Pink Out!

Thank you to all of our friends who supported the PINK OUT today!

Homework

Homework is going home a day early.  With Halloween coming tomorrow and no school on Tuesday we wanted to ensure all families had homework ahead of time. :)

Tomorrow we are having our Fall Stations. Children may wear orange and black. No costumes please. 

Past, Present, Future

The past- Today we read about a historical figure, Helen Keller.  We learned about how she used Habit #1 Be Proactive and Habit #2 Begin with the end in mind! She was the first blind person to go to college!
The children learned to build their schema today.  They illustrated and labeled facts about this amazing person from the past.  The children made connections to the 5 senses and Helen Keller. We also went on a walk around the school and located braille. 

The present and future- We are starting a unit of study on economy and needs and wants.
I am looking for some speakers.  I currently have a pediatrician coming in to speak about her job. If you have a career that you would like to speak about please send me an E-mail as soon as possible.  
I have openings for 5 speakers beginning on Nov. 5th and will run on certain days until the 14th.  I can provide you with a date and time as soon as possible.  I would like for the speakers to arrive at 11:20am . Each speaker would share why they chose that career path, what tools you need to do your job, and what you love most about your job.
In years past I have had a chef, dentist, lawyer, solider, dancer, musician, photographer, police officer, electrician, artist, illustrator, author, veterinarian, custodian, and farmer.
I welcome all folks in our community. 
Without your support we will need to read it from a book, which is great, but a real person makes all the difference! 

Federal Cards!

Federal Cards were due on Friday.  We were missing four.  Please return the cards tomorrow, Monday. 
Thanks!

Habit # 2 Begin With The End In Mind!

 

 

When we begin with the end in mind it will help us to stay focused on our goal.  We also must be proactive in order to reach those goals.  At home are you setting goals with your kindergartener?  It is a perfect time!

Habit #2 Song

Let’s Begin With The End in Mind

End in mind

End in mind

Let’s Begin with the end in mind

Set your goals today!

I do things to make a difference

Make a difference

Make a difference

I do things to make a difference

At my school today.

Let’s begin with the end in mind

End in mind

End in mind

Let’s begin with the end in mind

I will plan ahead!

 

Language Arts Learning Fun!

This week our focus has been on retelling characters, setting, events. 
We also waved bye-bye to boring old sentences and learned to extend our sentences to make them more interesting.
Through our reading we discussed the sense of sight, Habit #2 Begin With The End in Mind, and reviewed Habit #1 through reading  Pete The Cat And His Magic Sunglasses.

Small Group With Mrs. Widman

Read To Self (or your buddy ;)

Authors and Illustrators at work!

This word makes our sentences shine!

Important information!!
Thursday, October 30th- Pink Out Day! If you have something pink or that has pink on it, wear it. We had nothing at my house that was pink for our son. I made a little pink ribbon and pinned it to his shirt.

Writing, writing, writing- Your child should be writing as often as possible.  All of our k friends are learning to sound out words. 

High Frequency words:  The following are words that we are practicing daily, and I encourage you to review at home:
at, am, can, go, is, my, me, the

Learning Time

Our days are filled with non-stop learning. Read To Self is now a new learning station.
We learned how to read a book:
Look at the pictures
Look for letters we know
Look for words
Read the sentences

Answering remotely about shapes and their attributes

Shapes and their attributes

Today we did a reinforcement lesson on shapes and their attributes in the computer lab.
The students used a remote control device to answer or "buzz in" to respond to the questions being asked.

Please ask your child to tell you the shapes- rhombus, square, hexagon, rectangle, triangle, circle, star, oval, (we reviewed trapezoid and octagon even though we don't "have to" know them.   Can you describe a shape to your child and can they find it based on your clues?

Today we read the story The Apple Pie Tree.  The children discussed Habit # 2 Begin with the end on mind.  We also discussed making connections and retelling events from the story. Please continue to work on your child's goal with them as often as possible.

Field Trip Fun!

I can't begin to tell each family just how honored I am to be your child's teacher!  Their engagement and behavior on this field trip was perfect! Absolutely perfect!
Thank you to all of our parent volunteers for making today fun and safe.

The best class!!!!

Making butter!

Dressing up

Her name is Lamb, Lamb...

Hands-on learning!

Hayride to the pumpkin patch!

If you have pictures from today please e-mail them to me or send them in on a jump drive, and I will return the drive to you.

Field Trip

Here are some reminders:
**If you are a chaperon, please be at school by 9:20 as buses are scheduled to leave at 9:30.  You know who you are. J

**If you are a chaperone, we would like everyone to ride the bus to and from the farm as long as there is room.
**Wear super comfortable shoes as we will be walking through a possibly muddy pumpkin patch. :)
**All students MUST have a bagged lunch. All contents of the BAGGED lunch must be able to be thrown away.
**We will eat lunch as soon as we arrive at the farm, which will be around 10:30. Since our tour does not begin until 11:15, we will take some group pictures at that time. We will be unable to stop at any other time during the tour to take group pictures as we are on a very tight time schedule.
**Remember, we will be arriving back at school no later than 1:30, at which time all students EXCEPT EDK students will be dismissed for the day. We need to have IN WRITING, how your child is to be going home on Friday.

**Please have your child wear an orange shirt to the field trip, that way we are color coordinated in an effort to make students easy to spot in the crowd. :)
Thanks so much!!
Sara Chiaverotti

Some Announcements!

If you place something in your child's backpack, please let them know. We don't check backpacks.

Our treasure box has lots of lollipops! Thanks so much!  If you can please send in some small rewards other than lollipops for the reward bin. 

Field Trip Information Sheet- A form went home to each family today asking how your child will be getting home from school this Friday.  We will need the sheet back to school no later than WEDNESDAY.  Thanks so much!  
Your child will need a bag lunch and drink.  No glass please , and no lunch boxes.  We must throw everything away before we leave. :)

We are in need of plastic store bags.  The kind your bring your groceries home in.  Please send in as many as you can by Thursday. Thanks!

Conferences- I am currently scheduling conferences that will be held over the next three weeks.  If you have not received a conference form, you will.  With every conference form you will find a pre-conference sheet.  I am asking that you fill it out and return prior to your scheduled time.  Your time is valuable to me, and I want you get the most out of our time together as possible. 

Schoolwide News You Can Use - Please mark your calendars:
 Kingston Skating Party
Tuesday, October 21st Haygood, 5:30-7:30

October 20-24, is National School Bus Driver Appreciation Week.  Our bus drivers ensure our children get to and from school safely.  Please do something extra special for your bus driver and show them they are appreciated!  Some ideas are, but not limited to; homemade cookies, small gift or gift card and handmade cards.  Thank you for helping shower our bus drivers with appreciation!!!

Learning can be so much fun!
Check out some of the songs we are learning and practicing during the day to support our learning standards.
Counting to 100! (Watch out for those tricky teens!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgLtF3PMOc

Sorting-
http://www.abcya.com/counting_sorting_comparing.htm

Color of the week: Black! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47o3b06-Xg


We are in full writing mode!  I have been sharing with the children all about sentences.  I encourage you to ask your child to be authors and write about their illustrations at home.
Writing can be and should be inventive spelling for most of our friends.  It's not about spelling every word correctly, its about trying your best to write what you hear not what an adult "tells" you.  Great sentences always begin with an uppercase.  If your child is still learning their uppercase letters this is a great way to practice.
Our sentences end with periods.  We are also talking about this during our small group reading time.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wrv_ZviMEc

The Five Senses

We read a story We went on a 5 senses walk and used our senses to observe our environment.

When we returned we shared through writing and labeling what we saw. 

Friday Fun!

Today we had a special guest, Firefighter Chiaverotti.  Prior to his arrival we activated our schema for fire and firemen.  FF Chiaverotti shared with us information about being safe when it comes to fire.  This week is fire safety week! 
Hopefully your child came home and shared a reminder to all families about checking your smoke detectors to make sure they have working batteries.  

Trying own the jacket was a real hit!

FF Chiaverotti reminding the children that while a fireman may look scary in the turnout gear, it's important never to hide.

 Math time! Sorting objects by their attributes.  Today we discussed the texture of an object is another way to sort. The children came up with words like smooth, bumpy, rough.  We also discussed that thick and thin are other ways to sort.  

Friday is almost here!

I was so impressed yesterday with your kindergarteners!
They completed the first part of their retelling assessment.  Every child retold the beginning of the story with ease!!!!  WOW!!!!!  This shows me that they are actively listening and connecting to what they read.  
Please continue to make writing part of your daily routine.  If your child draws a picture ask them to label it.  This may look like- They draw a picture of themselves riding a bike.  They may label themselves with their name and a b for bike.  Some may even write bk for bike.  Some may write I am riding my bike.  The level of writing depends on the child.  At this point we are looking for everyone to be attempting to write beginning sounds independently.  Phonetic spelling is key to writing development.   Let's encourage trying verses telling.

We love to practice our letter sounds in a variety of ways.  Here is one way- (Warning! It sticks in your head!!!- I find myself singing it while driving!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36IBDpTRVNE


Friday: HOMEWORK DAY- Please return your completed homework packet.  


I will be out of the building for training on Thursday.  If you need something please call the office.  Mrs. Widman can help you! :)

Some news you can use!

Thanks so much for helping with homework.  The children seem excited. 
On Thursday it says to glue your sort down on the sort sheet.  Please use a piece of paper from at home. The children will glue them down in columns just like they do when they sort them.  

Field Trip Information:
All of the children will be dismissed from the morning class once we return from Brookdale Farm. The only children that will be staying at school for the remainder of the school day will be the Extended Day Kindergarten students and will be dismissed at the normal time. If you are not attending the field trip, then students will be sent home on their bus at 1:30 i.e you are not driving them home from the farm. If you want them going home another way, it must be in writing and sent to me the day before.  Thursday, October 16th.  No exceptions! This is a school rule.  

 If your child attends daycare, we will need you to make  alternative arrangements as the daycare establishments don't pick up at 1:30PM. If you have questions, please ask. :)  I am happy to help.

Saturday Run and Fall Fair:  We need race monitors.  If you can volunteer to be a race monitor can you please send me an E-mail  We need your help.

Goals:  Your child will be coming home with a goal sheet and letter that explains it tomorrow.  Please be on the lookout for that important information.

Reading Logs: WOW! All I can say is WOW!  I am so thrilled to see the reading that is going on at home.  The children are practicing their strategies at school, and through reading at home you are reinforcing good reading habits.    If your child is missing a reading log one was left at school on Thursday.  It has My Little Pony as one of the books.  When asked who read it, no one could remember.  

If it belongs to your kindergartner please let us know so we can return it.

Math:  As a class we are focusing on our teen numbers-The children are asked to name their numbers out of sequence.  Some of our friends are working on numbers 0-10, 11-20, or 20-100.  If you want to know what numbers your child knows show them various numbers out of sequence.  

Check out this song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W5aYi3lkho

High Frequency Words: Every week we are learning a new word.  The entire class practices the word(s).  It is expected that your child be able to read and spell the word(s) in and out of context.  

The words thus far: the, a, at, am, can, and this week is go!

We mix and fix these words, we write them in sentences, we write them on white boards, and we read these words.  (Sometimes we even DANCE about them! ;)

We are differentiating the words based on student goals.  If a child has learned all uppercase we set a goal to move to lowercase recognition. If he or she has learned all of the lowercase, we move to sounds, once all sounds are mastered, we move to high frequency word cards.  

So, while we are all learning/reviewing all words, some may have a few more words now than others.  

In The Know

We will be returning from the field trip at 1:15.  If you are meeting us there please know that you must sign your child out at the farm. We will have a sheet.  
If you are picking your child up please be at the school by 1:00 to ensure you are there upon our arrival. :) 

Your child must have a lunch. No glass bottles please.
Please dress for the weather.  It may be muddy! 

If you have not returned your child's permission slip and money please do so as soon as possible.

Today we moved on to learning the color orange during our calendar time. We learn these color songs as part of our shared reading.  

We read and discussed The Bumpy Little Pumpkin.  

During our math time we are continuing to work on number recognition. 0-20. for many of our friends we have moved onto 20-50.  

We are counting forward each new day to 100.

Ask your child to count backward from 20 all the way to 1!  (They may dance;)

During small group reading time our focus is word study, and applying your reading strategies.  All of our groups are working on Get Your Mouth Ready, and Look at the picture when we are "stuck" on a word.  Everyday your child is reading and discussing a book in small group.  

Homework begins today, October 6th.  Please make sure your child cuts out their word study sort.  All homework should be returned on Friday, however the initialed word study sheet and the nightly reading sheet should remain in your child's folder.
We like to celebrate their hard work.  On Friday your child's name will be entered in the homework raffle.  Each Friday 6 names will be chosen from the raffle.  Those 6 children will go to the reward bin.  Their names will stay in the raffle. So- the more your child does their homework the better their chances.  Again, this happens on Friday.  

Kindergarten Kids Can Think!

Wow! What a week filled with thinking, creating, and learning.
The children were excited to see our new interactive calendar for October.  
During this time we cover many language arts skills and math skills. 

Learning high frequency words! Ask your child to read their words and spell them.

Shapes- Ask your child their names and the attributes.  As you are out and about ask your child to find these shapes in their world.

As we read this week and last week we discussed the attributes of a book.  Author, illustrator, cover spine, title page, title, and fiction verses non-fiction.   As we read we are discussing the characters in the story, the setting, and the events.  The beginning and end seem very simple for this class.  The middle, well, we are working on remembering those events.  As active listeners and readers we are learning to develop the skills of retelling events in the middle. 

Fiction/Non-Fiction Anchor Chart