Weekly News: October 28-November 1

News:

We had such a great time investigating pumpkins! Thank you for all the help and donations. Make sure you check out our pictures on our Photo Share Site. 

We are looking forward to our fun Halloween games and activities on Thursday! Remember to wear your PJs!

It is Spirit Week! Show your school spirit by dressing up every day! 

Monday, October 28: Twin Day (I will be wearing my ILCS shirt and jeans if anyone would like to be twins with ME!)

Tuesday, October 29: Reverse Day (students dress like teachers and teachers dress like students)

Wednesday, October 30: Crazy Hair Day

Thursday, October 31: Pajama Day

Friday, November 1: 80s Day

It's time again for our annual ILCS food drive. All donations will go towards ILCS families and to our community. We are collecting canned goods by grade level. Kindergarten's suggested canned goods are: Canned Veggies and Evaporated milk. Thank you for contributing to make a wonderful holiday for families in need.

A look ahead: There is NO school on Monday, November 11 due to Veterans Day. However, I WILL be at school on that day to offer parent conferences for our first trimester report cards. There will also be parent conference times available Tuesday, November 12 - Thursday, November 14 before and after school. I know this is early notice, but I will be posting a parent conference schedule on a clipboard down at the playground Monday morning so that you can begin thinking of a good time that suits your schedule. If you are not able to come down to the playground area before school to sign up, please email me {Jenn.christine@yahoo.com} and we can choose a time for you! I look forward to meeting with you and discussing your child's progress!

Many friends have been leaving jackets and lunch boxes down at the playground and lunch tables :( While we always remind the students to grab their belongings, we are also teaching responsibility. If your little one has misplaced a jacket, you may check the "Lost and Found" down at the playground. Items not claimed at the end of each month are donated. 

Upcoming Events: 

Thursday, October 31: Halloween Centers!

Monday, November 11: NO SCHOOL/Parent Conference Day 

Tuesday, November 12-Thursday, November 14: Parent Conferences

Friday, November 22: Thanksgiving Feast {more info later!}

Monday, November 25-Friday, November 29: Thanksgiving Break!

If you are at the store and happen to think of us, we'd love.... 
Canon Ink #210/211 - This is for our BIG end of the year Kindergarten Memory Book project which requires MANY MANY pages of printing per student.  Any help is much appreciated!!  Thank you!!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: BOY, GIRL, HAS, NICE, WANT. 

Letter Team:  OY/OI (like in BOY, TOY/COIN).

Word Family: This week we will be making words with the word families -OP (HOP, COP, SHOP) AND -OY (BOY, TOY, JOY).  Please help your child with word families of the week by asking them to create different words with the word families.

Reading: We will read many books about pumpkins and Halloween. We will practice all of our reading strategies learned so far. Students will continue to read their self-selected good fit books and paper books from their book boxes. 

Writing: We will continue to write three sentences on the same topic, using an uppercase at the beginning of a sentence, finger spaces after each word, and a period at the end.

Math: This week we will continue our study on 3D shapes (geometric shapes). We will discuss the difference between 2D and 3D shapes and learn about cubes, cones, prisms, cylinders, pyramids, and spheres. Check out our special sharing homework for the week!

Leadership: SENSITIVITY. We will have our Leadership Award Assembly this Friday, November 1st at 8:10 in the Cub's Den. 

Homework: October 28-November 1

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (BOY, GIRL, HAS, NICE, WANT), letter teams (OY and OI), and word family (OP - hop, cop, top, etc). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness:  Please see the Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips on working with your child on these skills: Rhyming, Beginning/Middle/Ending Sounds, Syllables, Blending, Segmenting.

Reading: Read books from your book bag, read your fluency, read from your Book Box at home, read on RAZ-Kids, read on We Give Books. We want to give you plenty of resources and opportunities to READ, READ, READ.

Math: Continue working on number identification, numbers out of order, coins, patterns, sorting, ways to make 5, addition and subtraction facts through 5, story problems, one more and one less, etc. 

Writing: Write EVERY SINGLE DAY in your At-Home Journal. Practice writing your sight words and write stories with three sentences on the same topic.

Sharing: We are learning all about geometric shapes this week (cone, sphere, pyramid, cube, cylinder, prism). Instead of a sentence this week, we are asking each child to bring in an example of a real-life geometric shape to share with the class. Please send your geometric shape in a brown paper bag so that we may guess what shape it is. If you would like your geometric shape back, please let us know and write your name on the bag. If you would like to donate your geometric shape to the classroom, no need to write your name. 

Type To Learn: Please complete ONE LESSON a week. Of course you may do more, but the school suggests that each student complete one (or two!) lessons per week in order to complete 50 lessons by the end of the school year.

Weekly News: October 21-25

News:

We are investigating pumpkins this week! On Friday, we will be measuring and carving pumpkins and counting seeds. Part of our study will be to pull out the insides of the pumpkin to count the seeds. This is REALLY MESSY - it would be a good idea to send an old button-up shirt or apron for your child to wear over their clothes on this day! Also, for our pumpkin day on Friday, we are in need of 4 pumpkins, any pumpkin pulp scooping spoons, and dixie cups for our seeds. If you are able to donate or would like to volunteer on this day, please sign up on Facebook! We appreciate your help!!

On Monday, we will be sending home your "Operation Christmas Child" boxes. You can participate in this exciting project by filling your very own shoebox! This is NOT a mandatory project, but if you choose to participate, you may use it as part of your 6 hours of required community service for the year. With your help, we can bring joy and hope to millions of children this coming Holiday Season. For more information on Operation Christmas Child, please see my "Community Service Projects" tab. 

We will be celebrating Halloween with fun Halloween games and activities next Thursday from 11:00-12:30! For Halloween, our school will be having a fun pajama dress-up day! We are very excited to come to school in our PJs and celebrate Halloween! If you are interested in donating towards our Halloween activities, our Qlubb page will be posted soon.

Our ILCS Make a difference Day is Saturday, October 26^th- If you would like to help out, come on out to 7^th Street Park from 8-12pm to clean up and help with new improvements to the park and teen center. If you and your kids plan on helping, be sure to wear pants, closed toe shoes, and work gloves.

Upcoming Events: 
Friday, October 25: Pumpkin Investigation Day
Saturday, October 26: Make a Difference Day 
October 28-November 1: Spirit Week :)

Monday, October 28: Twin Day

Tuesday, October 29: Reverse Day (students dress like teachers and teachers dress like students)

Wednesday, October 30: Crazy Hair Day

Thursday, October 31: Pajama Day

Friday, November 1: 80s Day

Thursday, October 31: Halloween Centers! {more info coming later!}

If you are at the store and happen to think of us, we'd love.... 
Fun Halloween stickers and prizes 
Canon Ink #210/211

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: ARE, BIG, LITTLE, FOR, WAS.

Letter Team:  IGH (like in HIGH, BRIGHT, LIGHT, RIGHT) and AR (like in CAR, FAR, JAR).

Word Family: -IG. Please help your child with word families of the week by asking them to create different words with  the word family -IG (for example: BIG, PIG, WIG, DIG). I am sending home a fun worksheet/activity that you can do at home this week!

Reading: We will read many fiction and non-fiction books about pumpkins and their life cycle. We will also learn 2 new reading strategies: "Look for 2 vowel's go a-walking" and "Y at the end says E or I". Students will continue to read their self-selected good fit books and paper books from their book boxes. 

Writing: We will continue to write three sentences on the same topic, using an uppercase at the beginning of a sentence, finger spaces after each word, and a period at the end.

Math: This week we will learn all about 3D shapes (geometric shapes). We will discuss the difference between 2D and 3D shapes and learn about cubes, cones, prisms, cylinders, pyramids, and spheres. We will also focus on counting by 5's. 

Leadership: SENSITIVITY. 

Homework: October 21-25

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (ARE, BIG, LITTLE, FOR, WAS), letter teams (AR and IGH), and word family (IG - big, pig, wig). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness:  Please see the Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips on working with your child on these skills: Rhyming, Beginning/Middle/Ending Sounds, Syllables, Blending, Segmenting.

Reading: Read books from your book bag, read your fluency, read from your Book Box at home, read on RAZ-Kids, read on We Give Books. We want to give you plenty of resources and opportunities to READ, READ, READ.

Math: Continue working on number identification, numbers out of order, coins, patterns, sorting, ways to make 5, addition and subtraction facts through 5, one more and one less, etc. 

Writing: Write EVERY SINGLE DAY in your At-Home Journal. Practice writing your sight words and write stories with three sentences on the same topic.

Sharing: We are learning all about the life cycle of a pumpkin this week. Write one sentence about what we are learning about pumpkins. Draw a picture to go with your sentence. Make sure you practice reading your sentence at home so you are prepared to read in front of the class. Sharing is due Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Click here for our special Sharing Paper :)

Type To Learn: Please complete ONE LESSON a week. Of course you may do more, but the school suggests that each student complete one (or two!) lessons per week in order to complete 50 lessons by the end of the school year.

Weekly News: October 14-18

News:

We had another great week in kindergarten! 

I thought that since the cooler weather is quickly approaching, I would let you know of our rainy day procedures. If it is raining (and I mean POURING), you may bring your child DIRECTLY TO THE CLASSROOM. The classroom door will open at 7:45. We will also have snack and recess inside on rainy days. However, dismissal will be the same as every other day. We will still walk out to the ramp/dismissal area, so on these lovely rainy days, please send your child to school with a warm coat and umbrella. Thank you! 

Our ILCS Make a difference Day is Saturday, October 26^th- If you would like to help out, come on out to 7^th Street Park from 8-12pm to clean up and help with new improvements to the park and teen center. If you and your kids plan on helping, be sure to wear pants, closed toe shoes, and work gloves.

Spirit Week is coming up at the end of the month!! Show your school spirit by dressing up silly every day of the week! Here is the schedule: 

Monday, October 28: Twin Day

Tuesday, October 29- Reverse Day (students dress like teachers and teachers dress like students)

Wednesday, October 30- Crazy Hair Day

Thursday, October 31- Pajama Day

Friday, November 1- 80s Day

A huge THANK YOU to my Fridays moms that have been cutting, copying, and prepping materials for our class - and to the many parents that take prep work home! We have the best helpers and we could not do it without you! 


Upcoming Events: 
Friday, October 25: Pumpkin Investigation Day {more info coming later!}
Saturday, October 26: Make a Difference Day 
October 28-November 1: Spirit Week :) Thursday, October 31: Halloween Centers! {more info coming later!}

If you are at the store and happen to think of us, we'd love.... 
Fun Halloween stickers and prizes 
Canon Ink #210/211

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: WHEN, HAVE, BE, AM, WHAT

Letter Team:  AW/AU (like in SAW/SAUCE) and the other OO (like in TOO, BOO).

Word Family: -OT. Please help your child with word families of the week by asking them to create different words with  the word family -OT (for example: COT, JOT, ROT, SPOT). 

Reading: We will read many non-fiction books about bats and spiders. We will continue our author study on Laura Numeroff. We will also continue to look for letter teams inside of words we do not know.

Writing:  This  week we will write non-fiction stories about what we are learning about bats and spiders. We will continue to use an uppercase at the beginning of a sentence, finger spaces after each word, and a period at the end.

Math: Students are working on Math Technology, Math with a Parent, and various Math Activities while I am administering math assessments to see where each child is at. Some students are ready to build numbers (example: the number 29 has 2 tens and 9 leftover ones) while some students are practicing counting and number recognition. We are trying to meet each student were he or she is at. 

Leadership: SENSITIVITY

Homework: October 14-18

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (WHEN, HAVE, BE, AM, WHAT), letter teams (AW/AU and OO - LIKE BOO!), and word family (OT - tot, cot, pot, lot). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness:  Please see the Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips on working with your child on these skills: Rhyming, Beginning/Middle/Ending Sounds, Syllables, Blending, Segmenting.

Reading: Please have your child read the books from their book bag every night! If they are struggling with a word, guide them to our reading strategies: Look at the picture, Get your mouth ready for the first sound, Make your finger match the word, Look through the word at all the sounds, Go back and get a running start, skip the word and read on to think about what makes sense, look for a letter team inside the word, stretch out the sounds, look for a smaller word inside the word, look for the magic E. Please make sure your child is reading their book bag book each night and returning it to school each day. IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU BRING YOUR BOOK BAG BACK TO SCHOOL EVERYDAY! You may also read books from your book boxes, books on RAZ Kids, and books on We Give Books. We want to give you plenty of resources and opportunities to READ, READ, READ.

Math: Continue working on number identification, numbers out of order, coins, patterns, sorting, ways to make 5, etc. 

Writing: Write EVERY SINGLE DAY in your At-Home Journal, using sight words and your sound chart to help you! If your children can write one sentence, start having them add sentences with details.

Sharing: We are learning all about spiders and bats this week. Write one sentence about your favorite creepy creature. Draw a picture to go with your sentence. Make sure you practice reading your sentence at home so you are prepared to read in front of the class. Sharing is due Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Please remember that unless absent, sharing homework turned in on Fridays is considered late. Thank you. Click here for our special Sharing Paper :)

Type To Learn: Please complete ONE LESSON a week. Of course you may do more, but the school suggests that each student complete one (or two!) lessons per week in order to complete 50 lessons by the end of the school year. 

Weekly News: October 7-11

News: 


The Lion's Fest was a huge success!! Huge shout-out to our wonderful room-mom, Teresa, for all of her hard work making cotton candy and a huge thank you to all of the parents who volunteered! 

Last week, we began sending home fluency passages in our book bags. Please practice this fluency every night and bring the fluency back to school every day in your child's book bag. 

Last week, you received a paper from the school regarding our new "Type to Learn" program. This is a great program that will teach students the basics of typing that they will use in the future for the new up and coming testing. The school is asking that each student K-8 complete 50 lessons during the school year. You are more than welcome to do more lessons and there will be school-wide awards given for those students going above and beyond. Unfortunately, our papers accidentally went out to the wrong students last week, but each student does have a specific username - OOPS! Thank you to those students who have already returned papers with someone else's name. If you do NOT have a username for your child or if you have any questions regarding the Type to Learn program, please email me. Thank you for all of your help and sorry for the mix up!  

Does anyone have a cool black leather jacket that we can borrow this week for a fun project? This can be any size. Please let me know if you do. We appreciate it! 


If you are at the store and happen to think of us, we would love: 
Halloween stickers and prizes 
Canon Ink #210/211

What Are We Learning This Week?: 

Sight Words: HE, SHE, WENT, TO, PLAY.

Letter Team:  AY (like in PLAY, DAY) and ING (like in SING, RING).

Word Family:   -AY and -AM. Please help your child with word families of the week by asking them to create different words with  the word family -ay (for example: BAY, DAY, SAY, MAY, HAY) and -am (SAM, HAM, RAM, SLAM).

Reading: This week, we will continue reading books about Autumn and leaves as we discuss our favorite fall activities. We will also be reading books by Laura Numeroff (author of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie". In our reading groups, we are practicing many reading strategies, including "Look for the Magic E", "Look for a letter team inside the word" and "Stretch out CVC words making the vowel say it's short sound". You can reinforce these strategies while you are reading at home. Students will continue to practice their self-selected "Good Fit" books as well as their fluency passage of the week. 

Writing:   This week we will write a big book together about playing. This big book will be written using the sight words we have learned so far. In our journals, we are working on adding details to our writing and writing more than one sentence on the same topic. 

Math:   This week we will play more than/less than games, and learn how to count by tens. We will continue counting money and telling time to the hour, practicing ways to make 5, learning how to identify, order, and count numbers to 30 and write numbers to 10, learning the days of the week, months of the year, shapes, how to read and extend patterns, and identify what number comes next. 

Leadership: SENSITIVITY. Our kindergarten definition for sensitivity is: understanding and being aware of other's feelings. The students did a wonderful job sharing ways they can show sensitivity last week! 

Homework: October 7-11

Please remember the following are HOMEWORK TIPS. We would like you to meet your child where he or she is at. 

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (HE, SHE, WENT, TO, PLAY), letter teams (AY and ING), and word family (AM - ram, bam, Sam). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness:  Please see the Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips on working with your child on these skills: Rhyming, Beginning/Middle/Ending Sounds, Syllables, Blending, Segmenting.

Reading: Read, read, read! Read book AND FLUENCY from your new book bag, read books from your book box, read on RAZ-Kids, read on We Give Books, and read to your child! Please make sure your child is reading their book bag book each night and returning it to school each day. IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU BRING YOUR BOOK BAG BACK TO SCHOOL EVERYDAY! 

Math: Continue working on number identification, numbers out of order, coins, patterns, sorting, ways to make 5, etc. 

Writing: Write EVERY SINGLE DAY in your At-Home Journal, using sight words and your sound chart to help you! If your children can write one sentence, start having them add sentences with details.

Sharing: Write one sentence about your favorite fall activity. Draw a picture to go with your sentence. Make sure you practice reading your sentence at home so you are prepared to read in front of the class. Sharing is due Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Sharing homework turned in on Fridays is considered late. Thank you. Click here for our special Sharing Paper :)

Type To Learn: We are starting our school-wide Type to Learn typing program. Please complete ONE LESSON a week. Of course you may do more, but the school suggests that each student complete one (or two!) lessons per week in order to complete 50 lessons by the end of the school year.