes.

·         Incorporate counting in activities at home.

·         Congratulations to Jackson Knoll, our student of the month for Respect.

·         Start saving for the Apple Valley!

Dear Parents,

            Each month, our Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Nerren teaches a lesson about character. This month the students learned about Respect. Each teacher is asked to recognize a student in their class who embodies the trait. Students who are chosen will go to a breakfast to honor them and their picture will hang in the hallway. I have chosen Jackson Knoll as our student of the month! Jackson is extremely polite and respectful each and every day. He is kind to both children and adults. He is such a joy to have in our classroom.

            This week we are talking about things that go. Our story is about all types of transportation and machines that help us get our jobs done. Start a conversation in your home about machines that you use on a daily basis that help around the home.

            We will be learning all about the letter T this week in phonics. We will be making turtles, making tigers out of Ts, and drawing pictures of things that start with T. We will learn how to listen for the /t/ sound as we listen to songs with lots of Ts in them.

            This week will be the first week for Alphabet books to go home. Let me remind you that I have changed my mind on the directions since the front page was printed. To save on paper, you may simply draw pictures and practice writing the letter on the same page. Your students will need to do two letters this week, M & T so be sure to pace yourselves.  

            We will be taking our patterns assessment on Tuesday and beginning numbers 1-5. Patterns proved to be quite a tricky topic in our new Math curriculum, so I think counting, writing, and recognizing numbers will come as a relief. Incorporate counting at home by using objects to count. You can even compare sets of objects to see if they are alike and different. You can even incorporate position words like left and right as you talk about numbers at home. (Which group has three in it? The one on the left or the right? Etc.)

            In Science, we will be continuing our investigation of animals. We will talk about how all animals grow and change. We will be learning about the life cycles of frogs and butterflies. We will start talking about classifying animals as well. We will begin with mammals and fish.

            Our first field trip has been scheduled! We will be going to Apple Valley Farms on Friday, October 21^st. We will take a tour of the orchard, learn about apples, listen to story time, see how apples are sorted, and view the machine that makes the cider. It will cost us around $5 for each child to go. Payment is not required but a donation is strongly suggested. If we do not receive enough donations, the trip will be cancelled. So, go ahead and start saving some spare change so that we can afford to take this fun trip.

Week 4, Julius

Story of the week: Julius by Angela Johnson

Poem: No Poem

Phonics: M

Math: Patterns

Science: Animals

Reminders:

·         Happy Birthday to Natalie!

·         Picture day is tomorrow! Remember, don’t wear any green!

·         No Poems or Alphabet Books due to short week.

·         Practice writing and identifying the letter M at home

·         Practice naming and making patterns with colors, sounds, and shapes.

Dear Parents,

            What a blessing the rain has been! The rain was very needed and so was the extra day off. Our building did have some water damage. The auditorium, gym, and the music room had some flooding. A few hallways were also flooded.  Apart from a foul smell, the problems have been taken care of.

            I am excited to say that we will no longer have to call the playground “the dustbowl.” The playground is no longer dusty, its full of mud! If your child says they got to watch a movie at school, we did that for our recess time. I have tried muddy recess and Kindergarteners have trouble staying out of the mud. Any videos that we watch have a link to our learning in some way. One of my favorites is “Super Why” on PBSkids. It helps with letter identification, reading, problem solving, and critical thinking. So the students might think they are getting to watch a video, but they are actually learning at the same time!

            Due to the inclement weather, we will not be sending home any poetry folders. Each month during our calendar time we practice our poems. Because we have had so little time to practice poems in September thus far, your student will not have to memorize a poem this week. On a similar note, the Alphabet folders will not be sent home either. We will have to make up the M exercise next week so you will have to help out with two letters next week. Think about those pictures ahead of time for the letters M and T for next week.

            Patterns are a fun skill to incorporate at home. Patterns can be made with sounds, colors, and shapes. You can even point out patterns on furniture and bedding! Make patterns fun for your student by playing “I Spy” with them using patterns. Reinforcement at home with loved ones will only make learning more meaningful and easily accessed!

            This week in Reading, we will be reading a story called Julius. Julius is about a girl who receives a pet pig from an Uncle in Alaska. This week might be a good time to research pigs or Alaska with your little one at home. Experience creates meaning and background knowledge to help foster learning and making connections for your child.

            Don’t forget picture day!

We All Scream for Ice Cream

Ice Cream day for Kindergarten has changed! We will be having Ice Cream at lunch on Tuesdays. To help with nutrition, teacher sanity, and cost, ice cream intake has been limited to one day per week. Ice Cream is $0.50. That price is not included in our lunch prices or in the Free/Reduced Lunch Program. Send in any money for ice cream in it's own envelope with the appropriate label.

Week 3, Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip with Kindergarten

Story of the week: Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip with Kindergarten by Joseph Slate

Poem: Manners

Phonics: Identifying T-Z

Math: Position words and Patterns

Social Studies: Friends, Families, Communities

Reminders:

·         We will have Art on Friday.

·         Practice poems at home

·         Look at the “Home Connection” section on daily Math exercise

·         Practice writing names at home

·         Be sure to check out our class website: www.avirettkindergarten.blogspot.com

Dear Parents,

            Thank you for being diligent about sending in snack items. Many of you have sent in nutritious items like fruit and vegetables. I want it to be known that if and when we have such great snacks available, I will waive the “no snack on red” policy. Discipline is important to me, but great nutrition is even more important.

            Our name writing has continued to improve with practice both at school and home. Now that you child can write their name, start asking them how to spell their name without writing it. That is a skill that is tested on the report card that we do not always have time to practice during our school day on an individual basis. I have sent home name puzzles to help with practice at home.

            In Math we will finish position words this week and begin learning about patterns. Please keep practicing your position words (aka prepositions) at home. Left and right is one of those skills that comes with practice and reinforcement. Keep practicing at home! In topic 3, your student will be able to identify and name patterns using letters ABC etc.

            On Friday, I will be out of the classroom on a personal day. Your child will experience their first substitute teacher. I assure you that the students have already been made aware of it. They should know what to expect. I plan on having my favorite substitute, Mrs. Jane Dansen, who has years of experience as a substitute teacher and has a special niche in Kindergarten.

            Another thing that is happening on Friday is the start of reading groups. Your child will meet in a small reading group of 3-5 students with one teacher. The teachers for my class are myself, Mrs. Pat, Mrs. Henderson, Mrs. Webb, and Mrs.  Creagan. Kindergarten groups begin working on the alphabet and phonemic awareness. Reading groups are generally a lot of fun. We play all sorts of matching and sorting games to make reading more fun and accessible to our young learners. We also start concentrating on the Rainbow Words. I have sent home a list of the purple words for you to cut up and practice at home.