I hope everyone is getting excited for the Halloween Share! 

The Kindergarten children will present their annual Halloween Music Program on Wednesday, October 31st, at 2:15 pm., in the Common Room: followed immediately by an outdoor costume parade on the playground, (weather permitting).  Please have your child bring his/her costume to school in a bag labeled with his/her name; and please be sure that all the pieces of the costume are labeled as well.  Get ready for a spooktacular treat!

Good Readers...

• Use sticky notes to mark their favorite page or a place where they made a connection.
• Discuss their favorite page and/or connection with their reading buddy.
• Have 2nd grade reading buddies!  Each student was paired with a 2nd grader from Mrs. Robbins' class. 

Our Shared Reading this week was a fun and interactive poem called Scarecrow.  A copy was sent home today.  Please have your child read and act it out for you, a sibling, at pet:)

Sight Words - our class words are the, I, a, at and is.  Individual sight words were sent home at the beginning of the week. If possible, please practice these words with your child at home. They're doing a wonderful job practicing at school!

Good Writers...

• Use all their senses to write like a scientist.
• Choose objects from Mrs. Byrne's magic box and look at them under an imaginary magnifying glass.
• Write everything they notice about their object.
• Write fall poems using their senses!

Word Study Centers - Thanks to all of our volunteers this week!  Hope you enjoyed visiting the classroom.  Volunteer times are from 9:45-10:15.

In math we started a new unit - Cathy Fosnot Bunk Beds and Apple Boxes.  We read a book called The Sleepover and learned about making combinations of 8.  We used the math rack, manipulatives,  and the Smart Board to notice all the different ways we can make the number 8. 
4+4
6+2
5+3
7+1
0+8

Science/Social Studies - We continued our explorations of the 5 senses.  We chose objects from Mrs. Byrne's magic box and described them using our senses.  We read a book by Aliki and wrote using all of our senses. 

I hope everyone is enjoying Fall 4 Math and the Book Fair reading contest.  I love seeing all of the green slips come in each day.  This week in Kindergarten, we had Peaceworks visit us in the classroom.  We talked about how to handle angry feelings.  We learned to - STOP,  take 5, and think.  Everyone enjoyed participating and interacting with Cool, the penguin puppet.

We continued our great work in Reading and Writing Workshop.  This week, we learned that...

Good Readers...

• Make connections!  They look at the pictures, think about the story, and ask themselves "what does this remind me of?"
• Explain their connection to the class and/or their reading buddy. 
• Use everything they know to predict what will happen next.

Our Shared Reading this week was Humpty Dumpty.  Students looked for rhyming words and sight words in the familiar nursery rhyme.  A copy was sent home today.  Please have your child read it to you, a sibling, pet, and/or stuffed animal. 

Sight Words - Our class words are the, I, a, and is.  Individual sight words were sent home at the beginning of the week.  If possible, please practice these words with your child at home.  They're doing a wonderful job practicing at school!

Good Writers...

• Finish their writing!  They look through all their writing pieces and add to the picture, add to the words, and then start a new piece!
• Brainstorm ideas with their buddy.
• Stretch out the sounds they hear in words.

Good Mathematicians...

• Continue to practice number formation - please practice the correct formations at home!
• Use manipulatives to decompose and combine numbers to 10.

Word Study Centers - Volunteer times begin on Monday from 9:45-10:15!

Social Studies/Science - We continued to discuss our 5 senses!  We read a book and watched a short movie about how our 5 senses help us learn more about the world around us.  Our 2nd Steps lesson focused on being assertive.  We talked about when you are stuck and don't know what to do you should be assertive, raise your hand, and ask a teacher/adult for help.  The "Home Link" is optional, but it will give you a better idea of what we're doing in class.

Happy Fall!

I hope everyone had a nice week!  We've been enjoying the lovely, fall weather.  This week in Kindergarten we learned that...

Good Readers...

• Know the characters in the story.
• Know what the characters are doing and how they are feeling.
• Take guesses about what might happen next.
• Look for sight words in their reading.

Our shared reading this week was a poem called In October.  Students practiced looking for rhyming words in the poem.

Good Writers...

• Illustrate and label lists of items.
• Use an imaginary rubber band to stretch out the letter sounds in words.
• Use tools (like their alphabet chart) to help them stretch out letter sounds.

Good Mathematicians...

• Practice number formations - a sheet explaining number formations was sent home today.
• Make combinations and count to 10.
• Play math games like "pop" and practice using the math rack.

**** Fall 4 Math, sponsored by the DAEG, begins Monday, October 15th!  

Word Study: Students worked on rhyming sort and/or letter sound sorts.  Other center activities were games, puzzles, rainbow writing sight words, shared reading, and cut/paste.

Sight Words: Students are enjoying their sight word rings at school.  Please try to practice sight words at home with your child.  An updated list will go home at the beginning of next week. 

Science/Social Studies - We reviewed previous 2nd Steps lessons.  We will begin a new lesson next week.  We started learning about and talking about our 5 senses!

REMINDERS:

If you haven’t already done so, please make sure that your student has a change of clothes (weather appropriate). If you could put them in a Ziploc bag with their name on it, that would be helpful in staying organized!

The Halloween Share is scheduled for Wednesday, October 31st at 2:15 in the common room.  Don't forget your camera!

Picture Retake Day is Thursday, November 15.  Please let me know if you would like your child to have his/her picture retaken.  Students having their picture retaken need to bring back their portrait package, minus the class picture, and give it to the photographer on retake day.  It is important that the student brings his/her package to the photographer because there is a barcode on the envelope that needs to be scanned.

It was a rainy week in Kindergarten, but thankfully the sun came out today!  I hope you all enjoy your long weekend - students do not have school on Monday.

During Reading Workshop we learned that Good Readers...

• Know how to use their classroom library.
• Keep their book choices in a book bag.
• Look for sight words in their books. 

Our shared reading this week was Hey Diddle Diddle.  A copy was sent home today.  Students practiced looking for the sight word the in our shared reading.

During Writing Workshop we learned that Good Writers...

• Think of something that happened to them, and sketch it on paper.
• Stretch out the sounds they hear in words.
• Share and talk about their work.
• Clean out their writing folders! 

During math we learned that Good Mathematicians...

• Work on number formation. 
• We started to practice writing numbers 1-10.
• A sheet explaining number formation will go home at the end of next week!

Word Study:  Students worked on a rhyming sort, and then cut and pasted it into their word study notebook.  We practiced an activity called Draw and Label.  Students thought of additional rhyming words, drew them, and did their best to label using phonetic spelling.  Puzzles, games, and shared reading pieces were our additional center activities.  Everyone is doing a great job of learning the centers routine!

Sight Words:  Our class word is the.  Students received their individualized sight word ring this week.  Their sight word ring stays at school.  They practiced their 5 sight words with a teacher.  The same 5 sight words were sent home on orange paper accompanied by some ideas on how to practice them at home.

Social Studies/Science - We celebrated Columbus Day! We talked about his explorations and completed fun activities. Our 2nd Steps lesson involved using self-talk (a quiet voice) to repeat directions, focus attention, and ignore someone who is distracting you. Please review the Home Link with your child. The activity is optional!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The first collection deadline for Box Tops is October 15th! Please send in your clipped box tops to your classroom at any time before then. Remember, the class that collects the most Box Tops by October 15th wins an extra recess! (Please check expiration deadline on your boxtops and cut them carefully or they won't count.) Thank you!

**There will be a "guess how many" jar at lunchtime in the cafeteria this Thursday to promote Box Tops.

To enter students should please bring either 10 cents per guess or one Box Top per guess. The winning guess will receive a $10 gift certificate to Barrett's Bookstore (one gift certificate for the best guess received from grades K-2).