Weekly News: November 30-December 4

News:

Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week off with your families! I am so excited to be back at school.  This is such a fun, yet busy time of the year in kindergarten with so much going on! Please take a moment to read through our news and upcoming events so that you don't miss out on anything! Thank you! 

We had such a fun Thanksgiving Feast before break. Thank you to all the parents that came to help. We are so thankful for you! 

Our kindergarten classes are doing a Christmas play this year! I'm sure you have heard all about it! We will be putting on "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man". We started rehearsals before Thanksgiving break and our kiddos are having so much fun learning all of the songs and hand motions. Every student should have received his or her special role in the play, along with a script and CD before break. We will be doing our performance in the evening (around 6:00) so that all moms and dads can attend, on Tuesday, December 15th. Please mark your calendars now. This is an event you will not want to miss!  

Upcoming Events: 

Thursday, December 10: Holiday Craft Fair - please check ParentSquare for how you can help!
Monday, December 14: Grandparent's Day 
Tuesday, December 15: "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" 6:00
Friday, December 18: Christmas Centers 

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

Christmas Stickers and Prizes/Trinkets

Baby Wipes

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: AS, NO, KNOW, ABOUT, BY.

Letter Team:  KN (the K is silent, like in KNOW and KNIGHT), and EW (like in NEW and STEW).

Reading: We are reading a variety of books about the Gingerbread Man this week. We are also learning about landforms (like mountains, valleys, deserts, and plains) and bodies of water (like rivers, oceans, lakes, and ponds). We will begin taking home leveled Reading A to Z books and library books in our book bags this week. Students still working on letters and sounds or students having difficulty with sight words will also be taking home fluency sheets in their book bags. Students that are working on reading stories and fluency will begin taking home fluency passages this week. Please practice reading these sheets and these books every day at home. 

Writing: This week we will make a "Writer's Checklist" - a list of things that all good writers do, such as proper punctuation, uppercases at the beginning of a sentence and name, finger spaces between each word, spelling word wall words correctly, adding details, making sure our writing makes sense, and trying our best! We will read this checklist everyday to make sure we are applying each of those skills in our writing.

Math: This week we will learn addition "DOUBLES" in our fun DOUBLES SONG. You can help at home by asking your child doubles addition questions (2+2, 7+7, 10+10, etc.) We will start working on fun Christmas story problems in our math journals. 

Leadership: Our new leadership theme for the second trimester is SELF-CONTROL. We will be discussing ways that we can use self-control at home and at school. This is also our Turn-In Homework topic of the week. 

Homework: November 30-December 4

New Homework Expectations: As discussed at parent conferences, we will have new homework expectations for the rest of the year. We will not only be recording students that have turned in their "Turn-In Homework", but we will be checking Smarty Ants and Dreambox to make sure students are spending 10-15 minutes a day on each program. We will also be keeping track of students that bring book bags to school every day. Thank you for your continued support at home!

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (AS, NO, KNOW, ABOUT, BY), and letter teams (KN and EW). 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 check your child's report card from first trimester and see the Foundational Skills areas where they may still need support. 

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. Our expectation at this point of the year is for students to write three sentences every day! Please make sure your three sentences are on the same topic with details, focusing on neatness, punctuation, and capitalization as we discussed at conferences.

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. Please check your child's report card from first trimester and see the Counting and Cardinality and Geometry areas where they may still need support. 

Turn-In Homework: Please write THREE SENTENCES about our new leadership trait of Self-Control. Write about ways that you can show self-control at home and at school. Draw a picture to go with your sentences.

Weekly News: November 16-20

News:

No school for students on Monday! I hope you enjoy the three day weekend with your families!

Parent Conferences are this week (Monday-Thursday). Thank you for signing up on Parent Square for a conference.  I am looking forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's growth in the classroom.

Thank you very much for donating to our Thanksgiving Food Box! What a wonderful way to give during this holiday season :) 

We are having a Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast on Friday! The kids will be eating turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn bread, cranberries, friendship fruit salad, and of course, homemade pumpkin pie! We are looking forward to making a lot of our items in class together this week. Don't forget to bring your fruit for our friendship fruit salad on Friday! Please send a piece of fruit to school with your child on Friday. An apple, pear, banana, or small bag of strawberries or grapes are good examples. Each child will get to add his or her own fruit to our fruit salad! 

If you would like to come help set up and make this a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast for our kids, you are welcome to join us on Friday at 11:30 for set up.  The feast will begin at 12:00. We need need LOTS of help for set up and tear down! Thank you in advance!

Our kindergarten classes are doing a Christmas play this year! I'm sure you have heard all about it! We will be putting on "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man". We will have "auditions" this week and each student will have a very special role in our play. Later this week, we will be sending home lyrics and CDs so you can start practicing over break! More information on this fun event to come. Have fun singing!

Don't forget to get your Book Orders in! They are due on Friday to ensure you will receive them before Christmas. 

NO SCHOOL ALL OF NEXT WEEK! Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with your families!

Last Week's Winners: 

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

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

Upcoming Events: 

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!!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

This week we will have fun and review everything we have learned so far in kindergarten. We will also be studying the Pilgrims and Indians, reading about Thanksgiving, and working on fun Thanksgiving projects!! There are no new sight words or letter teams until after break, so please review ALL of the first trimester sight words and letter teams. There is also no turn-in homework this week, but please keep working on Dreambox and Smarty Ants!

Weekly News: November 9-13

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

Parent Conferences are next week (November 16-18). Thank you for signing up on Parent Square for a conference.  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!

Last week was the last week of electives and Success Academy until after Thanksgiving break.

Our class is putting together a Thanksgiving Food Box that will be donated to a local family in need.  Thank you to all of the parents for signing up and donating items. Remember items need to be turned in by Tuesday, November 10.  Thank you!!

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! We are looking forward to a great, big Thanksgiving celebration together!  If you would like to come help set up and make this a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast for our kids, you are welcome to join us next Friday at 11:30 for set up.  The feast will begin at 12:00. We need need LOTS of help for set up and tear down! Thank you in advance!

Please note that while other grade levels at ILCS are participating in an evening Christmas performance on Monday, December 14th, kindergarten is NOT participating in that performance. INSTEAD, we will be having our very own special kindergarten play, "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" on the evening of Tuesday, December 15th. More information to come, but you do not want to miss this, so mark your calendars now! 

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 AGAIN! She spent the most time last week playing DreamBox Math. WOW! Keep up the good work!

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

Upcoming Events: 

Tuesday, November 10: Patriotic Day - Wear Red, White, and Blue

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: 

Thanksgiving Stickers 

Treasure Box Prizes

Baby Wipes 

What Are We Learning This Week:

Sight Words: This week we are reviewing our tricky W words - WENT, WHEN, WHAT, WAS, WANT. Please continue to practice all sight words that we have learned in the first trimester, especially those your child has misread on their Friday Sight Word Test. 

Letter Team:  GE/GI (the soft sound of G which sounds like J, like in GENTLE and GIANT).

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.  

Writing: We will continue to write at least three sentences on the same topic, focusing on neatness, proper punctuation, capitalization, and spacing.

Math: We will continue to work on our Math Journals, fun Thanksgiving story problems and games, and DreamBox. Students have been learning about different types of story problems - adding, subtracting, adding groups, sharing, and comparing. We have been working on different WAYS to solve problems, such as using manipulatives, drawing a picture, counting up or counting backwards, and using resources around us. 

Leadership: GRIT. 

Homework: November 9-13

Flashcards: Study flashcards for our review sight words (WENT, WHEN, WHAT, WAS, WANT,) Make Flashcards for the new letter teams (GE and GI).   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. Our expectation at this point of the year is for students to write three sentences every day! 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: With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this week, please write about what you are thankful for. Draw a picture to go with your writing.