The week of Oct. 25-Nov. 1

Oh my!  It is sure cold at recess!  Please remember to send your child in a winter coat, hat, gloves, scarf, etc.!! Everything warm!  If the wind chill is above 22 degrees we can go out, so just plan accordingly please.
The kids need to get out and run!

We have a busy week ahead!  Our Halloween parade and party is this Thursday.  As of right now, we are parading outside.  So, dress your child warm under their costume! Remember to have him/her wear their costume to school!  It is also orange day, so if your child can wear orange under their costume, it will work well!  I have some fun academic Halloween activities planned for this day.  We will be eating our treat right after the parade, then taking off our costume.  You may send a bag for the costume to be put in, in their backpack.

Field Trip Friday!!!  Look for a note coming home today to tell about reminders about what is needed for our field trip.  Please dress your child in comfortable shoes.  I have their green t-shirts from Camp K. to put on them here at school.  We will leave as close to 9:00 as possible, so please make sure your child is here by 8:45, so I have time to get their t-shirts on them and nametags, along with disposable, sack lunches accounted for.

Little readers--I hope you are enjoying your child reading their little reading books to you!  They know they need to read the book 2-3 times each time it comes home to know the words well!  Please ask questions about the book.  1.  The characters . 2.  The setting . 3.   Beginning, middle, and end if it's a fiction book.  Ask them to tell you what it was about and see if they share those parts with you.  
We are also working on the who the author, illustrator, and publisher are, along with their job.  

Your child will usually bring home their little reader on the same day, so you can expect homework on the same day most weeks.  Please make sure to check their folder for papers and homework each night.  Some kids are coming back to school with schoolwork still in their folder.  And some are forgetting to take it home!

Me on the Map!  We are going to be learning about where we live in a few weeks.  (Shawnee, Johnson County, Kansas, United States, North America) .   In your child's folder, you will find a blank address sheet for you to help them fill out.  I would like your child to write the address on the sheet.  They can copy it from what you write if you'd like.  It's a good time to help your child learn their address too!  Please send it back by Nov. 4.

Name homework!  I apologize for not informing you of the first name homework.  If you didn't catch it, there is a 2nd page attached for your child to write their name 4 times and return to school.  Some name sheets were found still in folders, so please check those today.  They may have left the folder in their desk on Friday.  Thank you!

This week in reading!
We are learning about "What Animals Need" to survive, much like ourselves.
We will also be reading "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" and drawing and writing a sentence about our favorite parts.  We will be discussing what our opinions mean.

sight words: is, was
letter of the week:  Pp
color of the week:  orange . (Jackson has the color snack)

Math this week!
Our test over Topic 4 Comparing and  Ordering Numbers 0-10 will be completed this week.  Our test will be on Wednesday.  Understanding the concept "fewer" is still a challenge for some.  Practice putting 4 given number cards in order when they are mixed up.  

Jack-o-lantern activity today!
We designed our own Jack-o-lantern on a pumpkin with a pencil to form a 2-D JOL.  Then, we used the design to form a 3-D JOL on another pumpkin.  It was fun to see if our drawing was too hard to make 3-D and to see our friends' Jack-o-lanterns too!

Enjoy the pictures below!

Coming up

Thurs. Oct. 31 .    Halloween Parade at 9:00, Orange Day (Jackson)

Fri. Nov. 1 .           Field Trip to Kaleidoscope, lunch, and Planetarium!

Tues. Nov. 5           Skating Party

Wed. Nov. 6           Delayed Start at 10:40

Thurs. Nov. 7         Rainbow Day!

The week of Oct. 21-25.

Brr!  It's cold today with that wind and no sun!  Please remember to start sending a heavier jacket to school.  The thin sweatshirts are not quite enough.  Thank you!
I hope you had a great weekend!
In case you're wondering...Hallie won 2 matches and lost 2 matches Friday.  Yes, she had to play 4 matches!  She did very well the first time going!

I came back today to good news!  My class did well with my sub. and got rewarded with a cookie snack and a Halloween pencil!  If today finishes well, they'll get out of the treasure box too!  I have been so pleased with how they have really turned a corner and are following directions much better!  It takes time to build stamina, friendships, and understanding of what's expected of them in Kindergarten.  Thank you to you too for your wonderful support at home!

Thank you all for turning in your Field Trip permission forms and money!  The kids will wear their green shirts from Camp K over whatever they wear.  I have them here, so I'll slip them on when they come that Friday.  They are easy to find in one color!

Grade cards!  If you haven't had a chance to view your child's grade card on Skyward, please do so.  You should have the user and password to see them from Aug. enrollment.  Go to Skyward Family access off our website or the District website under parents, and log in.  Please sign and send back the half sheet when you've had a chance to see it.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Reading this week!
We are reading "What Do Plants Need?".  We are learning about labeling pictures, about Table of Contents, index, and glossary.  They need:  air, water, food, sun.

Sight words:  look, at
Letter of the week:  Ff (I have a few more that need to turn in their "fish" homework)
Color:  Pink--Emma has the pink snack

Keep reading every night with your child!  It's so important to even get in 10 minutes before bed or while they are taking a bath, etc.  I feel that most of the kids have a big interest in reading to you now!  Dig out those bucket books and show them how excited you are to listen!

Small reading groups!  This week your child will bring home a little reader in a baggie with a skill sheet.  I am telling them to read their book at least 2-3 times to someone at home.  The skill sheet is usually over the skills we worked on in our group.  Please try hard to have your child do their homework baggie the night they bring it home, so it doesn't get forgotten.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Math this week!  We continue to focus on counting up 2 more and back 2 fewer.  I've seen major progress on these concepts!  When we count up 2, we use make a fist, say the number to start with, and show a finger when we count up 1 and 2 more.  You can do the same counting back.

Ordering numbers to 10.  The hardest thing about ordering numbers is understanding how to put them in order starting from a number different than 0 or 1.  For example, the numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 are given mixed up and they have to put them in order.  This would be an easy practice at home with number cards.

Handwriting:  V, W, X, Y

Coming up!

Thurs. Oct. 24 .    Pink Day

Thurs. Oct. 31 .    Halloween Parade at 9:00, Orange Day (Jackson)

Fri. Nov. 1 .           Field Trip to Kaleidoscope, lunch, and Planetarium!

Tues. Nov. 5           Skating Party

Wed. Nov. 6           Delayed Start at 10:40

Thurs. Nov. 7         Rainbow Day!

Black Color Picture

The week of Oct. 15-18.

I hope you all had a nice break with your family!  I had an exciting weekend I'd like to share about!  My daughter, Hallie, got 3rd place in Tennis regionals in singles and is going to State on Friday at Pittsburgh!  This is her first year playing singles, so she's done well!  Here's a picture!

So, I will be gone again on Friday to watch her play.  My sub. is Jen Mier.  The class had her as a sub. in Art recently.

Grade cards will be posted on Friday, the 18th around 4:00. I will be sending home information about them on Thursday to ensure they get taken home before I'm absent on Friday.  You have already logged on to finish enrollment in August, so you will just log on the same way.  If you have any questions call Jill Ussery or email her.

  

This week in Reading!  We are reading 2 nonfiction stories about what bears need to survive and what plants (pumpkins) need to survive!  Then we will compare how fiction stories about bears and pumpkins are the same/different as the nonfiction stories.  We will also do the 5 finger retell after reading the fiction stories.  Please make sure to so that at home too after reading stories.

Letter of the week:  short and long Ii

sight words:  a, she

color:  white (Kinsley has the snack)

Reading groups- This week I will be working with small groups on skills to help them understand how they work.  Beginning the week of Oct. 21 I will be sending home little readers and a skill sheet that will need to be read at least 2-3 times and the skill sheet completed and sent back the following school day.  

Book-It Calendar!  Just a reminder to fill out the October book-it calendar each night you are reading to/with your child.  It was in your conference folder.  Some kids hadn't seen it when I showed it to them last week.  Thank you for participating!

Math this week!  We continue to learn about one/two more and one/two fewer.  Fewer is such a hard concept for the kids.  Working on this in our everyday life will help them understand that we count back, we can also say what's "before", and what's less than.  Throw it in your conversations to help it make sense, such as; "what is one fewer fork at the table."  

Handwriting--  H, K, L, V

Fish HW-- It's due on Oct. 21, so you have another week to help your child complete the project.

Field Trip Permission Form and money--Thank you to those that have returned it.  Please return it by this Friday!  

Coming up!

Thurs. Oct. 17 .    White Day (Kinsley)

Fri. Oct. 18 .         Grades posted

Thurs. Oct. 24 .    Pink Day

Thurs. Oct. 31 .    Halloween Parade at 9:00, Orange Day (Jackson)

The week of Oct. 7-10.

We had a great time at Apple Day!  Thank you to all of the parents that helped us out!  The stations were very creative and the kids had a blast! Check out the pics below.  

The Firetruck/Firemen also came and talked about the truck and how they help us.  Did your child mention to check smoke alarms at home and make sure to have a meeting place in case of a fire?

We have a short week.  No school on Friday or next Monday.  

Our field trip is on Friday, Nov. 1.  We are going to Kaleidoscope at Crown Center and to the Planetarium at Union Station.  More information will be coming home on Thursday, including a permission form.  

I had several parents that signed up to go.  I drew out 4 names and this is who I drew.  If you're name wasn't drawn, I'm sorry.  If your name was drawn, but it doesn't work for you to go now, please let me know asap, so I can draw another name.

Here's our field trip volunteers:  Sarah Ford, Joe Gauna, Kelli Worthing, Kellee George.  

Substitute:  I have a sub. Julie Koehn, tomorrow (Tuesday) . She is the same I had last time.  Please let the office know of any changes at dismissal, so they can inform Julie.

Reading this week!  Our story this week is "The Little Red Hen".  Ask your child who the characters are, the setting, and what happens in the story.  Is there a problem/solution?

Fish Project:  This week a project for the letter Ff will be sent home on Thursday to be returned on Monday, Oct. 21.  There will be a letter explaining what to do with the fish.  

Letter of the week:  Nn

Sight words:  be, my (these are our last two 1st qtr. sight words)

color:  Black (Evelynn has the black snack)

Social Studies:  Columbus day is Monday, so we will be reading about Columbus and making a flipbook with the ships--The Nina, The Pinta, and the The Santa Maria.

Math this week!  We have a test this week on Topic 3 over Six to Ten.  Our next Topic 4 is over Comparing and Ordering Numbers to 10.  We will revisit more, fewer, and ordering numbers to 10.

Handwriting:  We are reviewing how to write the Frog Hop letters:  F, E, D, P, B, R, N, M

Coming up!

Thurs. Oct. 10 .    Black Day!  

Fri. Oct. 11 .         No School--1/2 Prof. Dev. and 1/2 workday on gradecards.

Mon. Oct. 14 .      No School--Professional Development Day

Fri. Oct. 18 .         Grades posted

Thurs. Oct. 24 .    Pink Day

Thurs. Oct. 31 .    Halloween Parade at 9:00, Orange Day

Apple Day Fun!

Games in the hall

 Making Johnny Appleseed pot hats

 Making our instruments

 Singing apple songs with our instruments

 Apple tree painting

 Apple painting

 Apple puzzles

 Balancing apples!

 Apple construction with toothpicks

 Using apples to make volcanoes!

Firetruck and Firemen!

 Johnny Appleseeds