February

This has been a busy month! We have been testing and reading and writing and testing and reading and coloring and reading and writing and learning........whew!

For the next couple of weeks we will finish up our Patriotic Symbols unit, talk about the weather (graphing lion/lamb weather), St. Patrick's Day, and Dr. Seuss.

Spring is just around the corner and students are already getting antsy---maybe the teachers are too! We have a lot of fun things planned and many more that we're trying to get to.

In math we are still working on numbers to 20, adding one more, lesser, fewer, greater, more than equal to. I hope to finish chapters 3 and 4 next week. I will send home the practice-at-home pages that go with each chapter we have finished so far. They can stay at home. They are just for reinforcement and don't need to come back to school.

Centers are going great! I am so appreciative of you parents that are willing and able to come in and help. We couldn't have centers without you. We have some fun Dr. Seuss activities planned after next week. It should be a great time in centers!

Spring Pictures will be on Friday, March 14. Only the students that pay for a packet will have their pictures taken. As always, if the students want to bring one to me I love to hang them in my office window!

We haven't had much success with our news this year. Students have assigned news days. They are asked to bring in something they can share with the class. If it is printed off the computer or cut out of the newspaper (or written/illustrated by the student) it's great. It gives them something to look at as a prompt for sharing their news as well as something we can hang on our "Good News" board to reference. DON'T THINK IF YOU DON'T HELP THEM THEY AREN'T SHARING!!!!!! Students want the opportunity to have their "5 minutes of glory". They will tell all kinds of things (that you probably don't want them to say) if you aren't helping them be prepared for their news day. Please make an effort to follow through with news days. They are assigned as follows according to FIRST names:
MondayA-C
Tuesday D-J
Wednesday K-M
Thursday N-S
Friday T-Z

As you know, next week is our SEP week. Teachers have coordinated together as much as possible to put siblings appointments back to back. I will try desperately to stay on schedule, however, with 51 students I have 14-16 a day! Please try to be on time. They are only 15 minutes and when I get behind it throws off other teachers as well. Several students have not returned their note confirming the appointment. I am assuming unless I hear otherwise that you are coming. If you need to reschedule text me or email so we can set a date.

I am really looking forward to meeting with each of you. I have spent several hours this last week preparing for the conferences. As I pull out each child's folder and look at each student's work I get a smile on my face. They are unique and special. I love every one of them. I am so pleased and impressed with the growth I have seen this year. I love to hear them read, I love to see their writing. They are confident, happy, and smart! We have a great classroom community and I enjoy watching their friendships, problem solving, and developing skills each day. I consider myself so blessed to be able to spend my day with them.

Looking ahead.........
Tuesday, March 11  Dr. Seuss Day-Much more information will come home about this special day, however, we will read Dr. Seuss books, wear pajamas, and have several activities that day to celebrate.
Friday, March 14 Spring pictures and end of 3rd term.
Monday, March 17 St. Patrick's Day- Don't forget to wear green! This will be another day of celebrating with special activities and a fun art project.
Tuesday, March 25 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION  12:00-3:00 if you know anyone with a kindergartener next year please let them know. It is important to get as many incoming students registered as possible. It really helps in planning for the upcoming year.
Thursday, March 27 Science Fair/Art Show 6:00
Friday, March 28 AR assembly. Many students will receive awards for ABC Club, Sight Word Reader Club, and Number Club. To qualify students must have passed those sections on the last assessment. We will continue to assess and add new students each month. Our goal is to have 100 % of the students in each club! We can do it!

We have had an outbreak of pink eye in our school. If your child has any symptoms (redness, itchiness, gritty feeling, swelling) please have them checked. It is highly contagious and we are trying to squash it!

Thank you so much for all you do. I am so blessed to work with such amazing students and I appreciate your help and support. I look forward to visiting with each of you next week!

Here's a look back on the last month:

Happy, happy 100's Day!

counting, sorting, counting, eating, counting.....

Passing out Valentine's during our class party.

A visit from the Dentist

self portraits of 100 year olds! 

January

We have all settled back into school. Mrs. Hofeling has been here student teaching and we love her! She is doing a great job and we are learning a lot!
 We have finished our DIBELS test. The scores will come home next week with the mid-year progress reports. I am happy to report that every student showed improvements this time. I am looking for even more growth for our final assessment.
Our Kindergarten mid-year assessment will start this week and continue through next week. Students are asked to identify/write all uppercase and lowercase letters,  and know the sounds. They need to write numbers to 20 (without reversals) and add and subtract within 5. They should be able to write their first and last name, and write a sentence including: uppercase at the beginning, spaces between the words, and punctuation at the end. They also need to draw a picture to a story. They should be able to read at least the first sight word list without mistakes or prompts. They will need to identify beginning sounds in words, and generate sets of rhyming words. Whew! It's a lot to know but I am confident they will be fine!

Every year at this time students start to slack in their work. They are getting faster, more confident, and sloppy! I spend many hours preparing, grading, and recording homework. Please help by monitoring your child's work at home. All homework should be done in pencil. I expect their BEST handwriting on every assignment. Homework is assigned Monday and Wednesday each week. It is due back the following day. Thank you for your help providing positive reinforcement for a critical study habit.

I am sending the January and February book orders together. They are due back no later than Tuesday, January 28. There are many good choices and some fun incentives to order this month.

This month we are talking about:
Social Studies: winter, bears.
Math: shapes-including 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional; square, circle, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, cube, cone, sphere, cylinder. Vocabulary includes: vertices (the corners), sides, angle, even, uneven. Adding and subtracting within 5. Writing numbers to 20.
Language Arts: ending sounds, syllables, all uppercase and lowercase alphabet recognition, writing and sounds; tapping or chopping words to read the parts, and putting sounds together to make whole words.
Writing: writing all the sounds we hear. Penmanship-using our best handwriting, starting every letter at the top, writing with lowercase letters except the beginning of a sentence or a name. Oral story telling for writer's workshop.

Reminders:
*If your child is absent please call the office 586-2840. I would appreciate if you could let me know as well. Text or email works great.
*Reading folders are due each Monday. Our reading goal in Kindergarten is 15 min. a day 4 days a week=4 hours a month.
*Library is on Wednesdays.
*PE and Music are on Thursdays. Gym shoes are best for PE activities.

Upcoming Schedule:
Thurs. Jan 30: Curriculum/Multi-Cultural Night 6:00-7:00
Fri. Jan 31: 2:00 AR assembly (I will notify parents of students getting an award)
                  We will celebrate Groundhog Day on Friday since the holiday is on Sunday. Watch for a  special homework to see if the groundhog can see his shadow.

Thur. Feb 6: 100 day! I will send a note about this special day. We will be counting to 100, making a self portrait, making a book, and eating special 100 day snacks (I need a few parents to bring a dozen doughnuts for that day)
Fri. Feb 7: Dad's and Doughnuts 8:00 AM. Students can come with their dad (or another male adult) and have doughnuts in the gym.
Fri. Feb 14: Valentine's Day. We will have a party in class. Students are encouraged to bring valentines to share with their classmates. I WILL ASK THEM TO WRITE NAMES ON THE VALENTINES FOR HOMEWORK THE WEEK BEFORE. WATCH FOR A CLASS LIST. It is also Mrs. Hofeling's last day in our class. We will miss her!

Thank you for all you do to help your child and me be successful. We are having a fun year. It is going by so fast! I love seeing the light come on as they learn each new concept. They are cute friends and great students.

Some pictures from this month's work:

 

Merry Merry December

The winter chill is upon us and we are hard at work indoors getting ready for the Christmas break.

Sight Word List #4 has been sent home. Please help your child practice the sight words each night as part of their daily reading. They should be ready to pass off the yellow list by the first week of January when we come back.

There are still some students not wearing jackets to school. The weather is FREEZING and dangerously cold without proper protection. Make sure they have a coat on when they come to school. If you think your child's coat or jacket is missing you may consider checking in our classroom. We have 13 (last count) that are left here and need an owner.

We are working on our "Super Secret Christmas Gift". We will have them finished and ready to bring home by next week. If your child has not earned $1.50 please give them a small job so they can bring the money.

Our class T-shirts finally came! They are adorable-I hope you all love them as much as I do! Thank you for supporting our class, every student was able to get a T-shirt. They were so cute wearing them on the fieldtrip. We had several comments and compliments!

Over the next couple of weeks we will be working a lot on writing. A "special elf" will be visiting our classroom and we will make a book about his antics. We will also be talking about holidays, traditions, numbers to 20 (practice writing them at home) and sight words.

Now that the students are getting more confident in their handwriting (especially their name) they are getting lazy and sloppy. I tell them; "if they practice sloppy they'll be good at sloppy. If they practice neat they'll be good at neat". Please encourage them to do their best on ALL their work. We will practice numbers to 20 and last names for the next few homework days.

Our class read-a-thon is next Wednesday, December 18. Students are allowed to wear their pajamas to school that day and bring a small treat and a drink along with the books we have made in class with the purple school house stamp. They are the only books allowed for the read-a-thon! Hopefully all students have a special book bag or box and have been keeping their books safe to bring on this fun day.

We will be out of school beginning December 20 and return January 6. When we come back in January we will have a special week of sharing. FOR THAT WEEK ONLY students are allowed to bring a special news (a toy or gift) they got for Christmas. IT IS THE ONLY TIME TOYS ARE ALLOWED TO COME TO SCHOOL!  If they miss their news day they will not be allowed to make it up.

We will not have centers after Monday, December 16 until we come back from Christmas break. Thank you so much for volunteering in our classroom. We could not have centers without your help.

If you ordered books from the book order they are here and can be picked up in my office. If you would like me to send them home with your child email or text me. (cell 435.463.1170)

 cleaning the tables with shaving cream!

 of course we had to play in it "a little!"

 We also practiced writing sight words and numbers

 making paper chains to countdown for Christmas

 They were sooo loooong!

 We used our good gluing skills, counting and making a pattern

 Going to the airport to meet the Santa Flight

 We were all so excited and eager to see the airplanes....and Santa!

 ....for about 3 minutes!

 then it got WAY TOO COLD!

 We shut the door of the hangar and played around inside until the last plane arrived

 Here comes Santa Claus!

 We waited patiently with our red noses

 cold toes,

 and frosty smiles

 Santa was in plane number 15

 When they finally came to a stop we watched him get off with his fellow passengers

 They stopped for a quick "hello" then we headed back to the school where it was warmer!

They gave us all a candy cane before we left