Weekly News: March 16-20

We will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday by wearing green, sharing our Leprechaun Traps and having fun St. Patrick's Day centers.  

There are no electives and there is no Success Academy this week!

This is our last week of school before spring break. We have NO SCHOOL for the next two weeks. Spring break is a perfect time to work on your Community Service Projects! I hope you have a wonderful two weeks off with your families! We will see you back on Tuesday, April 7th. 


What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: There will be no new sight words introduced until after Spring Break.  Please take this time to review ALL of our words introduced so far.  Remember, sight words are words that your child should recognize instantly.  These are not words your child should be sounding out!  Please continue to work on these words. Each student has a sight word review page in his or her book bag for trimester 1, 2, or 3. Once one "level" is mastered, students get a prize from the treasure box and the next "level" is given. Practice these review pages every day! 

Letter Team: There will be no new letter teams introduced until after Spring Break.  Please take this time to review ALL of our letter teams introduced so far. Many children know most of the letter teams, but have a hard time applying them into decoding words. A great idea would be to write words (or make flashcards) with letter teams inside them and have your child decode the word for you, applying the letter team. (example: FARM - "I see the letter team AR inside the word FARM.")

Reading: We will read books about leprechauns and spring. Students will continue to read fluency passages at their levels and their self-selected good-fit books from the library. Many students have begun taking AR quizzes on books they have been reading. 

Writing: This week, we will write about Spring. 

Math: We will continue to work hard on decomposing and composing numbers within ten, as well as addition and subtraction problems, and identifying the place value (tens and ones) of two-digit numbers. Keep practicing those addition/subtraction and number bond tests that are coming home each week. 

Leadership: We will continue to ROAR and discuss what it means to have a growth mindset!

Weekly News: March 9-13

We had so much fun dressing up and celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday. Thank you for all of your help, time, donations, and to all of our guest readers! Make sure to check out our pictures on the ParentSquare post. 

Over the next week, your homework job as a family is to build a tricky leprechaun trap! We are going to be talking and writing about how we might catch a leprechaun. You will have the whole weekend and beginning of this week to build your leprechaun trap with your family - be as creative as you can! A good idea is to google or pinterest leprechaun trap examples for lots of fun ideas! You will bring these traps to school to share this next week, Monday through Friday, with Friday, March 13th being the LAST day to turn it in! We are going to have a leprechaun trap museum and do a special project with them! Have fun!

Second trimester parent conferences are coming up. Conferences for this trimester will be on a NEED ONLY basis and will be taking place the last week of school before Spring Break. I have already contacted the families that I will be conferencing with. Report cards will be going home on Friday, March 20. 

Upcoming Events:  
Tuesday, March 17: St. Patrick's Day Centers 
March 23-April 6: SPRING BREAK! 

If you are at the store and think of us, our class needs:
Baby Wipes 

Kleenex Tissue Boxes 

Items for our Class Store 
Elmers Gluesticks 

Black Expo Markers

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 begin taking our leveled fluency passages home again. We will continue reading books from our classroom library. 

Writing: This week, we will also write letters and posters to leprechauns, thinking of tricky ways that we can lure him into our classroom to trap him. We will also write a "How-To" piece on how to catch our leprechaun step by step. 


Math: We will focus hard on decomposing and composing numbers within ten. You can help at home by asking your children problems like, "If I need 10 cupcakes and I only have 4, how many more would I need?" I am finding that students do a great job referring to the tens frame and answering "ways to make 10" questions, but struggle with ways to make other numbers, so let's make sure we are also asking, "If we need 7 apples and we have four, how many more would we need?" We will be discussing different strategies for this in class. 

Leadership: We will continue to ROAR and discuss what it means to have a growth mindset!

Homework: March 9-13

Flashcards: Don't forget to 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 the long "a" like in EIGHT and NEIGHBOR).

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on: rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. 

Reading: Read everything in your book bag each night! This includes sight words, letter teams, fluency, and library books.  Continue to read TO your child every night, having conversations about the stories you are reading. 

Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. You can find the link for Smarty Ants on the right side tab of our website. Our class username is: JCBESS@INLANDLEADERS.COM and our password is: READ.

Writing: Keep writing each day in your at-home journal. The goal should be three sentences on one topic. 

Math: It would be a great idea to print the addition and subtraction pages as well as all the number bonds pages for your child to practice at home each day. Stick these in a page protector and use an expo marker so you can reuse them day after day and not have to print a billion copies :) 

QR Codes: Download and print the QR Code practice pages on ParentSquare. Work on these pages together.

Weekly News: March 2-6

HAPPY DR. SEUSS WEEK!! This week, we are celebrating Read Across America Week and Dr. Seuss' birthday! It's going to be a fun-filled week with a silly something to wear each day!

Monday, March 2: Rhyming Day {dress in rhyme - some examples are: a green queen, a fish with a dish, a cook with a book, etc. Have fun!}

Tuesday, March 3: Stripes & Polkadots Day {dress up in silly stripes and polkadots!}

Wednesday, March 4: Wacky Hat Wednesday {I can't wait to see all of those wacky hats!}

Thursday, March 5: Silly Sock Day {come to school in your silliest socks!}

Friday, March 6: Relax and Read Day {come to school in your PJs and bring your favorite stuffy and favorite book!}

Second trimester parent conferences are coming up. Conferences for this trimester will be on a NEED ONLY basis and will be taking place the last week of school before Spring Break. Report cards will be going home on Friday, March 20. 

Upcoming Events:  
March 2-March 6: Dr. Seuss Week 
Tuesday, March 17: St. Patrick's Day Centers 
March 23-April 6: SPRING BREAK! 

If you are at the store and think of us, our class needs:
Baby Wipes 

Kleenex Tissue Boxes 

Items for our Class Store 
Elmers Gluesticks 

Black Expo Markers

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: OVER, UNDER, LEFT, RIGHT, PUT.

Letter Team:  DGE (sounding like "j" like in BADGE, LEDGE, and FRIDGE).

Reading: This week, we will welcome guest readers and read lots of Dr. Seuss books.

Writing: We will keep working on narrative and opinion writing with three or more sentences. 

Math: This week, we will focus hard on place value (tens and ones). My goal for students is that they can tell me what digit is in the tens place and the ones place, as well as give a number sentence to match. (Example: The number 19 - the one is in the tens place, the nine is in the ones place, which means there is one TEN and nine ONES and 10+9=19.)

Leadership: We will continue to ROAR and discuss what it means to have a growth mindset!

Homework: March 2-6

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: OVER, UNDER, LEFT, RIGHT, PUT and the new letter team is: DGE - (sounding like "j" like in BADGE, LEDGE, and FRIDGE).

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on: rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. 

Reading: There will be no new fluency and no new leveled books coming home for the rest of the month. We are having fun reading some of our favorite books from the library. Students will still bring home weekly sight words and letter teams.  Continue to read TO your child every night, having conversations about the stories you are reading. 

Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. You can find the link for Smarty Ants on the right side tab of our website. Our class username is: JCBESS@INLANDLEADERS.COM and our password is: READ.

Writing: Keep writing each day in your at-home journal. The goal should be three sentences on one topic. 

Math: Keep practicing counting, number recognition, addition and subtraction and place value at home!  Please review your child's Math Facts Tests that come home weekly to reinforce addition and subtraction at home! You can also find these pages uploaded on ParentSquare! 

QR Codes: Download and print the QR Code practice pages on ParentSquare. Work on these pages together.

Weekly News: February 24-28

We've been having a lot of fun learning all about our presidents! This week, we will read and write about Abraham Lincoln as we study his life. 

NEXT week (March 2-March 6) we are celebrating Read Across America Week and celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday! As part of our Read Across America celebration, we are welcoming guest readers into our classroom throughout the week! If you or someone you know (grandma, grandpa, neighbor, friend, doctor, librarian, etc!) would like to come and read your favorite story to our kindergarten class, please sign up on ParentSquare! We are excited to welcome one guest reader every day!

We will also be celebrating Dr. Seuss next week by dressing up! It's going to be a fun-filled week with a silly something to wear each day! Start planning your silly outfits now! 

Monday, March 2: Rhyming Day {dress in rhyme - some examples are: a green queen, a fish with a dish, a cook with a book, etc. Have fun!}

Tuesday, March 3: Stripes & Polkadots Day {dress up in silly stripes and polkadots!}

Wednesday, March 4: Wacky Hat Wednesday {I can't wait to see all of those wacky hats!}

Thursday, March 5: Silly Sock Day {come to school in your silliest socks!}

Friday, March 6: Relax and Read Day {come to school in your PJs and bring your favorite stuffy and favorite book!}

Continue to work on your community service projects. These will be due the first week of May! Please see our Community Service Tab for more information and feel free to email me if you have any questions.  

Upcoming Events:  
March 2-March 6: Dr. Seuss Week 
Tuesday, March 17: St. Patrick's Day Centers 
March 23-April 6: SPRING BREAK! 

If you are at the store and think of us, our class needs:
Baby Wipes 

Kleenex Tissue Boxes 

Items for our Class Store 
Elmers Gluesticks 

Black Expo Markers

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, NEXT, LAST

Letter Team:  TCH (sounds like CH, like in BATCH, FETCH, ITCH).

Reading: We will continue to read books about George Washington  and Abraham Lincoln.
Writing: We will keep working on narrative and opinion writing with three or more sentences. We will also write what we are learning about Abraham Lincoln.

Math: This week, I will be assessing students on all the math concepts we have learned so far, including numbers, shapes, measurement, fluency facts through 5, addition and subtraction, decomposing and composing numbers, and base ten place value. Thank you for practicing and reinforcing these skills at home! 

Leadership: We will continue to ROAR and discuss what it means to have a growth mindset!

Homework: February 24-28

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, NEXT, LAST and new letter team: TCH. 

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on: rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. 

Reading: There will be no new fluency and no new leveled books coming home this week. We are taking two weeks off from reading groups to get through our end of the trimester assessments and have fun reading books in the library. Students will still bring home weekly sight words and letter teams. Students will also have an "Abe Lincoln" book in their book bag this week. Please keep this in your book bag and practice reading it every night as you learn about our 16th president. Continue to read TO your child every night, having conversations about the stories you are reading. 

Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. You can find the link for Smarty Ants on the right side tab of our website. Our class username is: JCBESS@INLANDLEADERS.COM and our password is: READ.

Writing: Keep writing each day in your at-home journal. The goal should be three sentences on one topic. 

Math: Keep practicing counting, number recognition, addition and subtraction and place value at home!  Please review your child's Math Facts Tests that come home weekly to reinforce addition and subtraction at home! You can also find these pages uploaded on ParentSquare! 

QR Codes: Download and print the QR Code practice pages on ParentSquare. Work on these pages together.

Weekly News: February 17-21

I hope you enjoy another relaxing three-day weekend with your families. 

We had a lot of fun celebrating Valentine's Day together on Friday. Make sure you check out our pictures on ParentSquare. 

For the next two weeks, we will learn all about our presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We will read and write about these two great presidents as we study their lives. 


Continue to work on your community service projects. These will be due the first week of May! Please see our Community Service Tab for more information and feel free to email me if you have any questions.  

Upcoming Events:  
Monday, February 17: NO SCHOOL
March 2-March 6: Dr. Seuss Week 
Tuesday, March 17: St. Patrick's Day Centers 
March 23-April 6: SPRING BREAK! 

If you are at the store and think of us, our class needs:
Baby Wipes 

Kleenex Tissue Boxes 

Items for our Class Store 
Gluesticks 

Black Expo Markers

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: THERE, WHERE, THEY, THEN, THEM.

Letter Team:  EY (makes two sounds - EE like in KEY, and AY like in THEY) 

Reading: For the next two weeks, we will read books about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Writing:  We will write all about George Washington this week. We will also continue working on narrative (stories about our lives) and opinion pieces.

Math: This week, we will continue to work on number bonds and we will also begin working on place value (tens and ones). Next week, I will begin my end of the trimester assessments. Make sure to keep practicing all math skills with your child, as they will be assessed on their counting, shapes, measurement, place value, addition and subtraction, composing and decomposing.  Thank you for practicing and reinforcing these skills at home! 

Leadership: We will continue to ROAR and discuss what it means to have a growth mindset!

Homework: February 17-21

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: THERE, WHERE, THEN, THEY, THEM and new letter team: EY. It is our last week of the second trimester. Next week I will be testing students on all sight words and letter teams they have learned so far! 

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on: rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. 

Reading: Students will have an "George Washington" book in their book bag this week. Please keep this in your book bag and practice reading it every night as you learn about our first president. Students will also be taking home a second trimester review page for sight words and letter teams. Please practice these pages and QR them! I will test them on all of these words next week! Continue to practice your A-Z paper books and your library books. Continue to read TO your child every night, having conversations about the stories you are reading. Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. 

Students will have a book bag "check-in" at the end of each week, where we will read everything from their bag together and they will receive a star for each item they read fluently. 

Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. You can find the link for Smarty Ants on the right side tab of our website. Our class username is: JCBESS@INLANDLEADERS.COM and our password is: READ.

Writing: Keep writing each day in your at-home journal. The goal should be three sentences on one topic. 

Math: Keep practicing counting, number recognition, addition and subtraction and place value at home!  Please review your child's Math Facts Tests that come home weekly to reinforce addition and subtraction at home! You can also find these pages uploaded on ParentSquare! 

QR Codes: Download and print the QR Code practice pages on ParentSquare. Work on these pages together.