Kindergarten is the BEST place on Earth!

So... this is the third time I've had to make little changes to our Daily Class Schedule and I'm thinking it will be our last. (Crossing my fingers!!) I hope.  haha :) 

You can see the schedule on the right side under the Pages Heading. (if you need one printed and sent home, write a note on the daily conduct sheet)  The major change you'll notice is our Dismissal time.  Dismissal will not begin until approximately 2:52.

Reading: We will read two big books: Mary Wore Her Red Dress and I Went Walking. Both books have a repetitive pattern and lots of sight words. The students will be reading both books with me after a few pages. I can't wait to hear all my readers! :) On Thursday we will be reading the Read for the Record Book, Otis. Our objective this week will be figuring out the problem in each book and discovering what solution the character/s choose for the problem.  We will continue to count the words in sentences and point out the Sight Words we know. The sight words for the week are: went, see and you.
When choosing books to read with your child this week, choose books where the characters have a problem and by the end of the story there is a solution. After reading the book, ask them what the problem was and how the character/s solved the problem. :)
Here is a video for the book I Went Walking.
                    
                         
Writing: We will continue working on "Turtle Talking" and making our Alphabet Books. Because of Resource, we were not able to work on three letters a day... I have decided to complete two letter pages a day. I want the students to produce quality work, so we will take extra time completing the alphabet books. This week we will work on letter pages E-N.
When drawing pictures with your child at home, continue to stress details are important when drawing people and when drawing settings. Continue to have them work on drawing their picture, take a break for a few days and then come back to it.  When you come back to the work, help your child write a sentence that matches their picture. Helping them with writing is by "turtle talking" the words with them. I want the students to write the sounds they hear. An example of this is below:
             Parent: " Beautiful picture!! Tell me a sentence that will match your picture."
             Student: "My family walks to the Circus."
             P: "Great sentence. Let's stretch the words and write them down."
             *Some students will stretch the words with me, other are in the listening stage and wait for
             me to make the sound. At this time both are okay. :)
             P: "/m/
             S: "m."
             P: "That's it! Write letter m. (Pause for your child to write the letter.) I need to start stretching
             at the beginning of the word. /m/ / i/."
             S: "i."
             P: "That's right! The letter said it's name. Write letter i."
             ** Until we learn the word as a Sight Word, I do not expect students to write the word the
             adult way. Mi is acceptable right now for my.

Science: We will be discussing the different tools a Scientist uses: goggles, gloves, a hand lens, a balance and a thermometer. We will focus on hand lenses (magnifying glass) and how they allow you to see all the details of an item without having to bring the item all the way up close to your eye.  (I'm crossing my fingers I can borrow a class set from the school Media Center :) We will use them to see the details on coins, leaves, their skin and so much more!
Ask your child what Scientist tools we are discussing in class and if possible get your hand on one to use with your child. Discuss the benefits the tools give to the Scientist.

Math: We will review how to write numbers 6-10 and use our counting strategies for solving questions. We will be taking our first Math Test on Wednesday. The test will be on numbers 6-10 and is seven questions. Thursday we will learn about combining groups with the help of "Gus the Plus" and Friday we will learn about taking away with "Linus the Minus.' This is just the beginning of Addition and Subtraction. :) We will be learning a lot more about the process of each in the future. :)
At home read each poem to your child and discuss what type of boys Gus and Linus are. Then review all of the bolded words, these are the words that will help your child figure out which math computation they need to do when listening to a story problem.

The students were great about only wearing them in class and recess. :) Enjoy the pictures of the kids... along with the silly ones of me and Ms. Godbold. haha

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The class loved the book so much... we made tortoise's in class. :)
Enjoy the pictures!

This digital slideshow made with Smilebox

                                                     

I hope everyone is enjoying the Smilebox Slideshows of the class. :) The students love watching them in class and get VERY excited when they see themselves and their Best Buddy.  I want to continue being able to take pictures and let you see glimpses into our school days. But I need your help... I need AA Batteries.  I have already gone through a 12 pack since the school year began. Any amount of AA Batteries you can send in would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!!

Reading: We will return to Fiction books. :) We will be reading The Foolish Turtle and The Greedy Python. We will discuss the vocabulary from each book and we will sequence the events from Beginning-Middle- End. We will also discuss the message the Author sent us in the book.  On Friday we will return to Non-Fiction text and read Coral Reefs by Gail Gibbons. We will review how we use the text to find the meanings of unknown words. We will review last week's sight words on the Word Wall and we will discuss the following Sight Words: five, me, no, go. We will continue discussing the difference between words and letters. We will be counting the words in sentences and pointing out the Sight Words we know.
When reading books at home to your child, please ask them these questions: "How many words are on this page? Is this story Fiction or Non-Fiction and how do you know. Tell me the events of the story in order. (You may even want to say, "The events from the beginning, the middle or the end." **I will not send home the Sight Word Money for the new sight words until the end of the week.
Here is the video of The Foolish Tortoise. I was unable to find a video for the python book...  I also found a video about Australia's Great Barrier Reef. (there is a bit of talk in the beginning... but as the video moves along you see all the amazing things!)
           
                           
Writing: We will continue working on "Turtle Talking". We will discuss what a Class Book is and make one labeled Our Families. The S will draw a picture of their family and label each person. The book will be added to our Classroom Library. We will also begin making Letter Alphabet Books. We will attempt to complete the books for letters A-I. :)
When drawing pictures with your child at home, continue to stress details are important when drawing people and when drawing settings.  When the drawing is completed that day set it aside and tell your child you will work on it again in a few days. When that day comes, ask your child what details they think they can add now or things that they may have forgotten to add before. Practice writing the "Turtle Talk" way. When they are done, have them tell you a story about the picture. Remember that "This is" stories are not acceptable...**Please remember to have your child draw with a regular pencil (we call them eraser pencils in class). **
~If your child is having trouble connecting the letter to the sound, watch this video with them.  Alpha Motions is a great way to get your child to connect the letter with the sound and a motion. You may also want to tell your child the motions are the ones we do during "Alphabet Echo" every morning. :)

                           
Science: We will will be going on Nature Walks outside. We will discuss the things we see, hear, smell and feel. Together we will collect data on the items outside. On Friday the students will collect their own data on an item and the papers will be collected and put into a class book.
Go on a Nature Walk with your child and describe the things you see using your senses.

Math: We will continue to work on number sense: 1-1 matching when we count, rote counting, number recognition and writing for numbers 6-10. We will focus on 1-1 matching and discuss how the size of the objects in the group does not mean the arrangement is more. Because of early dismissal on Wednesday, we will not be having a Math lesson.
At home practice pointing at a number and ask your child what the number is. Tell them a number and have them write the number down.  Have them count the items they are playing with or the items on their plates at dinner. Let them see that math takes place all the time and is easy!


*We have begun using our Center Board in class. Ask your child what the name of their Center Group is and who is in their group. Then ask them what they did during Reading Stations and Center time for Reading and Math.     These questions help to remind them what group they are in and that learning needs to take place in the Reading Station and Center. :) I will try to post a picture of the Center Board so that you can see how it looks. If your child does not remember what group they are in, let me know and I will write the Group name on their Conduct Sheet.

Watching the students walk into class yesterday was adorable!! They were all very excited to show off their character shirts. :) They were telling their friends, "Cool shirt!!" and "I've got that shirt at home!" all day long. haha  Even Ms. Godbold and I joined in on the fun and excitement!

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We all had a lot of fun reading the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.  We made mouse bags to represent the character and we had the event cards for the items the mouse asked for. (The mouse asked for A LOT of things!!) Ms.Godbold even bought the class Chips Ahoy cookies to enjoy... and of course the class asked for milk! haha
The students were very proud of their mouse bags and wanted to show them off to all of you.  Enjoy!!

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The class was very excited to have the "Movie" player back today. The Document Camera is a very important part of our class. :) I think I missed it more than the kids did. haha


We watched the Smell video from Mr. R. in Science. The class loved it! Everyone was taping their noses with the beat, just like Mr. R asks them to do.    Watch it with your child and enjoy!

                             

Also, we smelled 6 different Smell Cups today. The kids were too funny smelling them! They felt all the smells were STRONG smells... and a few students felt the smells were weak.  I haven't informed the students of what smells are in the Smell Cups (that's tomorrow's lesson). But I wanted to give you all the answers and the picture of the information the students told me. :)

Today the students had their first assembly! It was for the first School Fundraiser!!   Our first fundraiser is presented by Cady Fundraising.  The fundraiser is selling lots of different things. From candy and wrapping paper to magazines and holiday items.  :)

Make sure to collect all money now. Checks can be made out to Chimney Lakes Elementary.
Orders can be made online at: www.thefamilycollectiononline.com. Our school code is CHIMNEY13
(I tried maneuvering on the online sight, but I was not successful... :) Hopefully you all have better luck when ordering online. )



Have fun selling and if you have any questions let me know. I will do my best to answer the questions or pass them on to a person that can. :)

Reading: We will begin reading Non-Fiction texts (but I'm adding a fun Fiction book on Friday and a craft too!) We are focusing on using the details in the text to answer questions (sequence the events) and understand unknown words. The books we will use are: A Butterfly is Born and From Seed to Plant.  There will be vocabulary taught at the beginning of each lesson. Ex. for our Butterfly book~ egg, caterpillar, pupa & butterfly. For the Seed to Plant books~ pollen, pollination, nectar & germination. Other unknown words we will find out the meanings of them together. :) We will review last week's sight words on the Word Wall and we will discuss the following Sight Words: three, four, can, like. Students will be learning the difference between words and letters. We will be counting the words in sentences and pointing out the Sight Words we know.  When reading books at home to your child, please ask them these questions: "What does the word _____ mean in the story? How did the author describe _____ (could be a character or setting)? Tell me the events of the story in order." **I will not send home the Sight Word Money for the new sight words until the end of the week.

Writing: We will begin learning about "Turtle Talking", stretching our words and writing them phonetically. This writing may be done in the picture area by labeling or down in the story section as part of the story. The students will begin writing the sounds they hear. Some may write the beginning sound, others may write the beginning and the end sound. It depends on what they hear when they stretch the sounds of the word and what sounds they are able to correlate with a letter. (Ex. the word bear~ b or br is acceptable for this point in the year. Once they become more comfortable with the letter sounds they will begin to write more.) We will continue to work on drawing detailed people and settings too. :)  *Kindergarten students do not spell words the adult way, they use the sounds they hear. This allows them to gain confidence as a writer and be able to read their stories. However, if it is a sight word and it has been taught in class... it needs correct spelling. *
When drawing pictures with your child at home, continue to stress details are important when drawing people and when drawing settings.  When the drawing is completed that day set it aside and tell your child you will work on it again in a few days. When that day comes, ask your child what details they think they can add now or things that they may have forgotten to add before. Practice writing the "Turtle Talk" way. When they are done, have them tell you a story about the picture. Remember that "This is" stories are not acceptable...**Please remember to have your child draw with a regular pencil (we call them eraser pencils in class). **

Science: We will continue to study the five senses. This week we will focus on the sense of sight and smell. We will discuss how items can look different: shiny, dull, skinny, fat, big and small. We will discuss how items can smell different: weak, strong, sweet and I will be bringing in smell jars. :)  At home have your child  find items that you can describe together using your eyes. During snacks or meal times have your child describe the smell.   We will be watching a Sid the Science Kid video about the sense of sight on PBSkids.org. I tried finding the video on youtube to post, but was unsuccessful.

Math: We will continue to work on number sense: 1-1 matching when we count, rote counting, number recognition and writing. We will focus on 1-1 matching and discuss how the size of the objects in a group does not mean the arrangement is more. We will practice playing two math games: Grab and Count & Counting Jar. We will record two journal entries. :) At home (or even the grocery store) point at a number and ask your child what the number is. Have them count the items they are playing with or the items on their plates at dinner. Let them see that math takes place all the time!


I couldn't leave the post without putting some type of video from Youtube on here. :) haha   I chose a video for a song that the class LOVES! It's a song I use to get the wiggles out. Listen to it with your child and be prepared to see them move! Also, you could have your child tell you the order of events for the song. :)  Enjoy!
                          

Hat Day was a ton of fun! Everyone was super excited to show off their hat to their friends. We had super hero hats, to military hats, down to sports hat. :) Enjoy the slideshow!

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A student was home sick from school... but her Mom emailed us a picture so we could see she was home... but was celebrating Hat Day with us. :)




The Science lesson was hilarious! The students all agreed that the green dot cup (flour) and the blue dot cup (white cake mix) looked the same and sounded the same. When the students got the chance to smell... a few said the blue dot cup smelled sweet like cake and others said it had no smell. But everyone agreed the green dot cup had no smell at all. Next the students felt the mixes inside the cups. They all agreed the mixes felt soft and when pushed down into the cups they used the term squishy. Finally the students got to taste... they LOVED the green dot cup... I received amazing reviews! ( the students had been tasting slowly and were a little apprehensive of the items in the cups... but not for this lesson. haha) I had students practically eating the cups because they were so excited about the taste! I don't think any of the mix left the cup without going in the students mouths. :) But the blue dot cup... I had one yell out,  "It's flour. there is no taste." Someone else yelled out, "I don't understand... this one isn't sweet. " Plus I had that mix on tables, on floors, on the carpet and on shirts. haha So there are no individual or table pictures, just two whole group pictures. :)

The students were given two cups. One was a cup labeled with a blue dot (sugar) and the other was a cup labeled with a brown dot (salt). The students were amazing Scientists!! They told me with their eyes, noses and ears; the items in the cups were the same. (This is why my picture has those three senses traced with an orange marker). Then we decided to touch it and share what we thought about the items in the cups. Everyone agreed that the items even felt the same; tiny hard particles. Finally we were able to taste! The comments that the students offered were very funny!! Sugar was a great taste. Salt however.... haha did not have rave reviews. :)

*We will complete the lesson tomorrow with two different items.

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If anyone has any questions or concerns about homework, please email me or write a note in your child's folder. Other than that, have fun working on it with your child and return it next Wednesday, September 18th for me to look over.  :) Remember to read books and log them on the book log too!