January Highlights

I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend and are staying warm! We have been very busy in our kindergarten classroom and are getting ready for another fun week of learning. Below are some of the things we are working on each day.

Reading: We are doing a terrific job working in small groups and as partners during our Daily Five Literacy block. The children are learning how to use pictures and their growing sight word vocabulary to read short stories. We are currently reading many fun stories about snow, mittens, and hats. We have also been working on various projects that go along with our stories. These projects are helping us to recall the 'big idea' and the sequence of events in each story.

Word Wall: We now have twenty-two heart words on our Kindergarten Word Wall! Each morning we spend time reading and writing these words. We are finding these words in everything we read! :) Our current heart words are: the, no, in, is, I, it, go, me, and, a, at, to, run, my, yes, like, will, see, am, on, we, can.

Writing: As writers we are working on proper letter formation, journal writing, and writing and illustrating individual stories. We write every day and are making terrific progress. This week we will be working on a short book to go along with Jan Brett's The Mitten.

Math: We have been very busy learning all about counting and comparing numbers 1-10. This week we will begin working more closely with numbers 11-20. We will be using many hands on activities and games to help us identify, read, write, and build these numbers.

Reminders:
The January Family Project is due this Wednesday! We have enjoyed sharing the snowmen that have been sent in so far.
Also, please begin looking out for Acts of Kindness. A note went home on Friday explaining this important project.
Lastly, the cold winter weather has arrived! Please make sure that your child has warm clothes for outdoor recess. The children need hats, gloves, winter coats, as well as boots and snow pants on snowy days. Please note that the clothing will go home with your child each day. It is helpful to have a plastic bag for wet clothing so that your child's backpack remains dry. We have been doing a super job getting dressed and keeping track of our clothing so far! Thank you so much for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne

Welcome 2012!

I hope you all had a terrific break with family and friends. Welcome back and Happy New Year! I am in the process of updating our January events so please check back soon! This week we are working on settling back into our daily routines of reading, writing, math activities, and work stations. Two of our friends, Hannah & Justin, have moved to a new house and a new school community in CT. We wish them well and will stay in touch through letter writing. Today we welcomed a new friend, Emily, into our kindergarten classroom. The children were so welcoming and helpful with our new friend! We are looking forward to a great week of kindergarten learning as we begin to read, write, and learn about snow! :)
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne