Weekly News: April 27-May 1

News:

We are very excited to introduce our new class pets for the next few weeks: caterpillars! We will have the opportunity to watch their metamorphosis as they change from caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly!

Our field trip to the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage is THIS TUESDAY! Please remember to bring a "sack" lunch - no lunch boxes please! We will not be eating our lunches until 11:15, so please make sure your child has a big and healthy breakfast. We will be leaving school at 8:15 and returning at approximately 1:15. Mark your calendars and adjust schedules for the late pick up on this day and please note that your child will be missing any electives they may have on this day. Thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered to chaperone our field trip to the Children’s Discovery Museum.  The cost for the chaperones is $5.00.  Please have exact change payable at the door on the day of the field trip. Please remember, no siblings!! Thank you!

Save The Date: We will be having a Mother's Day celebration on Friday, May 8 from 11:00-12:30. More information to come. I wanted to let you know early in case you need to take the time off work or find childcare for little ones. The School Childcare fills up quickly on this day and is on a first come first serve basis.  If you have alternative childcare this is a good day to use it.  Please understand that our classroom will be VERY CROWDED on this day!  It is a special celebration for moms and their kindergarten student.  For this reason we are unable to accommodate siblings in the classroom on this day.  Thank you in advance for your understanding.  This is SUCH a special celebration and we hope all of you mommies are able to make it!

IT'S TIME! Community Service Projects will be presented THIS WEEK! Unfortunately, we have not had ALL of our students sign up for a presentation :(  Please remember that your community service project is a required part of our curriculum at Inland Leaders, so if you have not yet signed up for a time to present, please email me or stop by to see me! If you have chosen to present at our later date (May 11-15) that is perfectly fine! 

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, April 28th: Field Trip to the Children's Discovery Museum

Friday, May 8th: Mother’s Day Celebration

Monday, May 11 - Friday, May 15:  Community Service Projects Due

Monday, May 25th - No School

We are running out of glue sticks!!  If you are at the store and are able to pick some up to donate to our class we thank you in advance!!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: MOTHER, FATHER, SISTER, BROTHER, FAMILY.

Letter Team: There are NO new letter teams! For the rest of the year, we will be reviewing all letter teams that we have learned this year. The expectation is that students recognize the letter team within our three second rule, then be able to apply that letter team when decoding an unknown word. 

Reading: We will read books about caterpillars and butterflies, as well as our poem of the week, "Pretty Butterfly".

Writing: We will have a very special writing project that we are working on this week in class.

Math: We are working on so many fun math games that are helping us with our addition, subtraction, and decomposing. 

Leadership:  Our leadership theme for the month of April is SERVICE. Our definition of Service is: to help others without getting paid for the job done.    I am excited to see how our kindergarten friends have shown service through their community service projects!

Homework: April 27-May 1

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: MOTHER, FATHER, SISTER, BROTHER, FAMILY. There are NO new letter teams for the rest of the year - so study ALL old letter team flashcards!

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 bags, read your fluency passage, book boxes, books on RAZ Kids, visit Smarty Ants, and books on We Give Books. We want to give you plenty of resources and opportunities to READ, READ, READ.

Math: Practice counting to 100 and counting on by ones from any number between 1 and 99. Practice numbers in base ten (in the number 16, how many tens and how many ones?), addition and subtraction number problems and word problems, 2D and 3D shapes, and the Doubles Song. Count the money in your bank.

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. You should be writing AT LEAST three sentences every day, with a goal of a five sentence paragraph.

Sharing:  There is no writing sharing this week. Please use this time to work on your community service projects. These projects are either due this week or the week of May 11-15. 

Weekly News: April 21-24

News:

There is no school Monday April 20th. I hope you had a restful three-day weekend with your families.

Wednesday is Earth Day! To celebrate, we will be learning all about recycling and discussing ways to help the Earth. We will also have a special Earth Day Sharing this week. Check out the Homework tab for more information. 

Thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered to chaperone our field trip to the Children’s Discovery Museum.  The cost for the chaperones is $5.00.  Please have exact change payable at the door on the day of the field trip. Please remember, no siblings!! Thank you!!

Please visit Dollar a Day to help cover the cost for your child to attend our field trip.

Dollar a Day

Our field trip to the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage is coming up on Tuesday, April 28th and it is sure to be an exciting “hands on” experience.  We will be leaving school at 8:15 and returning at approximately 1:15. Mark your calendars and adjust schedules for the late pick up on this day and please note that your child will be missing any electives they may have on this day. Permission slips will be sent home in the next week or so.  We will be eating our “sack” lunches at the museum following the tour. On this day, please pack your child a lunch in a paper bag.  No lunch boxes please. Chaperones will be riding on the bus with our classes and need to pay a small fee at the Museum.  Please remember that school policy states NO SIBLINGS. Thanks! We are looking forward to a wonderful field trip!

Save The Date: We will be having a Mother's Day celebration on Friday, May 8 from 11:00-12:30. More information to come. I wanted to let you know early in case you need to take the time off work or find childcare for little ones. The School Childcare fills up quickly on this day and is on a first come first serve basis.  If you have alternative childcare this is a good day to use it.  Please understand that our classroom will be VERY CROWDED on this day!  It is a special celebration for moms and their kindergarten student.  For this reason we are unable to accommodate siblings in the classroom on this day.  Thank you in advance for your understanding.  This is SUCH a special celebration and we hope all of you mommies are able to make it!

I apologize for any inconvenience, but the due date for our community service projects has been moved up! Our projects will be due the week of April 27-May 1 with May 1 being the last day to present. I will post a sign-up sheet in class tomorrow so that you may sign up for which day your child would like to present his or her project. The date has been moved up because students may be entered into a school-wide community service project competition, but applicants need to be in by May 1st. If you are not interested in participating in the competition and feel that you need a little more time to work on your projects, you may still turn them in on our originally planned week (May 11-15). Let me know if you have any questions. I can't wait to see all of those projects!

Upcoming Events:

Monday, April 20th: NO SCHOOL

Saturday, April: 25th  ILF Golf Tournament

Tuesday, April 28th: Field Trip to the Children's Discovery Museum

Friday, May 8th: Mother’s Day Celebration

Monday, May 11 - Friday, May 15:  Community Service Projects Due

Monday, May 25th - No School

We are running out of glue sticks!!  If you are at the store and are able to pick some up to donate to our class we thank you in advance!!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: HELP, START, WORLD, EARTH, CHILDREN.

Letter Team:  EAR (another ER sound like in EARTH and EARLY). This is our last letter team we will learn this year!!!

Reading: We will read books about recycling and Earth Day.

Writing: We will write a step up to writing about ways to take care of the Earth.

Math: We will continue our new math unit focusing on addition and subtraction. 

Leadership:  Our leadership theme for the month of April is SERVICE. Our definition of Service is: to help others without getting paid for the job done.    I am excited to see how our kindergarten friends have shown service through their community service projects!

Homework: April 21-24

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: HELP, START, WORLD, EARTH, CHILDREN and the new letter team is: EAR.

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 bags, read your fluency passage, book boxes, books on RAZ Kids, visit Smarty Ants, and books on We Give Books. We want to give you plenty of resources and opportunities to READ, READ, READ.

Math: Practice counting to 100 and counting on by ones from any number between 1 and 99. Practice numbers in base ten (in the number 16, how many tens and how many ones?), addition and subtraction number problems and word problems, 2D and 3D shapes, and the Doubles Song. Count the money in your bank.

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. You should be writing AT LEAST three sentences every day, with a goal of a five sentence paragraph.

Sharing:  We have another special Sharing Homework this week. Since we are learning about Earth Day and recycling, please help your child create something with reused materials. Some examples can include: an old can reused as a pencil cup, a milk carton reused as a plant holder, a soda bottle reused as a bird feeder, cereal boxes reused as ... use your imagination! Here is a great link to check out: http://too-much-time.com/2013/04/36-recycling-upcycling-and-reuse-ideas-for-earth-day.html

Weekly News: April 13-17

News:

I am very excited to be back at school with you all this week. I will be returning on Tuesday and looking forward to a great end of the school year together! 

There is no school Monday April 20th. 

Thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered to chaperone our field trip to the Children’s Discovery Museum.  The cost for the chaperones is $5.00.  Please have exact change payable at the door on the day of the field trip. Please remember, no siblings!! Thank you!!

Please visit Dollar a Day to help cover the cost for your child to attend our field trip.

Dollar a Day

Our field trip to the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage is coming up on Tuesday, April 28th and it is sure to be an exciting “hands on” experience.  We will be leaving school at 8:15 and returning at approximately 1:15. Mark your calendars and adjust schedules for the late pick up on this day and please note that your child will be missing any electives they may have on this day. Permission slips will be sent home in the next week or so.  We will be eating our “sack” lunches at the museum following the tour. On this day, please pack your child a lunch in a paper bag.  No lunch boxes please. Chaperones will be riding on the bus with our classes and need to pay a small fee at the Museum.  Please remember that school policy states NO SIBLINGS. Thanks! We are looking forward to a wonderful field trip!

We have a special Sharing Homework assignment this week!  See the Sharing Section on the Homework Tab.  It involves having your child bring in two photographs of themselves: a current photo and a photo as a baby, along with the writing.  Thank you for your support!

Save The Date: We will be having a Mother's Day celebration on Friday, May 8 from 11:00-12:30. More information to come. I wanted to let you know early in case you need to take the time off work or find childcare for little ones. The School Childcare fills up quickly on this day and is on a first come first serve basis.  If you have alternative childcare this is a good day to use it.  Please understand that our classroom will be VERY CROWDED on this day!  It is a special celebration for moms and their kindergarten student.  For this reason we are unable to accommodate siblings in the classroom on this day.  Thank you in advance for your understanding.  This is SUCH a special celebration and we hope all of you mommies are able to make it!

The due date for the Community Service Projects has been set for our class: Presentations will be due the week of May 11-15. Presentations in the past have included: poster boards, journals, slideshows, books, and pictures documenting your 6-8 hours of community service. Please visit our Community Service tab if you have any questions. 

Upcoming Events:

Monday, April 20th: NO SCHOOL

Saturday, April: 25th  ILF Golf Tournament

Tuesday, April 28th: Field Trip to the Children's Discovery Museum

Friday, May 8th: Mother’s Day Celebration

Monday, May 11 - Friday, May 15:  Community Service Projects Due

Monday, May 25th - No School

We are running out of glue sticks!!  If you are at the store and are able to pick some up to donate to our class we thank you in advance!!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: GOES, DOES, YES, NOT, WILL.

Letter Team:  EA (we are learning that EA can make THREE sounds - long E like in SEASON, short E like in WEATHER, and long A like in BREAK). 

Reading: We will continue to read books about frogs and tadpoles. 

Writing: We are adding details to our stories. Some of us are even writing eight sentences now for Step Up to Writing, adding explanations after every "detail" sentence.

Math: We will continue our new math unit focusing on addition and subtraction. 

Leadership:  Our leadership theme for the month of April is SERVICE. Our definition of Service is: to help others without getting paid for the job done.    I am excited to see how our kindergarten friends have shown service through their community service projects!

Homework: April 13-17

Flashcards: Make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: GOES, DOES, YES, NOT, WILL and the new letter team is: EA -  (we are learning that EA can make THREE sounds - long E like in SEASON, short E like in WEATHER, and long A like in BREAK). 

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 bags, read your fluency passage, book boxes, books on RAZ Kids, visit Smarty Ants, and books on We Give Books. We want to give you plenty of resources and opportunities to READ, READ, READ.

Math: Practice counting to 100 and counting on by ones from any number between 1 and 99. Practice numbers in base ten (in the number 16, how many tens and how many ones?), addition and subtraction number problems and word problems, 2D and 3D shapes, and the Doubles Song. Count the money in your bank.

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. You should be writing AT LEAST three sentences every day, with a goal of a five sentence paragraph.

Sharing:  Sharing for our third trimester will consist of writing THREE sentences and a picture. We have a special Sharing Homework this week. Bring in a picture of when you were a baby and a picture of you now. Write three sentences about how you have changed and how you are different now. Note: YOU WILL GET THESE PICTURES BACK, I PROMISE! HOMEWORK IS DUE NO LATER THAN THURSDAY!!

Weekly News: April 6-10

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend!  

There is no school Monday April 20th. 

Our field trip to the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage is coming up on Tuesday, April 28th and it is sure to be an exciting “hands on” experience.  We will be leaving school at 8:15 and returning at approximately 1:15. Mark your calendars and adjust schedules for the late pick up on this day and please note that your child will be missing any electives they may have on this day. Permission slips will be sent home in the next week or so.  We will be eating our “sack” lunches at the museum following the tour. On this day, please pack your child a lunch in a paper bag.  No lunch boxes please. If you are interested in being a chaperone please let Mrs. Bess know BY FRIDAY APRIL 10TH VIA EMAIL (jcbess@inlandleaders.com), as we need to give a final head count! Chaperones will be riding on the bus with our classes and need to pay a small fee at the Museum (Approximately $4.00) Please remember that school policy states NO SIBLINGS. Thanks! We are looking forward to a wonderful field trip!

Save The Date: We will be having a Mother's Day celebration on Friday, May 8 from 11:00-12:30. More information to come. I wanted to let you know early in case you need to take the time off work or find childcare for little ones. The School Childcare fills up quickly on this day and is on a first come first serve basis.  If you have alternative childcare this is a good day to use it.  Please understand that our classroom will be VERY CROWDED on this day!  It is a special celebration for moms and their kindergarten student.  For this reason we are unable to accommodate siblings in the classroom on this day.  Thank you in advance for your understanding.  This is SUCH a special celebration and we hope all of you mommies are able to make it!

The due date for the Community Service Projects has been set for our class: Presentations will be due the week of May 11-15. Presentations in the past have included: poster boards, journals, slideshows, books, and pictures documenting your 6-8 hours of community service. Please visit our Community Service tab if you have any questions. 

Upcoming Events: 

Friday, April 10th:  Father Daughter Dance

Monday, April 20th: NO SCHOOL

Saturday, April 20th: ILF Golf Tournament

Tuesday, April 28th: Field Trip to the Children's Discovery Museum

Friday, May 8th: Mother’s Day Celebration

Monday, May 11 - Friday, May 15:  Community Service Projects Due

Monday, May 25th - No School

We are running out of glue sticks!!  If you are at the store and are able to pick some up to donate to our class we thank you in advance!!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN.

Letter Team: EIGH (sounding like "a" like in EIGHT and NEIGHBOR).

Reading: We will read books about frogs as we learn the life cycle of a tadpole.

Writing: We are writing stories about tadpoles and frogs this week. Students have also been having a great time writing their own books, cards, and letters during our free "Work on Writing" time. 

Math: We will continue our new math unit focusing on addition and subtraction. 

Leadership:  Our leadership theme for the month of April is SERVICE. Our definition of Service is: to help others without getting paid for the job done.    I am excited to see how our kindergarten friends have shown service through their community service projects!

Homework: April 6-10

Flashcards: Make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN and the new letter team is: EIGH (sounding like "a" like in EIGHT and NEIGHBOR).

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 bags, read your fluency passage, book boxes, books on RAZ Kids, visit Smarty Ants, and books on We Give Books. We want to give you plenty of resources and opportunities to READ, READ, READ.

Math: Discuss "Ways to Make Five" with your child through addition and subtraction number sentences and story problems. For example, "We need five books, but we only have three. How many more do we need?" or "10-__=4. What would go in the blank? How did you figure that out?" We have been using the language “part, part, whole when working on these types of problems. Practice counting to 100 and counting on by ones from any number between 1 and 99. Practice numbers in base ten (in the number 16, how many tens and how many ones?), addition and subtraction number problems and word problems, 2D and 3D shapes, and the Doubles Song.Count the money in your bank. 

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. You should be writing AT LEAST three sentences every day, with a goal of a five sentence paragraph.

Sharing:  Sharing for our third trimester will consist of writing THREE sentences and a picture.  This week, write three sentences about what we are learning about the life cycle of a tadpole/frog. Draw a picture to go with your sentences. Please remember that sharing homework is due by Thursday.