Saturday, January 30, 2016

Discovery Museum!

Kindergarteners had so much fun at the Discovery Museum on Friday! There were many science-based activities that were hands on, that the children could explore with. Take a look below to see all the fun!



















Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Room 6 Reminders

"Costume Day" is on Thursday, January 28th! Here are some reminders about appropriate costumes:

  • The “costume” must be worn to school and must be weather appropriate.
  • No masks, wigs, gloves, or any other accessories (i.e. swords/weapons)
  • Some examples of a costume could be:
    • A favorite sports jersey
    • Princess shirt or dress
    • Superhero or star wars t-shirt
  • If possible, please have your child just wear a t-shirt and not a whole costume
  • Please note this is optional, but will be fun!!
***Our Field trip to the Discovery Museum is on Friday, January 29th!!!!****

DON'T FORGET TO HAVE YOUR CHILD WEAR HIS/HER BLUE FOX HILL FIELD TRIP T SHIRT, AND SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL WITH A NUT-FREE LUNCH!! :)

Friday, January 22, 2016

Kindergarten is SNOW Much Fun!

Dear Families,
Even though it was a short week, we have been very a busy here in Room 6! Our theme has been on winter, snow, and snowmen. Please take a peek into what we've been learning!
Fundations:
This week, we started Unit 2 in Fundations.  The children learned how to "tap" the sounds they hear in CVC words. When the children tap the sounds in words, they say each individual sound they hear in the word while simultaneously tapping their thumb to their index finger for the first sound, their thumb to their middle finger for the second sound, and their thumb to their ring finger for the third sound in the word. After saying each individual sound, they blend the sounds together and say the whole word by tapping all three fingers together. Please take a look at the pictures below to see how finger tapping works.

 Image result for ring finger tapping fundationsImage result for ring finger tapping fundationsImage result for ring finger tapping fundations

For example, if we are tapping the word "sat," we would say /s/, /a/, /t/ while tapping each finger to our thumb. 
Some examples of words we practiced tapping together this week include: 
sat, sit, rat, mat, mop, sap, sad, mad, rad, rip, rap, etc. 

At home, practice "tapping" sounds in words with your Kindergartener. Show them a picture or tell them a word, and see if your child can say all the sounds in the word by tapping! 
Please check under the "What We're Learning" tab for more information about tapping and some words you can practice with. 

Sight Words
This week, we also learned about sight words. We have learned that sight words are "tricky" because we cannot sound them out when reading or spelling. These words have to be taught and learned.
The five sight words we learned this week are:
I
a
the
at
it

Each week, we will learn 5 new sight words, and practice them during our center time. It would be helpful if your child practiced these sight words at home with you to reinforce his/her learning. To know which sight words to practice, check the "What we're Learning" tab on this blog. 
**Also be on the lookout for our first Tic-Tac-Toe homework boards to be coming home next week.** 

Guided Reading:
This week, we began guided reading instruction in small groups. I have been so impressed with the children so far. They have done an excellent job remembering to read their Take-Home book to a parent or guardian and bring back the book to school the next day. Please remember that he purpose of rereading the same book to you or other caregiver is to reinforce what has been learned in school. If any questions or concerns arise, please don't hesitate to contact me! 

enVisionMath:
This week, the Burlington Elementary Math Coach has been coming in to teach us some strategies to use when problem solving. The acronym we use is called TIPS, and stands for Thinking, Information, Plan, and Solution. The children have been working very hard and I am proud of them! Next week, we will continue to learn about addition in Topic 7. 

New Class Pet! 
The students have been working so hard over the past few weeks writing letters to Ms. Pavlicek and/or Mrs. Johnson, to persuade them to let our class have a pet to take care of.
Both Ms. Pavlicek and Mrs. Johnson agreed to let our class have pet gerbils!

We are looking for some donations of paper towel rolls, tissue boxes, small pieces of cardboard, etc. for our pet gerbils to nibble on. Please feel free to send them into school with your child. Any donations would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you in advance, and we are excited to take care of our pet gerbils for the next few weeks!

Report Cards:
Report cards for the First Term will be going home on Monday, January 25th. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about your child's progress report, I am more than happy to talk with you on the phone or set up a conference in person. 

Guiding Questions:
- Have your child practice writing the sight words we learned this week with a fancy pen or marker. 
- Ask your child to tap out the sounds in the following words: mad, rat, mop, sap, sit. 
- Read a story to your child or have them read a story to you. Can he/she retell what happened in the story?
- Ask your child some simple addition questions using numbers up to 5. For example: If there were two children playing blocks on the rug, and three more children came to join them, how many children are playing with blocks in all? 

Looking Ahead:
Don't forget! Our next Field Trip is on January 29th. We are going to the Discovery Museum in Acton, Ma. The children will be able to have lots of fun exploring and learning! Thank you to the chaperones for volunteering for this field trip!  

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Mitten Mania!

Dear Families:
This week, our focus was returning back to doing literacy based centers, introducing Guided Reading Groups, and finishing up Topic 6 in math. Our theme this week centered on The Mitten, by Jan Brett, and some of her other winter-based stories.

Image result for the mitten jan brettImage result for the hat jan brettImage result for hedgie blasts jan brettImage result for hedgie's surprise jan brett

In Fundations, we officially learned the last two letters of the alphabet: z and qu!

Image result for z fundations card
"z, zebra, /z/"
Image result for z fundations card
"qu, queen, /kw/"


Next week, we will begin Unit 2 in Fundations, which features "tapping" or sounding out, three-letter words (CVC words).

In addition, students will refresh their knowledge on writing the alphabet in Uppercase letters.

We will also begin learning about "Sight Words," which are words that cannot be sounded out phonetically to read or write. These words must be taught, and memorized by the students.



Reminders
* Please remember to send your child to school wearing whether appropriate clothing. Now that we are getting into the bitter cold of winter, it is important that your child wears hats, gloves/mittens, and a heavy jacket to school. Please note that we do go outside for recess unless it is below freezing out.  

* There will be no school on Monday, January 18th due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Please help your child remember to bring his/her library book to school on Tuesday so he/she can borrow a new book. 

*If you are interested in chaperoning for our upcoming field trip on January 29th, please let me know as soon as possible! 

*Don't forget check the "What We're Learning" tab to find out more about Unit 2 in Fundations, and Topic 7 in enVision Math, understanding addition. 




Guiding Questions:
- Ask your child to tell you the sounds all the letters make
- Can your child write the whole alphabet using lowercase letters? 
- What was your child's favorite center this week?
- Which book by Jan Brett was your child's favorite?
-Can your child retell the story The Mitten? Can he/she remember the animals that went into the mitten in order?
- Have your child count to 100 by 1s, 2s and 10s. 


Students participating in the "Mitten Greet," where students picked a mitten in the middle of the circle and had to say good morning to the mitten's owner. 


Have a wonderful long weekend!


Sunday, January 10, 2016

Welcome Back!

Dear Families,
I hope you had a restful week with your child and a wonderful Winter break! 

Reviewing Routines: 
This week, we have been focusing on getting back into our classroom routines, and remembering all the things we have been learning since September. We reviewed our classroom rules and expectations, learned about our new classroom jobs, got a special social "buddy" to sit next to at lunch, and started using "coupons" to reinforce positive behavior. 

Persuading for a Pet
In addition, this week our focus has been on writing. The students have been doing a phenomenal job in learning how to write a persuasive letter. The children are writing letters to Mrs. Johnson to persuade her to let us have a classroom pet. Students could choose among a bunny, turtle, fish or a hamster. Check out the "What We're Learning" tab to find out more about the features of a persuasive letter, and what we have been doing in our classroom to foster the students' learning. 

Welcome Cameron! 
A new student, Cameron, has joined Room 6! The students have welcomed him with open arms and he is a great addition to our classroom community! 

Fundations:
This week in Fundations, we learned letters y and x: (y, yellow, /y/; x, fox, /x/). 
Next week, we will learn the last two letters of the alphabet, z & q!!! 

    Image result for fundations letter yImage result for fundations letter y

EnVisionMath:
This week, we started Topic 6, numbers to 100. In this topic, children will use a ten frame to count, and children will develop an understanding in number patters, especially counting by 2s, 5s and 10s. Lastly, the children will understand what it means to estimate numbers.

Visit from a Furry Friend!
On Friday, Ms. Pavlicek from the Burlington Science center visited the children in Kindergarten with special visitors based on the story The Mitten. She brought two hedgehogs to Fox Hill, and students learned about scientific concepts including what is a habitat, and some defensive mechanisms of different animals, especially hedgehogs. This hedgehog show was a great introduction to next week's focus on The Mitten!  Please check out some pictures from the hedgehog show at the bottom of this post! 

Guiding Questions:
  • What are some words that begin with the letter y?
  • What are some words that have the /x/ sound in it? 
  •  Can your child think of other words that begin with the letters we have learned?
  • Which pet did your child choose to persuade Mrs. Johnson to let us have has a class pet?
  • Ask your child what a persuasive letter needs to have.
  • What's the highest number your child can count to?
  • Who was your child's social "buddy" this week? 
  • How was the hedgehog show? What are the defense mechanisms of hedgehogs? 

Looking Ahead: 
Next week, we will finish up Unit 1 in Fundations, we will return back to using centers during our ELA block, and begin guided reading groups. Our theme next week will center on the story The Mitten, by Jan Brett, and other winter-themed stories by Jan Brett.