Weekly News (Oct. 20-24)

Now this is a perfect fall day! I hope everyone is doing something fun today. We're heading to the pumpkin patch!

Math
This week in math the students began working in their "Number Books." When working in our number books, we practice writing each number as well as the number word. We also worked to fill in a ten frame for each number and found each number on a number line. We introduced the concept of a "number bond" as well, which provides a visual way for the children to begin thinking about addition facts. See the sample number bond below.

We also played a new game called "Roll and Record" where the students rolled a die and then practiced writing the number. This game encourages students to automatically recognize the number of dots on each side of the die, and it's great for number writing practice too! This week we also introduced the concept of weight using a pan balance. We used the words lighter and heavier to help us understand the meaning of the word weight. We talked about what it means when the pans are equal or balanced. Next week the students will experiment with the pan balance using a variety of objects during center time.

Jolly Phonics
We continued to learn the sounds in Book #4 and spent some time reviewing all of the sounds we have learned. We learned two more long vowel sounds this week.

/oa/ as in "boat"
/ie/ as in "pie"

Literacy
This week the children worked to create a book called Where is Pumpkin?, which focused on helping the children learn positional words such as: under, behind, on, above, and in.  They did a great job making and reading these books.  Please encourage your child to read it over and over again.  It's a fun one to read! We also enjoyed several fall themed books this week including: Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf; A Leaf Can Be, The Scarecrow's Hat, and Pumpkin Town. After reading A Leaf Can Be, we brainstormed some of the information we have learned about leaves and completed a graphic organizer that helped us categorize what we know about leaves. We used these phrases, "Leaves can ____, Leaves have ____, and Leaves are ____" to help us organize our ideas. We also created our own scarecrows after reading Scarecrow's Hat, which was a great opportunity to review some of our shapes! The shapes that we focus on in kindergarten include: rectangle, square, triangle, circle, oval, and diamond. 

The children continue to do a great during our guided reading and center time. I can tell they have been practicing their sight words, sounds, and books at home. Thank you for your continued support!

Centers
Take a peek below at this week's centers.

Runaway Pumpkin at the Listening Center

Pattern Creations

Sight Word Center

Reading Center

Geoboard Creations

Science
The students were eager to bring home their "Leaf Field Guide" this weekend, so they could go for a fall walk and look for leaves. Using the leaf rubbings from our science center last week, we made a field guided that would help students recognize some of the leaves they see outside. We also took a closer look at the different types of trees that produce these beautiful leaves!

All About Me
We had a great time learning all about Charlie this week. We learned that Charlie loves fishing, and he is also an official Junior Ranger for Yellowstone National Park. Wow! He also likes Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, especially Leonardo! He loves spending time with his family and playing Legos with his brother Jack. The class also loved when Jack's grandma came in to read a story--If You Give a Mouse a Cupcake. What a treat, thank you!

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for reading!

Weekly News (Oct. 14-17)

We have been enjoying our growing leaf collection this week.  Thank you for helping your children find such an amazing variety of leaves for our science lessons!

Math
This week we introduced the concept of a number story.  We used our interactive whiteboard to create our own number stories such as, "Ryan saw 2 green leaves on the tree and Maggie saw 2 orange leaves on the tree.  How many leaves did they see in all?"  Then we wrote a number sentence (or a number model) to match our story, 2 + 3 = 5.

The children also learned about symmetry this week by looking at many different examples of symmetrical shapes. We learned that objects can have up and down (vertical) symmetry, side to side (horizontal) symmetry, or multiple lines of symmetry like the examples. We took a closer look at our leaf collection and found several leaves that were symmetrical too!

  
Jolly Phonics

This week we began learning the Jolly Phonics sounds from Book #4.  The children learned their first long vowel sound, long a, and they did a great job finding examples of these sounds. We talked about how sometimes two letters work together as buddies to make one sound. Below are all the sounds we learned this week.

ai as "train"

Jj as in "jiggle"

Literacy
The children learned the sight word "like" this week, and we used the word "like" in our writing during Writer's Workshop time. The children also spent some time hunting for our sight words in books.  This is a great activity to do at home too!  We read several fall books this week including: Colorful Leaves, Count Down to Fall, and Leaf Jumpers. We used the Count Down to Fall book to do a second "close reading" of the text.  During a close reading, the children are encouraged to go back and think more deeply about the words and pictures in the book in order to gain a deeper understanding of the story and the author's message.  In the picture below, the children had to close their eyes and listen to the words on one page of the story--"Six linden leaves in Valentine shapes" and think about what shape linden leaves might be. Using the author's words from the text and their own knowledge of what a "Valentine shape" might look like, the children drew leaf shapes on sticky notes and posted them on our chart paper, which prompted a great discussion among the students.  We will be doing many close readings of text throughout the year to help students develop deeper comprehension skills that are reflected in the Common Core Standards.  

Science
We worked as scientists this week as we explored many of the leaves that the students brought in. The students spent time using magnifying glasses to explore our leaf collection and worked to draw and label parts of a leaf. Later in the week, the students each chose one leaf to study.  Using their leaf, they drew a picture of the leaf in their science journal and labeled the color of the leaf.  They covered the leaf with pennies and recorded the number of pennies it took to cover the surface of the leaf. They placed their leaf in a pan of water and counted the number of pennies it took to sink the leaf.  They also compared the different sizes of all the leaves and recorded the size of their leaf--small, medium, or large.  Take a peek at our scientists in action below!

All About Me
This week we enjoyed learning all about Jolie. She did a great job presenting all of the items in her "Me Box." We learned so much about her family, her hobbies, and her favorite things from the pictures she shared. We learned that Jolie loves to play with My Little Ponies, and she loves collecting shells on the beach during her trips to Florida! The class also enjoyed listening to Jolie's grandmother read Green Eggs and Ham--a class favorite! Thank you so much for coming in Omi!

Centers
The children did a great job working in centers this week as I worked with students in small groups for guided reading. Take a peek at this week's centers below!

Sight Word "Roll and Record"

Upper and Lowercase Letter Matching

Apples, Apples, Apples in the Listening Center

Creating Leaf Field Guides

Pattern Block Puzzles
Thanks for reading!

Weekly News (Oct. 6-9)

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend! We had a very productive day on Friday at Dryden for our School Improvement Day. We spent the day reviewing and analyzing all of our fall assessment information and worked to plan for instruction that matches our students' individual learning needs. It was definitely time well spent!

Math
This week in math we spent a lot of time learning about those "tricky teen" numbers from 11-19.  We practiced sequencing the teen numbers and counting out each number.  We also talked about how each teen number is "10 plus some more."  Any opportunities you have at home to reinforce the teen numbers would be helpful!

We also introduced the concept of estimating, and we talked about how we can use information we know to make a "thoughtful guess."  We put 10 objects into one container and filled a second container with either more or less objects.  Then we estimated how many objects might be in the second container by comparing it to the container with 10.  The children did a GREAT job with this activity!

We practiced counting by 1's up to 100 this week as well, and for those students who were ready we practiced counting by 10's too. We will continue to work on counting patterns throughout the year, as they form the foundation for many math concepts such as telling time, counting coins, and measurement. Driving in the car is a great time to practice these skills at home!

Practice counting to 100

Jolly Phonics

We completed Jolly Phonics Book #3 this week and learned the sounds and motions for the following letters:
/l/ as in "lion"

/f/ as in "fish"

/b/ as in "bubble"

We review the sounds and motions for the letters we have learned frequently in class.  Some tricky ones to keep practicing at home are all the vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, and u), d, b, g, and r.  The children often want to make the /j/ sound for "g" and the /er/ sound for the "r" instead of the /r/ sound like you hear in the word "rug." All of their hard work learning these sounds will really pay off in learning how to read and write!

Literacy/Social Studies
We read several fall books this week including: Fall Mixed Up, Why Is It Fall?, and The Falling Leaves.  We also read a book about Christopher Columbus and sang a song called "Sail Your Ship." We added this song to our poetry folders to sing at home!

I began meeting with students in guided reading groups this week as well. All students should have brought home one or two books to read at home in their blue book bag. Please encourage your child to read and reread their book bag books throughout the week. During our Reading Workshop time this week, we learned that good readers reread books they know well so that they can become even better readers. 

Centers
The children were put to the test this week during center time to see how well they could work independently while I met with guided reading groups. We had a few hiccups, but they are on their way to working independently! 

Puzzle Time 

Coin Identification and Matching

Sight Word Hunt

Dollhouse

Listening Center: Young Christopher Columbus

Science
The children brought home a letter this week explaining our first science unit of the year--Collections in Nature. For our collection, we will be studying leaves. I can't wait to see all the different leaves the children bring in on Tuesday! 

All About Me
The class loved learning all about Dylan this week and his favorite things! Everyone loved how he decorated his "Me Box," and they thought it was really neat that Dylan's dad worked on race cars. We learned that Dylan's favorite Disney character is Stitch, and that he loves spending time with his family, especially when they get to jet ski on the lake or collect shells at the beach!

A big thank you to Dylan's mom for coming in to read to the class!

The class has also been working hard to reach the top of our class "HOORAY" board for demonstrating good character and behavior, and this week they reached the top! To celebrate, we went out for recess on Thursday. Way to go K-2!

Thanks for reading!

Weekly News (Sept. 29-Oct. 3)

Brrr! What a chilly way to begin the month of October! Hopefully the temperature will warm up a bit, so we can enjoy some beautiful fall weather! Here is a peek at what we have been learning this week.

Math
This week in math we reviewed patterning, and we took a closer look at coins. After sorting our collection of coins into piles of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, we talked about the value of each coin and put the coins in order from least to most value. We also practiced counting by 1's. Our goal for the end of kindergarten is for students to be able to confidently count by 1's to 100 with smooth transitions at the 10's. We will also practice counting by 10's. Our end of year goal is to count by 10's up to 120. Although counting by 2's and 5's is not part of the kindergarten report card, we will introduce these counting patterns as well when students are ready. 

We worked together to complete a number board this week using our interactive whiteboard. After completing the board, we talked about the different patterns we saw. Seeing the numbers 0-10 represented in this visual way prompted some great conversation!

Number Board

Jolly Phonics
This week we learned the following letters and sounds in Jolly Phonics:

/g/ as in "good"
/o/ as in "octopus"
/u/ as in "umbrella"

The children continue to practice matching letters with sounds as they work on their writing during Writer's Workshop and blending sounds to read new words. I can tell many of the children have been practicing their sounds at home. Keep up the great work!

Literacy
We wrapped up our apple themed literacy activities this week. We welcomed in fall by reading a book titled Fall is Here and practiced our reading skills during a shared reading of the book The Picnic at Apple Park. The students brought home a new sight word book this week, and we also made a book about different colors of apples that we added to our individual classroom book bins. During Reading Workshop this week, the children practiced sitting "hip-to-hip" while taking turns reading a book to a buddy. Then they practiced sitting "knee-to-knee" while they used their speaking and listening skills to retell a story to their buddy. 

The children brought home a "Poetry and Song" folder this week. We will continue to add to this folder throughout the year. Please read and sing these poems and songs together at home. It is a great way for children to learn the cadence and rhythm of language. This week the students brought home our September Song. Take a peek to hear them singing it below!

Our September Song

Next week I will begin meeting with the students in small guided reading groups. It is a great opportunity for me to provide instruction that matches students' individual needs.  Please continue to check your child's blue book bag nightly and be on the lookout for any books that come home. Please be sure to have your child read the book(s) in the book bag over and over again throughout the week.  The repeated practice of reading a familiar book really boosts confidence and strengthens students' reading fluency and sight word recognition.  Also, please try and carve out some time each night to snuggle up and read a book to your child. After decades of research in the field of literacy, experts continue to agree that reading aloud is one of the most important things you can do to help your child develop skills needed for reading success. Reading aloud to your child:

• strengthens early language skills and vocabulary.
• helps develop a positive attitude toward books and promotes curiosity.
• builds background knowledge.
• provides a model for expressive and fluent reading.

And as Dr. Seuss once said, "You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child!" 

Science
Next week will begin our first science investigation of the year--Collections in Nature. We will be investigating a collection of fall leaves. Be on the lookout for a letter coming home toward the end of the week!

All About Me
We introduced our first "All About Me" student this week--Tyler! The class loved Tyler's "Me Box," and they were eager to learn all about his favorite things. We learned that Tyler loves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and playing Legos. He is also a big sports fan and loves to golf and play baseball. He loves to eat out and spend time with his family, especially at their lake house!

Tyler's Me Box

A big thank you to Tyler's mom for coming in to read Too Much Glue!

Centers
The children did a great job during centers this week. Here is what we working on this week.

Listening Center: Fox and the Falling Leaves

Painting Ten Frames

Kitchen Center

Apple Tree Play-Doh Mats
(Reinforcing counting, adding, and fine motor skills)

Roll an Apple Tree
(Reinforcing subitising--instantly recognizing the number of objects
 in a small group, without counting)

Our Class Behavior Chart
We're almost to the top! Soon we will celebrate.
Keep up the great work K-2!

Thanks for reading!
--Mrs. Riesing