This Week...

This week we will be learning two new sight words: a, to. This brings the total of sight words to 6 (am, I, the, little, a, to). The children are expected to be able to read the sight words in less than 3 seconds. The children practice this daily during our reading group rotations; however, practice at home is necessary too. In addition, we have completed all the letters of the alphabet. Children are expected to be able to identify all the letters. This week we will begin learning the sounds of the letters. We will focus on the letter Mm. We will concentrate on the sound and the writing of Mm. We will also begin to blend words (this is when children see the letter and start saying the sound). I love this part of kindergarten because the children are able to begin reading words. I am sure you will be amazed in the next couple weeks what your child can do in reading.

In math, we will be finishing up Chapter 2. We have worked hard on comparing numbers 0 to 5. The children have learned the vocabulary words greater (more) and fewer (less) to help be able to compare a set. We also learned how to play a new math game "Number Top-It." I blogged about this game yesterday, check it out! We will prepare to take our chapter test on Wednesday and Thursday. I am sure the children will do great! We have also been working hard on counting. The children are expected to be able to count to 100 at the end of kindergarten. At the conclusion of 1st quarter children should be able to count to 25 to be considered "making progress." I hope you have a great week!

Number Top-It...

This past week we learned how to play "Number Top-It."  The children were able to practice their ability to identify the greater number.  The game is played like the card game "War."  Each player draws a card and the one who has more, gets the cards.  You can also change the rule and the person gets the cards if they have less.  If the cards are "equal," then you get your own card.  Here are two students playing the game!

More Fun...

This week we will be continuing our sight words "I, am, the, little."  Please make sure and practice these nightly and have them mixed up.  Also, we will be learning the rest of the alphabet this week.  Children should be able to identify all letters of the alphabet.  Please take 5-10 minutes and practice this nightly.  I have sent home alphabet assessment information to the B class on Friday and the A class will receive theirs on Monday.  The best method for practicing letters is to only put the ones they know in a pile plus 2 they do not know.  Then go through pile until they can correctly identify all the letters.  Once they identify all the letters add two more they do not know and practice.  You would continue this method until they can identify all 52 letters (this means the uppercase letters and lowercase letters are not on the same card). 

We will be reading "Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip" this week and will be classifying.  We will also review characters, setting, and sequencing.  The children are doing a great job with identifying the characters of a story and the setting.  Sequencing can be tricky because the children are not remembering the beginning, middle, and end in the correct order; therefore, we will continue to work on this skill.

We will begin Chapter 2 this week and the focus is comparing numbers.  This means children will be able to identify numbers which are larger and smaller with sets less than 5.  We will play various math games to help with this concept and will be using various math tools to help us too.  I think the children should like this chapter!  I hope they come home and talk about what they are doing in math.

I hope you have a great week!

Our Learning...



5 Frames used in Math

This week we will continue to work on letter identification of all letters up to Ss. Many children need to continue working on letter identification of upper/lowercase letters. In addition, we will begin to learn new sight words: the, little. We assessed the children on the sight words "I, am" last week.  Many struggled with the words I and am.  I showed them "am" first and "I" second and the children were unable to tell me the words in the correct order. Please continue to work on this at home as I continue to work on this at school.  My suggestion is to use write "I, am, the, little" on note cards and play memory with them.  Also, continual practice on the stories we send home on Monday/Tuesday will help.  We will also be working on listening to initial sounds. This means what you hear at the beginning of cat.../c/ (the children have to say the sound, not the letter).

In math, I will be assessing the children on their ability to read, write, count, and build to 5.  Many children are doing a great job with this skill.  Some may think this is an easy skill; however, this starts the foundation for children and success in mathematics.  A lot of research has been conducted around the world on how children learn mathematics and beginning here is key.  The children have had to build the number 5 and recognize a set of 5 without counting.  In addition, children have had to develop an understanding for what makes 5.  For example, children have had to know if I have 3, 2 more makes 5.

Finally, we are almost complete with all the state and district mandated assessments. You will be receiving information regarding your child's progress in the next week or so.  As always if you have questions please let me know!

The Learning Continues...

 

Students are working on "Writing to Sources" from the book "The Little School Bus"

This week we will continue to work on letter identification of letters Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, and Jj. The children are doing pretty well with identification, but some still need to continue to work on identification. We will also continue to work with the words "I" and "am". You may want to put these on flash cards and practice them with your child. Please remember to mix up the order or you can hide them throughout your house and have your child go on a hunt or if you have magnetic letters you can have your child practice building the word on the refrigerator (a cookie sheet works well too). In addition, please continue to work on name writing with your child. This is what we will be focusing on during our writing time.

In math, we will continue to work on showing, counting, and writing numbers 0-5.  Students should be able to model, count, and write to 5 by the end of this chapter.  The homework packet has many great sheets that directly link to our lessons in the classroom and our workbook.
I will also be sending home homework this week.  I have attached a copy of the letter that your child will bring home on Monday or Tuesday!
 

I cannot wait to see the A group on Monday.  I have missed them!

 

Second Week of Learning...

I hope all the children had a wonderful first week at WT Elementary and I hope they have shared something they have done at school with you at home. It was a fun and hectic week. We are working on learning procedures of the classroom and the school. The children are learning these procedures at different rates; however, I am positive the children will have them down in the next week or so. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know your children and have enjoyed working with them.

This coming week we will continue to practice procedures, but also dive into our literacy and math curriculum. We will be working on letter identification; specifically, the letters Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, and Ee. In addition, we will work on rhyming words and identifying the high-frequency words of "I" and "am". In math we will begin to work with numbers 1-5. We will also be working on writing our names with a capital letter at the beginning and then lowercase letters.

We do eat lunch late at school. Our lunch time is 12:45; therefore, the children have a long time between when they arrive at school to when they eat lunch. We do have a snack to help them make it to lunch. Mrs. Nicodemus and I will be sending home a letter explaining more about snack time at school later this week and into next week. Please encourage your child to eat breakfast before coming to school or you may purchase breakfast at school.

I also want to take this moment to express my gratitude... your help and support with our new drop-off/pick-up procedures has been amazing. It is becoming smoother each day and this would not be possible without your help and your patience!! THANK YOU!!

Just Some Fun...

The "A" Class had a little moment of fun before we left school on Friday.  The "A" Class also was able to go to an assembly to talk about being a buddy and bucket filler.  The "B" Class talked about this on Thursday.

A Class (I will be getting a picture of the B class this coming week)!