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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Weekly News: April 25

    I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend with your families!

    We had such a fun Easter Egg Hunt on Friday! Thank you for the donations!

    Relay for Life - April 30th!

    Family Fun Night Luau - Friday, May 20th :)

    Keep working on those community service projects! Projects and presentations due the week of May 23rd.

    What Are We Learning This Week??:

    New Words: FALL, WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, SEASON.

    We are learning all about the four seasons and the different weather we experience with each season. Our butterflies are now in their chrysalis! We are very excited to watch the next step in their life cycle!  In math we will continue to practice addition, subtraction, measurement, and all of our math concepts. Students will continue to work on Excel worksheets at their own levels. In reading we will talk about how good readers ask questions and make inferences before, during and after they read.  In writing we will continue our SUTW about seasons and weather.  We will also practice writing stories.  We are learning that not all of our writing has to be “real”.  We will practice writing make believe stories (fiction).  Our focus is on good mechanics; complete sentences, proper punctuation and capitalization.  Thank you for reinforcing these concepts with your child in their writing homework.

    Saturday, April 23, 2011

    Homework: April 25

    READING:
    • Make new flashcards for the new sight words : FALL, WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, SEASON.
    • Study flashcards EVERYDAY! 
    • Read Book Bag.
    • RAZ-Kids Reading and quizzes - these quizzes will come back to me so I can see how you are doing!
    • Initial the Reading Log. 

    WRITING: 
    • Sharing - Write THREE sentences about how the weather changes through the seasons. Draw a picture to go with your sentences. Sharing is due any day this week.
    • Write a Step Up to Writing - choose a topic sentence, three main ideas, and a conclusion sentence. Draw a picture to go with your story. Due Friday.
    • Write a story -  write a short story consisting of two-three sentences on one topic. Don't forget your details, Neat Nancy penmanship, and proper punctuation. Due Friday.
    • Take a practice spelling and dictation sentence test on Thursday to prepare for your Friday test!

    MATH: 
    • Excel Math Homework
    • Practice math concepts ONLY AS NEEDED:
      • Write numbers 1-30 (challenge: 1-100). Focus on number reversals!
      • Read numbers 1-30 (use number flashcards if your child is still struggling with number identification out of order).
      • Practice counting 5s and 10s.
      • Practice telling time to the hour and half hour.
      • Practice counting money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). 
      • Practice making patterns (AB, ABB, ABC, AAB)
      • Practice what number comes before, after, in between.
      • Practice larger than, greater than, less than, fewer than.
      • Practice days of the week and months of the year. 
      • Practice addition (story problems are great too!)
      • Practice subtraction.
      • Practice LEFT and RIGHT - for example, ask your children to raise their right hand/left hand, draw a square in the upper left corner, draw a circle in the lower right corner, etc.

    Homework due Friday. Please write your name on the Reading Log and staple that to the front of homework. Thank you!

    Friday, April 15, 2011

    Weekly News: April 18

    Fluency - starting this week, we will be taking home THREE fluency stories a week. We will no longer be doing "HOT READS", but we will still time our COLD READS and challenge our brains to read more words each day with each new story! We will also focus more on the comprehension questions of our fluency, going back through the story to find how we get our answers.

    We will have our spelling and math tests on Thursday this week due to no school on Friday :) We will also have "Fun Thursday" this week for those students who finish all of their work.

    A few of you came to me letting me know that the attachment library links were no longer working. Thank you for letting me know! Apparently, the program I was using changed and now you have to pay for it - icky! So I have found a new way to attach the files. Please visit the attachment library and let me know if you have any problems! Thank you!

    Upcoming Events:

    • No School on Friday - enjoy the Easter weekend with your families!
    • Relay for Life - April 30th!
    • Family Fun Night Luau at the Bryant St. Campus - Friday, May 20th - our class is running a the duck pond booth again AND we are putting together an "aquarium/sea life" themed basket - thank you for signing up to bring donations for the basket and please see Michele for other ways you can help!!

    Keep working on those community service projects! Projects and presentations due the week of May 23rd.

    What Are We Learning This Week??:

    We are learning all about Earth Day and recycling this week as we read and write about ways to help the Earth. We will also continue to observe the metamorphosis of our tadpole and butterflies! In Writing we will continue to add details to our ideas. In Math we are learning different types of measurement (weight, liquid, and temperature). We will also begin two digit by one digit addition (example: 23+4) and continuing fact families as well as ALL of our math concepts!

    Homework: April 18

    READING:
    • Make new flashcards for the new sight words : START, HELP, CHILDREN, EARTH, WORLD.
    • Study flashcards EVERYDAY! 
    • Read Book Bag.
    • RAZ-Kids Reading and quizzes - these quizzes will come back to me so I can see how you are doing!
    • Initial the Reading Log. 

    WRITING: 
    • Sharing - Write THREE sentences about Earth Day and recycling. Draw a picture to go with your sentences. Sharing is due any day this week.
    • Write a Step Up to Writing - choose a topic sentence, three main ideas, and a conclusion sentence. Draw a picture to go with your story. Due Friday.
    • Write a story -  write a short story consisting of two-three sentences on one topic. Don't forget your details, Neat Nancy penmanship, and proper punctuation. Due Friday.
    • Take a practice spelling and dictation sentence test on Thursday to prepare for your Friday test!

    MATH: 
    • Excel Math Homework
    • Practice math concepts ONLY AS NEEDED:
      • Write numbers 1-30 (challenge: 1-100). Focus on number reversals!
      • Read numbers 1-30 (use number flashcards if your child is still struggling with number identification out of order).
      • Practice counting 5s and 10s.
      • Practice telling time to the hour and half hour.
      • Practice counting money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). 
      • Practice making patterns (AB, ABB, ABC, AAB)
      • Practice what number comes before, after, in between.
      • Practice larger than, greater than, less than, fewer than.
      • Practice days of the week and months of the year. 
      • Practice addition (story problems are great too!)
      • Practice subtraction.
      • Practice LEFT and RIGHT - for example, ask your children to raise their right hand/left hand, draw a square in the upper left corner, draw a circle in the lower right corner, etc.

    Homework due Friday. Please write your name on the Reading Log and staple that to the front of homework. Thank you!

    Sunday, April 10, 2011

    Weekly News: April 11

    Upcoming Events:
    • Jose's Night this Thursday, April 14 - Fundraiser for Relay for Life! Have some great food and support our school!
    • No School next Friday, April 22nd - enjoy the Easter weekend with your families!
    • Relay for Life - April 30th!
    • Family Fun Night Luau at the Bryant St. Campus - Friday, May 20th - our class is running a the duck pond booth again AND we are putting together an "aquarium/sea life" themed basket - please see Michele for how you can help!!

    Keep working on those community service projects! Projects and presentations due the week of May 23rd.

    What Are We Learning This Week??:

    We are learning all about caterpillars and butterflies this week! We are reading and writing about butterflies and we will even have new class pets to study in addition to our tadpole friend - CATERPILLARS!! We are so excited to watch the metamorphosis of our tadpole and butterflies! In Writing we are adding details to our stories. Some of us are even writing eight sentences now for Step Up to Writing - how challenging! In Math, we are learning greater than/less than, measuring, and continuing fact families as well as ALL of our math concepts! 

    Homework: April 11

    READING:
    • Make new flashcards for the new sight words : SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN.
    • Study flashcards EVERYDAY! 
    • Read Fluency Passage 3 times everyday! 
    • Read AR Books.
    • RAZ-Kids Reading and quizzes - these quizzes will come back to me so I can see how you are doing!
    • Have a parent read to child, asking HOTS comprehension questions before, during, and after reading. 
    • Initial the Reading Log. 

    WRITING: 
    • Sharing - Write THREE sentences about caterpillars and butterflies. Draw a picture to go with your sentences. Sharing is due any day this week.
    • Write a Step Up to Writing - choose a topic sentence, three main ideas, and a conclusion sentence. Draw a picture to go with your story. Due Friday.
    • Write a story -  write a short story consisting of two-three sentences on one topic. Don't forget your details, Neat Nancy penmanship, and proper punctuation. Due Friday.
    • Take a practice spelling and dictation sentence test on Thursday to prepare for your Friday test!

    MATH: 
    • Excel Math Homework
    • Practice math concepts ONLY AS NEEDED:
      • Write numbers 1-30 (challenge: 1-100). Focus on number reversals!
      • Read numbers 1-30 (use number flashcards if your child is still struggling with number identification out of order).
      • Practice counting 5s and 10s.
      • Practice telling time to the hour and half hour.
      • Practice counting money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). 
      • Practice making patterns (AB, ABB, ABC, AAB)
      • Practice what number comes before, after, in between.
      • Practice larger than, greater than, less than, fewer than.
      • Practice days of the week and months of the year. 
      • Practice addition (story problems are great too!)
      • Practice subtraction.
      • Practice LEFT and RIGHT - for example, ask your children to raise their right hand/left hand, draw a square in the upper left corner, draw a circle in the lower right corner, etc.

    Homework due Friday. Please write your name on the Reading Log and staple that to the front of homework. Thank you!

    Sunday, April 3, 2011

    Weekly News: April 4

    It's going to be another fun and exciting week in kindergarten!


    This Saturday, April 9th ILCS PTO is having their "Marketplace Event" at the Bryant Campus. Money raised will go towards our ILCS Relay for Life Team. During the Relay for Life Event on April 30th there is a special ceremony called the "Luminaria Ceremony". At this time the lights on the track are turned off and special made bags with a candle inside are lit in memory of those who have battled Cancer. These bags can be purchased for $5.00. Our kindergarten families are going to run a "Luminaria" booth at the Marketplace on Saturday. We will have bags for sale and stations for kids and families to decorate their bags. 100% of the proceeds will go towards the American Cancer Society. Every bag that is decorated at our booth will be taken to the event and displayed during the Luminaria Ceremony. We are asking for donations in the form of craft supplies, stickers, glitter, markers, etc. for decorating the bags. If you are able to donate, please bring these supplies to class. Also, keep an eye out for the sign-up sheet for help running the Luminaria Booth on Saturday. This is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to learn about service. If you have any questions, please see Miss Michele :)



    Our "I Can Spell" Center is starting this week. This is just a fun center that we will do a few times a week - the spelling words will NOT take the place of our weekly sight words. Students may come home with a small list of spelling words - these are the words they are studying for the center. Please keep working with children on the master spelling list we sent home - this is great preparation for first grade!

    Last week, we started "Fun Friday". This is an extra recess free-time outside for students who finished ALL of their weekly classwork. Students have EVERY DAY during math time and center time to work on classwork and those who finish will be rewarded with Fun Friday. Students that do not finish their work will stay in the classroom. Fun Friday is great motivation for students to make better use of their time in the classroom - this is ALSO preparing them for independent working in the first grade!

    Keep working on those community service projects! Projects and presentations due the week of May 23rd.

    What Are We Learning This Week??:

    We are learning all about tadpoles this week! We are reading and writing about tadpoles and we even have two new class pets to study - TADPOLES!! In Math we will begin learning about fact families and continue differentiating between addition and subtraction problems.

    Homework: April 4

    READING:
    • Make new flashcards for the new sight words : OVER, UNDER, RIGHT, LEFT, PUT.
    • Study flashcards EVERYDAY! 
    • Read Fluency Passage 3 times everyday! 
    • Read AR Books.
    • RAZ-Kids Reading and quizzes - these quizzes will come back to me so I can see how you are doing!
    • Have a parent read to child, asking HOTS comprehension questions before, during, and after reading. 
    • Initial the Reading Log. 

    WRITING: 
    • Sharing - Write THREE sentences about tadpoles and frogs. Draw a picture to go with your sentences. Sharing is due any day this week.
    • Write a Step Up to Writing - choose a topic sentence, three main ideas, and a conclusion sentence. Draw a picture to go with your story. Due Friday.
    • Write a story -  write a short story consisting of two-three sentences on one topic. Don't forget your details, Neat Nancy penmanship, and proper punctuation. Due Friday.
    • Take a practice spelling and dictation sentence test on Thursday to prepare for your Friday test!

    MATH: 
    • Excel Math Homework
    • Practice math concepts ONLY AS NEEDED:
      • Write numbers 1-30 (challenge: 1-100). Focus on number reversals!
      • Read numbers 1-30 (use number flashcards if your child is still struggling with number identification out of order).
      • Practice counting 5s and 10s.
      • Practice telling time to the hour and half hour.
      • Practice counting money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). 
      • Practice making patterns (AB, ABB, ABC, AAB)
      • Practice what number comes before, after, in between.
      • Practice larger than, greater than, less than, fewer than.
      • Practice days of the week and months of the year. 
      • Practice addition (story problems are great too!)
      • Practice subtraction.
      • Practice LEFT and RIGHT - for example, ask your children to raise their right hand/left hand, draw a square in the upper left corner, draw a circle in the lower right corner, etc.

    Homework due Friday. Please write your name on the Reading Log and staple that to the front of homework. Thank you!