Weekly News Jan 27-31

Important Dates and Reminders:
February 7: 100 day of school (more info to come)
February 14: Valentine day celebration- here is a list of names for valentines
February 17: NO SCHOOL
February 27: PAC Field Trip (more info to come)


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

Reading: As we continue to learn about becoming avid readers, students will have "playdates" during their partner reading time. According to research on cognitive development, children increase focus, stamina, self-regulation abilities, and abstract thinking through play. During the "reading playdates", book clubs will meet and can choose from a variety of fun activities to do with books. These activities could include: acting books out, playing school, having a read aloud, hunting for snap words, etc. Try one of these fun games while reading with your child at home!


Writing: As we head toward the end of our how to unit, we will work on adding introductions and conclusions to our books. Writers will be reminded to use all the strategies they know to make their books easy to read and include all of the things that our mentor texts taught us how to writers do (like add tips, comparisons, zoomed in pictures, covers, and more!) We will celebrate by having a friend read through our book and act out what they are learning how to do!


Snap 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, went, are, this


Math: This week mathematicians will work with story problems and will learn to listen closely to math stories and solve them using tools, drawings or fingers.  We will also focus on deepening our understanding of part-part-whole.  We will be building numbers and breaking them apart to see how the parts or 'part'ners work together to make the whole or the total. We will also continue to really understand teen numbers and know that teen numbers can be read and written two ways:  as two digits or was a group or drawing of ten objects with some extra.

Researcher's Workshop: After starting to think about what makes them so special, students will have a chance to show what makes them unique in the following centers:

Photographs—We will sort pictures on a timeline. Then students will create their own timelines.
Books—read All About Me books and write own
Collage—Kindergartners will look through magazines and cut out things that represent them. They will glue these onto a poster. We will share these at closing circle.
Starfall.com—Students will work with partners on Ipads to “write” about themselves

Weekly News Jan 21-24

Check out these awesome Super Readers!!  It looked like fun was had by all!  

I just can't wait to give them all a big hug (and then wash hands, we CANNOT have RSV at our house 🤣) and most importantly continue learning with them!  This is my favorite time of the year in Kindergarten as they just take off as learners in so many ways!!

This is such an important week to celebrate our school!  Each and every student and their family make NDLC such special place!  Thank you for being a part of our community!We hope you can join us for Family Night on Thursday!

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

Reading: Kindergartners will learn about being an avid reader. We will sort pictures of avid readers and "blah" readers to identify what readers can do to become even stronger! Students will start to post it ideas and notice character feelings to share with their reading partners. Share what being a reader means to you so that your child can be surrounded by avid readers at home and at school!


Writing: We will study other How-To books to see how we can make ours even better! We will focus on choosing descriptive words,  giving our readers warnings, suggestions, and tips, and using comparisons just like in published How-To books.


Snap 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, went, are, this


Math: This week, mathematicians will learn about different strategies they can use to solve addition and subtraction problems. We will use the following mat that shows some of the tools/strategies Kindergartners often use to solve problems efficiently.


By the end of the year, students are expected to solve addition and subtraction equations within 5. Right now, we are building the base of that knowledge by letting students explore those equations using concrete tools/visuals. Eventually, we will move away from using the tools and students will solve the +/- equations automatically using patterns.



Researcher's Workshop: As we continue knowledge building for our self study, the researchers will learn to compare and contrast by creating a Venn diagram with a friend showing things about them that are the same/different. Students will reflect on what they are learning about themselves and start to set some social goals.

Jan 13-17

We can't wait to celebrate being super readers this Friday! If you are planning to donate table cloths for our capes, please send them to school by Wednesday. Thanks in advance:) 

Important Updates:

January 14: Classroom 1/2 Birthday Celebration

January 16:  Classroom 1/2 Birthday Celebration

January 17: Half Day

January 20: No School

January 21-24: Celebrate NDLC Week!

Here are the dress up days for the week:

January 21: dress up as what you want to be when you grow up

January 22: twin day

January 23: active wear/sports wear

January 24: NDLC wear---crazy purple day

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

Reading: We will have our Super Reader celebration this week! Kindergartners will create capes to show that they really are Super Readers! They will build snap word towers to knock down! Swat at letters to match a sound! Read with other Super Readers! It will be a day to celebrate how far we have come as readers!

Writing: These students jumped right into how to writing and are already writing some amazing teaching books!  As we continue to work with How To books, students will work with partners to act out the books to check if the directions/steps make sense. They will add labels to their pictures and diagrams. Finally, they will look at our charts to set goals to create the very best writing they can! For example, students may choose to focus on writing details about their topic. I am excited to see how the students set goals for themselves.

Snap 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: This week in math we will take some time to really focus on seeing numbers as a whole and parts.  We will relate using the parts we see in pictures to the way we write equations (part + part = whole). We will also be introduced to a new way to see and organize partners of numbers...math mountains!

Students will use both tools and drawings to show partners and write equations to match.

Researcher's Workshop: We will start to build a base for our Self Study inquiry with a read aloud, video aloud, and song. Students will have whole class conversation about the book It’s Okay to be Different by Todd Parr. We will create a class book after watching a video of a poem called, “I am Me!” Here is the link  to the poem. Each student will add a page that says, “No one _____ the way I ____.” Finally, we will create a self-portrait after listening to  the song “What I Am” by Will.I.Am. Here is the link to the song. I am excited for students to start thinking about what makes them special…we know they are!

Jan 6-10

Important Updates:

January 7:   Classroom Birthday Celebration

January 7:  Matt Wilhelm Assembly about kindness and anti-bullying while incorporating bike tricks

January 10: Classroom Birthday Celebration

January 14:  Classroom 1/2 Birthday Celebration

January 16:  Classroom 1/2 Birthday Celebration

January 17:  Early Dismissal 11:30

January 20: No School

January 21-24: Celebrate NDLC Week!

Here are the dress up days for the week:

January 21: dress up as what you want to be when you grow up

January 22: twin day

January 23: active wear/sports wear

January 24: NDLC wear---crazy purple day

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

Reading: As these readers grow stronger and stronger, they will learn that they can rely on their knowledge of snap words and searching the picture for meaning to solve unknown words. Even after they solve an unknown word, the readers can check their reading to make sure that word makes sense in the book, that it has the letters they hear when they say that word, and that it sounds right in the sentence they are reading.  Toward the end of the week, students will think about how stories to help them think about what might happen next and how using those predictions can help us tackle tricky words.

Writing: We will be learning to write How To books during this unit. Writers will be reminded that with any type of writing, you still follow the steps of the writing process: think of an idea, say how the pages will go, draw, and then write!  To help your child generate ideas to write about, talk through the steps of things your child does at home. For example, a bed time routine, cooking dinner, getting ready for school, etc. What comes first? Next? Last?

Snap 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: Mathematicians will continue to solidify our understanding of teen numbers.  We will be making teen number arrangements and working to write equations that show the number of 10's and ones in each teen number.  We will also be revisiting 2D shapes and will work to show how shapes can work together to make new shapes.

Researcher's Workshop: To reboot and start our year off right, we will be reviewing classroom expectations and working on social curriculum. The lessons will include expected/unexpected behavior in a group, how our behavior impacts the feelings of those around us, and listening with our whole body.

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.