Saturday, January 28, 2017

Kindergarten is "SNOW" much fun!

We had a great week full of learning about snow and snowmen! Check out some highlights below.

Fundations Tapping:
This week, we started Unit 2 in Fundations.  The children learned how to "tap" the sounds they hear in CVC words. When 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 sliding their thumb across all three fingers. Please take a look at the pictures below to see how finger tapping works.


For example, if we are tapping the word "mat," we would say /m/, /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! 

Writing: 
On Wednesday, a writing coach came into our classroom and demonstrated how to add captions to our illustrations. The students did such a great job!!! Ask your child what he or she decided to illustrate and caption. 

Speaking of Writing... 
We are going to begin our next writing unit soon ... Instructional / Procedural writing. This type of writing tells the reader how to make something, do something, or complete a task that involves steps. As a preview of this type of writing, students will be first asked to orally share the steps to complete a task/activity that they are passionate about during Morning Meeting. More information will be coming home in your child's communication folder next week!! 

"Fun Friday"
After practicing our snowman poem all week, children had an opportunity to read the poem aloud to the class. We had so many volunteers who wanted to use the microphone and special pointer to read the poem. Check out some of our brave readers below. The students did a fabulous job!!! 







Check out some pictures from our "Fun Friday" craft!!










Save the Date for some fun Upcoming Events!

VALENTINE'S DAY...February 14th! 












Our class will celebrate Valentine's Day on Tuesday, February 14th. Your child is welcome to bring in Valentines to give to their friends. Here a just a few reminders/tips about Valentine's... 

*If your child is going to distribute Valentines to classmates, please make sure your child brings in a Valentine for each member of our class. We have 17 students!!! 

*Valentines need to be food-free! 

*We encourage your child to write out his/her own Valentine's. This will strengthen his/her writing skills, and will build a stronger connection to friends. 

*One suggestion would be to write out 2-3 Valentine's per day.  

* You may send in your child's valentine's as early as February 1st, but no later than Monday, February 13th! 

*Be on the lookout for a Party in A Bag notice which will be coming home with your child as we near the day of our celebration. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns!!! 


100th DAY OF SCHOOL...February 16th! 


We will be celebrating our 100th day of Kindergarten on Thursday, February 16th (with NO snow days*)


We will be sending home information about our special 100th day celebration next week. Please be on the lookout! 


Other Reminders... 
*Mystery Reader: Please send back the dates you would like to be a Mystery Reader in our class as soon as you can. I will be finalizing our list next week, and will be notifying families of their selected day to come in and be a Mystery Reader!!! 

*Sight word cards & Take Home Books: THANK YOU for your support in helping your child practice his/her sight words, and listening to your child read his/her take-home book!! Just a reminder that take-home books need to be returned to school the following day. 

Guiding Questions: 
- Ask your child if he/she can recite this week's poem
- Give your child some CVC words (see top for some examples). Can your child tap out the words? 
- What did your child illustrate and caption during our writing demonstration? 
- Ask your child how we successfully practiced a lock down at Fox Hill on Thursday. 
-Star Tag Ceremony on Friday: what star tag did your child receive? 


Have a wonderful weekend!!

No comments:

Post a Comment