Week 26

  Math night will be held on Thursday, March 20.  It will be a whole school event from 6-7.  The kindergarteners have been so excited about coming back to school at night for games.  They were so disappointed when it was cancelled, and couldn't wait to find out the new date.

We are working on a big project.  We are going to become published authors!  Currently, we are researching animals, filling out graphic organizers, and deciding what 3 facts are most important.  We are also practicing drawing the animals.  Our next step will be for each child to choose an animal to study.  Then we will write rough drafts and final drafts.  At the end of the project, you will be able to purchase your own hard covered, color copied book.  Each child will have a page of writing and a colored illustration.  The students are so excited to be published authors and illustrators.

We have been learning about the role of authors in nonfiction texts.  Next we will be learning about the illustrator's job.

Remember there is an Early Release Day on Tuesday.  Dismissal is at 1:00.

Grades close on Wednesday and Report Cards go home the following Wednesday.

Hope to see you at Math Night!

Week 25

Welcome back to school!  We celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by reading lots of Dr. Seuss books.  They are great for learning word families, reading nonsense words and practicing rhymes.  We made rhyming lists for words in the "at" family and the "ing" family.  We made glyphs about Thing 1 and Thing 2.

In Reader's Workshop, we began a unit on nonfiction books.  So far we have learned that nonfiction books help us learn something new.  We read a book called Underground Homes.  We noticed features that the author used to help us notice important things (table of contents, glossary, words written in a different color, captions on pictures, and labels).  At home, you can point out what nonfiction books you are reading and what you are learning about.

In Math, we have been practicing the concept of subtraction.  One game we used to work on this is called "Bears in a Cave."  To play, start with 5 objects (toys, Teddy Grahams, rocks, etc.).  Have your child count the five objects and then close his or her eyes.  Hide some of the objects under your hands.  Then your child figures out how many objects are hidden.  For an added challenge, use more objects.

You may have noticed a new addition to your child's folder.  We are coloring in a calendar to let  you know how the day went.  This corresponds with our clip chart.  Each day the students start the day on green.  As they make good choices, they are asked to move their clips up to blue and then purple.  As they need reminders, they move their clip down to orange, yellow, and red.  They can move up and down all day.  If they are on yellow or red at the end of the day, they do not get to go around the room for free choice activities.  Please leave the calendar in  your child's folder so we can color it in each day.  Thank you for your support.

Have a great weekend!