Saturday, October 24, 2015

SpoOoky Spiders!


Dear Families:
We had a very eventful week in Kindergarten. Please take a look below at some of the fun and exciting things we did this week!

Read Alouds:
Image result for the very busy spiderImage result for ahh spiderImage result for spiders children nonfiction book

Brain Breaks:
The children really loved this week's brain break - a fun Halloween edition of "If You're A Kid!" We will do this brain break again next week, just in time for Halloween. Feel free to use this brain break at home for your child to have a fun break!


Here is a clip of "Witches Brew." We will be singing this song in front of other classrooms and parents at Fox Hill School. Whenever you have a chance, have your child practice this song! 
Morning Meeting: 
This week, we greeted our friends by using a spider web greet. The children did a fantastic job at tossing a ball of yarn to a friend and saying "good morning." At the end of the meeting, we all stood up at the same time and admired our classroom "spider web."
Fundations:
The letters that we focused on this week were i and u. The children learned that these two letters are vowels and that every word needs to have a vowel in it.
The students in Room 6 are "sky writers" as they practice tracing the letters they have learned so far by tracing the letters in the air! 
Image result for i itch fundations
I itch /i/ 
Image result for i itch fundations
U, up, /u/ 
Workbaord: 
This week, we started workboard teams during our ELA block. Each student is either on the red team, blue team, yellow team or green team. The centers we had this week were:
-Art Center - a spider web hand print
-Listening Center on the iPads: A Very Busy Spider
-Game Center: Spider Syllables
-Writing Center: Does a Spider Make a good or a bad pet?
-Fundations Center - practicing our new letters
-Poetry Center: The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Here are a few samples of this week's art center. The spiders came out very cute! 
Writing:
This week in writing, we practiced answering a question with "yes" or "no." Our question was: Are you afraid of spiders? Children did a fantastic job answering this question and giving a reason why or why they were not afraid of spiders. We were able to come up with some persuasive reasons. Check out our class graph below. Be sure to ask your child if they answered yes or no!!

Math
This week, we wrapped up Topic 2 and started Topic 3 on Friday. Next week, we will continue with Topic 3 in enVision Math, which focuses on the numbers 6-10.

Other Fun things this week:
-Book fair on Wednesday was a huge success!
- Social lesson with Ms. Greene: To get someone's attention, say "Excuse me, _______." A polite way to respond to someone is by saying: "Yes?"
-Played Fuzz Buzz again in computers. The kids love this sorting math game!

Guiding Questions:
- Ask your child if they can remember which workboard team they were on.
-What was your child's favorite center this week?
-Did your child think a spider was a good or bad pet?
-Is your child afraid of spiders, and why/why not?

Looking Ahead: 
-Next week is HALLOWEEN!!!
-Don't forget that you are more than welcome to come and watch part of the Halloween Parade on Friday, 10/30 in the cafeteria.
-We will spend the day doing fun Halloween-themed centers.
-Last call for October Book orders. The November Scholastic Book order will be going home on Monday,

Don't forget to email me if you would like to volunteer on Friday! Please let me know by Monday, 10/26.

Have a great weekend, and we are looking forward to a spooktacular week ahead!! 

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Volunteer Opportunity!

Please let me know if you would like to volunteer in our classroom on Friday, October 30th, from approximately 9:30-11:30am. You will assist the Kindergarten teachers in running Halloween-themed centers, in addition to helping with the set up/clean up of these centers.  

Please let me know by Monday October 26th if you are interested and available.  

Thanks in advance for your support!!! 

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Book Fair Tomorrow!

Our class will be visiting the library Book Fair to make our purchases on Wednesday at 9:30. Teachers and the librarian will be there to assist students in their selections. We do ask that you please look over the flyer and preselect a book(s) with your child. Attached is a wish list to use if you’d like. This can be sent in with your child along with your payment. We thank you for your help in advance and look forward to a fun visit!

-Miss Christie and Mrs. Binnall

For more information about the book fair please visit:

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Pumpkins & Pajamas!

Dear Kindergarten Families:

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and Columbus Day!
We were still able to have lots of fun and learn a lot even though it was a four day week!
This week's focus was pumpkins, as we read many pumpkin stories, did creative arts and crafts with pumpkins, and learned a pumpkin poem. Take a look at what we did this week in Room 6 below:

Read Alouds:
Our Poem,5 Little Pumpkins

Image result for pete the cat 5 little pumpkinsImage result for scholastic news pumpkin

Fundations:
We focused on letters m and n this week. We practiced the sounds that these letters make, and we practiced writing these letters on paper and on whiteboards! 
*We continue to review letters that we learn. This week we also practiced writing letters t, b and f.
*We practiced how to retell a story, by listening to a story about Mama Echo.
*We practiced writing sentences about things we like; we remembered to begin a sentence with a capital letter, and end it with a period. 
Check out some letters some "student teachers" practiced on the big whiteboard! 
                                            

enVisionMath:
This week we continued with Topic 2, Comparing Numbers 0-5. We discussed how we know when a group has fewer or more objects. We will finish up with Topic 2 next week.  

Centers:
* We continued to practice "rating" stories after we hear them. When we rated a story, we gave a reason why we liked/disliked the story.
*5 Little Pumpkins: We practiced reading AND retelling this story using retell sticks. Be sure to ask your Kindergartener to retell the poem to you at home using their retell sticks! 
*We painted paper plates and made them into pumpkins! 

Check out some pictures below from our Pajama Day. Everyone looked so comfy!!! 



























Guiding Questions: 
-Ask your child to retell the poem 5 Little Pumpkins. Can he/she remember what happened?
-How did your child rate our read alouds? Did he/she like or dislike the stories?
-Ask your child about playing Fuzz Buzz in computers.
-What is your child's favorite poem so far?
-Challenge your child to think of some words that begin with m or n.

Reminders/What's Next:
-We will not have library next week due to the book fair. Our class is going to the book fair on Wednesday.
-In Fundations, we will be learning about the letters u and i.
-We will wrap up topic 2 and begin Topic 3 in enVisionMath.
-We will talk about spiders next week - featuring a spider syllable game, a spider morning greet, and a spider poem.
-We will begin using the iPads next week.
-Halloween: Please be on the lookout for more information about Halloween next week. The Kindergarten Team is planning lots of fun! 

Homework: A big thank you to families who have been practicing letter formation with your child at home!!! 
*We have began an incentive chart for completed homework, which will go in the back of your child's Red Communication folder. 
*Please keep the charts in your child's folder. 
*We will add a sticker for every practice packet that comes back to school; after 5 stickers, students can receive a prize. 
*Please keep in mind that these practice sheets are strongly recommended, but are not required to complete.