January news

Thank you for helping your child to bring back his/her "Reading at Home" (RAH) books.  Each Wednesday they will bring home 2 new books.   These books are to help your child work on tracking print, using the pictures to assist with the words, looking at the beginning letter of a word to help them sound it out, and fluency (reading with accuracy, proper expression, & speed).  These books are at your child's independent level, they are not meant to challenge your child but to help build on his/her reading skills and more importantly confidence :)   More challenging texts are being taught at their instructional level (which is what I do during our reading group).  Please send the books back in the bags they come in, these have your child's name on it and helps when they need to go back in their cubbies.
I will be sending home information about RAZ (Reading A to Z) Kids, this will allow your child to listen to, read, and answers questions about texts online.  I want to start with their RAH books first and then give out the RAZ information.  I don't want to overwhelm anyone with all this at once.  This is not mandatory but just a another supplement to support your child.

We have been working on "tapping and blending" consonant vowel consonant (CVC) words.  Hopefully you read the Fundations information and have noticed your child using this technique!  It is very helpful for them distinguishing between the beginning, middle, and ending sounds.  Those middle vowels are very tricky!

We have started "Informational" writing in writer's workshop.  We are writing "how to" books.  We have worked together on "How to wash your hands" and are working on "How to build a snowman".  Eventually students will get to write their own "how to" books!  When writing these, we are using 4 important words... first, next, then, and last.

We will begin subtraction this week!  It will be a big mind shift from addition!  We've talked about how the biggest number is always the answer (sum) in addition but now it will be the number we begin with.

Reminder if the temperature is above 20 degrees they will go out for recess, please send warm outdoor attire when needed.

December news

Time is flying by!  It was nice chatting with everyone during conference time.  If you haven't returned the yellow envelope, please do so.  These will be used for the next progress report.
We have been busy learning more letters, we have just a few more to go!  We are looking at the endings of words when we are decoding and trying to show them at the end of words when we're writing.  Try stretching some words out at home.  We've added a lot of sight words to the word wall!  The kids are recognizing them everywhere!  We have started learning about putting groups together (addition) and will eventually start writing the number sentences. 
We continue to talk about how to be a good friend, being kind, and accepting others (our value for the month is acceptance).  We are working on filling a jar with pom poms for a class reward.  After reading the book, How Full is your Bucket? we thought we would try to fill each other's buckets!

We continue to have fun with our friends and are working hard to share and cooperate!

                                                                               
                                                                         

This week we having been comparing and contrasting different versions of the Gingerbread Man So many variations!

Happy Holidays!  We had a wonderful holiday party!  Many thanks to Mrs. Parton, Mrs. Marra, Mrs. Kass and Mrs. Fenwick for doing a great job!

Enjoy some down time with your families!  Rest, relax, and enjoy!

Happy new year!  

October news

We learned a lot about weather and made our own clouds!

We are learning so many letters!  So far we have covered t,f,b,n,m,i,u,c,o,a,g,d and s!  We've been matching the lowercase to the uppercase, printing them, and working on their sounds!  We are getting very good at them!  We're also continuing to rhyme and now figure out how many syllables (parts) are in words!  Practice some with your child!  Our sight word list is also growing!  We currently have the words a, am, an, at, can, I, in, it, mom, on and the on our word wall!  It would be great to have your child spot those spots in books you are reading!  They are very excited when they see a word they recognize!

Our Halloween parade/party is on October 31st at 1:15.  All are welcome to watch the parade from outside.  Please send your child's costume in a labeled bag that day.


Some great hair styles today for Crazy Hair day!

Halloween Fun!  A little rain didn't ruin our parade!  We have a wonderful party too!  Many thanks to Mrs. Crocker, Mrs. Parton, Mrs. Falotico and Mrs. Horne for a great time!

First day!

We had a wonderful first day!!  Everyone did a great job!  If you did not send in your child's rest time blanket, supplies, art smock, or forms for the office please remember to do so.  Many thanks!  Looking forward to a fantastic year!
Here some pictures from our first day of kindergarten!