Pajama Day Reminder

Tomorrow, December 23rd, is Pajama Day at JA! Send in $1.00 for your child to wear PJ's...money donated will be given to a JA family in need.

 

 

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Reindeer Games

The kindergarten students will be taking part in "Reindeer Games" on Monday and Tuesday, December 22nd/23rd. Please have your child wear sneakers on BOTH of those days!

Thank you!

 

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Week in Review ~ December 8th - 12th

As we get closer and closer to the start of vacation the excitement level in the classroom is getting higher and higher. (Of course, the anticipated visit from a certain guy in a red suit isn't helping either!) In ELA we talked about "What do people use to do their jobs?" We read the stories Whose Shoes? and Little Juan and the Cooking Pot Our vocabulary words for the week were: equipment, uniform, utensils, expect, and remain. We also worked on the short vowel sound /o/ as in dog. We have now worked extensively on a, i, and o. We now are able to sound out to both write and read many cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. Everyone is doing a great job segmenting the sounds in words and blending the sounds to say a word. The sight word you was introduced. Please continue to practice all of our sight words at home. Here is the updated list of sight words introduced so far: I, can, the, a, see, we, like, to, and, go, you. In Math we finished Topic 6 "Numbers to 100" and started Topic 7 "Understanding Addition." We are working on simple stories that talk about two groups joining such as "There was 3 red apples and 2 yellow apples. How many apples are there in all?" Then we are taking the information to fill in number sentences that read 2 and 3 is 5. Next, we will work with the plus sign (+) and the equals sign (=). I hope to get through Topic 7 before the start of school vacation. With us doing the Problem of the Day since the start of school, I am anticipating that this Topic will not be difficult for the K2ers as they already have had a solid introduction to number sentences. We made a huge jump with our Books & Beyond goal...we currently have completed 55 out of 192 total stations needed for the Ice Cream Sundae Party come June. Keep Reading and if you need any sheets to fill in, send a note in your child's message tube and we will be sure to send one home. You can also take a blank paper from home and list 15 books that you have read and just sign it. Just be sure to include your child's name.

Week in Review ~ December 1st - 5th

Can you believe we are already into December? Today was our 61st day...we are officially 1/3 of our way done with the school year. Along with everything we are busy learning the excitement seems to be growing in K2 as we get closer to the holidays.

In ELA our essential question was What places do you go during the week? We brainstormed all the different places we visit during the week. Here's a look at the concept web we filled in.

 

We listened to the stories Please Take Me For a Walk, Field Trips, and The Neighborhood. In reading groups we read the decodables Cal's Busy Week, Going by Cab, or We Can Go depending on which group they are in. The letter we focused on this week was Cc and we talked about the hard c sound as in cat and the soft sound of c as in circus. Ask your child if they remember what makes the Cc make a hard or soft sound. Hint: it has to do with the vowel that follows the c in a word. Our new sight word was go and we reviewed all other introduced sight words. At home, say a sight word and ask your child to spell it or write it down. That's another great way for them to "own" the words! During learning centers we searched the room for word cards that began with Cc, built simple sentences using sight words, matched pictures to letter sound they begin with, and wrote in our journals about the different things we do during the week.

In Math we started Topic 6 titled "Numbers to 100" where we discussed what number comes after 20 and then worked with the hundreds chart. We looked at what patterns are on the hundreds chart in the rows and columns.

We then focused in on the last column that counts by 10's. We counted how many fingers we have in K2...260!!! Then we made number lines using cards that count by ten. The K2ers had to cut them out and then glue them in the correct order. They had a lot of fun doing that.

We will be finishing Topic 6 next week and then we will moving into addition and subtraction.

As a reminder: K2 will be shopping at the Elf Shop on Monday morning from 9:00-9:30. If you would like to come shop with your child, you may do so, but if you can't make it during that time Mrs. Ouellette and I will be there to help the class.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Books & Beyond Half-Sheet

As a reminder...a Books & Beyond half-sheet was sent home before the Thanksgiving break. All half-sheets are due back this Thursday, December 4th, for your child to move up a station. We also had a new student move into our class so that brings our goal up to 192 stations. We currently have 14 stations completed...keep up the great work!!

"go" song and video

This week we will be working on the sight word go. Here is the Heidi Songs video to along with the song we learned today. Enjoy!

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Thank You!

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules, especially the week of Thanksgiving, to come meet with me to discuss your child's education. It was so nice to get time to meet with you.

I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with family and friends!

 

 

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Week in Review ~ 11/17 - 11/21

This week in ELA we talked about the different noises we hear in different places. We listened to the stories Clang! Clang! Ring! Ring! Listen to the City and Sounds Everywhere. The sight word and was introduced as well as the letter Nn. We have been using rebelling cards to help retell the important parts of a story and a new game was introduced to practice our sight words called "Bump It!"

 

In Math finished up Topic 5 where we worked on counting, reading and writing the numbers 11-20. After our Thanksgiving break we will be working on Topic 6 titled Numbers to 100. During math we talked about counting numbers forward and backwards from a given number and used a number line to practice the concept. The K2ers also worked on a problem of day that had them thinking about various solutions...they did a great job with it!

As a reminder we have a half-day of school on Monday and Tuesday for Parent/Teacher conferences. The kindergarten students will be going to gym on Monday for a "Turkey Trot" where they will walk laps so be sure to send your child in sneakers.

Have a great weekend!

 

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Friday 11/21 is "Wear BLUE Day" at JA

This week at JA we have been celebrating "Anti-Bullying Week". Each morning our school adjustment counselor, Mrs. Russo, asked a question regarding various bullying rules. To end the week they are encouraging all students to wear blue to school tomorrow (11/21) to promote safety!

 

 

 

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Storyline Online website correction

The website to visit storyline online is www.storylineonline.net. I have added it to my list of educational websites on the right-hand side of our blog page.

Scholastic Book Fair

 

As a reminder, K2's turn to shop at the Scholastic Book Fair is tomorrow November 18th during our Media special time from 11:13 - 11:53. If you would like to come during that time to shop with your child, you are more than welcome! If you are unable to make it during that time, Mrs. Ouellette and I will be there to help.

 

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Storyline Online

Storyline Online is a website that we visit at times where famous actors or actresses read children's stories. I thought I would share the website in case your child would like to listen to some of the stories that we do in class again. It is www.storylineonline.com. Here is one of the favorite stories we have done this year titled Library Lion.

 

 

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Week in Review ~ November 10-14

This week in ELA we started Unit 3 titled "Going Places!" In this unit we will be talking about the things you can learn by going to different places. This week our essential question focused on the rules we follow in different places. We talked about how rules we follow at school are different from rules we follow at home or playing sports. The vocabulary words to know were rules, cooperate, guard, prank and responsible. We also listened to the stories How Do Dinosaurs Go To School, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and Be Safe! The letter Ii was introduced and we listened for the /a/ and /i/ sound in words such as hat and pig. The eighth sight word was also introduced: to. We have some sight word songs to help us remember the spelling of word. Here is a video for the song to. The class LOVES listen and sing their sight word songs!

In math this week we finished up Topic 4 titled Comparing and Ordering Numbers 0 to 10 and moved to Topic 5 titled Numbers to 20. In this topic we will be working on how numbers to 20 can be counted, read and written. As we work on writing numbers to 20 we will be focusing in on making the numbers the correct way and without reversals. At home, practice writing numbers with your child and if they reverse their numbers please ask them to fix them. Giving them a model of the number is a great way for them to see which way the number goes.

As a reminder...Parent/Teacher Conferences are Monday, November 24th and Tuesday, November 25th. A reminder of your day and time were sent home this past Monday. If you did not send home the bottom portion yet, please do so ASAP. Parent/Teacher conferences are in 15 minute time slots so please make every effort to be there on time. I look forward to meeting with each of you to discuss your child.

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Week in Review ~ November 3rd - 7th

It was another great week in K2. In ELA we finished up Unit 2 Let's Explore in our Wonders series. We talked about what kind of bugs we knew about and read the stories I Love Bugs! and Bugs All Around. We listed bugs that we have seen and talked about the ways bugs get around: hop, fly & crawl. The letters m, s, a, p, t were reviewed and we built and read various words using those letters. The 7 sight words introduced so far were also reviewed (I, we, can, the, a, see, like) and we discussed the meanings of the vocabulary words curious, observe, process, slender, attaches. Next week we will be Unit 3 titled Going Places.

In Math we continued Topic 4 and discussed the terms 2 more and 2 fewer and put various numbers in order. To practice with the concept of comparing numbers and figuring out which number is more or less we played a game called "Compare." The K2ers LOVED this game! You may know it by the card game named "War." In case you aren't familiar with that game here is how it is played. The students paired up and split the deck of cards so that each player had the same amount of cards. Each player then flips over their top card. Whoever has the higher card takes both cards. Playing continues until one player has all the cards from the deck. There was a lot of excitement in the room while it was being played. This would be a great game to play at home so that your child can become more fluent in knowing automatically which number is more than the other.

 

 

 

As a reminder, next week school will be closed for Veterans Day on Tuesday, November 11th.

 

With the colder weather coming please be sure to send your child to school with the appropriate outdoor clothing for the season. We try to get outside for recess each day whenever possible. Also, along with colder weather comes germs! We have had a lot of coughing going around the room. We discussed how important it is to wash our hands regularly, to cough into our elbow and cover our mouth when we sneeze to help stop the spreading of germs. Any reiteration of this at home that you can do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all the donations of Clorox wipes and tissues back at the start of school we have plenty of those supplies. I hope they will last us throughout the rest of the fall and winter.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

 

 

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Week in Review ~ October 26th - 31st

Last week we talked about the shapes we see all around us in language arts. We listened to the stories Shapes All Around Us and Kites in Flight and introduced the /t/ sound. We listened carefully to decide whether a word began with the /t/ sound as in tiger or ended with the /t/ sound as in bat. The sight word like was introduced and brings us to a total of 7 sight words. Please keep practicing the sight words at home that have been introduced so far. (I, can, we, see, the, a, like) Going on scavenger hunts in books for sight words is always a favorite activity for kindergarten students. They are found everywhere!!! Here is a good reminder of what a sight word is... Remember, a sight word is NOT meant to be sounded out.

In Math last week we continued to compare numbers to 10 and discussed the terms 1 More and 1 Fewer with numbers to 10. While driving in the car or sitting at the dinner table try giving your child a number from 1-10 and ask them what would be 1 more than the number or one fewer. This week we will be working on 2 More and 2 Fewer before finishing up the topic. We also enjoyed hearing the ending to the school-wide read aloud of Kenny and the Dragon and were very happy to hear that Kenny was able to convince the people of Roundbrook that Grahame was a nice dragon. As a reminder, there is NO SCHOOL tomorrow, November 4th, for students due to Professional Development Day for teachers and next Tuesday, November 11th, school is closed for Veterans Day.

Also, Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up on November 24th & 25th. Reminders will be sent home next week with your day and time. Lastly, we have a sweatshirt and fleece jacket that have been hanging out in the classroom for the past 2 weeks. Each time I show them to the class I get the "Not Mine" line from them all. Here is a picture of the items that have been left behind...if they belong to your child please email me to let me know and I will be sure to send it home with your child.

Medieval Faire

We had such a fun time visiting the Medieval Faire on Wednesday. We started our day outside voting for our favorite castle. Each classroom created a castle to enter into the contest. The K2ers loved seeing all the different castles and had favorites right away. All students and staff were able to vote for their favorite.

After voting we moved indoors for a musical performance. The students were taught about music from the medieval times. Here is a quick clip from a song they performed for us.

 

 

Lastly, we headed to the Faire. Students were able to choose from a crown or a shield to make and then had their hand at candle dipping. We then headed outdoors again to have a snack and play some Medieval games, saw some card tricks and even used marshmallow catapults.

 

Once back to the room we wrote and drew pictures of our favorite part from the Medieval Faire. Thank you to all those that helped to make the Medieval Faire such a fun experience for the kids at JA. We can't wait to see how "Kenny and the Dragon" ends on Friday.

 

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