Weekly News: November 2-6

We had an exciting week learning about pumpkins and celebrating Halloween. Thank you to the many parents who helped make our week so special! Make sure to check out our pictures on ParentSquare.

There is no school next Wednesday, November 11th due to Veteran's Day and no school the following Monday, November 16th due to parent conferences. 

Parent Conferences are in a few weeks (November 16-19). Please sign up on ParentSquare for a time that works for you. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's growth in the classroom. Because we only have so much time per conference, I'd like to politely ask that you arrive on time so we can make the most of our time together. If possible, please make other arrangements for your children, as parent conferences are for parents and teachers only. Thank you!

This will be the last week of electives and Success Academy until after Thanksgiving break.

Our kindergarten classes will be having a combined Thanksgiving Feast on Friday, November 20th. We will be making many items for our feast in the classroom together. I will send out a ParentSquare soon for any donations we may need for this wonderful feast!! Thank you! We are looking forward to a great, big Thanksgiving celebration together!

Please don't forget to bring your book bags to school every day. Friends that do not bring book bags back to school cannot take a new book home that day :( The book or books in your child's book bag will be books we are working on together in reading groups and/or books self-selected by your child.

Last Week's Winners: 

DreamBox Math: Congratulations to Ashley!  She spent the most time last week playing DreamBox Math. Keep up the good work!

Smarty Ants: Our top Ant of the week award went to Ella!  She spent the most time last week reading on Smarty Ants. Great job!

Upcoming Events: 

Wednesday, November 11: No School - Veteran's Day

Monday, November 16: No School - Parent Conferences

November 16-19: Parent Conferences - sign up on ParentSquare!

Friday, November 20: Thanksgiving Feast 

November 23-27: No School - Thanksgiving Break! 

Tuesday, December 15: EVENING performance of our kindergarten Christmas play, "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" - more info coming soon, but make sure you mark your calendars now!!

If you are at the store and happen to think of us, our classroom would love: 

Treasure Box Prizes

Baby Wipes 

What Are We Learning This Week:

Sight Words: IN, ON, SO, GO, DO.

Letter Team: This week we are learning about Mr. ER's two crazy cousins....UR and IR (like in FUR, CURL and STIR, GIRL).

Word Family:  This week we will be making words with the word families -EN (HEN, MEN, TEN).  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 turkeys and pilgrims and Indians, as we prepare for Thanksgiving. 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.  This week, I will continue assessing students on letters, sounds, sight words, and letter teams learned so far. 

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 dive into some fun turkey and Thanksgiving story problems. We are learning to answer these problems with pictures, numbers, and words. I will also be assessing each student on counting, numbers, and shapes. 

Leadership: GRIT. 

Homework: November 2-6

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (IN, ON, SO, GO, DO), letter teams (UR and IR), and word family (EN - hen, men, ten, etc). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on the following Phonemic Awareness skills - rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. Please see our Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips. 

Reading: Play Smarty Ants for 10-15 minutes each night. Read books from your Book Bag! Read books from your at-home book box! Read to your child every day and have your child read to you every day. Find sight words and letter teams in books, in the car as you are driving - just READ, READ, READ! 

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. Practice writing your name with an uppercase only at the beginning. Practice writing ABC's uppercase and lowercase (Aa, Bb, Cc). Also practice writing your sight words of the week and sight word dictation sentences for our sentences test on Friday.

Math: Play Dreambox for 10-15 minutes each night. Continue to practice counting, identify numbers out of order (make number flashcards!), practice number writing, practice drawing shapes, identifying shapes, or even creating shapes out of play-dough and sticks. Count everything! Ask your child all the different ways that numbers can be represented. Start asking your child simple word problems like, "If there are four cats playing in the yard and two more cats come, how many cats are there altogether?" and have your child explain HOW he got the answer.

Turn-In Homework: We have a FUN turn-in homework this week! Save a candy bar/bag wrapper from one of your "Trick or Treat" candies, tape or glue it to a piece of paper and write a few sentences describing your candy :) 

Weekly News: October 26-30

We had such a great time investigating pumpkins! Thank you for all the help and donations. We could not do it without you! We are excited to try all of those roasted pumpkin seeds this week!

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

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

Monday, Oct. 26: Disney Day 

Tuesday, Oct. 27: Time Travel (wear your favorite decade!)

Wednesday, Oct. 28: Backwards Day

Thursday, Oct. 29: Neon Day

Friday, Oct. 31: PJ DAY! 

Last Week's Winners: 

DreamBox Math: Congratulations to Samantha!  She spent the most time last week playing DreamBox Math. Keep up the good work!

Smarty Ants: Our top Ant of the week award went to Alani!  She spent the most time last week reading on Smarty Ants. Great job!

Upcoming Events: 

October 26-30: Spirit Week:

Friday, October 31: Fun Fall Centers! 

Wednesday, November 11: No School - Veteran's Day

Monday, November 16: No School 

November 16-19: Parent Conferences - more info coming soon! 

Friday, November 20: Thanksgiving Feast - more info coming soon! 

November 23-27: No School - Thanksgiving Break! 

If you are at the store and happen to think of us, our classroom would love: 

Treasure Box Prizes

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. This week, I will be assessing students on letters, sounds, sight words, and letter teams learned so far. 

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 greater, less than, and equal to. We will learn the symbols for greater, less than, and equal to, and practice writing these equations. We will also continue our fun Halloween math story problems, including addition, subtraction, and comparing (more or less) problems. We are learning to answer these problems using pictures, numbers (5-3=2), and words. Students will continue to work hard on their math goals. 

Leadership: We will continue to practice GRIT because it will be our leadership trait for the rest of the trimester! There is still a chance to receive a GRIT bracelet and I am always on the look-out for students that are passionate about their goals and not giving up even when it is hard!

Homework: October 26-30

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 work with your child on the following Phonemic Awareness skills - rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. Please see our Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips. 

Reading: Play Smarty Ants for 10-15 minutes each night. Read books from your Book Bag! Read books from your at-home book box! Read to your child every day and have your child read to you every day. Find sight words and letter teams in books, in the car as you are driving - just READ, READ, READ! 

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. Practice writing your name with an uppercase only at the beginning. Practice writing ABC's uppercase and lowercase (Aa, Bb, Cc). Also practice writing your sight words of the week and sight word dictation sentences for our sentences test on Friday.

Math: Play Dreambox for 10-15 minutes each night. Continue to practice counting, identify numbers out of order (make number flashcards!), practice number writing, practice drawing shapes, identifying shapes, or even creating shapes out of play-dough and sticks. Count everything! Ask your child all the different ways that numbers can be represented. Start asking your child simple word problems like, "If there are four cats playing in the yard and two more cats come, how many cats are there altogether?" and have your child explain HOW he got the answer.

Turn-In Homework: Last week, we learned all about pumpkins. Write one sentence about the life cycle of a pumpkin. Draw a picture to go with your sentence.

Weekly News: October 19-21

We had so much fun on our field trip! Thank you to all of our parent chaperones! Thank you, Mrs. Pettit for posting so many wonderful pictures! I will be posting more later! 

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! We are excited for this fun activity! 

We will be celebrating Halloween with fun Halloween games and activities next Friday from 10:30-12:30! Since it is Spirit Week, instead of Halloween costumes, 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! 

Last Week's Winners: 

DreamBox Math: Congratulations to Samantha!  She spent 3 hours and 16 minutes playing DreamBox Math. Keep up the good work!

Smarty Ants: Our top Ant of the week award went to Austin!  He spent 4 hours and 4 minutes reading on Smarty Ants. Great job!

Upcoming Events: 

Friday, October 23: Pumpkin Investigation Day  

October 26-30: Spirit Week:

Monday, Oct. 26: Disney Day 

Tuesday, Oct. 27: Time Travel (wear your favorite decade!)

Wednesday, Oct. 28: Backwards Day

Thursday, Oct. 29: Neon Day

Friday, Oct. 31: PJ DAY! Please NO SLIPPERS!

Friday, October 31: Fun Fall Centers! 

If you are at the store and happen to think of us, our classroom would love: 

Treasure Box Prizes

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. I will continue pulling small reading groups this week, as well as conferencing one on one with individual students. During this time, students are working hard at their independent activities and reading their self-selected "Good Fit Books".

Writing: This week, we will learn to use story starters to help us with our topic. Our goal is 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 dive into fun Halloween math story problems, including addition, subtraction, and comparing (more or less) problems. We are learning to answer these problems using pictures, numbers (5-3=2), and words.  Students will continue to work hard on their math goals. 

Leadership: We will continue to practice GRIT because it will be our leadership trait for the rest of the trimester! There is still a chance to receive a GRIT bracelet and I am always on the look-out for students that are passionate about their goals and not giving up even when it is hard!

Homework: October 19-23

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

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on the following Phonemic Awareness skills - rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. Please see our Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips. 

Reading: Play Smarty Ants for 10-15 minutes each night. Read books from your Book Bag! Read books from your at-home book box! Read to your child every day and have your child read to you every day. Find sight words and letter teams in books, in the car as you are driving - just READ, READ, READ! 

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. Practice writing your name with an uppercase only at the beginning. Practice writing ABC's uppercase and lowercase (Aa, Bb, Cc). Also practice writing your sight words of the week and sight word dictation sentences for our sentences test on Friday.

Math: Play Dreambox for 10-15 minutes each night. Continue to practice counting, identify numbers out of order (make number flashcards!), practice number writing, practice drawing shapes, identifying shapes, or even creating shapes out of play-dough and sticks. Count everything! Ask your child all the different ways that numbers can be represented. Start asking your child simple word problems like, "If there are four cats playing in the yard and two more cats come, how many cats are there altogether?" and have your child explain HOW he got the answer.

Turn-In Homework: Write one sentence about your favorite part of the field trip. Draw a picture to go with your sentence. 

Weekly News: October 12-16

We are so excited about our field trip on Tuesday! We will be leaving school in the morning and returning just before dismissal. Remember to send your child to school in a normal t-shirt and without a snack. Also, you will NOT need to bring your folders on this day.

Each week, I will be honoring students who go "Beyond the Limits" on our online homework.  There will be awards for Most Time Played in Smarty Ants and in DreamBox.  The recipients of these awards will receive a certificate and an extra trip to the treasure box!  Last week we honored the following students:

DreamBox Math: Congratulations to Ashley!  She spent 4 hours and 58 minutes playing DreamBox Math.  Way to Go, Ashley!

Smarty Ants: Our top Ant of the week award went to Asha!  She spent 5 hours and 26 minutes reading on Smarty Ants. Way to go, Asha!!

We were also the Smarty Class of the Week this week! Out of all of the ILCS classes, our class spent the most time reading on Smarty Ants for a total of 46 hours and 39 minutes!! Our class was rewarded with extra recess time for all the hard work! Way to go!

Upcoming Events: 

Monday, Oct. 5: Blue Shirt Day: wear a blue shirt to stand up against bullying!

Thursday, Oct. 8: Make-up Picture Day

Tuesday, October 13:  Field Trip to Los Rios Apple Orchard

Friday, October 23: Pumpkin Investigation Day  

October 26-30: Spirit Week:

Monday, Oct. 26: Disney Day 

Tuesday, Oct. 27: Time Travel (wear your favorite decade!)

Wednesday, Oct. 28: Backwards Day

Thursday, Oct. 29: Neon Day

Friday, Oct. 31: PJ DAY! Please NO SLIPPERS!

Friday, October 31: Fun Fall Centers! 

If you are at the store and happen to think of us, our classroom would love: 

Halloween or Fall stickers and trinkets 

Treasure Box Prizes 

What Are We Learning This Week?: 

Sight Words: WHEN, HAVE, BE, AM, WHAT.

Letter Team:  AW/AU (like in SAW/SAUCE).

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: This week, we will read many non-fiction books about bats and spiders. Students will continue to take home book bags for nightly reading practice. Since book bags are considered daily homework, it is crucial that they are brought back to school every day. Starting this week, if students do not have their book bags, they will have to lower their clip. Thank you for your support in teaching responsibility.

Writing: This  week we will write non-fiction stories about what we are learning about bats. 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: Every student now has two math goals: a number math goal (such as "I can count to 100") and a shape math goal (such as "I can describe the attributes of 3D shapes"). We will continue to work on these goals in our math groups, as well as begin to answer story problems. You can help at home by asking your child to solve story problems, such as "If 5 bats were in a cave and 3 bats flew away, how many bats are left?" We are learning to answer these problems using pictures, numbers (5-3=2), and words.  

Leadership: We will continue to practice GRIT because it will be our leadership trait for the rest of the trimester! There is still a chance to receive a GRIT bracelet and I am always on the look-out for students that are passionate about their goals and not giving up even when it is hard!

Homework: October 12-16

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (WHEN, HAVE, BE, AM, WHAT), letter teams (AW/AU), and word family (OT - cot, got, hot, etc.). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on the following Phonemic Awareness skills - rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. Please see our Phonemic Awareness tab for ideas and tips. 

Reading: Play Smarty Ants for 10-15 minutes each night. Read books from your Book Bag! Read books from your at-home book box! Read to your child every day and have your child read to you every day. Find sight words and letter teams in books, in the car as you are driving - just READ, READ, READ! 

Writing: Write every day in your at-home journal. Practice writing your name with an uppercase only at the beginning. Practice writing ABC's uppercase and lowercase (Aa, Bb, Cc). Also practice writing your sight words of the week and sight word dictation sentences for our sentences test on Friday.

Math: Play Dreambox for 10-15 minutes each night. Continue to practice counting, identify numbers out of order (make number flashcards!), practice number writing, practice drawing shapes, identifying shapes, or even creating shapes out of play-dough and sticks. Count everything! Ask your child all the different ways that numbers can be represented. Start asking your child simple word problems like, "If there are four cats playing in the yard and two more cats come, how many cats are there altogether?" and have your child explain HOW he got the answer.

Turn-In Homework: This week, we are learning about bats and spiders. Write one sentence about what you have learned about a bat and/or spider.