Welcome Back!

It may sound crazy but I am SOOOOO excited to be back to school. I love the routine, the curriculum, the lightbulbs that I see go on in little minds and of course, the students! I have missed them terribly and am so excited to see them.
I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I hope you feel renewed and energized with this opportunity to start a new year with new adventures awaiting.
Thank you so much for your generosity towards me during the holidays. I appreciate so much the thoughtful gifts, the tasty treats and kind thoughts.
As we move into a new month there are a lot of things going on:

literacy: Reading sight word list #5. Beginning sounds in words. ASL (American Sign Language) for alphabet letters.
math: writing numbers to 20. Counting up to 100. Computing, comparing, and reasoning. We started math journals which is a new thing for me this year. I like documenting students work and seeing the way they come up with solutions, as well as realizing their progress as we go along. I went to Core Academy this summer and math journals was the big push for our new common core.
social studies: bears, winter, hibernation. We learn a lot of new vocabulary in this unit and I love hearing the students use it. Watch for their new "big" words!
writing: we have (finally) started our writer's workshop. I love hearing the stories, seeing the illustrations and guiding them through writing. It's in it's infancy still, but I am confident we will see great things as the year progresses. One thing to note: in writer's workshop I NEVER spell for the students. I want them to work to figure out the words themselves. I know they will not spell everything correctly, and I'm pretty sure they know that too! However, I want them to understand that what they write is great, I'm not worried about correct spelling at this point. I realize they are only 5 and of course they don't know all the words (why would they be in Kindergarten if they did?). We talk about it a lot. I don't want them hung up on spelling. So, as they write for you at home, please encourage them to write the sounds they hear, accept what they write for you, praise their efforts, and cherish the work they are doing. It is seriously one of my favorite things! I think you will love it too.

Our mid year assessments are coming up. We have our DIBELS (literacy test) the second week of January. I will send home a practice packet for the test. Don't let it scare you! It really helps the students just going over the sheets so they feel comfortable with what the test is about. We will practice it in class as well. They should do fine, I'm not worried. However, sometimes just having a timed test makes them nervous. If you have any questions about the practice packet please call me. Our Kindergarten assessment will be the following week.

We are planning a parent "lunch and learn". It is a fun time to come to eat lunch with your student and listen as the Kindergarten teachers present on ways you can help your child with reading and writing. We are just finalizing the plans for it so watch for more info to come.

With the frigid weather, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. They should have their name inside their coats.

If they are sick, please keep them home. I hate for them to miss school, however, I also hate spreading all the germs around.

January 21 is MLK holiday. There will be no school.

Remember reading folders are due each Monday. Library is on Wednesday. Homework days are also Monday and Wednesday.

This week (Jan. 7-11) is our "Special News Week". It is the ONLY time students can bring toys to school. Please help them carefully select what they want to share for news this week.