Kid, you'll move mountains.
~Dr. Seuss
9/27/2018 0 Comments All About ApplesIt's finally autumn, and I am looking forward to hopefully cooler weather next week. To celebrate the start of fall, we will talk about not only the season, but the delicious fruit that comes with it... APPLES! We will even make some applesauce to finish out the week. Please send an apple (any type) with your child on Friday. I will bring some extras in case you don’t have one. Don’t run to the store; it’ll be ok! We will make the applesauce together but let it cool over the weekend. Plan on applesauce snacks on Monday!
In math, we have been working on counting with 1:1 correspondence (counting objects one at a time). You can practice at home by counting toy cars, coins, crayons, etc. The trickiest part has been representing a number (the whole) with two parts. For example, students are learning to show 5 using two different colors like 3 red circle and 2 yellow circles. Look for that work in the next Friday folder. Please also work on writing numbers always starting from the top. Speaking of writing… we are nearing the end of our “All About Me” posters. It has been fun to get know and write about our classmates, but now it is time to start writer’s workshop. Often, it is difficult for students to come up with a topic. We sent home a project yesterday that will help us guide your child. Please draw, cut out, or print pictures of all the things your child is interested in. The more variety, the better! Some of the topics we cover in kindergarten are teaching books (something they know a lot about), pattern books, a personal narrative, and fiction. Lots to look forward to! Make sure you have signed up for conferences in October: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a45aca62da57-conferences
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9/14/2018 0 Comments What's growing on in Kinder?We finished learning about American Symbols this week and are excited to talk about plants next week. It will be fun to explore our “kinder gardens” and see what last years class planted for us to harvest!
Throughout Kindergarten, we focus on the whole child. Reading, writing, science and math are all important, but becoming good people and students is invaluable. Today, we made friendship salad. Ask your child what goes in the salad. Why did the rotten banana stay out? (hint: not because it’s rotten!) In our class, we are a “school family” that takes care of, encourages, and sometimes calls out each other. Most important is that we are always kind. Next week we will begin our differentiated, thirty minute long groups of designated “What I Need” or WIN time. WIN is a time when grade level teachers and instructional staff provide extra practice for foundational skills, reteach concepts in a different way, or offer opportunities for extended learning. During WIN, groups of students may be taught by a different teacher and may work with students from other homerooms. We have 6 rounds of WIN time each year and each round lasts for 5-to-6 weeks. Prior to each round, teacher-teams form groups to ensure that all students are engaged in powerful instruction throughout each WIN round. Grouping is flexible, so your child may not have the same teacher or work on the same skill, topic or project for consecutive WIN rounds. Each round is designed to provide your student with what they need most to learn and grow! This round we will be focusing on letter identification, sounds, and sight words. How did readers go for you this week? We try to practice reading with each child during the school day, so be sure to send these books back to school every day. Because we are reading them every day, they may seem "too easy" or "memorized." That's ok! Let your child shine and feel confident about reading to you. Celebrate that! A few important tips: - Your child should always hold the book. - Do a picture walk first. Your child calls this “reading the pictures.” - Encourage your child to point to every word as he or she reads. This helps the child memorize sight words and move beyond memorization reading. - Have fun! Don't read when your child is tired or grumpy. You will both end up frustrated. - ONLY READ ONE BOOK EACH NIGHT. The books are short. It's ok to read and be done. However, you can also play games, like "I spy..." and look for letters, sight words, or something that begins with the sound.... - Ask questions: what was your favorite part? Pretend you are the author, what page could you add? How do you think this character feels? Why? I re-test the students' reading levels once a month. The books that go home are at a 95% independent level. We work at a more challenging instructional level in class. Kindergarten is about learning to love reading and school. Have fun and let me know if you have any questions! |
Specials ScheduleMonday: Media
Tuesday: Technology Wednesday: PE Thursday: Music Friday: Art Sight Wordsred, the, like, can, orange yellow, a, I, green, blue, purple, black, we, see, pink, white, gray
Important DatesDecember Archives
February 2020
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