October 27th - October 31st

What We Are Learning

Reading:  This week we learned a new strategy to help us understand what we read.  We learned that good readers visualize.  Ask your child to tell you what visualizing is. We will focus on this comprehension strategy next week as well.

Alphabet: We focused on how to properly form the letters Pp, Yy, Cc, Aa, & Ss.  Ask your child which way they enjoyed practicing writing these letters the most (around the table, trace the big letter,  relay race, or creating a letter hat).

Writing:  We continued adding more details to our narrative stories to help our readers understand what happened. We also focused on capitalizing the beginning of our sentences. Ask your child what they chose to write about!

Math: During math this week, we started a new unit!  We are now learning how to add numbers to five. We will learn several strategies to solve addition problems (drawing pictures, using a number line, and punching the biggest number). By the end of kindergarten, your child will know these basic facts automatically, without using any strategy.

Theme: We continued our pumpkin unit. We carved our class pumpkin that we picked during our field trip and explored what was on the inside.  We also made a pumpkin craft using the seeds.  

Student Led Conferences

Thank you all so much for taking time to discuss your child’s progress.  I hope you found the Student Led format beneficial and it gave you insight into your child’s strengths and weaknesses.   I truly enjoyed meeting with all of you!

Book-It

Next week, I will send home a note describing a wonderful program called Book-It. If your child reads 10 books then they get a FREE personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.  To help your child read good fit books, I will also send home several paper books on your child’s reading level. Please read these books with your child and have them fill out the Reading Record.  Also, your child can visit Raz-Kids.com to access books on their level as well.

Website: www.raz-kids.com

User Name: Orchard1b

Happy Reading!

Popcorn Words

Please practice reading, writing, and spelling our Popcorn words.

This week’s words:

he & do

Previous words:

look, in, like, and, a, up, at, I, see, am, we, to, the, is, my, can, me, & go

Dates to Remember

November 3^rd &4^th: No School

November 11^th: PTO Meeting

November 21^st: PTO Movie Night

November 26^th- 28^th: Thanksgiving Break

October 20th - October 24th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  This week we learned two new strategies to solve tricky words.  We learned that good readers look at the pictures to get clues to solve words we don’t know and reread for understanding and fluency.  Ask your child about Eagle Eye and Reread Raccoon.

Alphabet: We focused on how to properly form the letters Zz, Jj, Gg, & Qq.  Ask your child which way they enjoyed practicing writing these letters the most (around the table, trace the big letter, or relay race).

Writing:  We continued writing narrative stories this week. This just means we are writing true stories about things we’ve done or things that have happened to us. We worked on adding more details to our stories to help our readers understand what happened.  Ask your child what they chose to write about.

Math: During math this week, I introduced another part of Math Daily 3 (Math with Someone). We learned a new number game that can be played with a partner called number war. We also started learning how to write, recognize, and make numbers 15-20.  Ask your child what is hanging from our ceiling to help us understand these numbers.

Theme: We continued our pumpkin unit.  We learned the life cycle of a pumpkin and created a pumpkin craft that is hanging in the hall. Next week, we will investigate what pumpkins have, can, and are. We will use the pumpkin we picked during our fieldtrip to investigate what is inside.

Student Led Conferences

Student led conferences will be October 28^th and 30^th. This style of conference gives your child an opportunity to show you firsthand what they have learned in the first quarter, what your child’s strengths are, and what skills they need to continue working on.   The room will be divided into several work centers.  Your child will take you to each center and demonstrate a specific skill they learned in class. At one of these centers, I will be privately presenting each of you with your child’s report card.  I will also discuss any achievements or concerns I have seen. I look forward to meeting with all of you!

Tiger Pride Assembly

Our second Tiger Pride Assembly is October 29th at 2:30.  Parents are more than welcome to attend! You never know when your child might be recognized for good character, teamwork, academics, or improvement!

Creating a Wonder Table

I sent home a letter on Monday requesting fall items to place on our Wonder Table.  These can be pumpkins, gourds, fall leaves, etc. These items will help us learn about observing, asking questions, and investigating answers.

Popcorn Words

Please practice reading, writing, and spelling our Popcorn words.

This week’s words:

look & in

Previous words:

like, and, a, up, at, I, see, am, we, to, the, is, my, can, me, & go

Dates to Remember

October 28^th & 30th: Student Led Conferences

October 29^th: Tiger Pride Assembly

November 3^rd &4^th: No School

October 13th - October 17th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  This week we learned a new strategy to solve tricky words.  We learned that good readers get their mouths ready and say the first sound in the word.  Ask your child about Lips the Fish.

Alphabet: We focused on how to properly form the letters Ii, Uu, Ww, & Xx.  Ask your child which way they enjoyed practicing writing these letters the most (around the table, trace the big letter, relay race, or creating a letter hat).

Writing:  We began writing narrative stories this week! This just means we are writing true stories about things we’ve done or things that have happened to us. We focus on “small moments,” so they chose one part of their day to write about. For example, writing about a roller coaster ride, rather than about their entire day at the theme park.

Math: During math this week, I introduced another part of Math Daily 3 (Math Technology). Ask your child what app they chose to work on independently while I met with individual or small groups. We also started learning how to write, recognize, and make numbers 15-19.  

Theme: Our theme this week focused on pumpkins.  This unit will last three weeks.  This week we read the book The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything. We practiced retelling the story using pictures and popsicle sticks.  Next week, we will learn the life cycle of a pumpkin and investigate what is on the inside of a pumpkin!

Fall Party

A HUGE “Thank You” to everyone who helped with the Fall Party on Friday! The kids loved everything!

Student Led Conferences

Student led conferences will be October 28^th and 30^th. This style of conference gives your child an opportunity to show you firsthand what they have learned in the first quarter, what your child’s strengths are, and what skills they need to continue working on.   The room will be divided into several work centers.  Your child will take you to each center and demonstrate a specific skill they learned in class. At one of these centers, I will be privately presenting each of you with your child’s report card.  I will also discuss any achievements or concerns I have seen. A sign up paper will be coming home last Friday. I would encourage you to send the note back quickly to ensure you get the time that fits your schedule the best. I look forward to meeting with all of you!

Rutledge Wilson Field Trip

On Friday, October 24^th we will be taking a field trip to Rutledge Wilson Farm. We will be participating in the fun activities there as well as going to a class about pumpkins and picking a class pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch! There will be more information coming home soon!

Popcorn Words

Popcorn words are words that “pop-up” a lot when we read. These are high frequency words that your child needs to be able to read automatically without using a strategy to figure them out.

This week’s words:

like & and

Previous words:

a, up, at, I, see, am, we, to, the, is, my, can, me, & go

Dates to Remember

October 24^th: Field Trip to Rutledge Wilson Farm

October 28^th & 30th: Student Led Conferences

October 6th - October 10th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  This week I reassessed students on letter recognition (upper & lowercase) and letter sounds. Look at the colored data sheets in your child’s take home folder to see how much progress your child has made so far!  I will use this information to organize students into small groups to individualize reading instruction. Next week I will start meeting with these small groups. We also learned that good readers reread for fluency, noticed patterns in books, and use pictures to help solve tricky words.

Alphabet: We focused on how to properly form the letters Bb, Dd, Mm, & Nn.  Ask your child how to tell the difference between a lowercase b & d. We also reviewed what sounds these letters make.

Writing:  We finished writing our three page books about ourselves! In these stories we practiced using the popcorn words we know in our writing, using words to match our pictures, using spaces between our words, and ending our sentences with a period. 

Math: During math this week, I introduced one part of Math Daily 3 (Math by Myself). Ask your child what activities they chose to work on independently while I met with individual or small groups. We also started learning how to write, recognize, and make numbers 11-20.  

Theme: Our theme this week focused on fire safety since it is fire safety month.  We brainstormed words that describe firefighters. Ask your child what word they chose to include in their sentence (A firefighter is ______.).

WOHE Shirts

Every Wednesday your kiddo is invited to wear their WOHE shirts! Let’s show our Willard pride!

Rutledge Wilson Field Trip

On Friday, October 24^th we will be taking a field trip to Rutledge Wilson Farm. We will be participating in the fun activities there as well as going to a class about pumpkins and picking a class pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch! There will be more information coming home soon!

Student Led Conferences

Student led conferences will be October 28^th and 30^th. This style of conference gives your child an opportunity to show you firsthand what they have learned in the first quarter, what your child’s strengths are, and what skills they need to continue working on.   The room will be divided into several work centers.  Your child will take you to each center and demonstrate a specific skill they learned in class. At one of these centers, I will be privately presenting each of you with your child’s report card.  I will also discuss any achievements or concerns I have seen. A sign up paper will be coming home on Friday. I would encourage you to send the note back quickly to ensure you get the time that fits your schedule the best. I look forward to meeting with all of you!

Popcorn Words

Popcorn words are words that “pop-up” a lot when we read. These are high frequency words that your child needs to be able to read automatically without using a strategy to figure them out.

This week’s words:

NONE (Review Week)

Previous words:

a, up, at, I, see, am, we, to, the, is, my, can, me, & go

Dates to Remember

October 24^th: Field Trip to Rutledge Wilson Farm

October 28^th & 30th: Student Led Conferences

September 29th - October 3rd

What We Are Learning

Reading:  We added the Word Work element to our Daily Five Literacy Café this week. Ask your child what their favorite Word Work activity is. Also, we learned that readers make text-to-text and text-to-self connections.

Alphabet: This week we focused on how to properly form the letters Ll, Tt, Kk, Hh, & Ff.  We learned that these letters are tall, and it is important to ALWAYS start at the top of the line when writing them.

Writing:  We started to write three page books this week! Your child is writing about a topic they know a lot about…themselves! We also continued to practice using the popcorn words we know in our writing, using words to match our pictures, using spaces between our words, and ending our sentences with a period. 

Math: During math this week, we continued to practice how to identify and write numbers 6-10. We rotated through several centers to practice these. Next week, I plan to use these math centers to set up a new and exciting math structure (Math Daily 3). Look for more information about this in future newsletters.

Theme: Our theme this week was inspired by the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. As a class, we created a large alphabet chart.  Then your child also had the opportunity to create their own. I sent home a blank alphabet chart on Wednesday. This is such a fun activity you can complete with your child! Enjoy!

Alphabet Charts

On Thursday I sent home a blank alphabet chart. Please work with your child to illustrate the alphabet chart! Students may draw, cut pictures out of magazines, use stickers, or glue/tape real objects onto the alphabet chart. This at home activity is designed to provide your child with letter sounds practice. Have fun and be creative! Our class can’t wait to see what you come up with. Please return your completed alphabet chart as soon as your family finishes it.

Rutledge Wilson Field Trip

On Friday, October 24^th we will be taking a field trip to Rutledge Wilson Farm. We will be participating in the fun activities there as well as going to a class about pumpkins and picking a class pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch! There will be more information coming home soon!

Fall Party

We will be having our first classroom party! Mrs. Johnson, our homeroom mom, sent home information about this fun filled day. It starts at 9:00. Come and enjoy the fun!

Popcorn Words

Popcorn words are words that “pop-up” a lot when we read. These are high frequency words that your child needs to be able to read automatically without using a strategy to figure them out.

This week’s words:

NONE (Review Week)

Previous words:

a, up, at, I, see, am, we, to, the, is, my, can, me, & go

Dates to Remember

October 8^th: Fundraiser Ends

October 10^th: Fall Party at 9 & Dismiss at 12:30

October 24^th: Field Trip to Rutledge Wilson Farm

September 22nd - September 26th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  We added the Listen to Reading element to our Daily Five Literacy Café this week. Ask your child about the Raz-Kids app they used on our classroom iPads. We also learned that readers read with expression using our reading voice.

Alphabet: We learned how to identify and write the letters Yy & Zz. We rotated through several centers to practice them. Ask your child which center they enjoyed the most (finding hidden letters with a magnifying glass, using stamps to spell popcorn words, using a clothesline to arrange letters of the alphabet in order, and filling in the missing alphabet letter).

Writing: We continued to practice using the popcorn words in our writing this week and using words to match our pictures.  We also started adding ending punctuation to our sentences and spaces between words.

Math: During math this week, we reviewed how to identify and write numbers 6-9. We rotated through math centers to help us practice. Ask your child which activity they enjoyed the most (number of the day worksheet, roll a number with dice, finding hidden numbers with a magnifying glass, or writing numbers to 20).

Theme: We learned that we have four seasons in a year. Ask your child about how apple trees change during these four seasons. 

Orchard Hills 5K

The Fifth Annual “Run for the Orchard” 5K Walk/Run will be held September 27, 2014 at Orchard Hills so mark your calendars! I promise you and your family will have fun! I can’t wait to see you there!

Raz-Readers

This week I sent home information about a website called Raz-Kids. This is a great website that allows your child to have access to hundreds of eBooks. You can also download a fee app for your iPad/iPhone or Android device as well.

Website: www.raz-kids.com

User Name: Orchard1b

Happy Reading!

Popcorn Words

Popcorn words are words that “pop-up” a lot when we read. These are high frequency words that your child needs to be able to read automatically without using a strategy to figure them out.

This week’s words:

a, up, at

Previous words:

I, see, am, we, to, the, is, my, can, me, & go

Dates to Remember

September 27^th: WOHE 5K

September 30^th- Picture Day (information went home on Thursday)

September 15th - September 19th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  We continued to build stamina during Work on Writing and Read to Self. We also learned how to take a picture walk and make predictions.

Alphabet: We learned how to identify and write the letters Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww & Xx. We rotated through several centers to practice them. Ask your child if they enjoyed using the Smart Board during one of the centers to practice our popcorn words

Writing: We practiced using the popcorn words in our writing this week.  We also learned that when you are trying to spell a tricky word, you try your best and forget the rest!

Math: During math this week, we learned how to identify and write numbers 6-9. We rotated through math centers to help us practice. Ask your child which activity they enjoyed the most (iPads, creating a numbers book, numbers glue/paint crafts, or Play-Doh).

Theme: We continued our Apples unit.  We explored what apples look like on the inside, tasted apples and graphed our favorite type, and made homemade applesauce. Thank you all for the apple donations.

Orchard Hills 5K

The Fifth Annual “Run for the Orchard” 5K Walk/Run will be held September 27, 2014 at Orchard Hills so mark your calendars! I promise you and your family will have fun! I can’t wait to see you there!

Emergency Drills

On Friday, we practiced what to do in case of a tornado, a fire, an earthquake or if an intruder entered our school. This can be a very scary experience for Kindergarteners.  We spoke extensively about how this is just practice so we are prepared.  Feel free to have another discussion at home to ease their anxiety.

                                       

Popcorn Words

Popcorn words are words that “pop-up” a lot when we read. These are high frequency words that your child needs to be able to read automatically without using a strategy to figure them out.

This week’s words:

I, see, & am

Previous words:

we, to, the, is, my, can, me, & go

Dates to Remember

September 19^th- Dismiss at 12:30

September 24^th- Tiger Pride Assembly

September 27^th: WOHE 5K

September 30^th- Picture Day