Dec 16-20

I hope you have a wonderful break full of family, friends, rest, and laughs.

See you next year!

Important Updates:

December 16: Culver's Night

December 16: Celebrating a 1/2 Birthday!

December 17: Celebrating a 1/2 Birthday!

December 20: Celebrating a 1/2 Birthday!

December 20: PJ and stuffed animal day

December 23-January 2: No School

Here's what's happening in K this week: 

Reading: As I have been meeting with readers this past week, I am amazed at how they are able to figure out their patterns and solve unknown words--they really are turning into readers! As their books become less patterned, they will need to amp up some of their strategies! Readers will learn to go back to fix up their reading if it doesn't make sense. They can search the entire picture to figure out tricky words and rely on snap words--even when they have endings! We call these snap words in disguise! Search through the books your child brings home for snap words in disguise. For example, seeing, looked,.

Writing: Writers will celebrate the end of writing true stories next week. They will use checklists to make sure their writing includes all the ways we learned about elaborating and revising their books. Students will get time to "fancy up", or illustrate, their pieces, and they will share their story with a partner from the other kindergarten classroom. 

Snap words: I would encourage students to keep practicing their snap words so that they can read and write them automatically. Dry erase markers, with a spoon in the snow, or with paint and a Q-tip are fun ways to practice writing these words! Here are the words we have learned so far: 

the, I, to, a, is, my, go, me, like, on, in, so, we, up, and, it, at, see, he, do, you, an, can, no, am 

Math: We will work on teen numbers this week. As mathematicians, the most efficient way to see teen numbers is to see the group of ten and the extras. We will create teen number books to practice building ten and the extras. We will also work on finding the partners of the numbers 2-6. This letter explains how we introduce and use partners in Kindergarten. Finally, mathematicians will use math tools to solve both addition and subtraction problems within 5.

Researcher's Workshop: To wrap up our Holiday study, Kindergartners will chose a holiday to study and create a poster to share their learning. Ask your child about a holiday we learned about! You could encourage them to use their hand, putting the main topic (holiday) on their palm and sharing key details (the things they learned) on each finger. This is a fun way to organize our thinking about nonfiction!

Dec 9-14

QUINNEY/NDLC DECEMBER CARING PROJECT

This year our NDLC and Quinney Council members have chosen to help out military personnel deployed overseas in honor of Adam Hall.  Adam is the husband of Amber Hall, an educational assistant for NDLC and Quinney School.  He is also the father of Oliver, a fourth grade student at Quinney, and Lilah, a second grade student at Quinney School.  Adam’s troop was recently deployed and will be gone for 12-14 months. We are looking for our Quinney and NDLC families to donate personal care items, snacks, or money.  The monetary donations will be used to cover the cost of shipping and to purchase extra supplies. All items should be new and in original packaging. Thank you in advance for your help in supporting our troops. For item suggestions and to sign up, go to Sign Up Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A48A8A823A3FD0-real

After signing up for items, please send them to school with your child by December 20, 2019

Important Updates:

December 16: Culver's Night

December 16 Classroom 1/2 Birthday Celebration

December 17 Classroom 1/2 Birthday Celebration

December 20: PJ and stuffed animal day

December 23-January 2: No School

Here's what's happening in K this week: 

 Math: We begin Unit 3 this week, which focuses on identifying 10 groups in teen  numbers, finding partners of a number (i.e. partners of 5 are 3+2 and 4+1), and addition and subtraction. When working on teen numbers, we want students to understand that a teen number is made up of a group of ten and extras. These are fun teen number puzzles to work on identifying the digit and quantity it represents. You could also work with teen numbers with toys at the house using this as a guide. Here is an easy way to practice working on partners of a number.

Reading: Kindergarteners will work on making predictions, rereading, and using book talk power to become stronger readers. All of these skills help readers to really think about what is happening in the story; developing deeper comprehension. Please remember to send book bags back each day so that your reader can bring new books home each night!

Writing: Writers have learned about so many ways to make their true stories easy to read. We will work with partners and use the following chart to make our writing the very best it can be!

Researcher's Workshop: We will begin a new inquiry unit into holidays.  This week we will use a calendar to notice the many holidays that are celebrated across a year and will then identify holidays we already know about and those we'd like to learn more about.  Overall, we will be choosing 8 total holidays to study from now until winter break.  Stay tuned to hear the holidays we choose!

Dec 2-6

Important Updates:

December 16: Culver's Night

December 20: PJ and stuffed animal day

December 23-January 2: No School

Here's what's happening in K this week: 

 Math: This will be our last week working in Unit 2.  We will be working in math centers this week to better finalize and consolidate the concepts we have learned while working in this unit.  Our math centers will be:

• Nearby Numbers: using forward and backward number sequence to fill in a series of missing numbers. This will help us to count on from a given number which is an early addition strategy. 
• Break Apart Sticks and Chips: representing a quantity using math chips and then placing a break apart stick to create 2 groups and recognizing how they work together as partners to make a number and then writing an equation to match
• +1/-1 dice game: using a dice, game piece and 1-10 number parade to practice automaticity with +1 and -1 equations and to better understand the connection these equations have to forward and backward counting.
• 5 frame subtraction:  filling a 5 frame with 5 dots/circles. rolling a die and then crossing out to show subtraction and writing an equation to match.  This will help us with our subtraction fluency within 5. 

If you are looking for some great at home activities to support the Kindergarten math standards we will focus on all year.  Here is a fantastic resource.  As always, let us know if you have questions or need specific feedback

Reading: This week we will kick off a new unit called: Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles.  This unit builds perfectly off of Super Powers unit!  This week we will learn to use a reading mat to organize our books from easy to more challenging and will then make a plan for the reading powers we will need to use to tackle our more challenging books.  We will rely on using patterns that books give us, snap words, beginning sounds and picture support to continue growing as readers. Please remember to send book bags back each day so that your reader can bring new books home each night!

Writing:We have been working SO hard to make sure we are getting one WHOLE story written each day in writer's workshop!  Here is a chart we created to help us make our writing more readable:

This week we will reread our books as we write to make sure we are writing everything we can to tell WHO is in our story, WHERE they are and WHAT happened.  We will also learn to add more vowel sounds to our writing to make it easier to read and will also challenge ourselves to write snap words correctly every time.

Researcher's Workshop: This week, students will plant radish seeds in the light and the dark to discover that sunlight is necessary for plants to grow. They plant the seeds in cups, and each student will decide if they want to place their cups in the sun or in a dark container. Three days later, we will compare the seedlings and then watch what happens when all are placed in the sun.

Weekly News November 18-22

Important Updates:

November 18: Mrs. Hurst is here! 

November 22: Early Dismissal at 11:30

November 27-29: No School 

Math: This week the mathematicians will be starting to review many of the concepts we have learned in unit 2. We will practice writing numbers using wikki sticks, paint in a bag, salt writing and more! We will learn about the characteristics of a hexagon and continue to review the characteristics of the other shapes we have learned. Students will apply their knowledge of the +1 and -1 patterns by playing different dice games.

Reading: Readers will learn that reading books is not just about using snap words, pointing, and starting to sound out letters, but also about making sure they understand what they are reading! We will work on retelling after reading, changing their voices to show they understand the book, and talking about their books with friends!  

Writing: Writers will learn about the process of writing a sentence this week! A writer says a sentence in his/her mind, then writes it, writing word after word. Writers also reread often. They write a little, and the read a little, flipping back and forth to make sure that it sounds right and makes sense. They will also use a checklist to help them check over their work as they reread. Can you believe that these young writers are capable of such strong work?! 

Researcher's Workshop: Students will experience different animal centers this week. The researchers will...

• Read books on different animals
• Look through animals books and then create a book of their own about what they've learned about different animals 
• Sort, uncover, title animal photos
• Research animals using Pebble Go
• Use rubbing plates, feathers, and other various art supplies to create art 

November 11-15

Community Clothes Closet Donations

Hello NDLC families. The service group has started a new fall project. We are collecting gently used or new clothing for the Community Clothes Closet located in Menasha, Wisconsin. During conferences this year you can drop off items by the school office. We appreciate all donations.  Conference dates (since we already had ours) are November 14 and 19.  

Important Dates and Reminders:

November 18: Mrs. Hurst joins us 😃
November 27-29: NO SCHOOL

Math: This week math will be all about exploring, practicing and solidifying our knowledge of the +1 pattern.  The students will learn the following poem and will make a book to show what happens when we add one to a number.

The + 1 Rhyme

1 small rabbit having fun,

Now I see another one.
1 plus 1 is 2.

2 small rabbits having fun,

Now I see another one.

2 plus 1 is 3.

We will also learn and play a dice game called Count On One.  Here is a link to the game.

Reading: Here are some things to work on with your SUPER READER at home!!

•  Have your child hunt for snap words they know
• Give your child the pattern on the first page of the book, then let them read the rest
• Encourage your reader to point one time under every word as they read
• Remind them to check the picture if they get stuck!

While we hope your child will be excited to show off these new skills, please know: one of our main goals is to have the students fall in love with reading.  Feel free to read the books that come home  to your child!

Researcher's Workshop:  This week we will do some independent research!  Each student will choose an animal to learn more about using books and iPads and will even create that animal using art supplies.  Our goal is to present these to the class to share our learning.

November 4-8

This week Thursday is the Veteran's Day program.  This is such an important event for our school!  Thank you for your support!

Important Dates and Reminders:
November 5: Picture Retake day-- send picture packages back to school with your child if you wish to have them retaken

November 7: Wear Red, White and Blue

November 27-29: NO SCHOOL

Math:Mathematicians will be introduced to the +1 pattern this week. Finding patterns in numbers is a foundational skill needed in mathematics. To study this pattern, students will use a counting mat to build numbers 1-10. We will discuss how to move from one number to the next and will write equations to  match.

1+1=2        2+1=3           3+1=4          4+1=5   and so on!

Reading:Last week, Reader Man left a note and special witch finger pointers for our readers! They have been working hard to amp up their pointer power. Readers will learn that every word, no matter how long, gets just one point! We will also use our snap words to make sure we are pointing correctly in our books. So far, the super readers have learned about four powers: pointer power, picture power, partner and sound power.

Writing:Students will learn to plan their story across pages, add more details in pictures and words, and add speech bubbles to their writing. At home, you could help your child generate ideas to write about! Practice telling the story orally and asking questions to add more details. Details to include in storytelling are: Who was there, where they were and what happened.

 This helps students to write more vivid stories. Oral storytelling is a key component in the writing process and will help students to get their ideas on to the page.

Researcher's Workshop:This week we continued our unit about animals and their survival needs. One lesson was called, “How can you find animals in the woods?” We learned how every animal has the need to seek safety. When we see animals in the wild, very often they are seeking safety. We will also read aloud a mystery with a book called, Who Lives in that Hole. In the book, Desiree notices all the holes in the trees around her house—and sets out to discover how they got there, and why they matter. Ask your child what happens in the book!

Weekly News October 28-November 1

This Friday will be ORANGE & BLACK day!  Student will also participate in a fall scoot.  They will rotate to three different classrooms and have fun dancing to fall songs, learning some cool science info about pumpkins and playing fall BINGO.  We will end the day with a special snack!

Important Dates and Reminders:

October 28-31 Red Ribbon Week (dress up days below)
10/28: Teaming Up Against Drugs is NO SWEAT! Wear Your Favorite Sweats and/or Team Apparel!
10/29: SOCK IT To Drugs! Wear Crazy Socks
10/30: RED DAY! Be United Against Drugs! Deck Yourself Out in Red Apparel
10/31: Wear Orange and Black
November 1: NO SCHOOL
November 5: Picture Retake day-- send picture packages back to school with your child if you wish to have them retaken
November 7:  Red, White and Blue Day-Veteran's Day Program 6:00 pm

November Lunch Menu

Math: This week our math focus will switch to story problems.  Mathematicians will learn that listening to and solving story problems is a lot like the writing process.  We will use the chart below to help us!!  We will also do lots of acting out to really see and understand what is happening in each problem we listen to.


Reading:This week is the beginning of our most EXCITING reading unit yet: Super Readers! Students will learn that readers are like super heroes because they can use super reader powers. After getting their very own book bins, they will learn about their super powers! For example, Super Readers can use pointer power to point at each word while reading a book.

Writing:This week we will be learning to write true stories! This means we will be taking an event from our lives, telling that story and then working to show it in pictures and words across three pages. We will practice this work as a class by writing a few class “true stories” together.  As true story writers we will need to do ALOT of story telling to help us say what happened first, next and last.  We will also use our writing folders to help us generate ideas for our true stories.  We will also work  on showing details in our drawings and will be pushing ourselves to write many letters in words we stretch out and use snap words to continue to write sentences.

Researcher's Workshop: Kindergartners will dig into a new unit exploring animals and their survival needs. Our first lesson was called, “Why does a woodpecker peck wood?” We will learn how every animal has the need to find food. When we see animals in the wild, very often they are looking for food. We will practice being different animals and learn about how they search for food,

Snap words:  The new snap words introduced this week will be: like, in, on, so

Weekly News October 21-25

Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who braved the elements to join us on our first field trip!  We packed a lot of learning into one afternoon and we couldn't have pulled it off without you!!

Important Dates and Reminders:
October 21: Veteran's Day RSVPs due!!!!
October 22: Family Night
October 28-31 Red Ribbon Week (dress up days below)
10/28: Teaming Up Against Drugs is NO SWEAT! Wear Your Favorite Sweats and/or Team Apparel!
10/29: SOCK IT To Drugs! Wear Crazy Socks
10/30: RED DAY! Be United Against Drugs! Deck Yourself Out in Red Apparel
10/31: Wear Orange and Black
November 1: NO SCHOOL

Math: Mathematicians will learn all about numbers 6-10 and how using a five group can help us to see and build those numbers quickly! We will use different tools to build these numbers and make equations to match. Mathematicians will also explore equal and not equal by comparing both digits to objects and objects to objects.

Reading: This week we will continue to explore and practice reading different types of books and how reading them will look, sound and feel.  We will even start to explore unfamiliar books and how we can use the pictures and words to do so. One thing readers will learn to do is take a picture walk by checking the cover and then looking at all the pictures to get an idea of how the book might go.  We will also pay attention to how many words are on a page and then try to match what we say to that (ex. if there are four words on the page, try to say four words).

Writing: This week we will continue to strengthen our sentence writing by leaving spaces between words and using punctuation at the end.  We will also work on making endings for our books and will start to fancy them up to share with the 4K students next week.

Researcher's Workshop:Students will finish our centers to dig even deeper and apply the knowledge they gained about our school helpers and school community. Later in the week, we will read about maps to figure out what they are and why we use them. Finally, groups of students will illustrate one room of our school and we will put them together to create a large map.

Weekly News October 14-18

The 2nd Veteran's Day NDLC concert is approaching (Nov. 7)! If you and your loved ones plan on attending and/or want to celebrate a Veteran in your family, please send back the form by Monday, October 21.  This was an amazing event last year and we are so proud to be able to hold it again!

Important Dates and Reminders:

October 14: Packer Wear or favorite sports wear day
October 15 &17: Conferences-- held in our classroom
October 22: Family Night
October 28-31 Red Ribbon Week (dress up days below)
10/28: Teaming Up Against Drugs is NO SWEAT! Wear Your Favorite Sweats and/or Team Apparel! 10/29: SOCK IT To Drugs! Wear Crazy Socks 10/30: RED DAY! Be United Against Drugs! Deck Yourself Out in Red Apparel
10/31: Wear Orange and Black November 1: NO SCHOOL Math:  At the end of the week, students will take the unit 1 assessment. As a culmination of this unit's big ideas, mathematicians will be rotating through centers based on adding and subtracting, subitizing, number order, and number identification. Here are some pictures of what the centers will look like 
This bingo game support subitizing. Click here to download

A great way to practice number identification.
Click here to download

Reading: As we wrap up our "Old Favorite" books unit, students will be acting out the books that they know and love! We will start the week off by creating puppets and thinking carefully about how those characters look, act, and feel. Then, we will think about where the story takes place and create settings. Readers are encouraged to think about the problem in the story and how it is resolved in the end when acting out. Acting out stories is a great way for early readers to develop comprehension skills.  Near the end of the week we will also be reviewing how to read ALL of the types of books we have in our classroom and will do some book shopping and get books in our very own book bins!

Writing: Writing this week will focus mainly on sentence writing!  Writers will learn that sentences are a way to share more information than labels.  We will be using the high frequency (or as we call them snap) words to create sentences in patterns across pages.  The snap words we have learned so far are: a, I, is, go, me, to, the.  These are words that your child can practice at home by writing them or finding them in books.

Researcher's Workshop:  The students love interviewing our school helpers! It is great to visit the different offices in the school to learn about what our school helpers do.  After introducing the new social studies centers, students will have a chance to work in each center this week. Students will create building block structures of where our school community helpers work. We will create webs that describe the work of the school community helpers. Finally, students will look at an assortment of pictures, determine the problem, and decide which community helper(s) could be called to fix the problem.

Weekly News Oct 7-11

The boys and girls are REALLY looking forward to our field trip this week!    At Heckrodt we will learn more about looking closely (like scientists) and this will have a great impact on our writing...I just know it!   Please be sure your child dresses for the weather on Friday; we will be outdoors for  much of the afternoon.  Also, unless you have ordered a lunch through Chartwells, please send your child with a lunch on this day.

This week I will be conducting some 1:1 literacy assessments with each student. In order for me to meet with each child individually, Mrs. V. and Mrs. Flanagan will be here as guest teachers. They are both familiar faces from 4K (and are some of my favorites too).
We will see Mrs. V on  Monday and Mrs. Flanagan on Wednesday!
I will be anxious to share the results of these assessments with you at conferences.

Important Dates and Reminders:
October 11: Field Trip 11:30-3:00
October 15 and 17: Conferences - Please sign up here
October 22: Family Night
October 31: Orange and Black Day
November 1: NO SCHOOL

Math: This week mathematicians will review the shapes circle, square and rectangle.  We will also be playing some fun games and making our own number parades (like the one below) to help us with number order and associating quantity with 1-10.

Reading: As the Kindergartners work toward more conventional reading, we will be working on learning "snap words", or words that appear frequently in books but are not easily sounded out. Our current snap words are I, the, a & to. This week we will work on labeling important parts of our story books and adding snap words to these labels.
Another strategy for beginning readers is to look at the picture, think about what would make sense, and then read! If you have any pattern books at home, give your child the pattern on the first page and then watch as they use the pictures to read the rest!  We have been trying this in the star name books about your child you have seen come home!

Writing:Wow! The Kindergartners have been LOVING our new writing unit. They are so motivated to write about things they love. Our focus will switch to places we love this week, so show and tell bags will be sent home,  This week writers will be encouraged to try their best to write words on the page, even if they know the words are not spelled exactly right! They will also work with writing partners to make their writing even better by asking questions and adding more.

Researchers Workshop:This past week, we began our School Study unit. Throughout the unit, we will be exploring who the community helpers are in our school and conducting interviews to learn more about what they do! So far we have learned about interviews and planned what kinds of questions we are going to ask our school community helpers. We started conducting interviews with a few school helpers this week and and will do some more next week!

Weekly News Sept 30-Oct 4

What a fun and busy week we had!  I have to say I am so proud of the way the students have taken over ownership of our rules and the things and procedures in our classroom!  We had a chance to introduce our school family this week at the assembly!  Check out the poster we made to share some of our favorite things!

Important Dates and Reminders:

October Lunch Menu 
October 2: Picture day-- you can send envelopes to school on or before this day!
October 3: PSC Skate City Event
October 4: NO SCHOOL for students
October 11:  Field Trip to Fire Station and Heckrodt--please send permission slip and $5.25 by 10/7
October 15 and 17: Parent Teacher Conferences--sign up here

Math:This week, mathematicians will work on adding and subtracting using pictures.   We will connect this work to the work we do as story tellers to understand that there is a first, next and last part to math problems.  We will continue to work writing numbers 1-5 and seeing numbers of objects in a group.

Reading: On Monday, we will have a celebration to mark the end of our first reading unit. The readers will choose their favorite book to carry around during our reading parade through the school. Stay tuned for a video!  Students have worked so hard to learn to retell their old favorite storybooks using the exact words from the book, sounding like the characters, and using connecting words to keep the story going. As we continue to work in these "Old Favorites" in our next unit, we will learn to use the pictures and words to really think about how the character might be feeling and what they are thinking. These colorful stories provide a great base to begin that comprehension work with our emerging readers.

Writing: We begin a new writing unit this week and I believe it will be extremely exciting for the kiddos! The  unit is called Show and Tell.  A note and Ziploc bag to came home Thursday so that students can bring ONE thing in to show, tell, and write about for Monday!

Researcher's Workshop: Now that our rules are complete, we will start discussing what will happen if we forget to follow a rules (which will happen to all of us).  Throughout the next week we will practice taking breaks in our classroom break spot.  Every one of us has a difficult time from time-to-time.  We might be sad, upset, tired, or confused.  When we, as adults, feel this way we often have coping skills to help us.  We may: go for a run, read, listen to music, or sit in our room.  The many emotions we feel on a day-to-day basis are real.
We don’t want to ignore these many feelings for kids, we want to help them control them and develop skills to handle them.  The “Take-A-Break” Area is to be seen as a tool.  After a child visits the area, a teacher may process with him/her about his/her feelings and a possible plan for how to cope with something similar in the future.  These conversations will be student led as we want students to independently develop coping skills that feel right for them.
At home you could also make a “Take-A-Break” Area.  In this area you might have calming tools or pictures, just like we will have here at school.

Weekly News Sept 23-27

I am very proud of how well the students handled all of the safety drills we practiced last week.  They were very understanding when they were explained and brave when they practiced.  Of course, we hope we will only ever have to practice these things, but if a situation of any type (weather, fire, intruder) comes up we will be prepared.

Homecoming Week Dress Up Days:
9/23: Hat or Crazy Hair
9/24: Crazy Sock
9/25: Wear NDLC wear or purple
Homecoming Parade: Begin Staging at 5:15 at Holy Cross. Please see the attached flyer for the route information. Students are welcome to walk in the parade with an adult. NDLC will have a banner and will walk as a group in the parade. 
9/26: Super Hero or Disney
9/27: Wear Orange and Black
Important Dates and Reminders:
September 24: Family Night 5:30-7:00
October 2: Picture day-- you can send envelopes to school on or before this day!
October 4: NO SCHOOL for students
October 11:  Field Trip to Fire Station and Heckrodt

Math: In math this week our focus will shift from showing number quantity to comparing number quantity.  We will learn about a new math tool called a comparing mat that will help us to distinguish numbers as greater than and less than.  We will also be exploring and classifying shapes.  We will also revisit and practice addition and subtraction and begin working with number formation.  Also, please watch your child's folder this week for a packet of math games to play at home that will reinforce seeing numbers as quantities and taking numbers apart and putting them together.


Reading: It was very exciting to move into "reading" old favorite storybooks last week.  We were so excited to be able to open these new "gifts" of reading!  One way to support this work at home is by reading stories that are familiar to your child over and over and over again until it becomes a story they can 'read' on their own.

We are continuing our work in storybooks in the classroom as well, trying to say even more on every page to make our words match the text and connecting pages to make our reading sound even more grown up by using phrases like "and then" and "after that."  We will even be looking for and reading words we know and see again and again.  Check out the chart we made together to use at home:

Writing: This week we will focus on making sure each page of our teaching book fits with one topic.  We will also go back to books we have already written and revise by adding letters and words to make labels for our pictures.  Near the end of the week, we will use a check list to edit our writing and will "bring it to life" by adding color in the same way grown up illustrators do!  We will end the week by sharing and celebrating our progress as writers!

Researcher's Workshop (aka Social Studies): Check out our rules!!  

These were written by ALL of us!  If #2 doesn't melt your heart....

Weekly News Sept 16-20

Our first full week was a total success!  The students continue to impress me with the way they are adapting to school and helping to support each other as learners and friends!!

Upcoming events:

September 24: Family Night--more info to come soon!
October 2: Picture day-- you can send envelopes to school on or before this day!
October 4: NO SCHOOL for students
October 11:  Field Trip to Fire Station and Heckrodt (more info coming soon)

Reading: This week we will be starting a new bend in our reading unit, meaning the focus shifts a bit. We have been reading learn-about-the-world books (informational texts) to practice rereading and thinking about how pages go together. This week, we will begin to focus on reading old favorite storybooks. We have been reading books such as Mrs. Wishy-Washy, The Carrot Seed, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff throughout the last couple of weeks. Now, we can “read” by retelling the story using the character’s voice and saying more and more of the story. Have your child practice reading a familiar book at home! They are great storytellers!

Writing: In writing, we will start to create books! Students are using packets of three or more pages to write about things they know about. First, they plan what they are going to write about by pointing to the page and talking through their book. Then, they draw and write! Later this week, we will be working with writing buddies that will ask questions about our writing; this will help students to look over their writing and start to think about revising. Finally, we will continue to stretch out words to label our work.

Math: Mathematicians will learn about adding and subtracting this week. We will also discuss the partners of a number. Partners are any numbers that work together to make another number (i.e. 3+1 and 2+2 are partners of 4). We will build numbers using many different materials including our purple, blue, and red tiles
   Here are what they look like!



Social Studies:  Each person in our classroom has now chosen and illustrated a hope and dream for the school year!  These will be displayed all year as a way to remind us of the important things we are working toward.  We are in the process of creating rules for our classroom that will help us reach those hopes and dreams.  In the next two weeks we will practice what it looks, sounds and feels like to follow these rules and will also discuss what happens when we forget to follow the rules (which will happen, of course).  My hope for this is that students take greater ownership over the rules and grow to understand how to help one another follow them and to also understand how to fix or change things when we forget to follow a rule.

Weekly News September 9-13

We are off and running this school year and we are doing a fabulous job getting to know the routines at school! I am having a great time getting to know each and every one of your special kiddos.

 Please remember to send your child’s writing folder to school if you have not already done so.

Here is a list of our specials teachers so that you know who your child sees throughout the week:

Phy Ed: Mrs. Stratton
Music: Mrs. Krueger
Art: Ms.  Kuplack (or Ms. Ku)
Guidance: Ms. Duda
Library: Mrs. Wolf
STEAM: Mrs. Nimmer

Upcoming events:

September 11: Last day to order NDLC wear
Use this link to order

September 24: Family Night, Hot Dogs and How to Help--more info to come soon!

October 2: Picture day-- you can send envelopes to school on or before this day!

October 11: Field Trip to Heckrodt (more info to come)
*If you are interested in possibly chaperoning, please contact me to arrnage for a background check if needed

A peek at our week!

Reading: In reading, the students have been practicing the routine for getting ready for Reader’s Workshop. We are focusing on looking at the cover and thinking about how the pages in the book go together. We talked about using our fingers to search for all different things on the page. This week, we will talk about the importance of rereading. Readers reread by putting all the pages together, thinking more about the book and learning from the words in the book.


Writing: We are currently working on writing about topics we know about. Students are learning how to think of, visualize, and then put what they know about a topic on paper. We are working on adding more details and words to a page when we think we might be done. We will learn that writers might run into problems, like finishing a page or pens running out of ink, but strong writers are problem solvers and decide what they can do to keep on writing! We will be focusing on labeling pictures and stretching out the sounds in words to write them on the page.  When your child brings home their writing, you might ask what his/her book is about or ask him/her to show you where they tried to add labels to their pieces.


Math: We have been learning about many different tools that can be used for math including our eyes, fingers, red/blue counting tiles, and purple number tiles. These math tools can help us think about building numbers, showing numbers and quantities in different ways, and finding different ways to count objects. We will also start reading Anno’s Counting Book, which encourages students to count, classify, and compare objects. I encourage students to be counting things all day every day. Help them notice things to count; setting the table is a great way to get kids counting!


Social Studies: We have been learning all about what we need to do to make our room a safe and happy place to learn. We will be creating our hopes and dreams wall this week. Each student will pick one thing that they hope to accomplish this year, then we will be generating rules that will help us reach these dreams. These will serve as our classroom rules. I look forward to sharing a picture of our hopes and dream wall with you later this week!


As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail.

First Week in Kindergarten!!

Wow! I cannot believe how quickly our first week of Kindergarten flew by! The students did an AMAZING job!


This week we...

• Spent time getting to know our friends’ names
• Explored the different areas and tools in our classroom
• Began our Reader’s Workshop. We have been reading privately and with a partner!
• Started our Writer’s Workshop. Ask your kiddo what strong writers do!
• Practiced counting and ordering numbers 1-10. We learned that we can use our eyes and hands as math tools too.
• Learned how to use the different free choice options in our classroom

Notes:

• We will be posting our weekly blog at the beginning of next week.
• Remember to keep sending a snack with your child every day.
• The water bottles are working well! Please make sure your child's name is on their water bottle and lunch box.
• Remember to send a quick note or email if your child is taking breakfast.
• Send your child's writing folder back once it is decorated.

Here is a quick peek at what happened in our room this week!

Private Reading

 Partner Reading!

Exploring Math Tools

A guest reader!  Mrs. Steif (the reading specialist came in to share her love of books)!!

It's going to be a GREAT year for these KINGS and QUEENS of Kindergarten!!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Hello Kindergarten Families!

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with me over the past two weeks!  I loved meeting your families and look forward to a great year of learning with you and your children!   As the excitement and nerves about the first day of school start to happen, I wanted to keep you in the loop with a few tidbits and reminders!


First day: All staff will be wearing gray shirts with purple and white print on the first day. This may help you and your child find us in the morning, although we will be keeping an eye out for them as well. We will all meet at the purple NDLC awning that faces the playground.

Snack:   All students should bring a SNACK FROM HOME each day.  Children can also bring a water bottle each day. It’s warm in our room so water bottles are helpful!

Breakfast:  Breakfast is available for children to eat in the classroom each morning.  The cost of breakfast is $1.65 and it will include milk.  Please let me know if you intend for your child to eat breakfast at school each day.  We want to ensure kids who need breakfast are getting it and no one takes it if/when they are not supposed to.

Lunch: Here is the September lunch menu for families interested in having their child taking hot lunch.

Folders: You will find a Take Home folder in your child’s backpack upon returning from their first day as a kindergartener. This folder should be emptied each night and returned each day.

Specials: Please remember to send gym shoes and art shirts if you have not done so yet!

We will have a six day rotation that will impact the special classes we have each day.
Please see our schedule to learn when we have our special classes.
This calendar shows the school days on the number (1-6) they fall on.  Library books should be returned prior to Day 5  on our schedule.

Blog: Weekly updates, pictures, and upcoming activities will be posted each week to our blog. Here is the link to view our classroom blog: https://mrshixon19-20.blogspot.com/

NDLC wear: If you are interested in ordering NDLC apparel, please this link. orders are due September 11.
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Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns!!  Enjoy your last few days of summer! I can’t wait to see you soon!!!