The week of Feb. 21-24.

Are we sure it isn't spring?  This weather is absolutely fantastic!  It seems like we never have very many San Diego spring days before it is hot!  I hope you all were able to get out and enjoy it!

Thank you to the parents that helped make our Valentines' Day Party awesome!  The kids had a blast!  See pictures below!

Once again, I want to tell all of you THANK YOU for coming to your child's conferences!  I really enjoy sharing how much I enjoy your child and watching their progress throughout the year!  If you ever have any concerns please don't hesitate to let me know.

Spelling tests!  Yes, we are going to begin taking spelling tests over our sight words next week. It will consist of five sight words and a bonus, color word. I will send out the schedule for the tests and an informative letter explaining them tomorrow.  I apologize for not having this ready at conferences! The letter also gives ten ideas to practice spelling the sight words.  I will talk to the kids about it tomorrow!
I am also going to send home a handwriting practice sheet that you can make copies of to take practice tests at home.  It will be just like the sheet your child will take the test on at school.  I will say the spelling word, then put it in a sentence, and say it again.  I will mix up the words for the test, so make sure to practice them randomly.  Thank you for studying with your child each day so they feel ready and successful!  I do feel bad for a child if they have a blank face and struggle.  I know this is a first for your child and some words will be a challenge for them.  However, learning how to spell the words will help with learning them!  They feel so good when they can spell the words when writing them!

ELA:  English Language Arts--you will be hearing this term as your child gets older.  We have been working on capitalization and punctuation all year.  Your child knows when a sentence makes sense, but they do not know that they are making sure there is a noun and verb in their sentence to make it complete.  

This week I am introducing what a noun is.  We will look for nouns (person, place, or thing) in our Scholastic magazine tomorrow, find nouns in a sentence slide Thursday, write sentences with nouns Thursday and put them in a paragraph Friday!  It will be a busy week learning about nouns!  Ask your child what a noun is each day to review!  Look for nouns around the house!

Sight words:  do, how
Letter of the week:  long u, review the short u

Math:  
Topic 8 Subtraction
We will continue to work on subtraction this week using the minus sign, learning how the "difference" is the answer to the subtraction problem, and practicing subtracting from 5.  

I will pass out subtraction flash cards on Friday.  If your child knows all of their addition facts through 5, then please begin working on the subtraction facts from 5.

It would really be helpful if your child also learned their doubles to 10. (1 + 1, 2 + 2, etc.)  This will help them in first grade when adding one and two more to a number.

Coming up!
Thurs. Feb. 23  KDG Round-up at 6 pm for incoming KDG.
Feb. 27-Mar. 3  Read Across America
Thur. Mar. 2      Dr. Seuss' birthday
Fri. Mar.  10      Last day of 3rd quarter!
Mar. 13-17         Spring Break!
Mar. 20              No School!  Inservice/workday
Thurs. Mar. 30  Farm Day Planning Meeting at 4:15 

100's Day!  Making our trail mix with our 1,400 snack pieces!  (3 kids were absent)

Valentines' Day Party!

Feb. 6-10.

Wow!  100's day is already here!  We are so excited about celebrating it tomorrow!  Please make sure to send in your child's 100 snack and 100 collection in baggies tomorrow with their name on them!

Pajama Day!!!!  The class filled up the class bucket last week, so I thought it would be great timing to have a pajama day tomorrow (Tuesday) as well!  It'll be a super-hyped day anyway, so we might as well add more hype!  LOL!  I totally ran out of time to tell the kids what I decided, so it will be a surprise to them!

Parent-Teacher conferences--All of you should have received the conference time reminder in your child's Friday Folder.  I'm assuming your times are still ok for you, if I haven't heard from you.  :)

Days off--Parent Conferences are on Wednesday all day for 1/2 day KDG.  They are after school and evening for full day KDG and 1-5.  Thursday is only full day KDG and 1-5.  I have all of my conferences on Wednesday only, due to being employed half-time.  We are also off Friday and Monday for Presidents' Day.  I'll see the kids back on Tuesday, Feb. 21!

Valentine's Day Party--  We will have our Valentine's Day Party on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14!  It is the last school day that week.  I will have sacks for the kids to decorate in our classroom, so no boxes have to be decorated at home.  Have fun with that in future grades!  We have 16 kids in our class, but only 15 valentines need to be brought since your child doesn't need to bring one for themselves.  Please have your child just write  "their name" on it.  It is much easier for them to deliver to sacks if they don't put their classmates' names on the valentine.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

Reading this week!  
We are enjoying more learning about Presidents this week!  George Washington and Abe Lincoln are our main focus.  
Last week, we read about President Lincoln's hat and how it he put notes in it to refer to. Then, we each got a top hat to cut out and make in to something.  The topic was:  It looked like Abraham Lincoln's hat, but it was...  Look for these in the hall when you come to conferences!  They had cute ideas!

sight words:  an, each  (Please keep reviewing 1st-3rd quarter words.  Some are missing words that they already passed 2nd quarter.)
Letter of the week:  Kk

Math this week!  
Topic 8  Understanding Subtraction
We are learning how to take away and then will incorporate the minus sign and make the problem a subtraction sentence.  Try to throw in subtraction problems with your child using objects around you at home or in the car!

Subtraction flashcards will come home soon!  Please review the addition flashcards before beginning the subtraction flashcards.  They definitely need to understand addition before subtraction.

Coming up!  
Tues. Feb. 7        100's day celebration!  
Wed  Feb. 15      Parent/ Teacher Conferences (same times as the fall conferences)
Feb. 16-20           No school for Conference break and President's Day.

Sunflower Quilt

We read a sunflower book, wrote details we learned, and then chose a sentence to write under our sunflower.

January 30-February 3!

Happy Kansas Day!! (at school anyway) :). It was officially yesterday, Jan. 29, 1861.  We had a great day with our Kansas activities!  We made sunflower hats, played a Kansas symbols BINGO game, had a sunflower cracker snack and a state of Kansas snack!  See all of the pictures below!

I hope you and your child are thinking about what they could bring for 100's day on Tuesday, Feb. 7!
Simple is always best!  Look for things around your house.  We have been practicing counting to 100, so your child needs to be the one to count the items to 100, with your supervision. All kids know how to count by 10's to 100, so putting the items in groups of 10 may make it easier for those that are still not quite counting by 1's to 100.  Please make sure to put the items in a baggie and write their name on it.

Please make the snack easy also!   Any cracker or cereal that you already have would be great!  Make sure hands are washed before counting them out.  Also, make sure your child's name is on the baggie!
Have fun being creative at home!

The kids can't wait for it!  The one stumper for the kids, is that it is not our last day of school!  Every year, there's always a few that think that Kindergarten is over when we reach 100!  So cute!

January Book-it Calendars are due by Friday!  They have the snowflakes on them.  Those that turned in one each of the first three months were awarded a free book!  The same goes for Jan. Feb. and Mar. if they are all handed in.  :)

Please turn in the last name papers that was homework over the weekend!  Hopefully all are learning how to spell their last names.

Reading this week!  
The next two weeks we will work on our Presidents Social Studies Unit.  We will focus on George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and learn who our present President is.  At calendar, we will be learning what our coins are, their amount, and who is on them.  We will be counting the change as we add to it each day in our depositor.

It would be great if your child could name the penny, nickel, and dime and their amounts in Kindergarten!  It is not required, but I feel it would help them going in to first grade.

A little paperbook with "v" words will come home tomorrow.  Please have your child read it a couple of times.  They should be able to sound out the words to read it.  If your child struggles blending the sounds together, have them use the body walk to help!

Groundhog's Day is Thursday, Feb. 2!  We will learn about what it is and why it is a day we celebrate.  We will watch a video of Puxatawney Phil and what we find out if he sees his shadow.  Then we will take our own groundhog's outside and look for their shadow to see if we will have six more weeks of winter if we see it!  

Sight words:  there, use
Letter of the week:  Vv

Math this week     
We are finishing up Topic 7 on addition.  Tomorrow will be a review day activity using a paper plate with sections that we will put red and yellow counters in to add together.  Then, we will record our addition sentence on our recording sheet.  The test will be on Wednesday.

Thursday we will start Topic 8 over subtraction.
I'm hoping to have addition flashcards coming home by Friday.  Please put these in a safe place for your child to practice.  It would be great if your child new the facts to 5 for both addition and subtraction going in to first grade!

My KDG Conferences  are only on Wednesday, Feb. 15.  Look for the same schedule as the fall conferences attached to this email.  If you have any conflicts, please let me know.  

Coming up!  
Tues. Feb. 7        100's day celebration!  
Wed  Feb. 15      Parent/ Teacher Conferences (same times as the fall conferences)
Feb. 16-20           No school for Conference break and President's Day.

Book Bash!

Thank you parents for reading to us!  We loved it!

This is my first class that I have ever had all "Jayhawkers"!  

Kansas Day!

 My little Sunflowers

Our "sunflower" snack!

The week of Jan. 23-27.

I received a good report from the substitute on Friday!  I was prepared and brought back Las Vegas pencils for the class!

We are finishing up our Kansas pack this week!  Kansas Day is Sunday, Jan. 29, but we will celebrate Kansas Day on Monday with several Kansas Day activities.

This week we are learning about the Kansas Flag and it's characteristics, finding our state and county on the map, and fun activity pages.  We will also make a graph with those who are Jayhawkers and not Jayhawkers.  Can I tell you why there's 34 stars on the seal on the flag?

This Friday, we will finally have our Book Bash!  So, please remind your child they can bring either a stuffed animal, blanket, or a pillow.  Only one please and it has to fit in their backpack!!!  They can also bring one or two favorite books from home to read during "Read to self".

Reading this week! 
Theme 13  My House is Your House  (Ask your child the Spanish phrase they have learned from this text.

We will do a review packet together this week filling in words in the My House is Your House typed version.  Please read it with your child to review the 5 finger retell:  characters, setting, beginning, middle, end.  They will be tested over their comprehension of the book next Monday!
Sight words:  can, said (We are seeing "said" in a lot of our small reading books!)  Please continue to review sight words.  So far only one person has mastered all of 3rd quarter sight words!  We are now on 4th quarter words!

Letter of the week:  Nn

Math this week!  
Topic 7  Understanding Addition
We are now using the addition sign to join groups together.  I will be sending home flashcards soon to practice the math facts to 5.  It would be beneficial for your child going in to first grade if they knew the facts to 5 for addition and subtraction.  Subtraction will come home when we work on that topic next.  

Today we were noticing that if we know 3 + 3 =6, then 3 + 4 is only one higher, so the answer is one higher.  Try to use tips to help them understand how to get the answers by thinking not just using fingers or counters.

Coming up!  
Tues. Feb. 7        100's day celebration!  Info. sent home Friday!
Wed  Feb. 15      Parent/ Teacher Conferences (same times as the fall conferences)I'll 
send out the reminders soon!
Feb. 16-20           No school for Conference break and President's Day.

Jan. 17-20.

Welcome back!!  What a surprise to get a four day weekend!  It was a bummer we had to miss our Book Bash Friday, but put it on your calendar for Friday, Jan. 27.

Please have your child finish the math packet sent home on Thursday if they haven't already.

We are working on writing our last names.  Most of the class can write it without help.  Ask you child to spell their last name and write it.  I will be sending home practice writing pages soon to practice writing it the Kindergarten way.

Father/Daughter dance--Tomorrow is the deadline for the RSVP to be filled out and $20 for the dance.  I've only received a few so wanted to remind any parents if their daughter/father wanted to attend.  The RSVP was a bright yellow sheet that was sent out earlier.

Please fill out the half sheet that went home today on where your child was born asap.

Kansas symbols:  This week our symbols we are learning are the:  insect--honeybee, reptile--ornate box turtle, fish--catfish, amphibian--salamander, and the Kansas seal.

Reading this week:  Theme 13  Many Friends
Comprehension skill:  decoding  ( look for words we know inside words, sound words out in syllables)
vocabulary:  proud, culture, treat
sight words:  when, your
letter of the week:  long i (says its name)

Math this week:   
We are not taking the Topic 6 math test over numbers.  I feel like it is difficult and I am doing my own individual testing.
Topic 7  Understanding addition  
We will be joining numbers together with manipulatives, and then adding the addition and equals signs a few days later.

Coming up!  
Friday, Jan. 20  Mrs. Scott will be out of town.  Mrs. Draper will be here to substitute
Tues. Feb. 7        100's day celebration!  Info. sent home soon!
Wed  Feb. 15      Parent/ Teacher Conferences (same times as the fall conferences)I'll 
send out the reminders soon!
Feb. 16-20           No school

Jan. 6-13.

Happy Monday to you all!  If you haven't had a chance to look at your child's grade card, please get on Skyward soon and check it out!  If you have any questions about it, let me know.  Please send back the signature page when you've seen it.  If your child had not yet passed all of the first and second quarter sight words, they were attached to the green 3rd quarter skills sheet.  Please keep reviewing the missed words and all words, so they don't forget them.  Thank you for all that you do!

Social Studies--Kansas Unit--This week we are learning about our state flower: sunflower, state tree:  cottonwood, state animal:  bison, state bird:  meadowlark, and the Jayhawk.  If your child was born in Kansas, you are called a "Jayhawker".  Of course it's not my favorite thing to be called.  LOL!

I will be sending home a sheet on Friday to fill out to tell where your child was born and what that state mascot name is.  The kids have fun telling what their mascot name is.  Then  we will graph them and see how many were born in Kansas and how many weren't.

Book Bash on Friday!  Your child can bring either a stuffed animal, pillow, or blanket.  Only one item please and it must fit in their backpack. :)  I am still in need of gummy worms if anyone wouldn't mind purchasing them for the class.  We need 32, so each can have 2 a piece.  They need to be put in their own individual baggie.  Please let me know if you are willing to donate worms!

I'll be sending home "Pennies for Patients" if you want to throw in any loose change to help out with that wonderful organization.

Reading this week!  
We are continuing with "Our Country, Our Flag" theme story.  We have been learning about how many stars were on the first flag and how many are on it now.  The kids are so intuitive and have many questions to ask about the first 13 states and how our country grew to 50 states!  I love their questions and their interest!

Martin Luther King will be our topic on Thursday since the holiday is next Monday.  We will read about him and make a mobile telling about our dream we have for our country.  Then we will tell about our mobile on Seesaw so you can hear your child's dream!  

Sight words this week:  were, we, here (here is not one of our required 50 words)
Letter of the week:  short i

Math this week!  
We all counted as far as we could!  I would like for each to be able to count to 50 by the end of this quarter.  I was real happy with how far they counted!  Test them at home and see how far they get!  While you're cooking dinner or doing laundry!  Kids love to talk, so this is their chance to talk!

We will also begin writing to 100 this week!  Once they see the pattern, they get it!

Coming up!

Jan. 13        Book Bash
Jan. 16        No School--Martin Luther King Jr. holiday

Welcome Back!

We had a great first day back!  It sounds like the kids enjoyed their break!  I was happy to see their sweet smiling faces ready to come back!

We have an extra fun day coming up next Friday, Jan. 13.  It is called our "Book Bash"!  Four of you signed up at the beginning of the year to attend it.  Those who signed up are:  Heather Keeler, Kathy Parks, Brooke Riffel, and Cindy Sanders.  If one of them can not make it, I will ask for a replacement.  More info. will be sent in the Friday folder this week.

Today, we had fun reviewing the 2D and 3D shapes from last quarter.  See the pictures below!

Next week we are going to be starting our Kansas unit.  We will learn all of the Kansas symbols, there are 10 of them.  Can you name them?

This week in reading.
Theme 14  Where I Live
Theme story:  Our Country, Our Flag
vocabulary:  march, country, past
Skill:  Phoneme addition and substitution.  example:  hat-hot, zag-zap

sight words:  what, all  (Please continue to practice 10 min. a day on these.  We reviewed all we have learned today, and I had a handful that seemed to know all of them)  We are only 3 words away from 4th quarter words.  So, we have learned 35 words!!  Can you child tell you most of them?  We have:  "were, we, when" from 3rd quarter.

Istation:  I know it's difficult to remember to have your child play on Istation as they have so many other things they'd like to do also.  I am seeing such a drop in activity overall and I'd really like them to be getting on this for 15 min. a day.  It reviews and introduces new skills.  It is a great program to reinforce what I'm teaching at school.  Please consider making it a priority before other games.  Maybe they could earn something extra at home for reaching their 50 min. a week on Istation.  I am adding a "Smartie" to my certificate for those that reach it!  It will make them SMARTER!  Thanks for helping your child be a better reader!  It is an app that can be uploaded to Ipads.  Istation.com.

Book-it calendars are due!  Please send them in by Friday!

Math this week!
Topic 6  Numbers to 100!  We will be working on writing numbers to 100 next week!  Can your child count to 100 yet?  If not, have them give it a try.  Once they understand the pattern, they'll get it!

Coming up!
Jan. 6         Grade cards on Skyward!
Jan. 6          Send in Book it Calendars
Jan. 13        Book Bash
Jan. 16        No School--Martin Luther King Jr. holiday

3D shape snack sort and graph