Upcoming Events

This is an extremely busy time of year and I want to clarify a few things that are coming up in the next few weeks.

Holiday Performance

In the past, kindergarten has always done a holiday sing for their parents.  This year, Mrs. Joye decided to have a school wide Winter Performance.  Because of this new event, Kindergarten will not be doing it's kinder holiday sing on the 15th.  We will be participating in the Winter Performance on December 7th at 6pm at the U of R.  The December 15th event has been replaced by this.

Holiday Store

  This is a PTSA fundraiser that will allow your child to shop and pick out some special gifts for family members.   Check your child's backpack today for more info on this.  I will be taking the students to shop on December 4th.  If you'd like them to shop, please follow the instructions on the paperwork coming home today.   

Holiday Surprises

I am asking each student to send in 21 small trinkets to share with the class for the holidays.  These may be small toys, pencils, erasers, NO FOOD ITEMS.  We will be filling small stockings with these trinkets so please be mindful of their size.    These can be brought to school any time over the next few weeks.  Please clearly mark that they are for our stockings.  Thank you

Holiday Centers

We will be having our holiday centers on December 15th at 11:45.  I would love parent help on this day.  All volunteers in the classroom must be board approved.  Please message me if you'd like to help on this day.  

I will send out a message of some items I need for the holiday centers.  Thank you in advance for your willingness to donate items.

Toy Drive
We are collecting toys for children in need.  If you choose to donate new toys, please send them in and mark them clearly with a post-it that says "toy drive".  Thank you.

Week of November 27th

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday!  I'm looking forward to seeing your little ones Monday and getting back into the swing of things.  We will only have 3 weeks together before we vacation again!  It is a BUSY 3 week in Kindergarten!  
Have your child bring his/her decorated tree to school on Monday.  

This week:

Sight Words: is, of, so
Theme:  Reindeer (REAL reindeer, not Santa's)
Language Arts:  labels
Math: Teen Numbers
Writing:  Writing stories
Phonics:  Gg
Brisket: I will choose on Monday

Important Dates:
December 6:  Minimum Day
December 7:  Holiday Performance at U of R
December 15:  Christmas Centers (parent help needed on this day)

Parent Helpers:
I am so grateful to have help during centers each day!  Please plan to be in the classroom by 9:45 so I can start centers right on time.  I welcome any board approved volunteers during center time.  Just send me a message if you'd like to help.  The more the better!  

Things you want to start incorporating into your child's homework:
1.  Writing letters Aa-Zz (you can print out the Alphabet Writing Chart by clicking on the homework tab and scrolling down).
2.  Writing numbers 1-30 (this chart is also under the homework tab).  


Sight Words:
Words we've been working on in class:
is
of
so
are
now
with
my
a
to 
the
and
can
I
see
like
come
me
you
what

Please put these in flashcards and practice them if your child can not read these words.  Thank you for your support.  

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!  
.

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

Week of November 13th

This week:

Sight Words: no new sight words (review all previous sight words)
Theme:  Thanksgiving
Language Arts:  Making Connections/Setting
Math: Teen Numbers
Social Studies:  Then and Now
Writing:  Writing stories
Phonics:  Gg
Brisket: Joshua

Important Dates:
November 13th-17th:  Minimum Days (parent/teacher conference week)
November 17th:  Tasting Feast (parent help needed this day)
November 20th-November 24th:  No school/Thanksgiving Break

Scholastic Book Orders
Please place orders before this Friday. 

Parent Conferences
Conferences begin this week!  Please double check your time and day and plan to arrive a few minutes early.  Conferences are scheduled back-to-back and I will need to stay on schedule.  Thank you!

Thanksgiving Tasting Feast 
Our tasting feast will be on Friday!  If you signed up to bring an item, please send it that morning.

Things you want to start incorporating into your child's homework:
1.  Writing letters Aa-Zz (you can print out the Alphabet Writing Chart by clicking on the homework tab and scrolling down).
2.  Writing numbers 1-30 (this chart is also under the homework tab).  


Writing: 
*We have been practicing "stretching out" unknown words in our writing.  Have your child reference their sound/letter chart on the back of their take home folder for help.
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.


Sight Words:
Words we've been working on in class:
are
now
with
my
a
to 
the
and
can
I
see
like
come
me
you
what

Please put these in flashcards and practice them if your child can not read these words.  Thank you for your support.  

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!  
.

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

Week of November 6th

This week:

Sight Words: no new sight words (review all previous sight words)
Theme:  Scarecrows/Veterans Day
Language Arts:  Making Connections/Setting
Math: Teen Numbers
Social Studies:  Then and Now
Writing:  Writing stories
Phonics:  Ii
Grammar: Pronouns
Brisket: Lee

Important Dates:
November 9th:  Scarecrow Day
November 10th:  No school
November 13th-17th:  Minimum Days (parent/teacher conference week)
November 17th:  Tasting Feast (parent help needed this day)
November 20th-November 24th:  No school/Thanksgiving Break

Scholastic Book Orders
I'm sending some scholastic book order forms home in take home folders.  Books make great Christmas gifts!  There are many more choices on-line and you can click on the 'Book Orders' tab to order.  Let me know if they are Christmas gifts and I will not put them in their cubby.  Please order by the end of next week. 

Parent Conferences

Thank you to all of you that took time to sign up for a conference!  I am looking forward to meeting with you to Click on this calendar to check your time.  Be sure to scroll to the week of November 12th to see appointment times.  Please plan to arrive a few minutes early.  I have conferences scheduled back to back and will not be able to accommodate you if you are running late.

Scarecrow Day:
We will be having our annual kindergarten scarecrow day on November 9th.  A note was sent home last week about this.  I hope that we will have 100 percent participation.  We will have a scarecrow parade at 8 am that morning for parents who are able to stay and see all our cute little scarecrows!

Thanksgiving Tasting Feast 
We will end our Then & Now unit with a Thanksgiving Tasting Feast on November 17th.  Our "Then & Now" unit will teach the students what life was like for pioneers in early America.  We will learn and compare the life of then to what life is like now.  I am in need of two items for our tasting feast.  Please see the sign up on the door or message me if you would like to provide something for that day.

Things you want to start incorporating into your child's homework:
1.  Writing letters Aa-Zz (you can print out the Alphabet Writing Chart by clicking on the homework tab and scrolling down).
2.  Writing numbers 1-30 (this chart is also under the homework tab).  


Writing: 
*We have been practicing "stretching out" unknown words in our writing.  Have your child reference their sound/letter chart on the back of their take home folder for help.
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.


Sight Words:
Words we've been working on in class:
are
now
with
my
a
to 
the
and
can
I
see
like
come
me
you
what

Please put these in flashcards and practice them if your child can not read these words.  Thank you for your support.  

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!  
.

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