Our Week in Review ~ September 25th - 29th

It was another great week to be in K2! 

In ELA we finished introducing all the letters of the alphabet. Our essential question was "What can you do?" We discussed all the things we can already do that we maybe couldn't do when we were younger and wrote about that in our journals.  We reviewed our sight words I, can and in learning centers we practiced saying them, reading them and writing them. We also sorted the sight words as well. During learning centers we also practiced writing our name with just an uppercase at the beginning and the rest lowercase. If you can have your K2er practice that at home as well, it would be greatly appreciated. We practiced writing letters with a fun game called roll & record and matched uppercase to lowercase letters.  Next week we will begin focusing in on a letter each week where we will work on letter formation, remembering the sound the letter makes, and coming up with things that begin with that sound.

Then on Friday we talked about the "power of YET" after we read the story "Giraffes Can't Dance" and then everyone came up with something they can't do...yet! It was such a fun activity and I loved hearing the K2ers say what they couldn't do and how quick they were to add the word yet.  I think they are well on their way to having a growth mindset. This is a great explanation of what a growth mindset is...

Here is our chart of the things K2 can't do...YET!

I

In Math this week we finished up our Topic 1 lessons.  We continued working on reading, writing and counting numbers 0 to 5. We also worked a little bit on different ways we could make 5 such as 3 and 2, 1 and 4, 4 and 1 and 2 and 3. Next week we will reviewing Topic 1 and taking the end of unit assessment. Then we will be moving into Topic 2 where we will Compare Numbers 0 to 5. 

Next week is a VERY busy week at Johnny Appleseed. On Monday we have our Magazine Drive kick-off assembly, Tuesday is picture day and Wednesday is "International Walk to School Day" and a half day for students. Be sure to send in your walk to school permission slips on Monday. They are due back by 9:00 am on Tuesday, October 3rd.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Happy Birthday, Johnny Appleseed!

Today we had a special visit from Johnny Appleseed in honor of his birthday.

 Johnny told stories to all the kindergarten and 1st grade students about his life, that he was born in Leominster, MA, that he had 11 brothers and sisters, and how he planted his apple seeds.  The K2ers loved listening to him talk.

Half Day ~ Wednesday, September 20th

As a reminder, Wednesday, September 20th is a Half Day of school.  Dismissal is at 11:30 am.  Lunch will be served at 8:55 am so if you rather have your child have a snack at that time, you can send one in.  If your child's dismissal routine will be different, please be sure to send in a note with the change.

Thank You!

Our Week in Review ~ September 11th - 15th

We had a great week in K2. Everyone is starting to adjust to the routines of our classroom and we started following our typical daily schedule. It is so nice to have a routine in place!
In ELA (English Language Arts) we listened to the the story "Animals in the Park: An ABC Story" and introduced the letters p,b, t, d, f, v, k, g, s, z.  We have been using a program called Telian to introduce the letters.  These "lively letters" have a short story and song that help the students to remember the sound of the letter and how their mouth forms to produce the sound. So far they LOVE learning the letters.  This is an example of the song for the letter p and b.


This week we also introduced our first sight word: I. We discussed how this word is ALWAYS capitalized. I will update the margin on the right hand side of the blog weekly with our sight words so that you can practice these words at home. Sight word cards will be sent home at our Open House so that you can cut them apart and practice them with your K2er.

We also introduced learning centers this week. After our whole group lesson time the students go off to learning centers so that they can practice and apply things taught during the week.  Here are some pictures from learning center time this week.

In Math we started on Topic 1 in our math series titled "Numbers 0 to 5." We worked on counting, writing and reading the numbers 1, 2 and 3.  We also started counting sets of 4 and 5.  Next week we will continue counting and writing 4 and 5 as well. Writing numbers can be frustrating for some students. Any practice you can give your child at home would be helpful.  A great tip is to use a highlighter or yellow marker and write numbers (or even letters) on a piece of paper. Your child can then take a pencil and trace the number written. It is a great way to reinforce how to write and what a number or letter looks like.

As a reminder, Tuesday, September 19th is Open House at Johnny Appleseed from 5:30 - 7:30. At this time you and your child can come visit the classroom and see me, visit their specialists teachers, and see other things happening at JA. I hope to see you there!

Flower Orders Due 9/15/17

Just a friendly reminder that all orders for the "Fall Mums Sale" are due tomorrow.  Flowers will be available for pickup in the cafeteria on Thursday, September 21, between 3:00 and 7:00.

Checks should be made payable to JA PTO.

KidStuff Coupon Book fundraiser

Students were sent home with a KidStuff Coupon Book on Monday.  This is a fundraiser and JA earns 50% or more profit for every coupon book sold.  If you do not wish to participate in this fundraisers all you need to do is return the coupon book back to school with your child.  If you would like to purchase the coupon book that was sent home with your child, all you need to do is send in your payment of $25.00 in the Money Collection Envelope that you were provided with.  Any additional books ordered and paid for will be sent home at the end of the sale. All unsold coupon books or orders collected are due Monday, September 25, 2017.

Our Week in Review ~ September 5th - 8th

Yay..we made it through the first week of Kindergarten! We had such a fun {and exhausting} first week together. I could definitely tell that many K2ers were very happy that it was Friday this afternoon at dismissal.

We spent this first week going over the routines in our classroom. I believe children have a much easier time following routines if they have a clear understanding of what the day looks like. We have our classroom schedule posted on our morning meeting board and we go over it each morning.
This week we also focused in on some favorite stories of mine that are perfect to start the year off with. First, we read "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn. We talked about how some of us were a bit nervous on the first day just like Chester the Raccoon.  Then we read "How Do Dinosaurs Go to School" by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague.  After reading the story we talked about the Good Behavior Choices and Poor Behavior Choices the dinosaur made and then we did a behavior picture sort all together. Each K2er got the chance to choose a behavior out of a bag and decide if it was a Good Choice or a Poor Choice. Here is as picture of the final product.

The next story we read was "Chyrsanthemum" by Kevin Henkes. After reading that story we decorated our names for a Bulletin Board out in the hallway, compared our name to Chrysanthemum's name and a classmates name, counted how many letters were in our name, and we talked about how Chrysanthemum's classmates were not being kind to her when they made fun of her name.  We made a "wrinkle heart" and displayed it in our classroom to remind us to always use kind words.  

Last, we read "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. We did lots and lots of alphabet activities to go along with this story.  Then at Math time we played a game called "Roll & Color." They loved playing the game with a partner and they did a great job using the Dice properly.  

Today I sent home a note asking that each child bring in a 1 inch binder as well as a package of page protectors.  We work on a special project all year long so the binder will be returned at the end of the school year. If you already sent one in for your child, then you are all set. 

Also, any donations of tissues, dixie cups and Clorox wipes would be GREATLY appreciated!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!