Important Papers
On Tuesday, please look for the following important papers in your child’s folder: the March parent volunteer schedule, a conference time reminder, and our 100th day of school homework. Thank you!
IMPORTANT- Conferences
Please note that the sign up sheet for Spring Conferences will be posted outside our classroom starting on Valentines Day. There will be limited slots after school on February 28th and 29th and slots during the day on March 1st. If you have any questions, please let me know!
Reading Workshop
The Kindergartners have been working hard on practicing the different elements of Reading Workshop since we returned from break. Last week, we finally put them altogether into an hour long routine that allows the children to work independently on reading while I meet with small groups and individuals to work on skills. Each student has their own book box filled with books that they select themselves to ensure interest. We have practiced selecting a mix that includes books that they can read the words of, books that are more suited for reading the pictures, and stories that they can retell. During the workshop time, there are three 15 minute blocks for independent work- Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Word Work. Students can choose when they will work on each activity, but they need to do all three every workshop session. Our guidelines for independence include finding a spot quickly, getting started right away, using a whisper voice, not bothering others, and working the whole time. In between sessions, we clean up and meet briefly as a class for a short literacy lesson. I am very proud of the work that the Kindergartners are doing during this new literacy block in our classroom!
Valentines Day Party
We will be having a Valentines Day celebration in our classroom at 10:00 on February 14th. If you would like to volunteer to help, please contact our room parent, Shannon Huffman. You are also more than welcome to just pop by and enjoy the festivities! The Kindergartners are invited to bring in valentines for their classmates, if they wish, as long as they bring one for each child in the class. A class list will be coming home today to assist you in addressing valentines. The Spring conference schedule will be posted at the Valentine Party, with limited times after school on February 28th and 29th and times during the day on March 1st.
Colors, Colors!
This week the Kindergartners will be working hard on reading and writing their color words. We will be working on minibooks, art projects, phonics activities, and literature connections to help cement these words in our brains!
IMPORTANT- glue sticks needed!
Our community supply of glue sticks for the year has almost run out already! Many of our projects are dependent on having glue. Please send in a package of at least 10 glue sticks to hopefully last your child till June. Thank you so much!
This Week in Kindergarten…
It is our second week back from break and the Kindergartners are back in the groove and working hard! We added two new sight words to our Word Wall- “are”, and “was”. We are practicing handwriting and sounds for the letters Ss and Mm. We are creating some lovely winter art to decorate the hallway and the classroom. In Math, we have been working on measuring, ordering, and comparing different quantities. Most importantly, we are starting to learn the routine for Reading Workshop! The children each have their own book boxes and are currently practicing one of the three parts of our Reading Workshop, Read to Self. Over the next two weeks, they will build their stamina for independent reading, develop good habits for self sufficiency, learn how to select “good fit” books, and discover the three different ways that they can practice “reading” a book.
Welcome Back!
Welcome back and happy new year! I want to send a big thank you out to all the Kindergarten families for the wonderful holiday gifts, including the generous SCRIP gift cards. I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable break. As we head into January, we will be studying the folktale of The Mitten, working on many snow themed projects, and starting our Reading Workshop. Stay tuned for more details!
Candy Needed!
Our Gingerbread house kits have arrived! We will be building and decorating them early next week. At this point we have plenty of gum drops and redhots, but could use some donations of other types of candy. If you would like to contribute, please send candy in by next Tuesday. Thank you!
Kindergarten Update
In Literacy, the Kindergartners have been busy working on the letters Tt and Ii and added “can”, “you”, and “my” to our Word Wall. We have changed the format of our writing journals and now have a space for our picture, as well as a separate line for our words. Each child is working on doing their “personal best” at adding text to their stories. For some children this means writing random strings of letters, while others are working on beginning and ending sounds of words, and some are writing sentences. It is all part of the process and we want to celebrate where each child is at and help them grow from there! In Math, we have been working on strategies and vocabulary for comparing different quantities. The Fall season has brought us many wonderful opportunities to learn some cultural traditions and their historical origins while creating some amazing art. Please look in our classroom for turkeys, Pilgrims, Native Americans, and cornucopias!
The upcoming month of December will be filled with yet more festive fun. We will be learning about the folktale of the gingerbread man and the week before break we will construct and decorate our our gingerbread houses. If you would like to donate candy, please send some in any time in the next 2 weeks. Bags of small, colorful items that are not individually wrapped are best (i.e. M & Ms, skittles, red hots, gum drops, mini candy canes). On Monday, your child will bring home a family art project to kick off our gingerbread unit. It is a gingerbread man for you to decorate and return to school- directions will be attached! I also wanted to let families know that our Holiday Party will be on December 16th at 10:00. If you would like to volunteer, contact our room parent, Shannon Huffman, but please know that you can always just stop by to enjoy the festivities as well.