I hope you all enjoyed the snowy weather this weekend! Please be sure that your child comes to school with snow pants, hats, gloves, and boots. They will certainly be playing in the snow during recess this week! :)
This week will be busy, but we will continue with our kindergarten learning too. Last week we wrapped up our unit on bears. The kids had so much fun working with their Teddy Bears, making paw print snacks, trying foods that bears eat (fish, jam, & honey), and reading stories about bears. This week we will read and compare many different gingerbread stories. We will be working with our buddies to build our very own houses during the week. Please send in all supplies for our projects on Monday or Tuesday. Also, please join us on Thursday at 2:00 to help with decorating the houses and transporting the houses home. It would also be helpful if you could bring or send in an extra can of white frosting for decorating the houses on Thursday. Each child can use his/her own can of frosting for decorating purposes.
Thank you so much for your support. I am looking forward to a busy and fun week in our kindergarten classroom!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Welcome December!
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. I was certainly grateful to spend some time visiting with some of my closest relatives and friends during our time off from school.
This week we are beginning a fun unit on bears! We will read some nonfiction and fiction books as we learn all about bears in our kindergarten classroom. We will learn true facts from our nonfiction reading and we will learn about the different elements of a story from our fictional stories. We will discuss main characters, settings, and the big ideas in our different stories about bears. Be sure to ask your children all about our learning!
This week we will also add three new words to our Word Wall~ 'in', 'at', & 'my'. We now have twelve words in all on our Word Wall: I, a, the, is, me, go, it, and, no, in, at, & my. Please practice reading these words at home. Knowing these words 'by heart' will help your child to begin the process of reading! We practice our 'heart words' each and every day in our kindergarten classroom.
During math we are learning about growing patterns, numbers lines, comparing numbers (two more, two fewer), and learning about numbers 10 - 20. We will be using different types of materials to help us with our math learning each day during the month of December.
Mystery Readers are a huge hit in our classroom. Please send me an email or a note if you haven't signed up to read to the class and are still interested in participating in this activity. The children absolutely LOVE it!
Gingerbread Houses~ Please mark your calendars! We will be decorating gingerbread houses in our classroom on Thursday, December 19th at 2pm in our classroom. Please join us for this very messy and fun event. More information will come home, but I wanted to make you aware of the date.
Please make sure your children have winter clothing for outdoor recess each day! The children need warm coats, hats, and gloves every day. On snowy days the children play outside. Please send in snow pants (they will go home each day) and wear boots. Sneakers should be packed in your child's backpack. Sneakers are worn during the school day and boots are worn for outside play!
Thank you so much for your support in your child's learning and play. I am looking forward to a terrific December!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
This week we are beginning a fun unit on bears! We will read some nonfiction and fiction books as we learn all about bears in our kindergarten classroom. We will learn true facts from our nonfiction reading and we will learn about the different elements of a story from our fictional stories. We will discuss main characters, settings, and the big ideas in our different stories about bears. Be sure to ask your children all about our learning!
This week we will also add three new words to our Word Wall~ 'in', 'at', & 'my'. We now have twelve words in all on our Word Wall: I, a, the, is, me, go, it, and, no, in, at, & my. Please practice reading these words at home. Knowing these words 'by heart' will help your child to begin the process of reading! We practice our 'heart words' each and every day in our kindergarten classroom.
During math we are learning about growing patterns, numbers lines, comparing numbers (two more, two fewer), and learning about numbers 10 - 20. We will be using different types of materials to help us with our math learning each day during the month of December.
Mystery Readers are a huge hit in our classroom. Please send me an email or a note if you haven't signed up to read to the class and are still interested in participating in this activity. The children absolutely LOVE it!
Gingerbread Houses~ Please mark your calendars! We will be decorating gingerbread houses in our classroom on Thursday, December 19th at 2pm in our classroom. Please join us for this very messy and fun event. More information will come home, but I wanted to make you aware of the date.
Please make sure your children have winter clothing for outdoor recess each day! The children need warm coats, hats, and gloves every day. On snowy days the children play outside. Please send in snow pants (they will go home each day) and wear boots. Sneakers should be packed in your child's backpack. Sneakers are worn during the school day and boots are worn for outside play!
Thank you so much for your support in your child's learning and play. I am looking forward to a terrific December!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Thursday, November 14, 2013
November Reminders!
~November Reminders~
~November Family Projects~ Thank you for sending in your turkeys. We love sharing the projects. The turkeys are currently hanging in the kindergarten hallway for all to see!
~Mystery Readers~ A note went home explaining this activity. During the months of November and December we will have family members coming in to read to the class. We like to keep it a surprise in our classroom. It adds to the excitement. Please try to arrange for someone in your family to participate in this activity. We have had a few mystery readers so far and the children absolutely love it! Please let me know if you would like to participate and haven't yet signed up.
~Family Pictures Wanted!~ Please send in a picture of your family by Monday. The picture should be 4x6 in order to fit inside a project we are making. The children love learning about their friends' families.
~50th Day of School!~ Please see the note in your child's folder. Next Tuesday is our 50th Day of School! We will be celebrating by dressing up like children from the 1950s. We will also be working on many different fun crafts throughout the entire day with all of our kindergarten friends.
~Family Celebration~ We will have a small family celebration on Friday, November 22nd at 12:00 during American Education Week. You are invited to come in and work on a project with your child and see some of things we are working on in our classroom. The Book Fair will also be taking place on this day. This is a great opportunity to shop with your child. You can also eat lunch with the children at school at 12:50 if your schedule allows for it. A yellow note was sent home last week.
Word Wall: We have begun adding 'heart words' to our Word Wall! We added I, a, & the this week. We refer to these words as 'heart words' because we do not stretch out the sounds in these words...we have to know them by heart! We will add three new words each week.
Writing: We are working very hard on writing 'true stories' during writing workshop. The children are doing a terrific job adding details to their pictures and trying to write labels and words to make their stories even better! I am so proud of our kindergarten authors.
Math: We are wrapping up our unit on Ten Frames and are spending some time comparing numbers and groups of objects. We are focusing on the words greater, more, fewer, and less as we compare different groups.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
~November Family Projects~ Thank you for sending in your turkeys. We love sharing the projects. The turkeys are currently hanging in the kindergarten hallway for all to see!
~Mystery Readers~ A note went home explaining this activity. During the months of November and December we will have family members coming in to read to the class. We like to keep it a surprise in our classroom. It adds to the excitement. Please try to arrange for someone in your family to participate in this activity. We have had a few mystery readers so far and the children absolutely love it! Please let me know if you would like to participate and haven't yet signed up.
~Family Pictures Wanted!~ Please send in a picture of your family by Monday. The picture should be 4x6 in order to fit inside a project we are making. The children love learning about their friends' families.
~50th Day of School!~ Please see the note in your child's folder. Next Tuesday is our 50th Day of School! We will be celebrating by dressing up like children from the 1950s. We will also be working on many different fun crafts throughout the entire day with all of our kindergarten friends.
~Family Celebration~ We will have a small family celebration on Friday, November 22nd at 12:00 during American Education Week. You are invited to come in and work on a project with your child and see some of things we are working on in our classroom. The Book Fair will also be taking place on this day. This is a great opportunity to shop with your child. You can also eat lunch with the children at school at 12:50 if your schedule allows for it. A yellow note was sent home last week.
Word Wall: We have begun adding 'heart words' to our Word Wall! We added I, a, & the this week. We refer to these words as 'heart words' because we do not stretch out the sounds in these words...we have to know them by heart! We will add three new words each week.
Writing: We are working very hard on writing 'true stories' during writing workshop. The children are doing a terrific job adding details to their pictures and trying to write labels and words to make their stories even better! I am so proud of our kindergarten authors.
Math: We are wrapping up our unit on Ten Frames and are spending some time comparing numbers and groups of objects. We are focusing on the words greater, more, fewer, and less as we compare different groups.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Welcome November!
Last week we said goodbye to October with many fun activities. We had a Fire Safety Assembly where we met some firefighters, a rescue dog, and sat inside real fire trucks. We also celebrated Halloween with some fun crafts and treats. Thank you to everyone who sent in supplies and volunteered in our classroom for this event!
The month of November is always a fun and busy time of the year. I will try my best to keep you all updated on the many events taking place. This Tuesday is our last half day. Dismissal will take place at 12:10 on this day. Please send in a note if there any changes in dismissals. Our class has been doing a terrific job with this! Tuesday night is Eagle's Silent Auction. I hope to see you there! It is a great fundraising event for our school.
Throughout the month of November our kindergarten classes will be learning about families, Thanksgiving, and gratitude. Below are some projects and activities that we will be working on to celebrate our families:
~November Family Projects~ will be sent home tomorrow. Please send in all completed projects by November 13th. We love sharing our projects each month.
~Mystery Readers~ A note will go home explaining this activity. During the months of November and December we will have family members coming in to read to the class. We like to keep it a surprise in our classroom. It adds to the excitement. Please try to arrange for someone in your family to participate in this activity. Look for the note in your child's folder this week.
~Family Pictures Wanted!~ Please send in a picture of your family by the middle of next week. The picture should be 4x6 in order to fit inside of our projects. The children love learning about one another's families.
~Family Celebration~ We will have a small family celebration on Friday, November 22nd at 12:00 during American Education Week. You are invited to come in and work on a project with your child and see some of things we are working on in our classroom. The Book Fair will also be taking place on this day. This is a great opportunity to shop with your child. You can also eat lunch with the children at school at 12:50 if your schedule allows for it. I will send home a note about this event as well.
This week we are reading stories about Mrs. Wishy Washy and learning about the letters Ii, Yy, and Ee. We will be adding some November poems to our literacy binders too. We are working hard as readers and writers every day in our classroom.
During math, we have been learning all about ten frames and how they can help us to count numbers. This week will learn how ten frames can help when counting numbers greater than ten (11-20) too. We are working with actual ten frames and our Smartboard to help us with our learning.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support! Happy November :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
The month of November is always a fun and busy time of the year. I will try my best to keep you all updated on the many events taking place. This Tuesday is our last half day. Dismissal will take place at 12:10 on this day. Please send in a note if there any changes in dismissals. Our class has been doing a terrific job with this! Tuesday night is Eagle's Silent Auction. I hope to see you there! It is a great fundraising event for our school.
Throughout the month of November our kindergarten classes will be learning about families, Thanksgiving, and gratitude. Below are some projects and activities that we will be working on to celebrate our families:
~November Family Projects~ will be sent home tomorrow. Please send in all completed projects by November 13th. We love sharing our projects each month.
~Mystery Readers~ A note will go home explaining this activity. During the months of November and December we will have family members coming in to read to the class. We like to keep it a surprise in our classroom. It adds to the excitement. Please try to arrange for someone in your family to participate in this activity. Look for the note in your child's folder this week.
~Family Pictures Wanted!~ Please send in a picture of your family by the middle of next week. The picture should be 4x6 in order to fit inside of our projects. The children love learning about one another's families.
~Family Celebration~ We will have a small family celebration on Friday, November 22nd at 12:00 during American Education Week. You are invited to come in and work on a project with your child and see some of things we are working on in our classroom. The Book Fair will also be taking place on this day. This is a great opportunity to shop with your child. You can also eat lunch with the children at school at 12:50 if your schedule allows for it. I will send home a note about this event as well.
This week we are reading stories about Mrs. Wishy Washy and learning about the letters Ii, Yy, and Ee. We will be adding some November poems to our literacy binders too. We are working hard as readers and writers every day in our classroom.
During math, we have been learning all about ten frames and how they can help us to count numbers. This week will learn how ten frames can help when counting numbers greater than ten (11-20) too. We are working with actual ten frames and our Smartboard to help us with our learning.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support! Happy November :)
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Last Week of October ~
I apologize for the late update. This is a busy and quick week filled with excitement about Halloween. We are spending time this week incorporating pumpkins, fall leaves, and Halloween stories into all of our learning this week. We are reading, writing, counting, playing, and having fun with our fall units as we get ready to say goodbye to October this week.
Please note, Thursday is Halloween for many families. The children do not wear costumes to school, but they are encouraged to wear orange and black or festive t-shirts on this day. We will have a small classroom celebration for the children in the afternoon. Please note that only four parent helpers will be joining us on this day to work with the children. During the months of November and December we will have classroom celebrations where all families will be invited to attend. I will try to get the dates set soon so that you have time to make arrangements to join us!
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Please note, Thursday is Halloween for many families. The children do not wear costumes to school, but they are encouraged to wear orange and black or festive t-shirts on this day. We will have a small classroom celebration for the children in the afternoon. Please note that only four parent helpers will be joining us on this day to work with the children. During the months of November and December we will have classroom celebrations where all families will be invited to attend. I will try to get the dates set soon so that you have time to make arrangements to join us!
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, October 20, 2013
October 21st!
I hope you all enjoyed another beautiful fall weekend with family and friends. The weather sure has been cooperative! Below are some highlights regarding our kindergarten learning.
Parent Conferences: We will have a half day (11:45 dismissal) this Wednesday for Parent Teacher Conferences. Thank you to those families that I have already met with. I look forward to meeting with more families this Wednesday and next Tuesday.
Literacy: We are working hard in our classroom learning all about what readers and writers do. As readers we have learned that we can read books in three different ways: read the pictures, read the words, and/or retell the story. We have also been practicing 'reading to someone' or 'partner reading'. We sit side by side, elbow to elbow, knee to knee, book in the middle, so we can both can see! We are doing a great job spending time with books each day. As writers, we have begun working on our very own stories. Just like Donald Crews, we are writing books about transportation. Some books are about cars, some are about buses, and the list goes on and on. I am so proud of our growing kindergarten readers and writers.
Math: This week we will continue counting, playing games, reading, writing, and comparing numbers 6-10. We have been using dominoes, dice, beads, and pipe cleaners to explore numbers in different ways. We are really excited because our friend Zero the Hero will visit our classroom on Monday. He loves the number zero and Monday will be the 30th day of school! We will work on using materials to make groups of 10 to help us count to 30!
Science: We will continue to explore our Five Senses this week while also learning about pumpkins. We will use our sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and listening while exploring real pumpkins in our classroom. Thank you to my four parent volunteers for helping out with this fun and messy activity on Friday! We will donate our pumpkins to Eagle's Spooktacular event.
Spooktacular: Eagle's Spooktacular will take place on Friday 6-8pm. This is great time for children and families to share their Halloween costumes with their Eagle friends. We do not wear costumes to school on Halloween, but we can have fun wearing orange and black or festive shirts on this day.
Thank you for all of your support and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Parent Conferences: We will have a half day (11:45 dismissal) this Wednesday for Parent Teacher Conferences. Thank you to those families that I have already met with. I look forward to meeting with more families this Wednesday and next Tuesday.
Literacy: We are working hard in our classroom learning all about what readers and writers do. As readers we have learned that we can read books in three different ways: read the pictures, read the words, and/or retell the story. We have also been practicing 'reading to someone' or 'partner reading'. We sit side by side, elbow to elbow, knee to knee, book in the middle, so we can both can see! We are doing a great job spending time with books each day. As writers, we have begun working on our very own stories. Just like Donald Crews, we are writing books about transportation. Some books are about cars, some are about buses, and the list goes on and on. I am so proud of our growing kindergarten readers and writers.
Math: This week we will continue counting, playing games, reading, writing, and comparing numbers 6-10. We have been using dominoes, dice, beads, and pipe cleaners to explore numbers in different ways. We are really excited because our friend Zero the Hero will visit our classroom on Monday. He loves the number zero and Monday will be the 30th day of school! We will work on using materials to make groups of 10 to help us count to 30!
Science: We will continue to explore our Five Senses this week while also learning about pumpkins. We will use our sense of sight, touch, smell, taste, and listening while exploring real pumpkins in our classroom. Thank you to my four parent volunteers for helping out with this fun and messy activity on Friday! We will donate our pumpkins to Eagle's Spooktacular event.
Spooktacular: Eagle's Spooktacular will take place on Friday 6-8pm. This is great time for children and families to share their Halloween costumes with their Eagle friends. We do not wear costumes to school on Halloween, but we can have fun wearing orange and black or festive shirts on this day.
Thank you for all of your support and have a great week!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Monday, October 14, 2013
October 15th
I hope you had a wonderful long weekend with families and friends. The weather was absolutely perfect! Below are some kindergarten highlights.
We have had a lot of fun this past week thinking about the fall season. We can see leaves changing many different colors and falling to the ground. We can hear the leaves crunch under our feet too! Last week we went on a leaf walk and used real fall leaves to make leaf projects after reading Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. Our 4th grade buddies helped us with this fun project.
We have had a lot of fun this past week thinking about the fall season. We can see leaves changing many different colors and falling to the ground. We can hear the leaves crunch under our feet too! Last week we went on a leaf walk and used real fall leaves to make leaf projects after reading Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. Our 4th grade buddies helped us with this fun project.
This week we will be learning about the
letters R, 0, and C. We will also begin our handwriting program, Handwriting Without Tears, to help us learn proper letter formation. Please help your child to remember that we always start our letters at the top!
During literacy, we will start an author study on
Donald Crews. We will learn that
Donald Crews loves to write books about transportation. He also draws
big pictures and loves to include labels! We will study his books as readers and writers and even make list
books of our own during writing workshop. During writing workshop we are learning that some writers use pictures, some writers use words, and some
writers use a combination of the two. Please encourage your children's writing
skills at home too!
During math we are practicing reading, writing, and counting numbers 1-10. We are comparing numbers and practicing putting numbers in order too. We are playing math games and using many hands on materials to help us with our counting each day.
Soon we will begin learning about pumpkins as part of our fall learning. I
am looking for four volunteers to help with a fun pumpkin project on
Friday, October 25th. These 4 volunteers will need to provide a medium
size pumpkin, carving tools (just to borrow for the activity), a scale, and some
newspaper. This project will only be open to the
first four volunteers that I hear from. Please email me if you are
interested in helping out on the 25th and can provide the above
mentioned items. Please note that there will be other opportunities for parents
to join us in our classroom throughout the year!
One last reminder...we will have an early dismissal this Thursday due to parent conferences. Dismissal will take place at 11:45. Please write a note and place it in your child's folder if there will be any changes in normal dismissal routines.
One last reminder...we will have an early dismissal this Thursday due to parent conferences. Dismissal will take place at 11:45. Please write a note and place it in your child's folder if there will be any changes in normal dismissal routines.
Thank you for your support. I am looking forward to another fun week of kindergarten learning! :)
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
All About Apples!
Thank you for coming to our Open House! I hope you enjoyed your time
visiting our kindergarten classroom. Below is an outline of what we are
working on.
Last week we learned about the letters Aa and Ss. This week we are learning about the letters Dd, Ff, and Bb. We will have three new 'letter experts' this week to help us learn about our new letters. Please practice printing these letters and identifying the sounds they make. Be sure to check your child's folder each day. Every child will eventually get the opportunity to help us learn about a letter. Thank you for your support with this important kindergarten task! :)
We are also continuing to learn about one another as we crown a new child king or queen for the day! We have been having so much fun interviewing our friends and learning all about our likes and dislikes. This is also helping us to learn about our names, how many letters are in each name, and whose name is the longest. We are using unifix cubes to 'build' our names each day. This helps us to compare how long or how short our names are! We are 'sneaking' in some math and counting during our literacy work. :)
During math, we are practicing counting, writing numbers 1-5, and arranging and rearranging objects to match numbers. We can move objects around but the number is still the same! Continue to practice counting and printing numbers at home too. Talk about which numbers come before and after a given number.
During science, we will begin a fun mini unit on apples. We will read many nonfiction books about apples and create several projects to go along with this theme. We will even use real apples for some of our projects. Feel free to send in a picture of your family if you have been apple picking! Write a sentence to go along with the picture and we can share them during this unit.
Thank you so much for your support. We are looking forward to a fun week of kindergarten learning!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
PS... Please send in any Box Tops this week!
Scholastic Book Orders will be due this Friday! You can send in a check with the paper or order online.
Last week we learned about the letters Aa and Ss. This week we are learning about the letters Dd, Ff, and Bb. We will have three new 'letter experts' this week to help us learn about our new letters. Please practice printing these letters and identifying the sounds they make. Be sure to check your child's folder each day. Every child will eventually get the opportunity to help us learn about a letter. Thank you for your support with this important kindergarten task! :)
We are also continuing to learn about one another as we crown a new child king or queen for the day! We have been having so much fun interviewing our friends and learning all about our likes and dislikes. This is also helping us to learn about our names, how many letters are in each name, and whose name is the longest. We are using unifix cubes to 'build' our names each day. This helps us to compare how long or how short our names are! We are 'sneaking' in some math and counting during our literacy work. :)
During math, we are practicing counting, writing numbers 1-5, and arranging and rearranging objects to match numbers. We can move objects around but the number is still the same! Continue to practice counting and printing numbers at home too. Talk about which numbers come before and after a given number.
During science, we will begin a fun mini unit on apples. We will read many nonfiction books about apples and create several projects to go along with this theme. We will even use real apples for some of our projects. Feel free to send in a picture of your family if you have been apple picking! Write a sentence to go along with the picture and we can share them during this unit.
Thank you so much for your support. We are looking forward to a fun week of kindergarten learning!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
PS... Please send in any Box Tops this week!
Scholastic Book Orders will be due this Friday! You can send in a check with the paper or order online.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Our First Week!
The children did a terrific job transitioning into our kindergarten classroom this week. I was so proud of how well they did, despite the hot weather! We are having so much fun each day.
This week we worked hard on learning our routines, learning about one another, and forming friendships in our classroom each day. We are reading some great books about going back to school. So far we have read The Kissing Hand books by Audrey Penn. We even had fun making our very own hand prints and Chester the Racoon craft during one of our work stations. The projects are hanging in our kindergarten hallway and will be sent home soon!
Next week we will begin reading alphabet themed books such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! to help us recognize and identify letter sounds. Each week we will focus on learning 2-3 new letters. We will begin with the letters A, S, & M. We will even have kindergarten letter experts to help us learn all about the alphabet. Be sure to check your child's folder to see when it is his/her turn!
During math, we are using many manipulatives to practice counting each day.
We are also learning to recognize and print numbers correctly. Practice
counting during everyday activities at home too. Make it fun! :)
Thank you for your support as we begin this exciting school year together. I hope to see you all on Thursday at 6:15 for our Open House!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
PS....Below is an email I received from the PTO. Please be sure to return the yellow PTO Student Directory forms.
"Would you please encourage your
families to complete and turn in the PTO Student Directory Form? The
yellow sheet went home the first or second day of school. Forms can
also be found at the front office or on the Eagle
website. They are due next Friday, September 20th."
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Welcome To Kindergarten!
I hope you are having a terrific summer! I can’t wait to meet you and hear all about it! I have been spending lots of time
with my four children and my dog. I have also been busy getting our classroom ready for the school year and planning many fun things to do together.
I
am looking forward to meeting
you on September 3rd, 3:00 - 4:00. This is a great chance to meet some of your classmates, find your cubby, and drop off your classroom supplies. Below is a
list of the classroom supplies that you will need each day!
These
items will be community supplies – please do not label with your
child’s name.
2 Boxes
24 crayons
12
sharpened yellow #2 pencils
1 Pink
Eraser
2 Boxes
markers (boys)
2 Boxes
colored pencils (girls)
10
large Elmer’s glue sticks
8 dry
erase markers
1
4-pack play dough (optional)
|
Please label
the following items with your child’s name:
1
plastic crayon/pencil box
1
scissors
2
laminated 2-pocket folders (pockets on the bottom)
1 Primary journal (Mead Brand - vertical pages and has
primary lines with a place for a picture on each
page)
|
This blog will be updated weekly once school begins. Please bookmark this site and check it throughout the school year. In an effort to save paper, I will not be sending home weekly newsletters. Thank you for your support. I am looking forward to a great year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne :)
Saturday, June 15, 2013
We are truly in the 'homestretch' of the school year. I am in the middle of organizing pictures, writing report cards, and reflecting on each student's work from this year. I can't help but notice how much the children have grown ~ in every single way! They are taller, they are missing teeth, some have shorter hair and some have longer hair, and they all have simply stretched out and lost that 'baby look'. They are readers, writers, poets, scientists, and mathematicians. They are kind, loving, and they are now filled with confidence. Please know how very proud I am of each and every child. They have all come so far, in many different ways, since our early days of September!
Please note that our last week of school will be a short week. On Monday we will celebrate our 'Summer Birthday Friends'. A note went home last week to any child who has a summer birthday. On Tuesday the children will attend our last school assembly for this school year. This assembly is for students and staff only. Wednesday will be our last day of school. Dismissal will take place at 11:45. We will continue to work as readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists this week as kindergarteners love structure! We will also work on cleaning our classroom and putting materials away for the summer months. They love to 'help' with these tasks.
Thank you so much for all of your support during the school year. I hope you have a fantastic summer and I'm sure I will see many of you around town and at the Town Park Pool!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
PS I hope your families have a wonderful 'Father's Day' and enjoy the project that your child made for your family.
Please note that our last week of school will be a short week. On Monday we will celebrate our 'Summer Birthday Friends'. A note went home last week to any child who has a summer birthday. On Tuesday the children will attend our last school assembly for this school year. This assembly is for students and staff only. Wednesday will be our last day of school. Dismissal will take place at 11:45. We will continue to work as readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists this week as kindergarteners love structure! We will also work on cleaning our classroom and putting materials away for the summer months. They love to 'help' with these tasks.
Thank you so much for all of your support during the school year. I hope you have a fantastic summer and I'm sure I will see many of you around town and at the Town Park Pool!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
PS I hope your families have a wonderful 'Father's Day' and enjoy the project that your child made for your family.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Welcome June! We are really getting close to the end of the school year which is always 'bittersweet'! Our remaining days are packed with activities and learning as we wrap up our school year. Please note, that your child may bring in a water bottle during this month. Please put water only in the bottles. This is much easier to clean in case of spills!
Last week we saw Mrs. Crawley's first grade play called "Character Matters." It was so fun for us to see our first grade friends perform on stage. We talked about how we will soon get a chance to sing on stage too! We can't wait to see you at 9:45 on Friday morning in the cafeteria. We will sing some songs, receive diplomas, and refreshments for the kindergartners will be served. This will all take place in the cafeteria.
Our Kindergarten Countdown will begin on Tuesday. This is a fun way for us to count the last 12 days of school. A pink letter was sent home last week explaining our activities. Tuesday will be K day which will be Kindness day. We will be showing kindness to our buddies on this day. Each day we will do something different to celebrate our last days as kindergarten students.
Academically, we are wrapping up our Rainforest Unit and beginning a unit on Oceans and Water Play. We are also working on a measurement unit and will soon begin a unit on space shapes and plane shapes. As readers and writers, we are working on reading stories, retelling stories, and writing our own journals, letters, and stories. We have grown so much since our early days in September!
We are looking forward to another great week of kindergarten fun.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Last week we saw Mrs. Crawley's first grade play called "Character Matters." It was so fun for us to see our first grade friends perform on stage. We talked about how we will soon get a chance to sing on stage too! We can't wait to see you at 9:45 on Friday morning in the cafeteria. We will sing some songs, receive diplomas, and refreshments for the kindergartners will be served. This will all take place in the cafeteria.
Our Kindergarten Countdown will begin on Tuesday. This is a fun way for us to count the last 12 days of school. A pink letter was sent home last week explaining our activities. Tuesday will be K day which will be Kindness day. We will be showing kindness to our buddies on this day. Each day we will do something different to celebrate our last days as kindergarten students.
Academically, we are wrapping up our Rainforest Unit and beginning a unit on Oceans and Water Play. We are also working on a measurement unit and will soon begin a unit on space shapes and plane shapes. As readers and writers, we are working on reading stories, retelling stories, and writing our own journals, letters, and stories. We have grown so much since our early days in September!
We are looking forward to another great week of kindergarten fun.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Sunday, May 26, 2013
I hope you all had a terrific Memorial Day weekend and were able to squeeze in some quality time with family and friends. If possible, please have your child wear red, white, & blue to school on Tuesday. We will have a school assembly in honor of Memorial Day and thought it would be fun wear these colors.
Though it is getting closer to the end of the school year, we are continuing our learning in our kindergarten classroom each day. We are working hard as readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists. We are practicing all of the skills that we have learned this year as we prepare to get ready for First Grade!
This week, we will wrap up our unit on Rain Forest animals. We have read many interesting books and have created some fun projects. Many of the children liked learning about the tree frogs and jaguars. I actually liked learning about the sloth. They will tell you all about it if you ask! :) We will soon begin another fun unit on Ocean Creatures as we get closer to summer.
During math we will begin a unit on measurement. We will practice measuring various objects using standard and nonstandard tools. We will also compare different objects and use mathematical vocabulary when doing this.
As writers, we are working in our journals and are very busy writing cards, letters, poems, and stories each day. Your children have grown so much as writers this year! I am so proud of them in this area. We all love to write each and every day in our classroom.
As readers, we are continuing to build our sight vocabulary and our comprehension skills. Throughout the remainder of the year we will work on our Daily Five activities while I read closely with small groups and individual students each day.
Kindergarten Graduation: Thank you for signing up with Krista (Tucker's mom) to bring in treats on this day. Our celebration will begin at 9:45 and take place inside the school cafeteria. The children will sing some songs and we will then have a small treat to celebrate our year. Our celebration will end by 10:30. From the responses I have received so far, it seems as if about half of the class will be leaving after the graduation celebration and about half will be staying for the remainder of the school day. Please let me know if your plans have changed or if you have not yet responded. It helps me to preset the children on the morning of the graduation.
Thank you so much for all that you do to help your children love learning!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Though it is getting closer to the end of the school year, we are continuing our learning in our kindergarten classroom each day. We are working hard as readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists. We are practicing all of the skills that we have learned this year as we prepare to get ready for First Grade!
This week, we will wrap up our unit on Rain Forest animals. We have read many interesting books and have created some fun projects. Many of the children liked learning about the tree frogs and jaguars. I actually liked learning about the sloth. They will tell you all about it if you ask! :) We will soon begin another fun unit on Ocean Creatures as we get closer to summer.
During math we will begin a unit on measurement. We will practice measuring various objects using standard and nonstandard tools. We will also compare different objects and use mathematical vocabulary when doing this.
As writers, we are working in our journals and are very busy writing cards, letters, poems, and stories each day. Your children have grown so much as writers this year! I am so proud of them in this area. We all love to write each and every day in our classroom.
As readers, we are continuing to build our sight vocabulary and our comprehension skills. Throughout the remainder of the year we will work on our Daily Five activities while I read closely with small groups and individual students each day.
Kindergarten Graduation: Thank you for signing up with Krista (Tucker's mom) to bring in treats on this day. Our celebration will begin at 9:45 and take place inside the school cafeteria. The children will sing some songs and we will then have a small treat to celebrate our year. Our celebration will end by 10:30. From the responses I have received so far, it seems as if about half of the class will be leaving after the graduation celebration and about half will be staying for the remainder of the school day. Please let me know if your plans have changed or if you have not yet responded. It helps me to preset the children on the morning of the graduation.
Thank you so much for all that you do to help your children love learning!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Sunday, May 12, 2013
I hope you all had a terrific Mother's Day and enjoyed your weekend. Last week we read many books about moms as we worked on our own books and projects. The kids were so excited to bring them home to you.
This week we will begin a short unit on The Rainforest. We will learn about some of the animals and their rainforest habitat. We will even have a visitor from the Scotia Glenville Children's Museum visit us to help us learn more about this unit.
This week we will also be talking about Healthy Eating and Healthy Choices as part of Bethlehem's Healthy Kids' Week. Our kindergarten classes are in charge of collecting peanut butter & jelly for the Food Pantry. Please help us to help others by sending in donations this week. See Eagle's homepage for more information regarding the activities that will be taking place. This is a great week to send in healthy snacks, healthy lunches, and to be active! :)
Our Kindergarten Graduation will take place on Friday, June 7th. A note was sent home last week regarding some of our June activities. Please return the bottom portion of the letter in order to help us plan accordingly. We are hoping to serve some light morning refreshments following the graduation. Thank you for sending in the graduation t-shirt orders as well. Each child, in all three kindergarten classes, ordered a shirt this year. The order is being placed and I will let you know as soon as they arrive.
Our last Family Homework Project will be sent home this week. The project involves creating a timeline of important events in your child's life. Please use pictures if possible. The children love sharing these projects and the school loves seeing them as well. As always, we will display the projects in our Kindergarten hallway.
Thanks so much for your ongoing support. Please feel free to contact me any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
This week we will begin a short unit on The Rainforest. We will learn about some of the animals and their rainforest habitat. We will even have a visitor from the Scotia Glenville Children's Museum visit us to help us learn more about this unit.
This week we will also be talking about Healthy Eating and Healthy Choices as part of Bethlehem's Healthy Kids' Week. Our kindergarten classes are in charge of collecting peanut butter & jelly for the Food Pantry. Please help us to help others by sending in donations this week. See Eagle's homepage for more information regarding the activities that will be taking place. This is a great week to send in healthy snacks, healthy lunches, and to be active! :)
Our Kindergarten Graduation will take place on Friday, June 7th. A note was sent home last week regarding some of our June activities. Please return the bottom portion of the letter in order to help us plan accordingly. We are hoping to serve some light morning refreshments following the graduation. Thank you for sending in the graduation t-shirt orders as well. Each child, in all three kindergarten classes, ordered a shirt this year. The order is being placed and I will let you know as soon as they arrive.
Our last Family Homework Project will be sent home this week. The project involves creating a timeline of important events in your child's life. Please use pictures if possible. The children love sharing these projects and the school loves seeing them as well. As always, we will display the projects in our Kindergarten hallway.
Thanks so much for your ongoing support. Please feel free to contact me any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, April 28, 2013
I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weekend! At school, we are heading into a very busy time of the year. I will try to post dates and reminders on this blog to help keep everyone informed.
We will have a school assembly tomorrow which will focus on Earth Day. The assembly is for students and staff only. If possible, please have your child wear green to school tomorrow.
Our Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit is this Friday from 2:15 - 2:45. They children are very excited about sharing the projects they have worked on and the facts they have learned. A reminder will be sent home tomorrow. Please let me know if you will not be able to make this event.
Also, please return your Kindergarten GraduationT-Shirt form~ even if you are not buying one. The orders are due by May 6th! The children will be wearing these shirts on our graduation day and on field day. If you choose not to buy a graduation t-shirt then please have your child wear an orange shirt on these days.
During math, we are working hard on building numbers 11-20 as well as reading and writing these numbers. We are using different types of math materials to help us create groups of tens. We are also working on counting by tens as well. Continue practicing these tricky teen numbers at home as well!
Thanks so much for your ongoing support. We are looking forward to a great week of kindergarten learning and fun! :)
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
We will have a school assembly tomorrow which will focus on Earth Day. The assembly is for students and staff only. If possible, please have your child wear green to school tomorrow.
Our Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit is this Friday from 2:15 - 2:45. They children are very excited about sharing the projects they have worked on and the facts they have learned. A reminder will be sent home tomorrow. Please let me know if you will not be able to make this event.
Also, please return your Kindergarten GraduationT-Shirt form~ even if you are not buying one. The orders are due by May 6th! The children will be wearing these shirts on our graduation day and on field day. If you choose not to buy a graduation t-shirt then please have your child wear an orange shirt on these days.
During math, we are working hard on building numbers 11-20 as well as reading and writing these numbers. We are using different types of math materials to help us create groups of tens. We are also working on counting by tens as well. Continue practicing these tricky teen numbers at home as well!
Thanks so much for your ongoing support. We are looking forward to a great week of kindergarten learning and fun! :)
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Sunday, April 7, 2013
I
hope you had a great break and that you were able to spend time with family and friends. I look forward to hearing all about what the children did during their time off! They are always so excited to share :)
This week we will spend some time getting back into our classroom routines as we read, write, practice our word wall words, and begin a new unit on dinosaurs. Our dinosaur unit is another fun and exciting unit in our kindergarten classrooms. We will read, write, and practice our math skills while learning all about dinosaurs. During literacy, we will respond to books about dinosaurs, write stories and facts about dinosaurs, and create lots of fun projects that help us to learn all about being paleontologists. At the end of our unit we will be hosting a Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit! Please note that we have changed the date to Friday, May 3rd from 2:15-2:45. We hope to see you there!
You also want to mark your calendars ~ Kindergarten Graduation will take place on Friday, June 7th at 9:45. We will have a short celebration where we will sing some songs and have a morning treat together. The actual last day of school is June 19th. Our kindergarten graduation takes place earlier in the month due to scheduling purposes.
I am looking forward to a great week back! As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne :)
This week we will spend some time getting back into our classroom routines as we read, write, practice our word wall words, and begin a new unit on dinosaurs. Our dinosaur unit is another fun and exciting unit in our kindergarten classrooms. We will read, write, and practice our math skills while learning all about dinosaurs. During literacy, we will respond to books about dinosaurs, write stories and facts about dinosaurs, and create lots of fun projects that help us to learn all about being paleontologists. At the end of our unit we will be hosting a Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit! Please note that we have changed the date to Friday, May 3rd from 2:15-2:45. We hope to see you there!
You also want to mark your calendars ~ Kindergarten Graduation will take place on Friday, June 7th at 9:45. We will have a short celebration where we will sing some songs and have a morning treat together. The actual last day of school is June 19th. Our kindergarten graduation takes place earlier in the month due to scheduling purposes.
I am looking forward to a great week back! As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
This will be a short week due to the half day on Tuesday and no school on Friday, but we will be busy! We always are!!! :)
Solar System: Last week we learned all about the moon, the sun, and the stars. On Friday we read some books about the stars and different constellations. We then worked with our 4th grade buddies to map out constellations that have already been discovered. Some pairs of students decided to imagine their own constellations too! They did a great job mapping out their groups of stars with stickers and white crayons. This week we will continue learning about the solar system. We will spend some time learning about various planets. The children are loving this unit and have so many great questions and interesting facts to share! Talk about the solar system at home. There are so many great websites for kids.
Literacy: We have been working on practicing what reading to a partner looks and sounds like in our classroom. "Sitting side by side, elbow to elbow, knee to knee, book in the middle so we both can see!" This is a quick little song we sing to remind us what to do during 'read to someone' time. This week we will be switching around partners and practicing this in our classroom each day. The children love sharing books with one another. We will also continue practicing our Word Wall words each day. As writers, we are wrapping up our 'how to' writing unit and writing in our journals. We are practicing adding details to our sentences and to our illustrations each day.
Math: We will continue working on whole = part + part as we practice addition and subtraction facts during the week. We are also working on problem solving skills and writing number sentences. Some children are working on facts to five while others are working on facts to ten and above. Continue practicing math facts at home.
Report Cards: All report cards will be uploaded to BC@Home by tomorrow afternoon. Please contact the main office if you are having trouble logging in or viewing the report cards.
Reading Mega Minutes Log: The school wide reading logs are due on Wednesday this week! Please be sure to total up your at home reading minutes and send them in on Wednesday morning. The class with the most minutes will be announced!
Our 'warm and fuzzy jar' (for compliments and positive behavior) is getting full! Just a 'heads up' that the children voted on wearing their pajamas to school for their next reward. My guess is that this will occur just after April break. Be sure to have some clean pjs or comfy clothes that your child can wear to school! They are super excited about this. I will send home a letter once we know the actual date.
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I'm looking forward to a great week of learning in our kindergarten classroom.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Solar System: Last week we learned all about the moon, the sun, and the stars. On Friday we read some books about the stars and different constellations. We then worked with our 4th grade buddies to map out constellations that have already been discovered. Some pairs of students decided to imagine their own constellations too! They did a great job mapping out their groups of stars with stickers and white crayons. This week we will continue learning about the solar system. We will spend some time learning about various planets. The children are loving this unit and have so many great questions and interesting facts to share! Talk about the solar system at home. There are so many great websites for kids.
Literacy: We have been working on practicing what reading to a partner looks and sounds like in our classroom. "Sitting side by side, elbow to elbow, knee to knee, book in the middle so we both can see!" This is a quick little song we sing to remind us what to do during 'read to someone' time. This week we will be switching around partners and practicing this in our classroom each day. The children love sharing books with one another. We will also continue practicing our Word Wall words each day. As writers, we are wrapping up our 'how to' writing unit and writing in our journals. We are practicing adding details to our sentences and to our illustrations each day.
Math: We will continue working on whole = part + part as we practice addition and subtraction facts during the week. We are also working on problem solving skills and writing number sentences. Some children are working on facts to five while others are working on facts to ten and above. Continue practicing math facts at home.
Report Cards: All report cards will be uploaded to BC@Home by tomorrow afternoon. Please contact the main office if you are having trouble logging in or viewing the report cards.
Reading Mega Minutes Log: The school wide reading logs are due on Wednesday this week! Please be sure to total up your at home reading minutes and send them in on Wednesday morning. The class with the most minutes will be announced!
Our 'warm and fuzzy jar' (for compliments and positive behavior) is getting full! Just a 'heads up' that the children voted on wearing their pajamas to school for their next reward. My guess is that this will occur just after April break. Be sure to have some clean pjs or comfy clothes that your child can wear to school! They are super excited about this. I will send home a letter once we know the actual date.
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. I'm looking forward to a great week of learning in our kindergarten classroom.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, March 17, 2013
We have just begun a short unit on the Solar System. The children are very excited to learn all about the different planets. This week we are focusing on the earth, the moon, and the stars. Next week we will learn more about other planets in our solar system. We will read, write, and create some fun projects to go along with this theme!
In math, we are working on practicing addition AND subtraction facts. We are learning that two numbers can be joined together to make a whole. We refer to this as part + part = whole OR
whole = part + part During problem solving activities, we are joining numbers together during addition and we are breaking numbers apart during subtraction. Working with both addition and subtraction can be very tricky for kindergarteners. This is a skill we will continue to work on throughout the school year.
During writing, we are finishing up our 'How To' stories. The children have done a great job drawing pictures and writing words to explain 'how to' do various things. For example, we made green eggs in ham at school and then wrote a book explaining the steps in correct order on how to make green eggs. We will work on one more book this week before moving on to our next writing unit.
During reading, the children are doing a terrific job using picture cues and stretching out letter sounds to read books at different levels. We are all so proud at how far we've come as readers. This week we will continue working on our different Daily Five activities while I meet with small groups of readers each day.
Please remember to send in your Reading Logs each week! These logs are different than our normal classroom logs. The March Reading Logs are for the entire school. We are trying to increase our 'at home' reading minutes each week. Reading to your child each night is a great way to add in minutes to the logs. We have two more weeks...READ! :)
Our Word Wall is growing! Each day we practice reading and writing our heart words. Practice these words at home too. Knowing these words 'by heart' will help your child to become more fluent and confident as a reader. These are the words on our word wall: a, and, at, by, be, but, can, do, did, for, go, he, her, I, it, in, is, like, me, my, no, not, on, of, play, run, see, said, she, the, to, up, was will, went, with, yes, you The new words for this week are: all, come, & that
The Scholastic Book Fair will take place this week (Tues-Thurs)! The children will shop for books during the school day. You may also shop after dismissal with your child. We will preview the fair as a class on Tuesday.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
In math, we are working on practicing addition AND subtraction facts. We are learning that two numbers can be joined together to make a whole. We refer to this as part + part = whole OR
whole = part + part During problem solving activities, we are joining numbers together during addition and we are breaking numbers apart during subtraction. Working with both addition and subtraction can be very tricky for kindergarteners. This is a skill we will continue to work on throughout the school year.
During writing, we are finishing up our 'How To' stories. The children have done a great job drawing pictures and writing words to explain 'how to' do various things. For example, we made green eggs in ham at school and then wrote a book explaining the steps in correct order on how to make green eggs. We will work on one more book this week before moving on to our next writing unit.
During reading, the children are doing a terrific job using picture cues and stretching out letter sounds to read books at different levels. We are all so proud at how far we've come as readers. This week we will continue working on our different Daily Five activities while I meet with small groups of readers each day.
Please remember to send in your Reading Logs each week! These logs are different than our normal classroom logs. The March Reading Logs are for the entire school. We are trying to increase our 'at home' reading minutes each week. Reading to your child each night is a great way to add in minutes to the logs. We have two more weeks...READ! :)
Our Word Wall is growing! Each day we practice reading and writing our heart words. Practice these words at home too. Knowing these words 'by heart' will help your child to become more fluent and confident as a reader. These are the words on our word wall: a, and, at, by, be, but, can, do, did, for, go, he, her, I, it, in, is, like, me, my, no, not, on, of, play, run, see, said, she, the, to, up, was will, went, with, yes, you The new words for this week are: all, come, & that
The Scholastic Book Fair will take place this week (Tues-Thurs)! The children will shop for books during the school day. You may also shop after dismissal with your child. We will preview the fair as a class on Tuesday.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, March 3, 2013
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 :)
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 :)
Monday, February 25, 2013
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
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
Monday, February 4, 2013
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
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
Sunday, January 27, 2013
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
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
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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
Sunday, January 13, 2013
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
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
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
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
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
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