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 :)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
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 :)
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