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 :)
Sunday, April 7, 2013
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
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