March 6
Good Afternoon,
It has been nice to see some sunshine this week- every time we get to put sunny on our calendar, the kids get so excited! We have Zeke's 2nd Birthday party this weekend, so we are excited to host family and hopefully spend some time outside :)
This week in math we reviewed partners and teen numbers, next week we are moving into shapes - knowing the difference between 2D (flat) and 3D (solid) shapes and naming some 3D shapes.
In how-to writing this week we watched a "how to draw a butterfly" video - and practiced drawing them of course! After, we wrote a book about how to do it. We worked on labeling our diagrams and using a transition with "you" (first you, next you, then you, etc.) on each page. Our buddies are coming later this afternoon to act out the kids how-to books to see if they missed any steps... that is always a pretty hilarious process! Next week we will look at some mentor texts and reread and set goals for ourselves.
In reading we have been practicing being an avid reader and having reading "playdates". Next week we are going to learn about how to be an avid nonfiction reader by thinking of topics we love, reacting to NF texts, and talking like an expert!
Our timelines are due Friday March 13. The assignment is attached here also in case you need it! Let me know what questions you might have!
Upcoming Dates:
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
It has been nice to see some sunshine this week- every time we get to put sunny on our calendar, the kids get so excited! We have Zeke's 2nd Birthday party this weekend, so we are excited to host family and hopefully spend some time outside :)
This week in math we reviewed partners and teen numbers, next week we are moving into shapes - knowing the difference between 2D (flat) and 3D (solid) shapes and naming some 3D shapes.
In how-to writing this week we watched a "how to draw a butterfly" video - and practiced drawing them of course! After, we wrote a book about how to do it. We worked on labeling our diagrams and using a transition with "you" (first you, next you, then you, etc.) on each page. Our buddies are coming later this afternoon to act out the kids how-to books to see if they missed any steps... that is always a pretty hilarious process! Next week we will look at some mentor texts and reread and set goals for ourselves.
In reading we have been practicing being an avid reader and having reading "playdates". Next week we are going to learn about how to be an avid nonfiction reader by thinking of topics we love, reacting to NF texts, and talking like an expert!
Our timelines are due Friday March 13. The assignment is attached here also in case you need it! Let me know what questions you might have!
Upcoming Dates:
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
february 27
Good Afternoon,
The kids are outside right now for their extra recess that they earned from the coin war. It looks like a blizzard out AND they got to go to the first/second grade playground... it's basically their best day ever ;)
In math this week we talked about teen numbers- we identified, wrote, and represented them. We also made sure we could explain the place value of teen numbers. Next week we are circling back to a review on partners of numbers. Coming home today is part of the unit 4 math journal. This is completely optional and does not need to be returned!
in reading this week we practiced behaviors of avid readers and recorded our feelings about books. The kids got to write their reactions on sticky notes and put them in their books- so of course they loved it. Next week we are going to have
"reading playdates" with our partners- we are going to play pretend with our books and make plans for what we do together.
In writing we started how-to writing. Next week we will continue this by making sure someone else can actually follow their steps to whatever they're teaching and drawing diagrams to help our readers understand.
Tomorrow afternoon we are kicking off March is Reading Month! Our theme this year is "Lights, Camera, Read!" The kids don't know anything about this until tomorrow afternoon, so please don't share yet! Coming home tomorrow will be a parent letter, a calendar of events, and a reading log for the first week. At the end of the month we will have a special movie reward for the whole school to celebrate all the reading we have done!
Upcoming Dates:
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great night!
The kids are outside right now for their extra recess that they earned from the coin war. It looks like a blizzard out AND they got to go to the first/second grade playground... it's basically their best day ever ;)
In math this week we talked about teen numbers- we identified, wrote, and represented them. We also made sure we could explain the place value of teen numbers. Next week we are circling back to a review on partners of numbers. Coming home today is part of the unit 4 math journal. This is completely optional and does not need to be returned!
in reading this week we practiced behaviors of avid readers and recorded our feelings about books. The kids got to write their reactions on sticky notes and put them in their books- so of course they loved it. Next week we are going to have
"reading playdates" with our partners- we are going to play pretend with our books and make plans for what we do together.
In writing we started how-to writing. Next week we will continue this by making sure someone else can actually follow their steps to whatever they're teaching and drawing diagrams to help our readers understand.
Tomorrow afternoon we are kicking off March is Reading Month! Our theme this year is "Lights, Camera, Read!" The kids don't know anything about this until tomorrow afternoon, so please don't share yet! Coming home tomorrow will be a parent letter, a calendar of events, and a reading log for the first week. At the end of the month we will have a special movie reward for the whole school to celebrate all the reading we have done!
Upcoming Dates:
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great night!
february 19
Good Afternoon,
I am out on Thursday for a conference and Friday for a district meeting. Please remind the kids to show Best Bulldog Behavior for the guest teacher! I will have some access to email, but if you need immediate help, please call the office.
Next week we are going to start our new reading unit on being an "Avid Reader"- choosing books we love, reacting to books, capturing our thinking about books, etc. In writing we are going to start How-To writing (which is always hilarious). We are looking forward to that change of pace from story writing. In phonics we are starting a new unit also! Our phonics unit is "playing with Phonics". We will be playing with sounds and exploring sounds in poetry next week.
Upcoming Dates:
February 24: Roundball bash 6:30 at the High School
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know what questions you might have. Have a great rest of your week!
I am out on Thursday for a conference and Friday for a district meeting. Please remind the kids to show Best Bulldog Behavior for the guest teacher! I will have some access to email, but if you need immediate help, please call the office.
Next week we are going to start our new reading unit on being an "Avid Reader"- choosing books we love, reacting to books, capturing our thinking about books, etc. In writing we are going to start How-To writing (which is always hilarious). We are looking forward to that change of pace from story writing. In phonics we are starting a new unit also! Our phonics unit is "playing with Phonics". We will be playing with sounds and exploring sounds in poetry next week.
Upcoming Dates:
February 24: Roundball bash 6:30 at the High School
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know what questions you might have. Have a great rest of your week!
february 13
Good Afternoon,
The kids are VERY excited for our party this afternoon! Thank you for your help with donations. We made our Valentine bags and handed out our Valentines this morning- that did not help the situation ;)
Next week is going to be a weird week. I will be here Tuesday and Wednesday but then gone Thursday to a conference and Friday to a district meeting at admin.
We are going to take our unit 4 math pretest on Tuesday and then play some review games and do some centers the rest of the week. Look for the Unit 3 Math test to come home next week (I will email you to remind you to check for it!) In reading we are going to work on setting goals for ourselves, and we are going to take a break from writers workshop to focus on sight words and writing sentences. It is going to be a low key week because Thursday and Friday just mess life up!
Upcoming Dates:
February 14: No School
February 17: No School
February 24: Roundball bash 6:30 at the High School
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know what questions you might have!
The kids are VERY excited for our party this afternoon! Thank you for your help with donations. We made our Valentine bags and handed out our Valentines this morning- that did not help the situation ;)
Next week is going to be a weird week. I will be here Tuesday and Wednesday but then gone Thursday to a conference and Friday to a district meeting at admin.
We are going to take our unit 4 math pretest on Tuesday and then play some review games and do some centers the rest of the week. Look for the Unit 3 Math test to come home next week (I will email you to remind you to check for it!) In reading we are going to work on setting goals for ourselves, and we are going to take a break from writers workshop to focus on sight words and writing sentences. It is going to be a low key week because Thursday and Friday just mess life up!
Upcoming Dates:
February 14: No School
February 17: No School
February 24: Roundball bash 6:30 at the High School
March 13: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
March 16: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm
March 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 26: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know what questions you might have!
february 7
Good Morning!
We had such a fun 100th day on Monday, thank you for helping us out with that! There are some new pictures on the website (I've been really slacking with that!) to check out of our fun day!
This week in writing the kids did some pretty cool things- we are working on writing stories with more words. At first when they saw their new writing paper with more lines for words and less space for pictures, they were uneasy. We planned our stories by thinking about something we loved and then told a story about that person/place/thing across 3 fingers many times, trying to add more details every time (something fun to practice at home!) Then, I launched them off to only write words for the first 10 minutes and they impressed me (and themselves!) by filling up all those lines in their books.
Our goal has been to keep working on one story and revising it to make it even better instead of jumping from story to story. Yesterday they got new "writing offices" as a tool to help them and they kept revising those same stories- which was a challenge for most- but they didn't give up (or whine ;)) This was so much fun to watch! Next week we will continue to revise with some new tools and then publish our stories by the end of next week.
In math next week we are going to finish unit 3 and take our unit 3 test on Wednesday. We will be reviewing partners, addition, subtraction, and composing shapes.
In reading we will work on some comprehension strategies- making predictions, talking about our books, and summarizing. We are also going to work on thinking about characters in books!
Our Valentine's Party will be Thursday February 13th from 2:15 - 3:00. Parents are welcome to come like any other part.We will be making our valentine bag at school and ask that kids bring their valentines to school unaddressed to help make the passing out process more efficient. The kids only need to sign their own name on each valentine, they should not write classmates names on them. We have 24 kids in class. You can send these in whenever!
Upcoming Dates:
February 10: Board of Ed meeting at Marshall 6:30pm
February 13: Valentine's Party 2:15 - 3:00
February 14: No School
February 17: No School
February 24: Roundball Bash
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great Friday!
We had such a fun 100th day on Monday, thank you for helping us out with that! There are some new pictures on the website (I've been really slacking with that!) to check out of our fun day!
This week in writing the kids did some pretty cool things- we are working on writing stories with more words. At first when they saw their new writing paper with more lines for words and less space for pictures, they were uneasy. We planned our stories by thinking about something we loved and then told a story about that person/place/thing across 3 fingers many times, trying to add more details every time (something fun to practice at home!) Then, I launched them off to only write words for the first 10 minutes and they impressed me (and themselves!) by filling up all those lines in their books.
Our goal has been to keep working on one story and revising it to make it even better instead of jumping from story to story. Yesterday they got new "writing offices" as a tool to help them and they kept revising those same stories- which was a challenge for most- but they didn't give up (or whine ;)) This was so much fun to watch! Next week we will continue to revise with some new tools and then publish our stories by the end of next week.
In math next week we are going to finish unit 3 and take our unit 3 test on Wednesday. We will be reviewing partners, addition, subtraction, and composing shapes.
In reading we will work on some comprehension strategies- making predictions, talking about our books, and summarizing. We are also going to work on thinking about characters in books!
Our Valentine's Party will be Thursday February 13th from 2:15 - 3:00. Parents are welcome to come like any other part.We will be making our valentine bag at school and ask that kids bring their valentines to school unaddressed to help make the passing out process more efficient. The kids only need to sign their own name on each valentine, they should not write classmates names on them. We have 24 kids in class. You can send these in whenever!
Upcoming Dates:
February 10: Board of Ed meeting at Marshall 6:30pm
February 13: Valentine's Party 2:15 - 3:00
February 14: No School
February 17: No School
February 24: Roundball Bash
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great Friday!
january 31
Good Afternoon!
Thank you all so much for the snack, straw, and 100 day donations! We are looking forward to a fun day Monday celebrating being "100 days smarter" :)
This week we had the Kidz Have Rights presentation. Look for a pamphlet on that coming home today.
Next week we are working on inflected endings in words (-ing, -ed, -s/-es) and learning more sight words. We are also wrapping up our story writing by introducing paper with more lines for more sentences and being sure we include a beginning, middle, and end to our story. In math we will be working on addition and subtraction and problem solving.
Upcoming Events:
February 10th: Board of Education Meeting 6:30pm
February 12th: Count Day
February 13th: Valentine's Party 2:15 - 3:00
February 14th: No School
February 17th: No School
February 24th: Roundball Bash 6:30pm
Roundball Bash is when Marshall Staff embarrasses themselves by playing dodgeball against Nickels in front of a crowd :) Feel free to come enjoy the fun ha!
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
Thank you all so much for the snack, straw, and 100 day donations! We are looking forward to a fun day Monday celebrating being "100 days smarter" :)
This week we had the Kidz Have Rights presentation. Look for a pamphlet on that coming home today.
Next week we are working on inflected endings in words (-ing, -ed, -s/-es) and learning more sight words. We are also wrapping up our story writing by introducing paper with more lines for more sentences and being sure we include a beginning, middle, and end to our story. In math we will be working on addition and subtraction and problem solving.
Upcoming Events:
February 10th: Board of Education Meeting 6:30pm
February 12th: Count Day
February 13th: Valentine's Party 2:15 - 3:00
February 14th: No School
February 17th: No School
February 24th: Roundball Bash 6:30pm
Roundball Bash is when Marshall Staff embarrasses themselves by playing dodgeball against Nickels in front of a crowd :) Feel free to come enjoy the fun ha!
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
january 24
Good Afternoon,
The kids are loving their special day today. They read to their stuffed animals earlier and laid on their blankets to get their phonics jobs done. We are watching Rio in little chunks throughout the day also. So many kids hadn't seen it before- they are silent! ;)
Coming home today is a math homework packet. This packet is completely optional! My purpose in sending this home is to show you all a little bit of what we are working on right now, and also to give those kids who enjoy doing work outside of school something to do. We worked on teen numbers this week (writing them, identifying them, knowing that teen numbers are a ten group and then some more ones). Next week we are going to circle back to addition and subtraction strategies- and knowing the difference between them.
In reading we worked on having SUPER sound power by looking at sounds all across the word (not just the beginning) and making sure the word we say matches some of the sounds that we see. Next week we are going to work on checking our reading and thinking more deeply about what is going on in the pictures in our stories.
In writing we worked on making our stories readable with our partners. We have been practicing putting spaces between our words and making sure we have all the sounds in our words. Next week we are going to work on how to make our beginnings and endings even better.
In phonics we have been working on seeing digraphs and blends and reading/writing them correctly.
A couple random notes:
- We have had a lot of kids without snacks again recently so our supply is beginning to run out. If you are out and about and could send in some extra snack, we would appreciate it!
- The kids work on a lot of skills during free choice time. We work on social/emotional things, building things, math and reading, etc. I am going to switch up our sensory table and would like to put in straws, pipe cleaner, beads, and scissors (the kids don't know about this!) I am having mixed feelings about the straws and their impact on our environment... but if you are out and about and could grab any sort of straw for us, I would appreciate it. The kids will work on fine motor skills at this station through cutting straws and stringing straws and beads onto pipe cleaners!
- Thank you so much for your donations so far to our coin war!
- I will be out of the building on Tuesday for our Kindergarten learning labs. Kindergarten teachers will be collaborating together through watching another teacher do a writing lesson, reflecting, and then building some resources to help us confer (work one on one) with our kids. We are excited for this opportunity, but know it might be a little wild with all 4 kindergarten teachers out that day!
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!
The kids are loving their special day today. They read to their stuffed animals earlier and laid on their blankets to get their phonics jobs done. We are watching Rio in little chunks throughout the day also. So many kids hadn't seen it before- they are silent! ;)
Coming home today is a math homework packet. This packet is completely optional! My purpose in sending this home is to show you all a little bit of what we are working on right now, and also to give those kids who enjoy doing work outside of school something to do. We worked on teen numbers this week (writing them, identifying them, knowing that teen numbers are a ten group and then some more ones). Next week we are going to circle back to addition and subtraction strategies- and knowing the difference between them.
In reading we worked on having SUPER sound power by looking at sounds all across the word (not just the beginning) and making sure the word we say matches some of the sounds that we see. Next week we are going to work on checking our reading and thinking more deeply about what is going on in the pictures in our stories.
In writing we worked on making our stories readable with our partners. We have been practicing putting spaces between our words and making sure we have all the sounds in our words. Next week we are going to work on how to make our beginnings and endings even better.
In phonics we have been working on seeing digraphs and blends and reading/writing them correctly.
A couple random notes:
- We have had a lot of kids without snacks again recently so our supply is beginning to run out. If you are out and about and could send in some extra snack, we would appreciate it!
- The kids work on a lot of skills during free choice time. We work on social/emotional things, building things, math and reading, etc. I am going to switch up our sensory table and would like to put in straws, pipe cleaner, beads, and scissors (the kids don't know about this!) I am having mixed feelings about the straws and their impact on our environment... but if you are out and about and could grab any sort of straw for us, I would appreciate it. The kids will work on fine motor skills at this station through cutting straws and stringing straws and beads onto pipe cleaners!
- Thank you so much for your donations so far to our coin war!
- I will be out of the building on Tuesday for our Kindergarten learning labs. Kindergarten teachers will be collaborating together through watching another teacher do a writing lesson, reflecting, and then building some resources to help us confer (work one on one) with our kids. We are excited for this opportunity, but know it might be a little wild with all 4 kindergarten teachers out that day!
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!
january 10
Good Morning!
We had a busy week adjusting back to school life. We're all exhausted ;) This week we reviewed routines, talked about patterns in our books, explored decomposing numbers into partners, and worked on story writing. We also talked about naming our feelings and what gratitude means!
Next week we are going to continue working on strategies for reading bigger books, work into decomposing teen numbers, and talk about what types of tools a writer can use to improve their writing.
I am out of the building at a district meeting today- just an FYI.
Upcoming Dates:
Jan 13: MAPS meeting at 6:30
Jan 16: 1/2 day, noon dismissal, no lunch
Jan 17: 1/2 day, noon dismissal, no lunch
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
We had a busy week adjusting back to school life. We're all exhausted ;) This week we reviewed routines, talked about patterns in our books, explored decomposing numbers into partners, and worked on story writing. We also talked about naming our feelings and what gratitude means!
Next week we are going to continue working on strategies for reading bigger books, work into decomposing teen numbers, and talk about what types of tools a writer can use to improve their writing.
I am out of the building at a district meeting today- just an FYI.
Upcoming Dates:
Jan 13: MAPS meeting at 6:30
Jan 16: 1/2 day, noon dismissal, no lunch
Jan 17: 1/2 day, noon dismissal, no lunch
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
december 20
Good Afternoon,
We have had a fun week filled with holiday cheer and excitement. We finished up a few academic things and looked for ways to have fun ;) This morning we did a reindeer directed drawing so when they get back from Art in a little bit, they get to use watercolors to paint it. It's going to be a big afternoon!
Coming home today is a paper on how to log your child into our Raz Kids reading program. If you have access to the internet, it should work for everyone. On the website/app, the kids can read or listen to books at their level. Let me know if you need any tech help with that.
In January we will get refocused on our academic work- reading bigger books, writing more stories, learning about digraphs and vowels, and decomposing numbers into different "partners".
Upcoming Dates:
January 6: School starts
January 13: MAPS meeting at 6:30
January 16 & 17: Half day, 12:00 dismissal
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great Holiday Season!
We have had a fun week filled with holiday cheer and excitement. We finished up a few academic things and looked for ways to have fun ;) This morning we did a reindeer directed drawing so when they get back from Art in a little bit, they get to use watercolors to paint it. It's going to be a big afternoon!
Coming home today is a paper on how to log your child into our Raz Kids reading program. If you have access to the internet, it should work for everyone. On the website/app, the kids can read or listen to books at their level. Let me know if you need any tech help with that.
In January we will get refocused on our academic work- reading bigger books, writing more stories, learning about digraphs and vowels, and decomposing numbers into different "partners".
Upcoming Dates:
January 6: School starts
January 13: MAPS meeting at 6:30
January 16 & 17: Half day, 12:00 dismissal
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great Holiday Season!
december 12
Good Afternoon,
I have just a few quick updates for you!
- This week we finished our "winter" MAP testing. This gives us a baseline for where kids are at and how to focus instruction.
- This week we worked on noticing parts of words, "word families", in order to help us to be more efficient in reading and writing. We will continue this work next week.
- We worked on problem solving in math and had some fun new holiday choice stations. Next week we are doing to continue choice stations and maybe do some addition/subtraction work depending on where our focus is at ;)
- We finished up our stories in writing. We will do a quick assessment on writing next week to see where we are at in our story writing before moving into a new unit in January. We will also do a quick spelling assessment to help us see which parts of words kids are now recognizing and where to go next.
- I will be doing running records on Tuesday morning, so the kids will have different leveled books coming home for break next week!
- Next Friday is our holiday party from 2:15 - 3:00. The sign up is here for materials for the party. Thanks in advance for helping with that!
- Next Thursday we are having a polar express day! A note will come home about it tomorrow, but kids are welcome to wear PJs that day.
- Next week is also dress up week here (because why not make them more insane before the holiday!...)
Monday: Candy Cane Day (red and white)
Tuesday: Winter Sports Day
Wednesday: Holiday sweater day
Thursday: Snow day (PJs and comfy clothes)
Friday: Red and Green day
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great rest of your week!
I have just a few quick updates for you!
- This week we finished our "winter" MAP testing. This gives us a baseline for where kids are at and how to focus instruction.
- This week we worked on noticing parts of words, "word families", in order to help us to be more efficient in reading and writing. We will continue this work next week.
- We worked on problem solving in math and had some fun new holiday choice stations. Next week we are doing to continue choice stations and maybe do some addition/subtraction work depending on where our focus is at ;)
- We finished up our stories in writing. We will do a quick assessment on writing next week to see where we are at in our story writing before moving into a new unit in January. We will also do a quick spelling assessment to help us see which parts of words kids are now recognizing and where to go next.
- I will be doing running records on Tuesday morning, so the kids will have different leveled books coming home for break next week!
- Next Friday is our holiday party from 2:15 - 3:00. The sign up is here for materials for the party. Thanks in advance for helping with that!
- Next Thursday we are having a polar express day! A note will come home about it tomorrow, but kids are welcome to wear PJs that day.
- Next week is also dress up week here (because why not make them more insane before the holiday!...)
Monday: Candy Cane Day (red and white)
Tuesday: Winter Sports Day
Wednesday: Holiday sweater day
Thursday: Snow day (PJs and comfy clothes)
Friday: Red and Green day
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great rest of your week!
december 5
Good Afternoon,
You can tell the holiday season is upon us, the kids are VERY excited for Christmas already ;) Look for a sign-up for the party (Dec 20 2:15 - 3:00) coming soon.
I will be sending home 5 leveled (paper) books a week for kids to read at home. These should be at their instructional level- which means they can read them with some help. You may read them and then keep them to build your collection!
We recently created a "social contract" for our classroom also. This is a list of things that the kids came up with that we agree to do in order to be a good learner and a good friend. I attached a picture of it here. As a part of this, we started sending home notes when a student is a rock star learner/friend (following the contract really well, going above and beyond, etc.) and when a child is struggling to follow it and needs a lot of reminders. If your child gets a positive note home, just keep it and celebrate it! If your child gets a note home that they struggled that day, it is not a huge deal, it simply means that they need some help talking through good choices with their family. These do need to be signed and returned. Let me know if you have any questions about this!
In reading we have been practicing good reading habits. Next week we are going to practice setting goals for which strategies we want to practice each day.
In writing we have continued writing stories. Our goal has been to tell the story with pictures and words and everyone is working so hard to achieve that goal! We are going to continue that next week.
In phonics, we have been practicing using our reading super powers for writing too. We have been pointing to the words we write to make sure that we have all the words in a sentence, rereading words and sentences to look for more sounds, etc. The kids wrote labels of things in our classroom and then the next day went back to reread those labels and add sounds in the word they had previously missed. It is so fun to see their skills in reading and writing words blossom! Next week we are moving into studying word families.
In math we have been working on problem solving (see chart below) with the following process. We will continue exploring this through the next couple weeks along with addition and subtraction in general.
Sight words: We learned to, do, we, be.
Upcoming Dates:
Dec 20: Party 2:15 - 3:00
Dec 21-Jan 5: No School
Hard to believe we are already into December, this year has flown by! Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great afternoon!
You can tell the holiday season is upon us, the kids are VERY excited for Christmas already ;) Look for a sign-up for the party (Dec 20 2:15 - 3:00) coming soon.
I will be sending home 5 leveled (paper) books a week for kids to read at home. These should be at their instructional level- which means they can read them with some help. You may read them and then keep them to build your collection!
We recently created a "social contract" for our classroom also. This is a list of things that the kids came up with that we agree to do in order to be a good learner and a good friend. I attached a picture of it here. As a part of this, we started sending home notes when a student is a rock star learner/friend (following the contract really well, going above and beyond, etc.) and when a child is struggling to follow it and needs a lot of reminders. If your child gets a positive note home, just keep it and celebrate it! If your child gets a note home that they struggled that day, it is not a huge deal, it simply means that they need some help talking through good choices with their family. These do need to be signed and returned. Let me know if you have any questions about this!
In reading we have been practicing good reading habits. Next week we are going to practice setting goals for which strategies we want to practice each day.
In writing we have continued writing stories. Our goal has been to tell the story with pictures and words and everyone is working so hard to achieve that goal! We are going to continue that next week.
In phonics, we have been practicing using our reading super powers for writing too. We have been pointing to the words we write to make sure that we have all the words in a sentence, rereading words and sentences to look for more sounds, etc. The kids wrote labels of things in our classroom and then the next day went back to reread those labels and add sounds in the word they had previously missed. It is so fun to see their skills in reading and writing words blossom! Next week we are moving into studying word families.
In math we have been working on problem solving (see chart below) with the following process. We will continue exploring this through the next couple weeks along with addition and subtraction in general.
Sight words: We learned to, do, we, be.
Upcoming Dates:
Dec 20: Party 2:15 - 3:00
Dec 21-Jan 5: No School
Hard to believe we are already into December, this year has flown by! Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great afternoon!
november 25
Good Morning!
Sorry for the lack of updates last week- my week kind of fell apart with a sick kid at home and a couple meetings that popped up last minute. I figured it might be easiest to just send an update today for this week and last week.
Last week we worked hard on what it looks and sounds like to private read and partner read. We like to talk about WHY we do what we do at school and with reading we realized that when we don't read during reading time, we never actually grow our brain!
Last week we also finished up unit 2 of math and took our pretest on unit 3. Because of some kids being gone this week, we are going to wait to start instruction on unit 3 until next week. We are going to learn about decomposing numbers and work on story problems in the few weeks before Christmas Break.
In writing we finished up our show and tell unit and started writing true stories... It has been a pretty entertaining transition because they have some fun stories to tell :)
Tomorrow the whole school earned a movie party (we are watching Ratatouille) because they reached their bulldog ticket goal. Perfect timing right ;) They are encouraged to wear PJs and bring a blanket and stuffed animal to watch the movie with. Let me know if you have questions about this!
Upcoming Dates:
November 27 - 29: No School for Thanksgiving
December 4: Holiday Shop (more info to come)
December 20: Holiday Party from 2:15 - 3:15
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great long weekend!
Sorry for the lack of updates last week- my week kind of fell apart with a sick kid at home and a couple meetings that popped up last minute. I figured it might be easiest to just send an update today for this week and last week.
Last week we worked hard on what it looks and sounds like to private read and partner read. We like to talk about WHY we do what we do at school and with reading we realized that when we don't read during reading time, we never actually grow our brain!
Last week we also finished up unit 2 of math and took our pretest on unit 3. Because of some kids being gone this week, we are going to wait to start instruction on unit 3 until next week. We are going to learn about decomposing numbers and work on story problems in the few weeks before Christmas Break.
In writing we finished up our show and tell unit and started writing true stories... It has been a pretty entertaining transition because they have some fun stories to tell :)
Tomorrow the whole school earned a movie party (we are watching Ratatouille) because they reached their bulldog ticket goal. Perfect timing right ;) They are encouraged to wear PJs and bring a blanket and stuffed animal to watch the movie with. Let me know if you have questions about this!
Upcoming Dates:
November 27 - 29: No School for Thanksgiving
December 4: Holiday Shop (more info to come)
December 20: Holiday Party from 2:15 - 3:15
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great long weekend!
november 15
Good Afternoon,
It was great to meet with each of you this week. It always feels good to chat about the kids- I always leave feeling refocused with a deeper understanding of your child! I appreciate you taking the time to come in!
We finished our reading, writing, and phonics units today. We celebrated by teaching our 4th grade buddies how to learn words in "word school". Then, we shared our published writing pieces with them and showed off our reading super powers. The 4th graders helped clean out our writing folders. Some kids chose to bring a few pieces home and some did not. If your child brought some writing home- we were working on drawing and writing about a person, place, or thing that we love. We were working hard on writing labels and sentences (with sounds- not correct spelling) to accompany our pictures. Writing is all over the place at this point in the year- so check them out if you'd like but don't let them bring you any stress :)
Next week we are going to take our unit 2 math test. We are also going to start writing stories, (re)practicing what private and partner reading should look/sound like, and studying how to hear and write more sounds in words.
On Wednesday I will be gone to MichMe at the ISD- just FYI.
Upcoming Dates:
November 22: Popcorn Day
November 27, 28, 29: No School
December 4: Holiday Shop (more info to come soon)
December 20: Holiday Parties 2:15 - 3:15
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!
It was great to meet with each of you this week. It always feels good to chat about the kids- I always leave feeling refocused with a deeper understanding of your child! I appreciate you taking the time to come in!
We finished our reading, writing, and phonics units today. We celebrated by teaching our 4th grade buddies how to learn words in "word school". Then, we shared our published writing pieces with them and showed off our reading super powers. The 4th graders helped clean out our writing folders. Some kids chose to bring a few pieces home and some did not. If your child brought some writing home- we were working on drawing and writing about a person, place, or thing that we love. We were working hard on writing labels and sentences (with sounds- not correct spelling) to accompany our pictures. Writing is all over the place at this point in the year- so check them out if you'd like but don't let them bring you any stress :)
Next week we are going to take our unit 2 math test. We are also going to start writing stories, (re)practicing what private and partner reading should look/sound like, and studying how to hear and write more sounds in words.
On Wednesday I will be gone to MichMe at the ISD- just FYI.
Upcoming Dates:
November 22: Popcorn Day
November 27, 28, 29: No School
December 4: Holiday Shop (more info to come soon)
December 20: Holiday Parties 2:15 - 3:15
Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!
november 8
Happy Friday!
Big thanks to all of you for getting the kids ready for putting on their winter gear independently! They were so proud that they would do it without help :)
We have been working hard on our reading super powers. This week we talked about how pattern power helps us to get a "running start" into the next page and how we need persistence power when things get tough.
We are transferring what we know about pattern power from reading into making pattern books in our writing. The kids have been practicing making pattern sentence stems with our sight words to write show and tell books about things we love.
In math, we have been busy practicing addition and subtraction. We made a "candy monster" who ate our candy to practice subtraction. We also practiced addition and subtraction with drawings and play doh. Challenge your child to some adding and subtracting this weekend!
Report cards will be coming home with your child on Monday. I look forward to sitting down with all of you next week for conferences. If you need a reminder on what time your conference is, just shoot me an email.
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
Big thanks to all of you for getting the kids ready for putting on their winter gear independently! They were so proud that they would do it without help :)
We have been working hard on our reading super powers. This week we talked about how pattern power helps us to get a "running start" into the next page and how we need persistence power when things get tough.
We are transferring what we know about pattern power from reading into making pattern books in our writing. The kids have been practicing making pattern sentence stems with our sight words to write show and tell books about things we love.
In math, we have been busy practicing addition and subtraction. We made a "candy monster" who ate our candy to practice subtraction. We also practiced addition and subtraction with drawings and play doh. Challenge your child to some adding and subtracting this weekend!
Report cards will be coming home with your child on Monday. I look forward to sitting down with all of you next week for conferences. If you need a reminder on what time your conference is, just shoot me an email.
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
october 25
Good Afternoon,
I hope you all had a great week! It was an odd week for me being away from the kids- we were excited to see each other again today :) Next week will be out of routine also... I will be leading a session as MichMe (Michigan Math Educators) on Tuesday and then Wednesday I will be here, but will be doing running records (reading assessments) with the kids so there will be a sub in the room with them. I like to give you an idea of when I'm out of the classroom so you'll know if things are a little off that day! Life should calm down again in November.
We are working hard on learning the sight words look, like, the, me, I, a, my, at, is, this, see, and here. Being able to read and write these words with ease helps our reading tremendously! Fun activities to do at home are to write in shaving cream, create out of play doh, go on a sight word "hunt" when you are out and about, and the kids really like when I flash the word quickly to them and they have to try to read it and write it.
We have also been working hard on listening to sounds in words, noticing when the sounds do/don't match the letters, and writing words through sounds. The kids are very proud of themselves!
In math, we have been hard at work on addition this week. Next week we are going to explore the relationship between addition and subtract, and then practice those skills more through games and tasks.
Thanks for helping out with the Halloween Party! Click this link to see what opportunities are left. We're looking forward to seeing some of you then!
Upcoming Dates:
October 29: Picture Retakes
November 1: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
November 1: Halloween Party 10:30 - 11:30
November 4: MAPS Meeting
November 12: P/T Conferences
November 14: Half day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
November 22: Popcord Day
November 27- 29: Thanksgiving Break
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
I hope you all had a great week! It was an odd week for me being away from the kids- we were excited to see each other again today :) Next week will be out of routine also... I will be leading a session as MichMe (Michigan Math Educators) on Tuesday and then Wednesday I will be here, but will be doing running records (reading assessments) with the kids so there will be a sub in the room with them. I like to give you an idea of when I'm out of the classroom so you'll know if things are a little off that day! Life should calm down again in November.
We are working hard on learning the sight words look, like, the, me, I, a, my, at, is, this, see, and here. Being able to read and write these words with ease helps our reading tremendously! Fun activities to do at home are to write in shaving cream, create out of play doh, go on a sight word "hunt" when you are out and about, and the kids really like when I flash the word quickly to them and they have to try to read it and write it.
We have also been working hard on listening to sounds in words, noticing when the sounds do/don't match the letters, and writing words through sounds. The kids are very proud of themselves!
In math, we have been hard at work on addition this week. Next week we are going to explore the relationship between addition and subtract, and then practice those skills more through games and tasks.
Thanks for helping out with the Halloween Party! Click this link to see what opportunities are left. We're looking forward to seeing some of you then!
Upcoming Dates:
October 29: Picture Retakes
November 1: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
November 1: Halloween Party 10:30 - 11:30
November 4: MAPS Meeting
November 12: P/T Conferences
November 14: Half day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
November 22: Popcord Day
November 27- 29: Thanksgiving Break
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
october 18
Good Afternoon,
We had an awesome juggling assembly this afternoon- the kids thought it was hilarious. They have a note about winter attire coming home too today. Let me know if you have any questions about it!
Today we celebrated "ABC school" by teaching stuffed animals all about the alphabet chart. They are bringing an alphabet chart home today to teach you all about! We are still working on drawing and writing labels about our show and tell objects and will continue that next week. We will also begin to explore addition and subtraction next week.
Next ween Wednesday and Thursday I will be at a learning opportunity about Culturally Responsive Teaching with the district diversity team. If you have any important time-sensetive questions or attendance/pick up changes please send them to [email protected] or [email protected] in case I don't have my computer nearby.
Upcoming Events:
Oct 25: Popcorn Day
Oct 29: Picture Retake Day
Nov 1: Half Day, 12:00 noon dismissal, no lunch at school
Nov 1: Halloween Party 10:30 - 11:30
Nov 4: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm (Pizza at 6pm)
Nov 12 and 14: Parent Teacher Conferences (more info to come)
Nov 14: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
We had an awesome juggling assembly this afternoon- the kids thought it was hilarious. They have a note about winter attire coming home too today. Let me know if you have any questions about it!
Today we celebrated "ABC school" by teaching stuffed animals all about the alphabet chart. They are bringing an alphabet chart home today to teach you all about! We are still working on drawing and writing labels about our show and tell objects and will continue that next week. We will also begin to explore addition and subtraction next week.
Next ween Wednesday and Thursday I will be at a learning opportunity about Culturally Responsive Teaching with the district diversity team. If you have any important time-sensetive questions or attendance/pick up changes please send them to [email protected] or [email protected] in case I don't have my computer nearby.
Upcoming Events:
Oct 25: Popcorn Day
Oct 29: Picture Retake Day
Nov 1: Half Day, 12:00 noon dismissal, no lunch at school
Nov 1: Halloween Party 10:30 - 11:30
Nov 4: MAPS Meeting 6:30pm (Pizza at 6pm)
Nov 12 and 14: Parent Teacher Conferences (more info to come)
Nov 14: Half Day, 12:00 dismissal, no lunch at school
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
october 11
Good Afternoon,
I am sending the weekly update today, since tomorrow will be busy with our walkathon. Please send all walkathon donations with your child tomorrow morning, thank you for your help with this!
Coming home today is a note explaining our next writing unit- show and tell! Please look out for that in your child's folder. We are starting that on Monday, but kids don't actually need their items until Tuesday.
This week we finished our storybook readers unit. We are going to make special "we are storybook readers" hats and read our favorite stories to our 4th grade buddies tomorrow. Our next reading unit is about reading superpowers and it is a ton of fun! Kids will learn a ton of actual reading strategies- a huge step in Kindergarten :)
We also finished our first phonics unit on "making friends with letters" and are moving on to learning more sight words and being "word scientists". The kids are loving it!
Halloween Party- Marshall Elementary will be celebrating Halloween with a costume parade and classroom parties on Friday, November 1st, 2019. Our parade will begin at 10:30 am. Classroom parties will start following the parade 10:45 am-11:30 am. Our focus is on respecting all of our students and families. Please know that your child may come to school dressed in their Halloween costume. Please follow the below guidelines:
· Costumes must be age appropriate
· No toy weapons or distracting props
· No gory, scary, or violent costumes
· No masks on the bus or in the classroom until the parade/parties
· Minimal face painting
· Parents are welcome to come enjoy the Halloween parade and party!
· Future parties:
o 12/20/2019 Holiday parties 2:15-3pm
o 2/13/2020 Valentine’s Day 2:15-3pm
**More info on donation and volunteer opportunities for the Halloween party coming soon!!**
Upcoming Dates:
October 25: Popcorn Day
October 29: Photo retake day (their pictures should be here soon!)
November 1: Half day 12:00 noon dismissal
November 1: Halloween Party from 10:30 - 11:30
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great Friday!
I am sending the weekly update today, since tomorrow will be busy with our walkathon. Please send all walkathon donations with your child tomorrow morning, thank you for your help with this!
Coming home today is a note explaining our next writing unit- show and tell! Please look out for that in your child's folder. We are starting that on Monday, but kids don't actually need their items until Tuesday.
This week we finished our storybook readers unit. We are going to make special "we are storybook readers" hats and read our favorite stories to our 4th grade buddies tomorrow. Our next reading unit is about reading superpowers and it is a ton of fun! Kids will learn a ton of actual reading strategies- a huge step in Kindergarten :)
We also finished our first phonics unit on "making friends with letters" and are moving on to learning more sight words and being "word scientists". The kids are loving it!
Halloween Party- Marshall Elementary will be celebrating Halloween with a costume parade and classroom parties on Friday, November 1st, 2019. Our parade will begin at 10:30 am. Classroom parties will start following the parade 10:45 am-11:30 am. Our focus is on respecting all of our students and families. Please know that your child may come to school dressed in their Halloween costume. Please follow the below guidelines:
· Costumes must be age appropriate
· No toy weapons or distracting props
· No gory, scary, or violent costumes
· No masks on the bus or in the classroom until the parade/parties
· Minimal face painting
· Parents are welcome to come enjoy the Halloween parade and party!
· Future parties:
o 12/20/2019 Holiday parties 2:15-3pm
o 2/13/2020 Valentine’s Day 2:15-3pm
**More info on donation and volunteer opportunities for the Halloween party coming soon!!**
Upcoming Dates:
October 25: Popcorn Day
October 29: Photo retake day (their pictures should be here soon!)
November 1: Half day 12:00 noon dismissal
November 1: Halloween Party from 10:30 - 11:30
Let me know if you have any questions, have a great Friday!
october 4
Good Afternoon,
We had a fun apple day today! So much fun that I forgot to take any pictures... There are other new pictures on the website to check out though!
Unit 1 math tests are in the kids folders today. We will be starting unit 2 next week Tuesday. We are also wrapping up our first reading unit. This week we practiced reading old favorite storybooks with partners. In writing we are writing teaching books and will finish those up next week.
Upcoming Events:Monday Oct 7: Monster Hair Monday: Wear silly hair or funky hat
Tuesday October 8: Tutu/Ties Tuesday: Wear a silly tie or fluffy tutu
Wednesday October 9: Comfy Creature Wednesday: Wear comfy clothes and bring a stuffed animal day
Thursday October 10: Team Spirit Thursday: Wear Orange and Black and BC clothing
Friday October 11: Put your Best Foot Forward: Wear silly socks with your running shoes and your WAT shirt (shirts will be passed out at the start of the day on Friday!)
Let me know if you have any questions! Have a great weekend!
We had a fun apple day today! So much fun that I forgot to take any pictures... There are other new pictures on the website to check out though!
Unit 1 math tests are in the kids folders today. We will be starting unit 2 next week Tuesday. We are also wrapping up our first reading unit. This week we practiced reading old favorite storybooks with partners. In writing we are writing teaching books and will finish those up next week.
Upcoming Events:Monday Oct 7: Monster Hair Monday: Wear silly hair or funky hat
Tuesday October 8: Tutu/Ties Tuesday: Wear a silly tie or fluffy tutu
Wednesday October 9: Comfy Creature Wednesday: Wear comfy clothes and bring a stuffed animal day
Thursday October 10: Team Spirit Thursday: Wear Orange and Black and BC clothing
Friday October 11: Put your Best Foot Forward: Wear silly socks with your running shoes and your WAT shirt (shirts will be passed out at the start of the day on Friday!)
Let me know if you have any questions! Have a great weekend!
september 20
Good Afternoon,
A lot of the kids are talking about Marshall Football Night tonight! I am sad I won't be able to make it- my husband's family does a trip to Mackinac Island every year for his mom's Birthday so we are headed there right after school. If you take any pictures of the kids, send them my way!
This week in reading, we talked about rereading to learn more and adding a "pinch of you" by adding our own thoughts to each page. Next week we are going to practice sounding like a teacher when we read and then transition into reading old favorite storybooks that we've heard over and over again. If you child has a favorite book that they know by heart, feel free to send it in for them to read at school! In math we practiced sequencing numbers and building groups of each number. Next week we will get into different ways to represent numbers. In phonics next week we are going to read and write new sight words.
Each year in Kindergarten we have a whole day devoted to apples! Fall is a fun season and apples and apple orchards are a big part of that. We devote the whole day to reading about, writing about, doing math with, and exploring scientifically APPLES :) This year Apple Day will be Friday October 4th. We need your help to make this day a success- please click this link to see our donation opportunities. Thank you for your help!
We have a few popcorn days throughout the year- look for a note about that coming home today in folders.
Know that I am out Monday as we are traveling home from the island. Service is pretty spotty up there, so if you need anything please contact the office.
I will be contacting volunteers individually to set things up. Look out for that!
Upcoming Events:
October 11: Walk a thon
October 25: Popcorn Day
October 29: Picture retake day
Let me know if you have any questions- have a great weekend!
ReplyForward
A lot of the kids are talking about Marshall Football Night tonight! I am sad I won't be able to make it- my husband's family does a trip to Mackinac Island every year for his mom's Birthday so we are headed there right after school. If you take any pictures of the kids, send them my way!
This week in reading, we talked about rereading to learn more and adding a "pinch of you" by adding our own thoughts to each page. Next week we are going to practice sounding like a teacher when we read and then transition into reading old favorite storybooks that we've heard over and over again. If you child has a favorite book that they know by heart, feel free to send it in for them to read at school! In math we practiced sequencing numbers and building groups of each number. Next week we will get into different ways to represent numbers. In phonics next week we are going to read and write new sight words.
Each year in Kindergarten we have a whole day devoted to apples! Fall is a fun season and apples and apple orchards are a big part of that. We devote the whole day to reading about, writing about, doing math with, and exploring scientifically APPLES :) This year Apple Day will be Friday October 4th. We need your help to make this day a success- please click this link to see our donation opportunities. Thank you for your help!
We have a few popcorn days throughout the year- look for a note about that coming home today in folders.
Know that I am out Monday as we are traveling home from the island. Service is pretty spotty up there, so if you need anything please contact the office.
I will be contacting volunteers individually to set things up. Look out for that!
Upcoming Events:
October 11: Walk a thon
October 25: Popcorn Day
October 29: Picture retake day
Let me know if you have any questions- have a great weekend!
ReplyForward
september 13
Good Afternoon,
We accomplished a lot in Kindergarten this week! We got full swing into readers workshop where we are practicing looking, thinking, reading, and learning from "Learn About the World' books. The kids have also been reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff and their new poem this week- which will be coming home in folders today. In math we spent our week working on counting collections. We learned about how it is easier to count when we organize our tools, how when we work together we "collaborate" and also worked on the different ways we can count our tools in our partnerships. In Phonics we have been working on writing our names "by heart" with only the first letter of our name being uppercase. These are all great things to talk with your child about or practice at home!
I posted some pictures from our week on the website- check them out!
Next week we are going to continue reading "Learn About the World Books" while practicing reading cover to cover, rereading to learn more, and putting it all together. In Phonics we are going to continue to practice our own names by teaching it to others, building words from our names, and then move into labeling our classroom. In math we are going to work on some puzzles to help us with number ID, sequencing, and building sets of numbers. Finally, we will get into our first writing workshop unit by practicing some skills and strategies to help us be more independent writers. Please know that Thursday I will be out of the building at MichME (Michigan Math Educators) over at the ISD.
Our specials schedule each week is as follows:
Monday: Gym and Library
Tuesday: Stem
Wednesday: Music and Gym
Thursday: Music and Gym
Friday: Art
This week information came home on Picture Day and Marshall Football Night. Please let me know if you missed that and I will get you extra copies.
Upcoming Events:
Sept 16: MAPS Meeting
Sept 18: Kindergarten Picture Day
Sept 20: Marshall Football Tailgate
Oct 11: Walk a thon
Oct 25: Popcorn Day
Please let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
We accomplished a lot in Kindergarten this week! We got full swing into readers workshop where we are practicing looking, thinking, reading, and learning from "Learn About the World' books. The kids have also been reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff and their new poem this week- which will be coming home in folders today. In math we spent our week working on counting collections. We learned about how it is easier to count when we organize our tools, how when we work together we "collaborate" and also worked on the different ways we can count our tools in our partnerships. In Phonics we have been working on writing our names "by heart" with only the first letter of our name being uppercase. These are all great things to talk with your child about or practice at home!
I posted some pictures from our week on the website- check them out!
Next week we are going to continue reading "Learn About the World Books" while practicing reading cover to cover, rereading to learn more, and putting it all together. In Phonics we are going to continue to practice our own names by teaching it to others, building words from our names, and then move into labeling our classroom. In math we are going to work on some puzzles to help us with number ID, sequencing, and building sets of numbers. Finally, we will get into our first writing workshop unit by practicing some skills and strategies to help us be more independent writers. Please know that Thursday I will be out of the building at MichME (Michigan Math Educators) over at the ISD.
Our specials schedule each week is as follows:
Monday: Gym and Library
Tuesday: Stem
Wednesday: Music and Gym
Thursday: Music and Gym
Friday: Art
This week information came home on Picture Day and Marshall Football Night. Please let me know if you missed that and I will get you extra copies.
Upcoming Events:
Sept 16: MAPS Meeting
Sept 18: Kindergarten Picture Day
Sept 20: Marshall Football Tailgate
Oct 11: Walk a thon
Oct 25: Popcorn Day
Please let me know if you have any questions, have a great weekend!
September 6
Happy Friday,
We had another fun week here in Kindergarten. Please check out the website later today for a few pictures from our week!
This week we got our first MAP test out of the way and the kids were rockstars! They were mostly excited to get to explore the Ipads, but I'll take what I can get ;) We talked about how as learners we are readers, writers, and mathematicians. We continued our phonics unit by adding new names to our name wall. We have been practicing learning each other's names and "owning" letters during this time. We also used our names as mathematicians this week. We read Chrysanthemum and created a name graph and also talked about how 10 frames help us organize our thinking as mathematicians and then put our name into ten frames. The kids also got their first poem to put into their poetry notebook today. We have been practicing this for the last week so it is something they can read on their own. Look for a copy coming home today!
Next week we are going to start readers, writers, and math workshops. In reading workshop we will work on private reading, partner reading, and tips for reading "learn about the world" books. In writing workshop we are going to be talking about how we organize our writing folders and use our writing pens. We are also going to use our family photos to help us do some free writing. And in math workshop we are going to be exploring numbers and counting through counting collections. It will be an exciting week!
Upcoming Dates:
9/16: MAPS meeting at 6pm. Pizza and childcare provided
9/20: Marshall Football Night (more info coming soon)
9/27: Popcorn day (more info coming soon)
10/11: Walk a thon (info coming soon)
A couple of funnies this week- One friend had a minor meltdown Thursday morning during phonics. Later when we were outside, they were kind of hanging around me and not feeling like playing so I asked if they were super tired today to which they replied "Im SO SO tired. That's why I freaked out a little earlier" LOL
Another quick funny- during free choice the other day I was working on stuffing folders and mailboxes and was checking out who was doing what around the room. I heard some singing coming from the corner and saw a few kids had created a band and were singing "Old Town Road" completely in synch! It was impressive and hilarious- and led to me having that in my head the rest of the day.
Thanks for sharing your precious kiddos with me- I'm looking forward to a great year! I'm always available if you need me!
--
Kelli VanSetters
Kindergarten Teacher
Marshall Elementary
http://mrsvansettersclass.weebly.com/
Twitter: @KVanSetters
We had another fun week here in Kindergarten. Please check out the website later today for a few pictures from our week!
This week we got our first MAP test out of the way and the kids were rockstars! They were mostly excited to get to explore the Ipads, but I'll take what I can get ;) We talked about how as learners we are readers, writers, and mathematicians. We continued our phonics unit by adding new names to our name wall. We have been practicing learning each other's names and "owning" letters during this time. We also used our names as mathematicians this week. We read Chrysanthemum and created a name graph and also talked about how 10 frames help us organize our thinking as mathematicians and then put our name into ten frames. The kids also got their first poem to put into their poetry notebook today. We have been practicing this for the last week so it is something they can read on their own. Look for a copy coming home today!
Next week we are going to start readers, writers, and math workshops. In reading workshop we will work on private reading, partner reading, and tips for reading "learn about the world" books. In writing workshop we are going to be talking about how we organize our writing folders and use our writing pens. We are also going to use our family photos to help us do some free writing. And in math workshop we are going to be exploring numbers and counting through counting collections. It will be an exciting week!
Upcoming Dates:
9/16: MAPS meeting at 6pm. Pizza and childcare provided
9/20: Marshall Football Night (more info coming soon)
9/27: Popcorn day (more info coming soon)
10/11: Walk a thon (info coming soon)
A couple of funnies this week- One friend had a minor meltdown Thursday morning during phonics. Later when we were outside, they were kind of hanging around me and not feeling like playing so I asked if they were super tired today to which they replied "Im SO SO tired. That's why I freaked out a little earlier" LOL
Another quick funny- during free choice the other day I was working on stuffing folders and mailboxes and was checking out who was doing what around the room. I heard some singing coming from the corner and saw a few kids had created a band and were singing "Old Town Road" completely in synch! It was impressive and hilarious- and led to me having that in my head the rest of the day.
Thanks for sharing your precious kiddos with me- I'm looking forward to a great year! I'm always available if you need me!
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Kelli VanSetters
Kindergarten Teacher
Marshall Elementary
http://mrsvansettersclass.weebly.com/
Twitter: @KVanSetters