A Gift

Happy Holidays! Many of you have asked to have the picture that I took of your child at the beginning of the year. To download your picture, right click and "save image as". This is a full resolution image so you should be able to print it as big as you like without compromising image quality.

Thanks again for all you do for me!
~Mrs. Perry

Catching Up

Sorry for the delay in the classroom update! Here's what we've been up to lately.

Our letter of the week last week was “Oo” and our word of the week was “you.” In reading groups, we identified words with initial and medial “Oo.” We looked for words that have the letter “Oo” in the same place, such as top and mop, and octopus and otter. This is a difficult concept to grasp! Please have your child practice identifying words with “Oo” in the same place. This activity can also be used with other letters. During guided reading, we read “On the Dot.” We also played a game called, “Teacher Says” which gave us a chance to practice following, “above,” “on,” and “below” directions.

This week we are working on the letter "Ff".

Everyday Math Concepts: (1) We played games from home and practiced our problem-solving strategies. (2) We used a walk-on number line to help us explore addition and subtraction concepts. (3) We played the game, “Top-It” and worked on reading and comparing numbers 0-20. (4) We created shape and color patterns using a pattern block template.

This time of the year brings many different holiday celebrations! We began discussing some of the traditions that each of us celebrates and colored mini books titled, “Holiday Lights.”

All month long, we are studying different versions of the story, “The Gingerbread Man.” As we read the different versions, we’ll be looking for similarities and differences between them. Last week, we created icing on our very own gingerbread man by lacing yarn around him and then adding buttons, eyes, a nose and a mouth.

We were so fortunate to have Pam Savore come to us and teach us some art skills and help us draw a gingerbread man! We learned how to use all the space on a paper, how to color correctly with a crayon and applied the crayon resist technique to enhance the colors of our drawing. Pam will be coming to us two more times this year. This program is funded by a PTSA kindergarten grant for nearly $1300. Thank you PTSA!!





UPDATE: So far our efforts have raised about $200 to help support our 5th graders attend Camp Colman. The entire school community is encouraged to participate. Simply go to www.innisbrook.com and the Grand Ridge school code is 108416. Orders may be placed thru December 30th. Since this is an online offering, catalogs will not be coming home. There will be catalogs available for viewing in the school office. Questions? Please contact Nancy Castonguay at tenkcast@yahoo.com .

I wish each and every one of you a peaceful and relaxing winter break. I have SO enjoyed my time with your children and getting to know each family. A heartfelt THANK YOU to all the classroom volunteers who work tirelessly to help support me and student learning. You are TRULY making a difference in each child's life!

Please check back here tomorrow for a special holiday gift that I have prepared for you!

~Mrs. Perry

Star Of the Week

Here are the upcoming Star of the Weeks. Let me know if you need the poster or list of activities.

AM Class
1/3-7 Daniel
1/10-17 Max and Nicholas
1/24-28 Kylie
2/14-18 Finn
3/7-11 Andrew
3/21-25 Jade
4/11-15 Riley
5/16-20 Owen
6/6-10 Charlotte


PM Class
1/3-7 Anna
1/24-28 Ethan
1/31-2/4 Tiffany
4/25-29 Hannah
5/2-6 Amanda
5/9-13 Chloe
5/16-20 Aurora
6/6-10 Daniel

Colored Goldfish and Games

One of our Everyday Mathematics projects is for the kids to play games! How cool is that? So, if you have a board game that you would like to send in, we will play them all week long.

We also have another math project about graphing. We need donations of colored goldfish. If you can, send in a bag. If we don't have enough, I'll try and stop by the store this week.

Thanks!

Book Order Are In

The December book order is in! Several of you have emailed me with your wish for those books to be kept a secret. I'm finding it hard to compile all those emails. I am afraid I will forget someone.

If you want me to hold books, could you please email me with the subject: Scholastic Books

I will be able to group these emails altogether this way.
Thanks!

Spice Drops needed

Next week we are doing a math activity involving spice drops. We will need 3 bags of drops per class. The bags must contain green, red, yellow, purple, orange and white. I think those are standard colors but we need them to match our activity. If you are able to donate a bag, can you leave a comment below indicating how many bags and if you are from AM or PM? I need the bags by next Friday.

Thanks so much!

Sneaky Snacks

We are having a problem with snack time. Some kids (usually the same ones over and over) are claiming they don't have a snack in hopes to have a snack from the snack closet. I have started asking to see backpacks to check for the snacks and 9 times out of 10, there is a snack. Some kids are telling me they just don't like the snack that is packed.

Please talk with your child about the appropriateness of asking for snacks and also about being honest. I haven't talked with them about this when I find their snack is actually in their backpack. I have just been pretending that they didn't "see" it in there.

Needless to say, we are running low on snacks. I will continue to monitor more closely now that I know they are doing this but in the meantime, if you could spare some extra snacks to replenish our stores it would be greatly appreciated!

Classroom Update

This week we worked on the letter T. We made a table top turkey and wrote T words on the feathers. Thanks to the brave volunteers that helped me with this project! :) I think the kids enjoyed it.

In reading groups, we learned about initial and final “Tt.” Our workbook activity pages gave us practice identifying words with these. We also read, “That Tam!” and listened to and discussed a book called, “Flower Garden” by Eve Bunting. This book helped to teach us about reality vs. make-believe. Our word of the week was, “we.”

We created our "we" book this week. We focused on making sentences with variety and sentences that included a subject AND a predicate!

Everyday Math Concepts: (1) We reviewed counting 0-20 through number card activities. We also compared and ordered numbers. (2) We were introduced to the basic language of probability and categorized likely, unlikely, certain, and impossible events. (3) We reviewed the use of a pan balance and were introduced to the concept of balancing objects. (4) We counted objects using one-to-one correspondence and practiced adding using a collection of objects.

We will be studying the letter “Cc,” the word “are” and the color “white” during next week (Nov. 22-24) and during the following week (Nov. 29-Dec. 3).

Grizzly Gear-Perfect for holiday gift giving!! Orders due Monday Nov 22nd. Order forms available at www.grandridgeptsa.org

I’m looking forward to conferencing with you soon! Look for the conference schedule in your child's green folder.

Have a wonderful weekend! I have a couple photo sessions planned and then I think we might go to the zoo. Stay warm!
~Mrs. Perry

Social Thinking Seminar

On Monday and Tuesday of this week I attended a fabulous seminar on Social Thinking put on by Michelle Garcia Winner. The information that I learned will help all of our kids. This is important work she is doing and I'd love to share it with you. Check out her website if you are interested! Social Thinking

Conference

I will not be in class Monday or Tuesday. I am attending a Social Thinking conference in Mt. Vernon with another teacher here at GR. I will return on Wednesday. If you are scheduled to help with reading groups, I would love for you to still show up as my plans that I have left for the substitute depend on help with those groups.

I hope you are all having a good weekend. I just celebrated Logan's birthday. It was fun but a lot of work! Tomorrow I have a photo shoot and I'm hoping for NO rain as this is the second time rescheduling due to weather with this client!

Take care,
~Mrs. Perry

ASSEMBLY UPDATE!!

SO sorry about this confusion! I talked with our main music teacher and she said it wouldn't be a problem if the AM kinders wanted to come back for the assembly. If your AM child wants to sing in the assembly, please have them back at our room at 2:15 promptly and we will have them join the PM class.

Again, room is LIMITED by fire code. There is not extra room for other spectators. Please don't shoot the messenger! :)

Thank you again for understanding and your patience.

Veteran's Day Assembly

Correction on this. PM class will be performing in the assembly. The assembly starts at 2:45 and is for students only. Sorry about the confusion. Very little has been communicated to me on this. Thanks for your understanding.

Veteran's Day Assembly

On Friday morning, there is a school wide Veteran's Day assembly. The morning class will be singing a song with another class. Some parents were wondering if they are invited. I checked with the school and unfortunately, there isn't space for parents to attend.

Students are asked to wear red, white, and/or blue clothes to school that day.

December Scholastic Book Order

I'm sending home the December Scholastic book order today in case you are like me and like to plan ahead for the holidays. The due date is Wednesday November 17th. The classroom code is:GTRP8

November Scholastic Book Order

New Scholastic Book Club orders are in the mailboxes today!


Class Activation Code: GTRP8
November 3, 2010

Dear Parents,
This month’s book club is filled with great books! Your orders are due by Monday, November 8th if you choose to order books for your child. Now it's easier than ever to find the right books for your child — and help us earn FREE books for our classroom library at the same time! With new online ordering from Scholastic Book Clubs, you can choose from a much wider selection of books than in the printed flyer. Plus, you can send your orders directly to me online and use your credit card. Best of all, our class earns a FREE book every time a parent places their order online.

It's so simple! Here's how it works:
 SIGN UP at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "Don't have a User Name and Password?" link, then register for your own username and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class Activation Code shown above. This code ensures that your order is sent to me.

 SELECT the books you'd like to order from over 500 titles available online...and take advantage of online-only specials and discounts.

 SEND your order to me online by the due date. Books will be delivered directly to our classroom, as always.

Of course, you can still order using the form from the printed flyer instead if you wish.

I particularly recommend these book titles this month:
Seesaw:
#25 I Spy Thanksgiving
#85 Winter Fun Tangram Set
#57 Read with Eric Carle Set
Any books from the “Just-Right Books For Beginning Readers” and “Learn-to-Read Sets” pages

Firefly:
#54 Polar Bear, Polar Bear What do you Hear?
#48 One is a Feast for Mouse
#35 Llama Llama Holiday Drama
#49 Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale
#72 Thank You Bear
#40 Martha Doesn’t Say Sorry
Any books from the “Help Your Child Learn to Read!” page




If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me!

Thanks so much,
Jennifer Perry

Macaroni Necklaces

You didn't think your kids would get out of kindergarten without doing some sort of project with macaroni, did you? :)

This week we are working on patterns again. On Thursday both classes will be doing a project where they are making macaroni necklaces. We need bags of BIG, STRINGABLE macaroni. The more unique, the better! :)

Send in a bag if you can by Thursday. Please leave a comment if you plan on doing so. Thanks so much!
~Mrs. Perry

Party Thank Yous

THANK YOU to everyone who helped with the parties today! The kids had a great time and so did I! Quite an accomplishment. I'm usually a little frazzled after parties, but not this year! Y'all are great!

Shaving Cream Needed

That's right! We're headed into the land of sensory learning next week! The kids will be doing an activity with shaving cream. We need a couple of cans of old fashion, NO gel shaving cream. I bought some at Target the other day for about $1.50. If you can donate a can, leave a comment below. I'm hoping to get 10 cans total. Thank you!

Friday Update

Wow, I cannot believe October is already gone! With its passing however, I feel like we're now in the swing of things! Here are some things we've been doing in class this week!

This week focused on the letter “Mm.” During reading groups, we read “I am Sam.” These books helped to teach us about words with initial “Mm” and words with final “Mm.” We also had some fun reading “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss and identifying words with “Mm.” Our word of the week was “is.”

Everyday Math Concepts: (1) We used concrete materials and pictures to represent and solve addition and subtraction stories. (2) We explored symmetry by using paint and folded paper. (3) We looked for symmetry in natural objects (i.e. leaves, butterflies, etc.) Take a look!

In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, we completed a directed drawing of a scarecrow. I just love how they are all so unique even though they are of the same subject.


Next week, we will be exploring the color BROWN all week long.

Remember to mark your calendars: The book swap is November 4th from 5-8PM with special guest Charlie Williams as "The Noise Guy."(Chaperone's required at this event) Thank you!
- What can I work on at home with my child?
o Read every night at least 15 minutes to or with your child.
o Optional Monthly Homework Calendar
o Practice writing even if it looks like “scribble”. Encourage your child to “best-guess spell” and listen to individual sounds in words. Remind him/her that it does not need to be perfect because we are learning. Just have him/her do his/her best!

Thank you to all my wonderful, fabulous, helpful,kind volunteers! I cannot do this job without you! Your time and talent is so appreciated. Next week starts a new volunteer schedule. More of you will be helping with in class reading groups. I am excited to partner with you in your child's education!

If you do not have a conference scheduled, please contact me. I sent home sign up sheets for those families that did not get a chance to sign up at curriculum night. Please check your child's folder or backpack.

Have a safe and fun weekend! Looks like it will another 'classic' northwest Halloween with blustery conditions for trick-or-treating! I'm hoping my kids wear their costumes (Darth Vader and an owl) long enough for at least one photo opportunity!

Stay warm,
~Mrs. Perry