I hope you all had a terrific weekend. Hopefully we will begin to have some nice warmer weather! Please continue to send in boots for outdoor recess during the month of April. This is often a wet and muddy month! The boots help to keep our feet dry. Snow pants are helpful if the temperatures are cold or if it is extremely wet and muddy outside, otherwise...the children can keep snow pants at home. I probably just jinxed us and we will get hit with a spring snowstorm!
Last week we spent some time wrapping up our unit on the Solar System. We had so much fun learning all about the moon, the sun, the stars, constellations, and planets. The children had such great questions and were truly engaged during all of our lessons and activities. We have had some terrific kindergarten writers sharing some nonfiction books that they have worked on as well.
This week we will begin a new unit ~ All About Dinosaurs! We will read, write, and have fun with many different activities to help us learn all about different kinds of dinosaurs. This week we will learn all about paleontologists and what they do! Please mark your calendars. We will have our Kindergarten Dinosaur Exhibit on May 1st, 2-2:45. We would love for all of our families to come.
During math we will begin a new unit on composing and decomposing numbers up to 10. We have worked very hard learning addition and subtraction facts. This unit goes right along with our understanding of how to join numbers together and break them apart... 8 (whole) = 6(part) + 2(part) We will work with some hands on materials as well as our math books to practice these skills.
During writing we are continuing our work on How-To books. The children are doing a nice job writing stories that 'teach' others. Some examples are: How-To Do A Cartwheel, How-To Catch a Fish, How-To Play Soccer, How-To Make Brownies... It is truly amazing how much all of the children have grown as kindergarten writers. They love getting their ideas down onto paper and into books. :)
As readers the children have been working hard on reading 'just-right books' and participating in different literacy activities each day. We are using our Word Wall to help us read and write many different sight words. Thank you for your support at home as well! The children love to tell me who they read their books to at home.
I am looking forward to another busy and fun week in our kindergarten classroom!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
March 17th
We continue to be very busy in our kindergarten classroom! Monday is St. Patrick's Day. We will be working on some fun crafts with our buddies to celebrate this day. Please encourage your child to wear green clothes on Monday. Also, our school will be hosing a Book Fair this week. The children will look at books on Monday and can shop for books Tues - Thurs.
Last week we continued reading and listening to books by Dr. Seuss. We have also begun reading and listening to books about the Solar System. We will continue our learning about the Solar System this week. We will be making some fun projects to go along with our learning. We are also working on a mini book about the Solar System that the children will bring home once it is completed.
As writers, we are getting the hang of writing 'how-to' books. This past week we practiced adding diagrams to our stories, and making our writing 'readable' by making sure we were listening to letter sounds and including spaces between our words. We also continue to read our stories to our writing partners and help one another along with our thinking. The children really love writing workshop and being the 'boss of their writing'! :)
As readers,
we continue to work on different literacy activities each day. We call this part of our day Daily Five. We will also
continue to work in small reading groups during this time. The children sometimes bring home books from school. Please listen to your child read, identify sight
words in the story, and talk about the beginning, middle, and end of the
story. Thank you so much for returning the books each day. It really helps with managing the books!Last week we continued reading and listening to books by Dr. Seuss. We have also begun reading and listening to books about the Solar System. We will continue our learning about the Solar System this week. We will be making some fun projects to go along with our learning. We are also working on a mini book about the Solar System that the children will bring home once it is completed.
As writers, we are getting the hang of writing 'how-to' books. This past week we practiced adding diagrams to our stories, and making our writing 'readable' by making sure we were listening to letter sounds and including spaces between our words. We also continue to read our stories to our writing partners and help one another along with our thinking. The children really love writing workshop and being the 'boss of their writing'! :)
In math we have begun learning about subtracting numbers. We are working on telling stories and solving problems by using manipulatives and writing subtraction sentences.
Also, please remember to write down your at home reading minutes on the record sheet for Read Across America! Please use this reading log to track your child's reading minutes each week during the month of March. The class with the most reading minutes wins a pizza party at the end of the month! Our class did so much better this past week :) Keep reading!!!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Welcome March!
We had a very fun and busy week to end the month of February. Thank you so much for your support with our activities. The kids looked adorable in their 100 year old outfits! We read stories about the 100th
day of school, counted by tens, stacked collections of 100 items, created a
portrait of what we might look like at 100 years old, graphed and ate a snack made up of
100 treats, and so much more!
This week we will spend time reading books by Dr. Seuss in honor of his birthday. We will
be reading lots of his books and creating some fun projects to go along with
our learning. Monday is crazy hat day at Eagle. Your child may wear a crazy
hat (or any hat) to school on this day! We will also be making hats, so no need to worry if you forget! Throughout the week, your child may also bring in his or her
favorite Dr. Seuss stories to share with his/her classmates. We will wrap up this unit on Friday with a green eggs and ham breakfast snack in our classroom. It's always fun to watch the kids 'try' the green eggs :)
As writers, we are beginning a new unit! The children will work on writing 'how-to' books. We began brainstorming ideas for our books. Please help your child to make a list of things that he/she knows how to to do. For example: make a snowman, bake cookies, paint a picture, make a sandwich, build a castle... Please look for a note in your child's folder. Thinking and talking about ideas at home will help your child to write many 'how-to' books at school!
As readers, we are working on various literacy activities each day. We are also working in small reading groups. At times, your child might bring home a book from school. Please listen to your child read, identify sight words in the story, and talk about the beginning, middle, and end of the story. After reading and discussing the story, please put the book and the note back into the bag and into your child's folder so that another child may use it. The children are growing so much as readers and love showing off their skills! :)
Also, please remember to write down your at home reading minutes on the
record sheet for Read Across America! Please
use this reading log to track your child's reading minutes each week during the month of March. The class with the most reading minutes wins a pizza party at the end of the month!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Eileen Browne
Sunday, February 23, 2014
February 24th
I hope everyone had a wonderful vacation! Welcome back :)
Please note, due to our snow day, we will have our Valentine's Celebration for the children on Monday. The children are invited to dress up fancy on this day. Also, if you were signed up to send in a treat for our party, please drop it off at the office by 10 am. Due to scheduling conflicts, this celebration will be for the children only. We will have a 'family celebration' during the spring. I will be sure to keep you posted on the dates.
We will have our 100th Day of School celebration on Tuesday where students can dress up as a 100 year old man or lady! There are some great examples on pinterest if you are looking for some easy ideas. Also, please help your child to gather a collection of 100 items to bring into school. The items should be placed inside a gallon sized plastic bag or a labeled container. We will start our 100th Day activities on Tuesday and finish up on Wednesday. We have many fun activities planned. Thanks for helping with this fun day. :)
This week we will also talk about Presidents' Day, keeping our teeth healthy, and nutrition! These themes will be taught during the next two weeks in our kindergarten classroom along with our reading, writing, and math lessons each day.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Please note, due to our snow day, we will have our Valentine's Celebration for the children on Monday. The children are invited to dress up fancy on this day. Also, if you were signed up to send in a treat for our party, please drop it off at the office by 10 am. Due to scheduling conflicts, this celebration will be for the children only. We will have a 'family celebration' during the spring. I will be sure to keep you posted on the dates.
We will have our 100th Day of School celebration on Tuesday where students can dress up as a 100 year old man or lady! There are some great examples on pinterest if you are looking for some easy ideas. Also, please help your child to gather a collection of 100 items to bring into school. The items should be placed inside a gallon sized plastic bag or a labeled container. We will start our 100th Day activities on Tuesday and finish up on Wednesday. We have many fun activities planned. Thanks for helping with this fun day. :)
This week we will also talk about Presidents' Day, keeping our teeth healthy, and nutrition! These themes will be taught during the next two weeks in our kindergarten classroom along with our reading, writing, and math lessons each day.
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
Sunday, February 9, 2014
February 10th
This will be another busy and fun week in our kindergarten classroom. We will spend some time celebrating Valentine's Day, talking about Presidents' Day, and beginning a new science unit on Properties.
We will celebrate our kindergarten friendships and Valentine's Day this Friday at 12:00 in our classrooms. Please encourage your child to 'dress fancy' on this day. You are welcome to join us for a quick snack, some math fun, and reading our Valentine's Day cards. Please let me know if you will be attending so that I can prepare the kids and plan accordingly. Also, please send in decorated Valentine's Day mailboxes and Valentine Cards anytime before Friday. Thank you so much for your help with these projects.
This Wednesday we will also have Pajama Day. The children have been working very hard on filling up our classroom 'warm and fuzzy' jar. It is now full! The class has voted on a Pajama Party. We picked Wednesday for our celebration because it is not a PE day :) The children can wear a pair of cozy, comfy pjs to school. They can also bring in a cozy stuffed animal to spend the day with us. Please make sure that the stuffed animal can fit in your child's backpack.
Academically, as readers we will be working in small guided reading groups throughout the week. The children are now beginning to bring home 'just right' books during the week. Please listen to your child read to you, discuss some of the heart words, and return the book the next day. The children are so excited to take off as beginning readers. We will also continue practicing our Word Wall words and handwriting skills each day. During math, the children are working on learning addition facts. We are using cubes, counters, beads, cheerios, pictures...to help us remember our facts. We also learned that we can switch numbers around and still have the same answer: 2+3=5 AND 3+2=5 We call this a switcheroo in our classroom!
Thank you for sending in winter gear, boots, and sneakers each day! The children are having so much fun playing in the snow with their friends at recess. It is so good for them.
I am looking forward to a very fun and very busy week!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
We will celebrate our kindergarten friendships and Valentine's Day this Friday at 12:00 in our classrooms. Please encourage your child to 'dress fancy' on this day. You are welcome to join us for a quick snack, some math fun, and reading our Valentine's Day cards. Please let me know if you will be attending so that I can prepare the kids and plan accordingly. Also, please send in decorated Valentine's Day mailboxes and Valentine Cards anytime before Friday. Thank you so much for your help with these projects.
This Wednesday we will also have Pajama Day. The children have been working very hard on filling up our classroom 'warm and fuzzy' jar. It is now full! The class has voted on a Pajama Party. We picked Wednesday for our celebration because it is not a PE day :) The children can wear a pair of cozy, comfy pjs to school. They can also bring in a cozy stuffed animal to spend the day with us. Please make sure that the stuffed animal can fit in your child's backpack.
Academically, as readers we will be working in small guided reading groups throughout the week. The children are now beginning to bring home 'just right' books during the week. Please listen to your child read to you, discuss some of the heart words, and return the book the next day. The children are so excited to take off as beginning readers. We will also continue practicing our Word Wall words and handwriting skills each day. During math, the children are working on learning addition facts. We are using cubes, counters, beads, cheerios, pictures...to help us remember our facts. We also learned that we can switch numbers around and still have the same answer: 2+3=5 AND 3+2=5 We call this a switcheroo in our classroom!
Thank you for sending in winter gear, boots, and sneakers each day! The children are having so much fun playing in the snow with their friends at recess. It is so good for them.
I am looking forward to a very fun and very busy week!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Saturday, January 18, 2014
January 21st
I hope you all have a terrific weekend and enjoy the extra day off from school.
Last week we spent time sharing our Family Snowman Projects, reading and listening to different snowy stories, and comparing and contrasting some of these stories. We learned about Venn Diagrams to help us organize our thinking after reading two different versions of The Mitten. The children did a terrific job sharing what they remembered from the stories.
During math, we wrapped up our unit on place value and 'tens' and 'ones'. We will, however, continue practicing reading, writing, and building those tricky teen numbers each day! This week we will begin working on adding numbers together. We will use pictures and manipulatives to help us with our learning. I will also be sending home practice flash cards for each child. The goal is for the children to know these facts quickly by the end of kindergarten. Please keep the facts in your child's folder for safe keeping.
During writing, the children are learning all about revising and editing their true stories. Last week we used post it notes and blue pens to help add more to our stories through pictures and words. This week we will learn about writing and publishing our very best stories. We are trying so hard to make our stories easy to read. The children are growing so much as beginning writers!
Our Word Wall is also growing. Each week we continue to add three new words to our classroom wall. We also practice reading and writing words in the same word family. Ex: at is on our wall. We are reading and writing bat, cat, hat, sat... Try doing this at home too! :) I will send home a copy of the words we have learned so far.
Later on in the week we will begin learning all about penguins. We will read fiction and nonfiction stories. We will also create some fun penguin projects to go along with our penguin theme.
Report Cards will be uploaded to BC@Home at the beginning of February. I will be sending home notes regarding conference times. Please return the note and I will schedule conference times according to the responses I receive.
*We will celebrate Friendship and Valentine's Day* on February 14th at 12:00 in our classroom. A note will be sent home with additional information about our next classroom event, but I wanted to make you aware of the date in case you wish to attend.
Thank you so much for your support.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Last week we spent time sharing our Family Snowman Projects, reading and listening to different snowy stories, and comparing and contrasting some of these stories. We learned about Venn Diagrams to help us organize our thinking after reading two different versions of The Mitten. The children did a terrific job sharing what they remembered from the stories.
During math, we wrapped up our unit on place value and 'tens' and 'ones'. We will, however, continue practicing reading, writing, and building those tricky teen numbers each day! This week we will begin working on adding numbers together. We will use pictures and manipulatives to help us with our learning. I will also be sending home practice flash cards for each child. The goal is for the children to know these facts quickly by the end of kindergarten. Please keep the facts in your child's folder for safe keeping.
During writing, the children are learning all about revising and editing their true stories. Last week we used post it notes and blue pens to help add more to our stories through pictures and words. This week we will learn about writing and publishing our very best stories. We are trying so hard to make our stories easy to read. The children are growing so much as beginning writers!
Our Word Wall is also growing. Each week we continue to add three new words to our classroom wall. We also practice reading and writing words in the same word family. Ex: at is on our wall. We are reading and writing bat, cat, hat, sat... Try doing this at home too! :) I will send home a copy of the words we have learned so far.
Later on in the week we will begin learning all about penguins. We will read fiction and nonfiction stories. We will also create some fun penguin projects to go along with our penguin theme.
Report Cards will be uploaded to BC@Home at the beginning of February. I will be sending home notes regarding conference times. Please return the note and I will schedule conference times according to the responses I receive.
*We will celebrate Friendship and Valentine's Day* on February 14th at 12:00 in our classroom. A note will be sent home with additional information about our next classroom event, but I wanted to make you aware of the date in case you wish to attend.
Thank you so much for your support.
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne :)
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Welcome 2014!
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful break and were able to spend quality time with your family and friends. I am looking forward to seeing my 'kindergarten kids' again this week!
This week 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. We will read Lois Ehlert's Snowballs and Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day to help us with some of our learning this week. We will also begin reading Jan Brett's The Hat and The Mitten. We will talk about main characters, settings, problems, solutions, as well as the beginning, middle, and end of stories. We will also work on some fun snowy projects to go along with our reading!
Please check your child's folder for our January Family Project. The children love sharing their work with their classmates. All projects will be displayed in our kindergarten hallway for our school to enjoy. Thank you for your support with our monthly projects.
I am looking forward to a fun week in our kindergarten classroom!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
This week 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. We will read Lois Ehlert's Snowballs and Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day to help us with some of our learning this week. We will also begin reading Jan Brett's The Hat and The Mitten. We will talk about main characters, settings, problems, solutions, as well as the beginning, middle, and end of stories. We will also work on some fun snowy projects to go along with our reading!
Please check your child's folder for our January Family Project. The children love sharing their work with their classmates. All projects will be displayed in our kindergarten hallway for our school to enjoy. Thank you for your support with our monthly projects.
I am looking forward to a fun week in our kindergarten classroom!
Sincerely,
Eileen Browne
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