September 8th - September 12th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  We added the Work on Writing element to our Daily Five Literacy Café this week. Ask your child what their favorite writing activity is in their Work on Writing binder. We also continued to work on building stamina so that students are reading and writing completely independently.

Alphabet: We learned how to identify and write the letters Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr & Ss. We rotated through several centers to practice them. During one of the centers your child made alphabet flashcards.  These are now located in the flashcard pocket of your child’s take home folder. Enjoy!

Writing: We continued to practice hearing the sounds in words and recorded them on paper. We actually started to write a sentence to match our illustrations! How exciting!

Math: During math this week, we worked on sorting items based on their shapes, color, and size. We rotated though several math centers to practice this skill.

Theme: We will be learning about apples for the next two weeks.  We created an apple numbers book and did a fun apple activity after reading the book Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss.

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!

Mystery Reader

A “mystery reader” is any person I invite to our classroom to read to the class as a surprise.  I like to have at least one mystery reader per month, but some months we may have 2 or 3 or more! If you would like to surprise your child by being a mystery reader, please let me know.  All you have to do is bring a book to read to the class and KEEP IT A SECRET (especially from your child). This is a special treat for the whole class, but you will definitely be rewarded by the look on your child’s face when they see it’s you! We have been lucky enough to have had two mystery readers already! Thanks again to Mrs. Smalley and Mrs. Aronis!

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:

we & to

Previous words:

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

Dates to Remember

September 17^th- PTO Family Night at Chipotle

September 19^th- Dismiss at 12:30

September 24^th- Tiger Pride Assembly

September 27^th: WOHE 5K

September 30^th- Picture Day

September 1st - September 5th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  We continued to build stamina with Read to Self. We are up to 10 minutes, and the kids now get to choose their own spots for reading. We also practiced 1 to 1 matching with some simple books. This just means they point to one word for each spoken word.

Alphabet: We learned how to identify and write the letters Kk, Ll, Mm, & Nn. We rotated through several centers to practice them. Ask your child if they enjoyed using pipe cleaners to make letters.

Writing: We learned to hear the sounds in words and begin recording them on paper. We also used our alphabet chart to help us identify the sounds we hear when we stretch out words.

Math: During math this week, we rotated through math centers to help us count objects and practice writing numbers. Ask your child which activity they enjoyed the most (iPads, stringing beads on a pipe cleaner, white boards, or number of the day worksheet).

Theme: During Theme this week we learned the following shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, and hexagon.  We practiced sorting them by color and shape. We also create a paper pizza using all the shapes we learned.

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! Sign up forms went home on Thursday. I promise you and your family will have fun! I can’t wait to see you there!

Box Tops

We are collecting Box Tops for Education.  For every Box Top you collect and turn into WOHE, we receive ten cents.  The class who brings in the most Box Tops each month gets to celebrate with a party! So cut those tops and return them to school.

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:

my & go

Previous words:

the, is, me, & can

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

August 25th - August 29th

What We Are Learning

Reading:  We continued to practice the three ways to read a book. 1) Read the words 2) Read the pictures & 3) Retell a familiar story. We learned that reading involves thinking and learning.

Alphabet: We learned how to identify and write the letters Gg, Hh, Ii, & Jj. We rotated through several centers to practice them. Ask your child if they enjoyed using Play-doh to practice.

Writing: We learned that when we think we are done we have just begun! Your child was encouraged to add more detail to their writing.

Math: During math this week, we continued to create our numbers book.  We drew pictures to represent the numbers 0-5. We also counted and sorted M&Ms based on their color.

Theme: During Theme this week we reviewed our colors. We sang several color songs to help up learn how to spell them.

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:

me & can

Previous words:

the & is

Rest Time

I've noticed that rest time can get rather chilly in our room.  I told the kiddos that they are welcome to bring in a small blanket that fits inside their backpacks if they would like.  The only thing that I am requesting is that they leave their stuffed animals and pillows at home.  I’m hoping this allows everyone to rest comfortably during rest time.

Individual Assessments

This week I have been busy individually testing your child on the following skills:

·         Upper and lowercase letter recognition

·         Counting to 100

·         Recognizing and writing numbers to 20

Soon I will be updating the colored data sheets in your child’s take home folder.  This will allow you to see what skills you can reinforce at home. Even though many of these skills do not have to be mastered until the end of kindergarten, any extra practice you can provide at home will greatly benefit your child. Also, regularly check the flashcard portion of your child’s take home folder as well.  Alphabet flashcards will be coming soon! Thank you so much for all your support!

Dates to Remember

September 1st- No School (Labor Day)

September 19^th- Dismiss at 12:30

September 24^th- Tiger Pride Assembly

September 27^th: WOHE 5K

September 30^th- Picture Day

What We Are Learning

Reading:  We learned three ways to read a book. 1) Read the words 2) Read the pictures & 3) Retell a familiar story. We also built stamina during read to self.

Alphabet: We learned how to identify and write the letters Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, & Ee. We rotated through several centers to practice them. Ask your child if they enjoyed using our classroom iPads!

Writing: We learned how to picture a story in our minds and then recreate it on paper.  We also tried to add labels with our pictures we drew. Ask your child what they chose to write about.

Math: During math this week, we started creating a numbers book.  We drew pictures to represent the numbers 0-2. We also practiced writing them neatly and correctly.

Theme: In order to establish a positive classroom community, we worked on several character building activities this week during our All About Me unit.  We created an All About Me book and talked about what makes us special. Ask your child about the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.

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:

the & is

Special Thanks

I want to send out a special thanks to all who donated items from our classroom wish list!  We greatly appreciate your generosity.  These items will help us have a productive year! Feel free to frequently view our classroom website where I will post items throughout the year as we need them.   

Special Class Schedule

Monday- Music

Tuesday- Art

Wednesday- Library

Thursday- Computers

Friday- P.E.

Always Remember…

I want you to always feel free to contact me through school (417-869-0600) or by e-mail (laurahappel@willardschools.net). If you have any questions, send a note in your child’s take home folder, and I will write a quick response back.

Dates to Remember

September 1st- No School (Labor Day)

September 19^th- Dismiss at 12:30

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Welcome new kindergarten friends and families! I can't wait to meet you and get to know you better! Hope to see you at our Kindergarten Practice Day on Wednesday, August 13th. That day you will get to see your new classroom, get your supplies organized, and see what it's like to be a kindergartener! We're going to have a great year, and I know you will just love being WOHE kid. See you soon!

What We Are Learning

Reading: Because your child has learned so much this year, they are now in charge of teaching the class! Your child has picked a book to share with the class.  While they read aloud and practice their fluency, they are also teaching their classmates about making predictions, making connections, retelling the story, visualizing, and expanding our vocabulary. Ask your child what book they chose to share and what skills they are teaching us.

Writing: In writing this week we realized we are experts in all things first grade. Your child is now writing about things they learned this year.  Look for the finished pieces in your child’s take home folder next week.

Math: This week your child is moving through 7 math centers.  These centers review skills they have learned this year. Ask your child which center they like the best.

Field Day

Field Day will be Tuesday, May 27^th. This will be a really exciting day.  Coach has planned several water activities. Here is what your child needs to bring that day:

·        An extra change of clothes and shoes

·        Sunscreen (I get sunburnt ever year!)

·        Tennis shoes that are ok to get dirty

·        Sack lunch from home or school sack lunch

First grade will have Field Day in the morning.  Your child will be pretty miserable the rest of the day if they do not bring an extra set of clothes!

Teacher Appreciation Week

Thank you all for an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week! I feel so blessed!

My Transition Back

Thank you all for being so flexible while I was on maternity leave.  We are now working on getting back into our predictable routine. Here is a picture of my beautiful baby girl! I’m one proud Mamma! J

Dates to Remember

May 26^th: Memorial Day No School

May 27^th: Field Day

May 28^th: Dismiss at 12:30 Last Day of School

Guess who is going to come and visit you guys this Friday! This girl!