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Friday, September 8, 2017

Week of September 11th

That was a fast week!  Our jog-a-thon went great!  A HUGE thank you to those who donated money to our classroom!  I will use it to buy construction paper, paint, crayons, glue and other supplies that we use so much of!
This week:

Sight Words:  can
Theme:  transportation
Language Arts:  Making connections/visualizing
Math: sorting and clasifying
Science:  Gravity and Motion
Writing:  Drawing pictures and adding labels
Phonics:  Tt-Xx
Grammar: Nouns

Important Dates:
September 29th: No school
October 4th: Minimum Day
October 27th: Pumpkin Patch Field Trip
October 31st:  Halloween Centers (parent help please)

Field Trip:
Our field trip to the pumpkin patch has been scheduled!  We will go on October 27th!  The pumpkin patch allows us to bring 5 chaperones per class.  Our parent chaperones must drive themselves and pay the entrance fee at the patch.  I will be selecting chaperones by using a lottery system.  Anyone who would like to chaperone, and has been board approved, can let me know and I will put their name into the "hat" and draw five names randomly.  I will be sending more info home on Monday September 18th!  

PTSA Memberships:
We are currently in 2nd place to will a popsicle party for the most PTSA memberships!  71% of our families in our class have paid the $9 membership fee.  If you would like to join, there's still time!  We can win the popsicle party!

Help:
I'm still looking to collect AS MANY paper towel and toilet paper rolls as possible for our STEM unit we will begin next week.  Please keep sending them!

Writing:
I want to share with you what we have been learning about writing so you can support me at home when it comes to the Share Homework.  If you have been writing a sentence for them up to this point, that's great.  I am asking that you shift your support at this point so your child can gain more confidence in writing.  Here's what I'm teaching:
1.  THE PICTURE
In class we have been writing stories by drawing pictures.  We have been learning that our pictures should tell who was there, where they were and how they felt.  We have been learning that we want to use MANY of the crayons in our crayon box to draw details.  For example, if I am telling a story about my trip to the park, I would include the following details in my picture:
a sun, some clouds, grass, the swings I went on, the picnic lunch I had, my two boys and I would use as many colors as I could from my crayon box.
2.  TAPPING AND TELLING
After our detailed picture is complete, we have been learning to tap our details and tell the story.  (If the students can't tell a story, how will they ever learn to write a story?)  My tap and tell would sound something like this as I touched the appropriate parts of the picture:
"I went to the park with Jonas and Mattias and it was a sunny day.  We went on the swings and we had a picnic on the grass.  I packed sandwiches and watermelon.  We had a great time.
3.  ADDING LABELS
After tapping and telling, we have just begun adding labels to our picture.  I'm encouraging the students to write the sounds they hear in the object they are labeling.  For example, if we are labeling the sun, a beginner may just write an 's' for the beginning sound.  That's great!! Some students may write 'sn' because they hear the beginning and end.  Some students are working at a level that they are hearing beginning, middle and ending sounds.  We want to support the child at their level and build their confidence as their phonemic awareness improves.
I am encouraging students to add 1-2 labels to their pictures in class.

Thanks for your support!  Remember, share homework is due EVERY WEEK, any day but Friday.

Math:
We will continue to practice writing, identifying and counting numbers 0-5.  It is our kindergarten goal to have a strong number sense to 5.  We will also start learning about sorting and classifying objects.  


Sight Words:
Don't forget that practicing Sight Words is a part of your child's homework. Each child has a baggie with his/her name and green flashcards.  Please help your child learn these words at a pace that is appropriate for them.  I will be teach the words I and see next week but many students are ready for more than just 2 words a week.  When your child knows all the words, have them return them to me in their Take Home Folder for a quick test.  I'm looking to see that your child is NOT sounding out the word, but recognizing it quickly.  They will receive a Brag Tag and then move onto the next list.  Students who pass all 8 sight words lists will receive a prize!  

Leap Frog:
I use Leap Frog letter factory to help teach letters and sounds.  You can order this inexpensive DVD off Amazon or at Target if you'd like to keep your child's letter and sound practice consistent with what I use in class.

Trader Joe Bags
If you have any extra paper Trader Joe bags in your cupboards that you are willing to donate to me, I would love to have them.

Homework:
Please click on the 'Homework' tab to see the homework for this week




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