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!

Welcome Spring!

I enjoyed meeting with all of you for parent-teacher conferences, and I hope you all have a fun and relaxing spring vacation! See you back at school on Tuesday, April 3rd!

Weekly News (Feb. 20-March 2)

Wow! How the days are flying by in kindergarten. I can't believe it's already March! Take a peek below to see what we have been learning.

Math
This week we wrapped up our shape unit as we focused on identifying and searching for 2D shapes, creating pictures with shapes, and using shapes to create and extend patterns. Students went on a shape hunt in our classroom to find various shapes, and they used the iPads to scan QR codes to learn about shapes that we can see in the real world. Students also followed a set of clues to color a shape picture, and then they created their own unique designs using 2D shapes. The students also practiced using a collection of shapes to create and extend patterns.

Going on a Shape Hunt

I found a triangle!

I found a rectangle!

Shapes in the Real World

Scanning a QR code to reveal a real-life 2D shape!

Look what we found!

Look what we found!

Graphing our results

Shape Pictures and Patterns

Creating a pattern

Check out our patterns!

What comes next?

Literacy
Reading Workshop
The students continue to learn strategies to use when listening to or reading nonfiction books. Students learned how good readers STOP and THINK before, during, and after reading. We practiced how to confirm our predictions and identify new information we learned by saying things like, "Yes! I knew that!" or "Wow, I never knew that!"

We also spent some time learning how to use different text features to understand the meaning of the bold words found in nonfiction books. We practiced studying the photographs, reading the labels, and using the glossary to help us learn the meaning of new words. The students had time to explore books in their book bins to find examples of these features, and they were excited to share their findings with their partners!

Guided Reading
You may have noticed that your child did not get a new book in their blue book bag these last two weeks. I have been pulling students one-on-one to do some assessments for report cards, and now that those are just about wrapped up, I will begin meeting with guided reading groups again next week. The students LOVE their small group reading time, and they are always so eager to get a new book! Thank you so much for your continued support at home working with your child and encouraging them to read their books and practice the items in their bags. It truly does make a difference! I can tell the students have been practicing their sight words. Keep up the great work!

Writing Workshop
We have recently been doing some goal setting during writing workshop time. The children have been working on individual goals for their writing and reflecting on their progress toward their goals. We have also been transitioning from writing one sentence on a topic to two or more sentences as they become ready for this step. The children continue to grow and develop as writers, and it's amazing to see how far they have come since the beginning of the school year! I can't wait to share their writing journals with you at conferences!

Handwriting
We continue to teach formal handwriting skills using the Handwriting Without Tears program. We have finished our work with the uppercase letters, and we will spend the remainder of the year working to learn the lowercase letters. The children also continue to practice their name writing skills so that they are able to write both their first and last name using good letter formation and upper and lowercase letters appropriately. The students continue to make progress with this skill each week!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
What a great way to welcome March! This week we enjoyed learning all about the life of Dr. Seuss! I loved listening to the students' conversations about their favorite Dr. Seuss books and how they love how his books rhyme. It was also fun to see the students' reaction when they learned that Dr. Seuss was a real person---not the cat wearing the red and white striped hat! They were surprised to learn that his real name was Theodore Seuss Geisel and that he wrote over 40 books! We even spent some time rhyming and transforming ourselves into cats wearing red and white striped hats too!

Art Appreciation

A big thank you to Jake's mom for teaching our morning class about the French painter Edouard Manet. The students learned about Manet's life and took a closer look at his painting The Fifer. They listened to fife music, and they even created their own instruments and played them as they paraded around the room!

All About Me

The morning class loved learning all about Skylar. We learned that Skylar loves to wear headbands, and her favorite game is Pop the Pig! She enjoys playing with her Barbies and dressing her baby dolls, and she also likes to draw and color. She likes many colors, including pink, and she also likes to play catch!

A big thank you to Skylar's mom for coming in to read
an Elephant and Piggie book. We always love Mo Willems!

We also loved learning all about Kevin this week! We learned that Kevin enjoys playing with Playdoh and his racecars. He also likes the movie Peter Rabbit, and he is a big fan of Spiderman too!

Welcome Cody!

Our afternoon class was SO excited to welcome a new student this week. Welcome to Dryden Cody. We are so happy you are here!

Thanks so much for reading!

Hope you have a GREAT weekend!

Click HERE to see more pictures.

Enjoy!