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!!