Please join me in welcoming a new student into our classroom.  Nate will be joining our class this week.  Welcome Nate! :)  We are looking forward to learning all about our new friend.

This week we will also spend some time reading and learning about Dental Health.  We will conduct some experiments and learn all about the different ways to keep our teeth healthy.  We will also create some projects and work in different learning stations that go along with this unit.  We will learn about proper flossing, brushing, and foods that help keep our teeth strong.  This is a great week to send in healthy snacks for our am & pm snack times each day. 

During reading, we will spend some time reading books by Dr. Seuss this week.  We began reading his books on Friday and have already noticed that Dr. Seuss loves to use silly rhyming words in his books.  Please feel free to send in any Dr. Seuss books that you have at home.  Just make sure that your child's name is on the book.  This will help us to keep track of the books that we are sharing.  Also, be sure to track your child's reading minutes!  We are participating in a school wide contest.  A note went home last week explaining the details.  Throughout the month of March, the school wide reading log will take the place of our typical reading log (with the smiley faces). 

During writing workshop, we will begin a short nonfiction unit.  The children will practice teaching their friends 'how to' do something. They will first use their words to explain the steps and then they will practice writing the steps in proper sequence.  We will most likely work on this writing unit for the next two weeks. 

During math, we are doing a great job with subtraction.  We have been practicing writing number sentences, using math manipulatives, drawing pictures, and telling stories that go along with subtraction.  The children have been reading and understanding that many words: take away, minus, subtract, separate, break apart, leave,... are big clues that they need to subtract during math activities. 

Please return the yellow forms regarding parent teacher conference times.  If you have any questions or concerns after reviewing your child's report card, I am happy to meet with families or have a phone conference. 

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne :)

Welcome back!  I hope you enjoyed your week off with family and friends.   This week we will focus on getting back into the swing of our classroom routines and our kindergarten learning. 

During reading we are working on our Daily Five activities.  We are taking a break from small guided reading groups this week while I read individually with students and practice various literacy skills.  We will begin our small guided reading groups again next week.

As writers, we are working on trying our best to write words independently...even when it's hard!  I am so very proud of how much the children have grown as writers.  We will soon begin a new writing unit during writing workshop that focuses on a nonfiction writing piece. This week, however, we will practice building our independent skills during journal writing and responding to literature.

During math, we are beginning a new topic on subtraction.  We will use manipulatives and pictures to help us write subtraction number sentences.  We will also read subtraction stories and explore some math websites during our computer lab time this week.

This week we are also learning about presidents as part of our social studies curriculum.  We read and discussed facts about some of our presidents including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. 

We will also begin exploring a mini unit on Dental Health this week.  We will read fiction and nonfiction stories about taking care of our teeth.  We will also create some fun projects and experiments to go along with this theme.  

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Eileen Browne

February Fun!

The next two weeks will be filled with lots of fun learning activities.   As you can imagine, we are very excited to be celebrating the 100th Day of School and Valentine's Day next week.  We will be focusing on both of these themes during the days leading up to February break.  Thank you for your support with these themes.  For a short month, we sure are busy!

We are taking some time to focus on friendship and kindness as a way to celebrate Valentine's Day in our kindergarten classroom.  We are working really hard on celebrating the good and kind choices that our friends are making each day.  I will be sending home small strips of paper.  Please try to 'catch' your child completing an act of kindness.  Simply write down his/her name and what he/she did.  We are collecting these slips of paper and creating a paper chain in our classroom with all of our kind acts!  It's a great way for the children to celebrate one another in a positive way.  Thank you for your support!

During math, we are working hard on adding and counting numbers.  For the next two weeks, we will be working on reading and counting to 100.  We will practice counting by 10s and looking for different patterns in our 100 charts in our classroom.  You can work on these activities at home as well.  Also, please remember to send in a collection of 100 items.  Some examples:  matchbox cars, dominoes, pennies, stickers,... Create groups of ten to count to 100 with your child.  A yellow note was sent home explaining our 100th Day of School activities.  I will also send home some math papers that go along with this unit.  Work at your own pace.  These papers are optional, but many of the children are so proud to bring their 'homework' back to me!

Word Wall Words:   We now have 27 words on our Word Wall.  We add three new words each week.  Our three new words are for, by & with.  Please practice reading and writing all of these words at home.  You can make flashcards or simply write the words with markers, crayons, colored pencils, dry erase markers, etc.  Talk about the letter sounds in each word.   You can even make two sets of cards and play a matching game.  Practicing these words will help your child grow as a reader and as a writer.  The words on our wall are:   a, am, and, at, by, can, for, go, he, I, it, is, like, me, my, no, on,  run, see, she, the, to, will, with, yes & you.

Classroom Materials:  Thank you so much for sending in pencils, large glue sticks, crayons, and dry erase markers.  We use these materials every day in our kindergarten classroom.  If you are able to send in some of these materials (& haven't already done so) it would be very much appreciated!  The children are so excited to be contributing to our classroom supplies.  The 'pink' and 'purple' expo markers are a big hit!

Lip Sync:  Please contact Kelly (Conor's mom) if your child is interested in participating in Lip Sync.  Thank you Kelly & Krista for organizing a kindergarten group! 

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.  I look forward to seeing some of you on February 14th (11:00 - 11:45) for our Valentine's Day celebration.  Reminder:  The kindergarten children can dress 'fancy' on this day! :)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and were able to stay warm! :)  This week the weather seems as if it will be warm enough for the children to play outside during recess time.  Please be sure to pack appropriate clothing for outdoor winter play.  Though there is no snow, some of the children like to wear boots and snow pants in order to stay warm.   Talk with your child at home about what you are packing each day for outdoor recess time.  Also, please remember to pack two healthy snacks each day. We usually eat our morning snack at 10:30 and our afternoon snack around 2:15. Your children can help with the packing process at home.

Classroom Materials:  It is the halfway point of the school year and we are beginning to run low on pencils, large glue sticks, crayons, and dry erase markers.  We use these materials every day in our kindergarten classroom.  If you are able to send in some of these materials it would be very much appreciated!   Thank you! :)

Word Wall Words:   We now have 24 words on our Word Wall.  We add three new words each week.  Our three new words are can, you, & on.  Please practice reading and writing all of these words at home.  You can make flashcards or simply write the words with markers, crayons, colored pencils, dry erase markers, etc.  Talk about the letter sounds in each word.   You can even make two sets of cards and play a matching game.  Practicing these words will help your child grow as a reader and as a writer.  The words on our wall are:   a, am, and, at, can, go, he, I, it, is, like, me, my, no, on,  run, see, she, the, to, will, yes & you.

This week we will continue reading and learning all about penguins.  We will also continue working on our personal narrative writing unit.  The children have enjoyed writing and illustrating their own stories.  I am so proud of the effort and growth I am seeing in our kindergarten authors each day.   We will begin wrapping up this writing unit this week, but we will continue to work on Writing Workshop throughout  the remainder of the school year.  Stay tuned for upcoming writing topics!

During math, we are really working hard on adding numbers.  We are reading and writing numbers sentences while drawing pictures and working with different kinds of math manipulatives.  I will send home a math packet this week.  Please feel free to work on some of the pages at home.  You can choose what to work on.  You may send back one page at a time, a few pages, or the whole packet.  Work at your own pace and choose what works best for you and your child.  I will be sure to put stickers on the papers as they come back to school. 

I am looking forward to a week filled with lots of penguin fun! :)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne

Word Wall Words:   We now have 21 words on our Word Wall.  We add three new words each word.  Our three new words are am, he, & she.  Please practice reading and writing all of these words at home.  You can make flashcards or simply write the words with markers, crayons, colored pencils, dry erase markers, etc.  Talk about the letter sounds in each word.   You can even make two sets of cards and play a matching game.  Practicing these words will help your child grow as a reader and as a writer.  The words on our wall are:   a, am, and, at, go, he, I, it, is, like, me, my, no, run, see, she, the, to, will,  & yes.

This week will continue our work with Daily Five activities and our Writing Workshop.  The children are currently writing personal narratives during writing workshop time.  Our goal is to tell a personal story using pictures, words, and simple sentences.  The children are really enjoying this time each day and are growing as writers. 

During math we are working on adding numbers and writing number sentences.  We have been rolling dice, drawing pictures, & playing the 'shake, spill, count' game in our classroom.  I will send home additional practice math papers.  These papers are optional, but some of the children love having kindergarten homework!

We are also beginning to learn all about penguins.  We will be reading both fiction and nonfiction books during this unit.   We will also create some fun penguin projects and nonfiction writing.  This is a fun unit that I'm sure the children will love! 

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne

January Learning

We are back into the swing of learning in our kindergarten classroom!

During reading and our Daily Five activities, we are exploring winter themes.  Some of our favorites are Jan Brett's The Mitten  and The Hat.  We are comparing and contrasting these stories, learning about the different characters, and identifying the beginning, middle, and end of these stories.  We are also creating some fun projects to go along with these stories and our winter theme.

Word Wall Words:   We now have 18 words on our Word Wall.  We add three new words each word.   Please practice reading and writing these words.  This will help your child grow as a reader and as a writer.  The words on our wall are...  a, and, at, go, I, it, is, like, me, my, no, run, see, the, to, will, yes 

We have officially begun Writing Workshop in our kindergarten classroom.  Each day we spend time working as authors and illustrators.  The children are very excited to be writing and illustrating their own stories.  During Writing Workshop, we are currently writing our very own personal narratives. We learned that a personal narrative is a true story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end.  It is sometimes tricky to stick with one topic to create a story, but we are getting better each day!  Be sure to ask your child all about it. :)

During math we completed our unit on numbers 11 - 20, but we will continue to practice reading, writing, counting, and working with 'ten frames' each day.  The teen numbers can be tricky!  I will send home some practice math pages this week.  Work at your own pace and send the completed pages back in for a sticker.  This week we will begin working on adding numbers together.  We will read and write number sentences each day.

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.  Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne :)

Word Wall Words:   We now have 18 words on our Word Wall.  We add three new words each word.   Please practice reading and writing these words.  This will help your child grow as a reader and as a writer.  The words on our wall are...  a, and, at, go, I, it, is, like, me, my, no, run, see, the, to, will, yes

Welcome 2013!

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a terrific break with your family and friends and also enjoyed some snowy fun! :) 

This is a short week in our kindergarten classroom.  We will spend time gently easing back into the routines of our kindergarten day.  We will practice our reading, writing, math, and listening skills as we read stories about snowy weather.  

Please note that the children will go outside each day for recess to play in the snow.  It is very important that the children come to school with mittens/gloves, hats, snow pants, snow boots, and sneakers (to change into for classroom use).  Please also make sure that your child has extra socks in his/her backpack each day.  The children love playing in the snow during recess, but they do not like wearing wet socks in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, due to lack of space for drying clothing,  your child's wet snow clothes will go home each day in his/her backpack.  Please make sure to dry out the clothing each night and to pack it again, along with a plastic bag, for the next day.  A plastic bag will help contain the wet clothing each day.  Thank you for your support!

We are looking forward to a great start to 2013 in our kindergarten classroom. :)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne