The week of April 15-19.

I hope you all had a great weekend!  This week we are continuing with our Farm/animal unit.  The kids are learning a lot about farm animals!  I grew up on a farm, so I love this unit too!  My dad farmed crops along with raising cows and pigs.  Yes, the pigs were stinky!  My mom would always say when we complained about the smell, "It smells like money!"  Ha!

I saw a few of you at the Fish Bowl Auction!  My breakfast winners are Allison and Bentley!  Congratulations to them!  I hope you had a great time if you went!  Our basket looked awesome!  I want to thank Amy Mayhugh and Jessica Robinson once again for their time collecting all of the items!  Also, thank you all for your generous donations!

Our KDG Open House is coming up next Friday, April 26!  We are hard at work to prepare a great program for you!  Our chicks should hatch by the time you come, so we will love telling you about them too!  Please keep in mind, we will have a packed house, so please find a sitter for any younger siblings, so you can focus your attention on your kindergartner.  Also, if for some reason at least one parent cannot be here, you are welcome to invite another family member to come!  Every child would like to show their projects, so please have someone here for your child.  If by chance no one can make it, please let me know, so I can ask another parent to also check out your child's projects.  Let me know if you aren't able to be here at 2:30.  We will begin singing as soon as all are here, but would like to begin as close to 2:30 as possible.  You will need to check in at the office.

Reading/Science-- This week we are learning about chickens.  We have been drawing chick diagrams of their growth in our chick flipbook every few days.  The kids love doing this!  
Last Thursday we "candled" our chick eggs to see if we could see the chick growing.  Our candler is a special box with a bright light in it that can see inside the eggs pretty well!  We have one white egg and the rest are tan/brown as you can see below.  The white egg was the easiest to see through.  It was so fun to see the movement of the chick, the eyeball, veins, and air space!  However, not all of the eggs seem to have growth in them, so we will anxiously wait to see which ones hatch!  

This week we are learning more about the dipthongs-oi/oy.  Usually the "oi" is found in the middle of the word and the "oy" is found at the end.  Of course that rule doesn't always follow our English language but it's helpful to remember most of the time.

sight words--this week we are adding some extra sight words, not part of the 50, but are used a lot.  The words are:  here, want

Spelling list--I hope you all were able to print off or copy down the spelling list for this week.  

The words are:  have, how, said, all, it   Bonus words:  orange, three, four

For the word orange I like to tell them the words "or" and "an" are first then "ge".

Math this week!  Topic 11--Decomposing numbers 11 to 19.  

Goals!  Please keep practicing addition facts to 5 and subtraction facts from 5.  We keep testing on the addition facts to 5 and will test on subtraction facts to 5 when your child brings home a certificate for the addition facts.  

I will be sending home their sight word tests so you can see what words your child needs to keep working on.

Tying shoes.  Only a few have passed this skill.  I know it's difficult but it will sure help them in first grade if we work on it now.  Thank you for attempting it!  It is challenging!

Coming up!

Apr. 22    Inservice--No School

Apr. 26    KDG Open House at 2:30  --Please plan on being here if possible!  We will sing songs, view our projects, and meet our chicks that we are incubating in April.

May 3  Farm Day in the AM

May 17  Field Day

May 23  Last day of school will be a half day.

The week of April 8-12.

I'm back!  It's working again!  I was a little worried it wasn't going to work anymore.

Book Fair--Today is our library day. The class will get to look at books in the book fair, but we do not let KDG bring money to spend by themselves, as they don't quite understand how it works.  But there are after school hours for you to bring your child up to buy books if you couldn't make it to the Fish Bowl Auction.

We are on day 6 for our eggs in our incubator.  We are taking good care of them, making sure the temperature and humidity are just right!  We have 7 eggs--6 brown and 1 white.  The brown ones are from a Rhode Island Red Hen and the white ones are from a Leg horn hen. We are anxious to see how many hatch after 21 days and what color they are!  Every few days we are drawing what the chicks should look like at that time in a chick flip book that you'll see at Open House!

Reading this week!  We are reading a fiction book called "No-Tech day Day of Play" about kids that lose electricity at their Grandparents and learn other games to play that do not need electricity!

We will also be learning about sheep this week and making a sheep with our handprint!  Then, we will write details in our "barn" book and illustrate a picture!  The "barn" books are so cute!

sight words this week:  what, or
letter of the week:  long o

spelling words this week:
one, from, that, are, an  
Bonus words:  black, two
Your child should always bring home a spelling list on Fridays.  If they don't, please look at the list I gave you at conferences and work on them.  I think it really helps them to get a headstart over the weekend.  Don't forget about Spelling City too!

Math this week!  We are taking our math test Wednesday over Composing numbers 11 to 19 by adding numbers up to 9 to the number 10.  Please review the worksheets and make sure your child is understanding it.

Topic 11 will be Decomposing Numbers 11 to 19.  The answer will be first and the addition problem after it.

Coming up!

Apr. 22    Inservice--No School

Apr. 26    KDG Open House at 2:30  --Please plan on being here if possible!  We will sing songs, view our projects, and meet our chicks that we are incubating in April.

May 3  Farm Day in the AM

May 17  Field Day

May 23  Last day of school will be a half day.

The week of Mar. 25-29!

This is a very busy week!!  Kindergarten round-up for incoming KDG is tomorrow night (Tuesday at 6:00).  It is for parents only if possible! Please let any parents know that you are aware of their child being 5 before Sept. 1!  Thank you!  Hopefully you can still make it to Fritz for the CCE night!  There will be many teachers there to visit with, just not us KDG teachers.  :(

We also have our Farm Day meeting this Thursday at 4:15 in the Maker Space or North Activity Center.  It's where we had Apple Day if you were here then.  These are the helpers that signed up to help out for Farm Day on May 3.  Amy Maymugh, Missi Cavanaugh, Becky Schieber, Linsay Pecaro, Melissa Mendez, Jessica Robinson, Justin Koppa. If anyone else is interested please let me know!  All are welcome!  Please come to the meeting if possible.  If you can't, just let me know and I'll make sure your name is on the list to help out.

Grade cards!  I hope you were all able to look at your child's grade card on Skyward over the weekend!  If you have any problems, please let me know.  It's very important to show it to your child too, so they understand what it is and the importance of it.  If you didn't see the packet of info. about your child's skills, please let me know.  I noticed one child left theirs in their  drawer over the weekend.

Spelling City!  If your child hasn't had a chance to get on Spelling City to practice the spelling words we've done so far, please show them how to get on soon!  I am adding 3rd quarter words-weeks 4-8 on it today!  It is a fun way to practice the words!

Spelling this week!  
he, on, in, and, you
Bonus word:  green
Challenge words:  farm, rainbow
 I was excited that some of the kids that didn't take challenge words before, wanted to try it this week!  They wanted to learn how to spell rainbow!  If your child is struggling with the challenge and is getting frustrated, just let me know and they don't have to do them.  But, give them until Thursday to keep trying!

Reading this week!
Technology!  We are reading stories about technology.  Today the class got to illustrate what they would want their future car to be like!  It was fun to see what special things their cars could do!

Sight words:  to, which
Our last letters of the week!  Xx, Zz  (We will be revisiting long vowels next week and consonant digraphs (ch, sh, wh, th, ph)

Social Studies:  Farm Unit
This week we are learning about cows!  We will read a nonfiction and fiction book.  Then, we will write details we learned about the nonfiction book.  The class will choose a detail and draw a picture about it!

Guess what's coming next week!  Chick eggs!  The class is so excited to have chicks!  Of course the question of "Who gets to take them home?" has already been asked.  I told them they each get to take one!  (Just kidding!)  We will only have 7 eggs, and they will go back to the farm they came from.  Whew!  

Math:  Topic 9  More addition!  
We are learning about fact families of the numbers 4-10.  We are also learning different ways to figure out the answers by using doubles plus one, doubles plus two and any way that we each think of to help us learn them!  Wednesday your child will get to say their facts to 5 to see if they can pass that goal!

Coming up!

Mar. 26    KDG roundup for those entering KDG next fall.  6:00
Mar. 28    Farm Day meeting at 4:15
Apr. 22    Inservice--No School
Apr. 26    KDG Open House at 2:30  --Please plan on being here if possible!  We will sing songs, view our projects, and meet our chicks that we are incubating in April.

The week of Mar. 19-22.

I hope your kids enjoyed their break last week!  I love how they are coming back from a break now.  They remember our class expectations and are able to flow right back into learning!  This is my favorite time of the year!  We have covered so much and they are able to do so much more!

Only one more quarter before your child is a First Grader!  Grade cards will be sent through Skyward on Friday.  I will also send out information about your child's learning and 4th quarter skills on Friday.

Thank you for all of your donations for our "Chef Experience" basket!  The Fish Bowl Auction is just around the corner on April 6!  Besides the baskets your family can win, the Kindergarten teachers will also have separate fish bowls for the children to put their name in.  The two winners from my class will win a breakfast meal to eat with me!   I will let you know when it will be and ask for the winners' favorite McDonald's breakfast!  We will meet at 8:00 am to eat together with the other classroom winners and teachers.

End of the Year Goals for Mrs. Scott's class!
1. Read 50 sight words
2. Count to 100
3. Addition to 5
4. Subtraction from 5
5. Tie shoes

These 5 goals are what our class is shooting to achieve by the end of the year!  All have passed the addition and subtraction with manipulatives, but it will be really beneficial going in to first grade,  if your child can say them without manipulatives.  

There are several poems/songs on the internet to help your child learn to tie their shoes.  Find one that fits for your child if need be.  I know there are several kids without laces in their shoes, but we talked about using mom or dad's shoes to learn.  I will be having my parent helpers give them a hand too!  I just feel its a kindergarten skill your child should learn, but I need your help teaching them!  

Our KDG Open House  is Friday, April 26 at 2:30.  I hope you have made sure to take off work at that date/time.  You will not want to miss it!  We will have many farm projects, a mini concert, and baby chicks to see!  (I hope some hatch anyway!)  If for some reason at least one parent can't be here, grandparents or aunts/uncles are welcome.  I just want every child to have a family member here to support your child!

Reading this week!  
We are consolidating our reading/science together with our weather unit.  Each day we will read a fiction or nonfiction book, fill out our own weather book to compare the temperature, what it's like out, and what we should wear.  We are also learning how to read a thermometer and filling our the afternoon temperature for 5 days.

Spelling this week!
The week 3 spelling words are: she, a, at, is, was  Bonus: yellow  
Challenge words:  spring, winter
Your child brought home a spelling list before the break.  If your child needed more of a challenge, I gave them a list with the challenge words.  The test will be Friday!

Math this week!
We began Topic 9 on More Addition and Subtraction (but mainly more addition).  We are learning about Fact families of the numbers 4-10.

Handwriting--f, q, x

Coming up!

Mar. 19    4th quarter begins
Mar. 26    KDG roundup for those entering KDG next fall.  6:00
Mar. 28    Farm Day meeting at 4:15
Apr. 22    Inservice--No School
Apr. 26    KDG Open House at 2:30  --Please plan on being here if possible!  We will sing songs, view our projects, and meet our chicks that we are incubating in April.

The week of Mar. 4-8.

Whew!  Thank heavens we had school today!  We should find out this week how we are making up the 2 days.  The school board meets tonight to discuss it. 

Fish Bowl Auction donations!  Please consider donating for our wonderful fundraiser!  So far, I only have 4 that have made a donation.  We would like it no later than Friday, so the ladies can have plenty of time to purchase items for our basket!  Plus we have to buy a basket to put the items in!  Thank you for your help!

Book-it calendars are due by Wed. Mar. 6 please!  Help your child earn a free book by turning in all 6 calendars!  March is our last month for Book-it!  Remember to sign your name and have your child write their name at the bottom.  :)

Math homework!  I apologize for the vague directions at the bottom of the first page.  I hadn't read them.  Just make up your own problem.  So, it could be 5 birds, 2 go, 3 left.  I hope that helps!
Please make sure all are turned in tomorrow!  

Dr. Seuss' birthday was Saturday.  Today we read The Cat in the Hat and made a hat like the cat's and added words that rhyme with cat.  The kids liked being the Cat in the Hat!  We will be doing more Dr. Seuss activities this week and reading as many of his books we can fit in!
See the picture below!

Reading this week!  
We are going to be tying in our reading and science together the next couple of weeks.  The unit is on weather.  Our book is called, The Weather and the Seasons.  We will be talking about how we are affected by the weather each season: what types of weather we have in each season and how we should dress.

We will be observing the weather each day after spring break by measuring the temperature and filling it in on a thermometer, and filling out a daily weather book with the temperature, what the weather is like, and what we should be wearing for that temperature.

I will not be sending home little readers this week either.  I'll be bench marking students all week.
Continue to have your child read the little paper books that come home weekly!  The more they read the better reader they become!

Letter of the week:  Yy (we act like we are yawning with our arm action)
There are 4 letters left--Vv, Qq, Xx, Zz, then we will learn more about the long vowels and dipthongs (th, sh, wh, ch)  
sight words:  word, when

Spelling week 2!  Our words this week are:  as, the, we, by, be and bonus word: blue.

Handwriting:  h, b (tall letters beginning in the sky) The b and d are written differently.  The b starts in the sky and the d starts like a c.  If they are written correctly, reversals should not happen.

Math this week!  This week we are continuing with subtraction and will take the test on Friday.  The class seems to understand the concept of taking away.
Try to use adding and subtracting in your child's everyday skills when you can!

Coming up!

Mar. 8     End of 3rd Quarter!
Mar. 9-18  Spring Break!
Mar. 19    4th quarter begins
Mar. 26    KDG roundup for those entering KDG next fall.
Mar. 28    Farm Day meeting at 4:15
Apr. 22    Inservice--No School
Apr. 26    KDG Open House at 2:30  --Please plan on being here if possible!  We will sing songs, view our projects, and meet our chicks that we are incubating in April.

Cat in the Hats

The week of Feb. 25-Mar. 1.

Hopefully we will have a 5 day school week!  We are all so ready for spring!!

Last week we had fun making silly sentences with adjectives, nouns, verbs, and adverbs about a dog.  Today we wrote about our favorite animal in our journal.  Most of the class was able to write 3 sentences about the animal!!  First they told what animal they liked.  Then, they wrote what they liked about that animal, and last what color it is.  I was so proud of them!

This week in reading.

We are reading short stories about weather.  The first one we read today was an informational text about vacations and one place to go was to an ice hotel!  Ask your child what they learned about ice hotels!  The next story will be a fiction story about a blizzard.  We will compare and contrast the two stories.  At the end of the week we will read the fable, "City Mouse and Country Mouse".

I will be benchmarking this week and next week to have it done by grade card time, so your child may not bring home a little reader.

Letter of the week:  Kk

Sight words:  it, there (we talked about how the word "here" and "the" are inside of there.

Spelling test this Friday, Mar. 1.  Please study with your child.  Make sure they can write them without any capitals.

Spelling words this week:  I, can, do, not, if  

Bonus word:  red

I mentioned about Spelling City at conferences.  It is on the right side of my blog.  It would be a great way for your child to have fun spelling the sight words.  The first two quarter sight words are on the game.

Math this week:

We started Topic 8 on subtraction.  This kids seem to understand the concept of take away.  You can practice this at home with anything!  Throw it into anything the kids are doing at home.  

We are crossing out the objects we are taking away on their assignment sheets.  One child asked why we don't erase the circles we draw when taking away.  I told him that if you erase, you may forget that you've taken away and take away again.

Today we also started writing to 100 on a blank sheet of paper.  I am amazed at how well they are doing on their own once they understand the pattern!

Social Studies:  Today we began a packet over Famous Kansans.  So far we've read about the first two.   We are learning about:  Amelia Earhart, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ask me what number President he was and how it's the same as our state.), Dorothy Gale, Steve Hawley, James Naismith, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Handwriting:  lowercase "p".

Coming Up:
Mar. 8     End of 3rd Quarter!
Mar. 9-18  Spring Break!
Mar. 19    4th quarter begins
Mar. 26    KDG roundup for those entering KDG next fall.
Mar. 28    Farm Day meeting at 4:15
Apr. 22    Inservice--No School
Apr. 26    KDG Open House at 2:30  --Please plan on being here if possible!  We will sing songs, view our projects, and meet our chicks that we are incubating in April.

The week of Feb. 19-22.

First of all, I want to say, "Thank you!" to everyone for making it to conferences!  I love to tell how well your kids are doing and let you see how far they've come since our first conference!  Keep up the great support at home!  It really makes a difference!

Will we have school or won't we?  Believe me, we teachers are ready for a normal 5 day week like you!  The inconsistency is so difficult on kids.  But, we'll make the best of it!

If I don't get your child's reading group in this week, I hope you'll understand.

Reading this week!
Letter of the week--Jj    This letter is easy to write backward.  Please have your child correct it if you notice it's backwards.

sight words:  it, there
We continue to learn about the holidays and more about the Presidents.  
Today, we talked about our opinion of our favorite holiday we read about in our book.  

Nouns and Verbs--If we have time this week, we are going to focus more on the parts of a sentence.  

Social Studies--We are learning our nation's symbols.  Can your child name some of them?
We will also be learning the meanings of the lines in the Pledge of Allegiance.  What does it all mean?

Math this week!
We will take our Topic 7 test on Addition this week!  I feel like most of the class understands the concept, so hopefully they will do well.  Topic 8--Subtraction is next!

Handwriting--We are writing the letters k, y, and j.  These are actually harder letters for KDG to write due to the placement on the lines.  I will be sending home a sheet for your child to practice them.

Snack-  Please help your child make their snacks on Sundays for the whole week.  It really is just making it a routine.  I don't believe they will get a snack in first grade if they forget theirs, so it's a good habit to help your child get used to.  Thank you!

Coming up!
Feb. 22    Family Movie Night--6:30
Mar. 8     End of 3rd Quarter!
Mar. 9-18  Spring Break!
Mar. 19    4th quarter begins
Mar. 26    KDG roundup for those entering KDG next fall.
Mar. 28    Farm Day meeting at 4:15
Apr. 22    Inservice--No School
Apr. 26    KDG Open House at 2:30  --Please plan on being here if possible!  We will sing songs, view our projects, and meet our chicks that we are incubating in April.

Our Valentine's Party was a success!  Thank you to the parents that coordinated it!

Valentine's Day Party