Friday Newsletter

Ah, October. I think this might be my favorite month of the year. What could be better than pumpkins and candy? :)

We've had a busy week! Take a look at what we've been up to!

Literacy
The letter of the week was 'Aa', the word of the week was 'that' and the color of the week was 'yellow'. We began the week by creating a 'that' necklace. When I thought up this project I was unsure of how it would go over. They LOVED it! It was so cute to see them wearing their necklaces all day long.

In addition to the letter of the week, we have been looking at some other letters in our Letterland book. We've met Annie Apple, Mr. A and Clever cat. Each letter has a song that we sing to help us remember the sound these letters make.

Math
This week we focused on comparisons. The kids compared lengths of classroom objects to their height. They also learned to match digits with objects. Finally, we took a number walk around the school to find where numbers are in our halls.

The students have been practicing their number handwriting as well.

Writing
We have continued our journal writing. The kids have been working hard at remembering to write about something they know a lot about; something they are an expert at. We also reviewed finger spacing and talked about ending punctuation and how it tells the reader how to read their writing.

Odds and Ends
Thank you to everyone who has donated items to the class! It is greatly appreciated!

Classroom volunteers begin next week. I am so excited to have you in our classroom!

Information about conferences and the Harvest party will be sent along shortly.

~Have a wonderful weekend!

Clever Cat

Today in class we wrapped up our quick review of the alphabet. Each letter has a character associated with it. Today we started learning more in depth about the sound each letter makes. Our character today was Clever Cat. The letter and sound is paired with picture coding to help the students remember the sound the letter makes.

Clever Cat lives in Letterland with all the other letters. She is a wiz at crossword puzzles, she likes to eat cake, cauliflower, custard and carrots. She's also really good at cleaning her car. Quite a cat if you ask me!

Here's a song that we learned today. It is sung to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down.

Clever Cat says /c/ in words
/c/ in words, /c/ in words.
Clever Cat says /c/ in words
and she likes to cuddle closely.

And she makes another sound,
Another sound, another sound.
Clever Cat makes another sound,
Just you wait and see!

Clever Cat is a lower case 'c' but when he wants to say the name of someone, she takes a deep breath and grows big ( now she's upper case).

We also learned a way to remember how to write the letter 'c'. Start at her ear, curve around her face and tickle her under he chin! Ask your child to show you!

Our next character that we'll study is Annie Apple.

Miss Jane Lesson #1

Fridays we get a visit from Miss Jane, our school counselor. She does a fabulous job. Today she talked about posture for learning and also learning how to read the way a person is feeling (ie. mood).

One valuable learning from today is how the kids can monitor their volume in class. The scale goes from 1-5.

1= thinking inside your head
2= the volume you would use when talking quietly with one other person
3= the volume you would use if you were talking in a group
4= a "teaching" voice
5= yelling

You can support me at home by referring to this scale. When I want the kids to use a certain voice, I simply hold up the number.

Learning Web Sites

Last night at Curriculum Night I had a couple of parents ask for some learning web site links. So...here you go! At the top of the page there is now a button that directs you to a few great web sites. I'll add more as I come across them. If you find a good one, email me with the link and I'll add it too!

Thanks for the suggestion! I hope this is helpful in enriching your little ones. :)

Substitute Tomorrow

Just a quick heads up that I won't be in class tomorrow. There will be a guest teacher. I'll be at another school in the district doing some professional development work. I'll be back Friday though!

Healthy Snacks

Just a reminder to pack HEALTHY snacks for your child. Please save the cookies and candy for a treat at home. Thanks!

Pictures

Here is some information passed along to me regarding pictures:

To have a picture taken: Any student who has not yet had a picture taken may have one taken on retake day, October 22nd.

To place a picture order: If a student had their picture taken on Taking Care of Business or Picture Day on Sept 16th, the parents must call O’Connor photography directly to place a picture order. Their number is 1-800-993-4929.

Reading Packet

Today your child will be bringing home a packet of reading worksheets. These were pulled out of the reading book. These are optional worksheets that can be done at home. When your child is finished, they can keep them at home. Thanks!

Lost Books!

Upon packing up today, one of the kiddos took their book order books out of their mailbox, laid them on the table and when she was putting the books in her backpack, she noticed that most of them were gone.

What I think happened is someone else sitting next to her possibly, put the books in their backpack. If your child comes home with these books, will you please send them back?

David goes to school
kissing hand
pinkalicious
there was an old lady who swallowed some leaves


Thank you.

Newsletter: September 17, 2010

Dear Families,
Our learning is really happening now! Most of the kids are familiar with classroom procedures, so we are spending more time on content rather than routines. Here’s what we’ve been up to!
Math: This week we focused on the idea of sorting. We found out that we can sort many objects according to their attributes. We sort ourselves, pattern blocks and other items in the classroom. We also learned to identify objects of a certain number. For example, 4 tables, 8 colors in a paint container, etc. We have explored the concepts of volume and patterns as well this week.
Reading: This week we are working on a language activity called My Kindergarten Family. The kids read the sentence and draw a picture that goes along with the sentence. This also meets our social studies goals as well.
Writing: We are continuing to write in our September journals. I have fun reading what stories the children have in their heads!
Art: This week, we focused on the 5 Art B’s: Making all your art, Big, Bright, Bold, Beautiful and have a Background. Their artwork is really transforming! It’s fun to watch.
Here are some reminders of events coming up:
Last call for donations for our class Gift Basket for the Silent Auction! If you haven’t sent in your donation, please send it in on Monday, September 20. Let’s make our class basket earn the most money for our school!
Curriculum night is on Wednesday September 22nd. It starts promptly at 6:00 and ends at 7:15. Please arrange childcare for this night as we request children NOT attend. Thank you!
Thank you so much for keeping up with green “home/school folders.” This is a great way for us to get papers home to you and for you to get papers and/or notes to me. They are becoming such responsible kindergartners!

Next week, we will begin our study of colors. We will be exploring RED all week long. If possible, please have your child wear red clothing on Friday, September 24th.
Have a great weekend!
~Mrs. Perry

Papers, School Work

Today you will find many school work papers in your child's green folder. These are activities that they have completed in class. When the kids come in, they complete a seat work activity before they read a book. This creates A LOT of paperwork!

Sometimes papers will come home with a note or a sticker on them. Other times not. It doesn't mean that I haven't seen them, it just means I didn't have time to comment on them. I look at each piece of work your child does, usually as they do it. So rest assured they are getting feedback.

Wondering what the blue, pink or yellow marker is on some papers? If a child is having a hard time writing letters on their own, I will write the letters in a highlighter color and they trace over it. This way, they receive the help they need but are still practicing letter formation. Give it a try at home too!

Green Folders

Today we are instituting another new procedure! I know, I know... Please hold your applause.

Green communication folders are being sent out today. Every child in the school has one of these folders. Any papers or information being sent to you from me or the school will be in this folder and (hopefully) placed carefully in the "keep at home" side. Any papers or information that comes from you needs to be placed in the "return to school" side.

Please help me reinforce this at home by correcting any papers that are just shoved in the folder and not placed in the correct side. Thank you!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Mark your calendars! Our kindergarten class will be taking a field trip to Remlinger Farms for our annual pumpkin patch field trip! More information and request for parent helpers will be sent out at a later date.

Here are the dates and times:

AM: Thursday, October 21st from 10:00-11:15am
PM: Friday, October 22nd from 1:00-2:15pm

PICTURE DAY REVISION!!

Oh goodness...I made a mistake! Picture day is THURSDAY September 16th. NOT today! I guess having two kids and working two jobs is taking it's toll on me! At least that's my excuse for now. :)

SO sorry for the confusion!

Alphabet Drawings

Coming home today in your child's backpack is our first Alphabet Drawing. Last week we drew an alligator to represent the letter 'Aa'. This was a directed drawing. The kids used only a sharpie and watercolor paints. If your child's art does not have 'Aa' written in the upper left corner, you might want to put it there for them.

Wondering what to do with these beautiful works of art? Well, there's always the refrigerator...but you could also frame your favorite ones and put them in your child's room. Perhaps save the one that is the first letter of their name. Or you could save them all and tack them up in their room near the ceiling and create your own alphabet line like we have in the classroom. Another idea is to mount them onto cardstock, punch holes in them, put them in a binder and create an alphabet book. Finally, if you're feeling tech savvy, you could scan them and then upload them to a site such as Blurb and make your own hard bound coffee table book!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do making them!

Picture Day TOMORROW

If you did not have your picture taken at taking care of business day, you will have your picture taken tomorrow. Order forms are in your child's backpack today.

AM picture time: 10:40
PM picture time: 2:50

Email

If you haven't sent me your email yet, could you please send me a quick email at perryj@issaquah.wednet.edu so I can put you in my address book? Thanks!

Book Orders

Thank you to everyone who ordered books through the scholastic online ordering. With your help, I was able to get about 30 new books for our classroom. I have placed the order and the books should be coming home hopefully within the week.

Look for next month's flier in early October.

Math Lesson 1.1 Comparing Length

Today in your child's mailbox (tomorrow if PM) is a white paper with a drawing on it. This is a drawing of our math activity today. The kids each received a piece of paper. They had to walk around comparing strips of paper with each other looking for the person who had the same length of paper. Our vocabulary words for this lesson were:
match
compare
length
larger
smaller
bigger
shorter
same length

You can support this concept at home by choosing an item in your house and then having your child search the house for something that is the same size. Encourage them to use the math vocabulary. If you want to extend their thinking, you can create a list of all the items that are shorter, longer and the same size as their object.

Have fun!

Snack Update

Just a reminder that there are a few items that I would prefer not to be packed for snack. Juice, yogurt, applesauce or any other item that requires a spoon. These items are getting spilled and create a sticky situation. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter!

We do have a few nut allergies as well, so thank you for not sending items with peanut butter or nuts in them.

Thank you!

Hooray for the First Day!

We did it! Each class has now had their first day of kindergarten! What a big step. I have had so much fun these past two days. I really enjoy the kids excitement. This afternoon after reading a book called, Kingergarten Here I Come! one of the students burst out "I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT KINDERGARTEN!" So cute.

This week the kids have been learning about school behaviors like walking in the hall, raising their hand and sitting on their bottoms at the story area. They have also been introduced to the calendar routine and have learned a new song to go with it. Ask your child if they can sing it to you!

In your mailbox was a birthday letter note and a September calendar. Both are optional but recommended.

Thank you for sending in your child's paper doll. They are hang up outside the classroom. If you lost yours, please send me a note or email and I'll send another one.

We are in need of 'emergency' snacks. A few kids didn't have snack yesterday and I would love to be able to provide something for them. I bought a pack of cheese and crackers from Costco last night for those kiddos but I know I will run out soon. Please send in bulk items rather than just one extra snack in your child's backpack. This way I can make sure that all the kids who forgot snack can have something. Thank you!

Curriculum Night is Wednesday, September 22nd from 6-715pm. I’ll be sharing our kindergarten curriculum with you. Please do not bring any children to this event.

Optional Homework Ideas:
Read every night, at least 15 minutes to or with your child.
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 doesn’t have to be perfect because we are learning

Morning drop off:
I know it has seemed crazy in the morning trying to find our "line". Technically, we don't have a "line". The kids are just supposed to wait in that area. Eventually I will not be going out to greet them so there would not be a need for a line. Right now, however, I am standing out there and trying to form a line so our class will be altogether. We will now be waiting out there until AFTER the big kids leave instead of BEFORE the biggers leave. If the covered area is still to hectic for your little one, just wait to the side with them and they can join the line once it is less crowded or when we start walking back to the room. Thank you for your patience with this new routine.

Dismissal:
Thank you for your cooperation at dismissal. It is really important for me to bring the kids out in a line and check them off one by one. I know some of your kids are so excited to see you and try to bolt from the line but I have noticed your encouraging them to get back in line. Thank you!! I also wanted to thank you for not grabbing your child early and waiting until we get out in Grand Central. It makes my job much easier.

I think that's it for now! Enjoy your holiday weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday!
~Mrs. Perry