Schedule Change

Happy Tuesday, families! I wanted to let you know about a slight schedule change that the students had at school, which began yesterday. In the morning, we will now be doing a new enrichment block from 9:00-9:30. This will be a time dedicated to students working on skills with which they need additional help. This will be a "differentiated" block. In other words, students were assessed and will only be working on skills that they need additional practice with. Two days per week will be dedicated to reading and two days per week will be dedicated to math enrichment. This means that students coming in late will not be able to get breakfast, as breakfast will end at 8:30.

The afternoon schedule is a bit different, as well. After lunch, recess, and a short rest, students will have social studies/science and math before going to Adventures in Learning Class. This is only slightly different, as our specials time is now 2:30, instead of 1:40. I explained all the changes to the class today and they've been following the new schedule with no problem so far. Kinder kids tend to be very routine-oriented so it's great that they are adapting so nicely! These changes have been made to increase instructional time, so it's a good thing!

Farfallina & Marcel

Our story of the week will be Farfallina and Marcel this week. In the story, the caterpillar, Farfallina, turns into a butterfly. In science, we will be learning about how caterpillars turn into butterflies. In writing, we will be writing a nonfiction "All About" book, in which students will write facts they know about caterpillars and butterflies.

Our sight words next week are: be, pretty, now

In math next week, we will continue our study of subtraction. Check out this website for some fun math addition and subtraction games online: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm

Don't forget, we do not have school this Friday, May 4th because teachers have a professional development day.

I also wanted to say thank you to all the families who came out for conferences on Thursday. It was wonderful to talk to you about your child's progress and to show you what we have been up to in kindergarten! I am very thankful for all of the actively involved parents this year, from checking planners each day, to staying updated on school events, to helping your child read and do homework each night at home. I appreciate everything you do!

Sweet Dreamzzz

 As you know, the students had the opportunity to participate in the Sweet Dreamzzz program on Tuesday. The kids learned about a good routine for getting ready for bed and good sleep habits. The students also received a sleeping bag, stuffed animal, toothpaste, a tooth brush, and some other fun things!

Learning about light & heavy snacks before bed

Learning how to brush teeth properly

Learning how to get the room ready for sleep time!

Learning about washing up before bed

 They loved their new stuffed animals! It was cute to see the kids trading each other for the one they wanted. They came up with some pretty creative names for their new "friends"...

      

This was a really great program and the kids enjoyed learning about good sleep habits. They learned that they should be getting ready for bed by 8pm each night and that they need between 10-12 hours of sleep each night. They also learned that they should not be sleeping with the tv on because this can keep them from getting a deep, restful sleep. I think they learned some good information.

Thanks to all of the parents and families who attended the workshop! Have a great weekend everyone!

Kindergarten in Pictures

Pardon my absence from blog writing! I have been busy finishing up papers and projects for my Masters class. I will be finished with my Masters at the end of April and cannot wait to have some time freed up again!

Here are some pictures that were snapped over the past few weeks...enjoy!

Farm Visit

 

 

 Ann Arbor Hands On Museum Field Trip

In the Classroom

Numbers in the Teens & Numbers in the Twenties

Here are two videos to help kids remember that teen numbers start with a 1 and numbers in the twenties start with a 2! I'm going to use these as a review at the beginning of math time each day.

My Lucky Day

Our story of the week is My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza. This is a funny story about a smart pig who outwits a fox and avoids becoming the fox's dinner! We will be focusing on the elements of the story, including the characters, setting, and plot.

Our sight words this week are do, come, away. **Note: The Friday newsletter had a typo. It listed the number words, one, two, three, four, and five as our sight words, but those are for the following week!**

We have been working on the "h brothers" in phonics. Last week, we concentrated on "sh" and "ch". This week we will be working on "wh" and the following week "th".

In math, we will continue learning about place value and practicing building numbers. This is tricky for many students but provides a solid foundation for number sense, so we will spend a lot of time on this.

In social studies, we have been learning about wants and needs, goods and services, and trade. We will continue our study of these economic terms next week!

Our class is studying the author Jonathan London for reading month. He is the author of the Froggy series. Our class will be writing our own Froggy books for reading month!

 

Don't forget that for reading month, we are having a school-wide and class-wide contest to see who reads the most minutes during the month of March. This can include your child reading to you or  you reading to your child. Record your minutes each night and return the logs every Friday!

 

On Wednesday, March 28, MTA will host reading night from 4:30-5:30 in the gym. At reading night, your child can share his/her Froggy book with you. Students will be able to participate in a craft or activity that each teacher has created to match their class' author study. We hope to see you there!

*****************************************

Upcoming Events

* Thursday, March 15- Progress Reports Issued

* Friday, March 16- No School (Professional Development Day)

* Wednesday, March 28- Reading Night 4:20-5:30

* Friday, March 30- Character Dress-up Day (Students may dress up like their favorite story character)

* Monday, April 2- Field Trip to the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum (permission slip will come home on Monday, March 12)

* Friday, April 6- Spring Break Begins

Dr. Seuss and The Blue Pigs Band!

Last week we did many activities with Seuss books in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Here are two of the projects we made:

The Cat in the Hat

A closer shot...

 The Cat in the Hat project idea came from the blog Teaching Two. The kiddos had so much fun making them!

Horton Hears a Who

The Horton Hears a Who project idea came from the Fun in First blog. So cute! The kinders had to use tracers to trace their own shapes, so they all turned out slightly different. :)

We read many Dr. Seuss books last week including The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, Happy Birthday to You!, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop and a few others. The kids loved rhyming along with Dr. Seuss!

*******************************************************************

On another note, we had special guests at school today...the Blue Pigs band! The Blue Pigs are a band comprised of Detroit Police officers. The kids loved listening to the music, singing along, and dancin' to the beat! Here are a few pictures and a video clip from the concert: