Weekly News (Apr. 9-27)

Spring has finally sprung! Looking forward to more warmer days ahead! Take a peek below to see what we have been learning in kindergarten.

Math
We finished Chapter 8, which focused on numbers up to 100 and place value. We introduced the "100 Chart," which is a great tool to help students see patterns and relationships in numbers. Students brought home their own laminated number charts with suggestions for how to use the chart at home. The suggested games and activities will help your chid continue to develop a good number sense.

This week we also began Chapter 12, which will focus on laying the foundation for addition and subtraction. Students have been learning strategies for counting on and counting back from a given number, and they have also been learning about number pairs that make ten--such as "8 and 2 make 10."

Literacy
Reading Workshop
During our reading workshop time, the students have been learning about different literary devices poets use to make poetry memorable and fun to read! We learned about repetition and onomatopoeia, as we read "The Frog on the Log" and found some examples of each throughout the poem. We also learned about alliteration and had a great time as we found examples of alliteration in the poem "Ten to One." We also had fun coming up with examples of alliteration using our own names.

The students have also been learning how we can use our senses to help us visualize, or make pictures in our minds, so that we can better understand a poem or story. Using the poems "How Do You Like to Swing?" and "Liberty," we practiced closing our eyes and using all our senses and our own connections to paint a picture of the poem in our minds. Then we read "Kids Rule!" and recorded our mental pictures after listening to the poem. They did a terrific job with this activity and loved sharing their ideas with each other!

Writing Workshop
To support our poetry unit and to encourage Mother Nature to send some warmer weather our way, the students worked on writing acrostic poems about spring. We think she may have heard us! :)

Earth Day
In honor of Earth Day, we read the book 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World and wrote about the many ways we can make a difference in our world. Check out some of our ideas below!

Art Appreciation
The morning class loved learning all about the Spanish painter Joan Miro and his painting Women, Bird, and Star. The students explored the concepts of color and shadow, and they even had time to create their own surreal works of art. Thank you Mrs. Nierman for a great lesson!

Volunteer Breakfast
A HUGE thank you to all of the parents who have volunteered their time this year to help the students and staff at Dryden. We truly appreciate all you do1

Kindergarten Musical Reminder
Just wanted to send along a friendly reminder about our upcoming Kindergarten Musical on Friday, May 4. All students, both morning and afternoon kindergarteners, should arrive by 8:55 and line up in our normal spot. The students will rehearse together, and then the doors will open for parents to come into the gym at 10:00 am. The show will begin at 10:25. We will have refreshments in the gym after the show, and then everyone is welcome back in our classroom after that. The morning ends at 11:50, but students are welcome to go home with families before then. We will have sign-out sheets available for you to sign your child out before you leave. We are looking forward to a great show!

Thanks for reading.

Have a GREAT week!

Click HERE to see some recent photos!

Weekly News (April 3-6)

I loved hearing about all of the students' spring break adventures! I hope everyone enjoyed the time off from school. Take a peek below to see what we've been learning this week!

Math
This week we continued to focus on Numbers 1 to 100 as we began to explore the basics of place value. The children practiced counting by 10's and learned how to use groups of tens and ones to represent a two-digit number. Students practiced using connecting cubes to represent different two-digit numbers. We also focused on transitions from one group of ten to the next. Check us out in action below!

Literacy
Reading Workshop
The children were excited to begin our new reading workshop unit, which focuses on the exciting world of poetry! We introduced our mentor texts for this unit and practiced getting read to read poetry using the following steps--looking at and reading the title of the book and the poem; looking closely at the illustrations; making predictions; making connections to our own lives; and thinking about how the poem makes us feel. We also learned about the different ways poetry can look and how poets use different features to help us know how the words should sound. Then we found and shared some examples. Take a peek at some of our finds below!

Writing Workshop
The class had a great time talking about what they did over spring vacation with their turn-and-talk partners, and they did a nice job writing about their spring break adventures too. We have been focusing on adding detail to our writing and remembering to leave spaces between words. The students have also been doing a great job working toward their individual writing goals. Keep up the great work kindergarten!!

Guided Reading
The children were eager to get new books for their blue book bags this week! Thank you all so much for your continued support at home. I can tell the children have been practicing their sight words and Jolly Phonics sounds, and they have been doing a great job reading their books at home too. Keep up the great work!

LMC
This week in the LMC the students listened to the book One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree. Then they used the Nearpod app to compare this story with another familiar tale. They also learned more about real rainbow eucalyptus trees.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Thanks for reading!