Merry Christmas!

We wish everyone a wonderful and happy Christmas!

Pomegranate Party

After making our Christmas tee-shirts we celebrated by sampling a pomegranate. The kids talked about how we are eating the seeds of the fruit.  Then we loved how the juice surrounding the seed just squirted right out!  We spent our afternoon reading "Reindeer Reindeer What Do You See,"  and then we made cinnamon applesauce ornaments.  The kids were surprised how we changed the texture of two substances when combining them.

Polar Express and Reindeer Names

 We made reindeer headbands today and then picked a reindeer name to replace our first names and then used our last names to tell one headband from the other.  I was pleasantly surprised to see so many kiddos writing their last names already!

We read The Polar Express today as well.  The kids wrote words from the Polar Express using the first and last sounds, and some kids even used vowels!  We also made a graph of dice rolls with Polar Express objects.  We talked about how a die is a three dimensional shape called a cube.  Then during indoor recess the kids made a Polar Express train track out of blocks.

Everyone has been reading the book Christmas Friends and have taken the books home.  Please remember to send in a white tee shirt tomorrow if you haven't done so already, we are making a Christmas craft in the morning.

Number Line Hop

We started working with adding and subtracting on a number line today.  Each child got to start at zero, then see how many hops it took them to get from one number to another until they reached fifteen.  Then we started at a number and hopped backward.  This activity is getting the kids ready for addition and subtraction.

Your child has selected ten writing samples to bring home to share with you.  Everyone is learning how letters make the sounds that make up our words.  They are also learning that their pictures can help tell the story they are writing.  I encourage you to look at their journals and see how much they have already learned to write!

Please read your notice coming home today.  We are going to paint on white tee-shirts next week.  I need everyone to bring in a white tee shirt with their name on the back.  As for a Christmas party we will spend next Friday morning reading Christmas stories and snacking on cookies and clementines.

Early Release Day

Just a reminder, tomorrow is an Early Release day.  The class worked on sorting words with ending sounds today.  I was so proud of the kids as they started sounding out words.  We also wrote the beginning, middle and end of "The Hat."  We are all working on retelling stories, and right now the favorite way is to act out the plot of the story.  Ask your child to tell you the beginning, middle and end of the stories you read at home.

Sharing the Seasons

We talked about how the seasons change and how we change with the seasons today.  We are also reading several Jan Brett books about winter clothing.  The class enjoyed acting out The Hat this morning as we retold the story.  Then we enjoyed checking out our Learning Wall to see all the Common Core standards we covered.  Mr. V came in and fixed our bean table, thanks Mr. V!

Everyone contributed to making a season poster and then shared their work with the class.

November Letter

Dear Parents,

The month has just flown past.  Kindergarten is getting exciting and the kids are ready to start reading and writing!

Here’s how you can help at home.

I will be sending home one or two books a week.  These are photocopied books that you can keep.  Try to find a special place to keep these books, perhaps a shoebox or something similar.  These books will seem easy to you, with just one sentence on a page and a repeating pattern.  Here are some tips to try as you read these books with your child.

*Encourage your child to point to each word.

*Ask your child to find specific words on each page.

*Ask your child to tell you what the book is about.

*When your child gets stuck on a word, look at the first letter and ask him or her to tell you the sound.

When you are reading your child’s favorite books at home, ask your child to retell the story, or talk about his or her favorite character.  Talk about how the pictures help tell the story.  Pay attention to who the author and illustrator are, and try reading some books by the same author or illustrator.

Encourage your child to write the names of family members, or help with a grocery list, telling you the sounds in the words he or she hears.

If you would like more hints or ideas, let me know.  Enjoy this exciting time in your child’s life.

Nickels for Chickens

Today was COUNTING day! We lugged out the four HUGE bags of water bottles that have been collected so far.  Before we started counting I explained to the kids that each bottle was worth one nickel.  One nickel is worth five cents.  We talked about how one dollar equals one hundred cents. Then it was time to count by fives (each bottle is worth a nickel) to see how many bottles we would need to make a dollar. Just like the election, there were several recounts to be sure that we really needed 20 bottles to make one dollar.  For every twenty bottles, we put a tally mark on a poster written by the kids.  We need 20 dollars to buy a flock of chicks for Heifer International.  I am pleased to announce that we already have enough to buy ONE flock of chicks, and now the kids are setting their sights on a second flock.

For those of you familiar with the Common Core Standards, we were learning to
*say numbers as we count
* count to one hundred in different ways
*count starting with any number
*understand the last number said is the total number of objects.

We then worked on writing a thank you card to the generous co-worker of Camden's mom who donated three of the large bags.  Everyone took turns writing words and sounds in words.  Then we each added a chicken to the card.  The Common Core Standards we covered in making this card are as follows:
*Write upper and lower case letters.
*Add words to a sentence to make it clearer.
*Write the sounds I hear in words.
*Spell words.
*Add /s/ to show more than one.
*Say the sounds in words.
*Count, make, blend, and segment sounds of words.

The kids were so jazzed about counting the bottles and making the thank you card they forgot they were in school.  This service project we are working on is covering the standards, and hopefully changing the lives of people we will never even meet.

Checking Out Chickens

Today we met Farmer Abby in the outdoor classroom (see below) to talk chicken.  Farmer Abby told us that the chickens have a lot in common with us.  They need food, water, shelter, AND they take baths.  Ask your child what chickens bathe in (it isn't water).

We learned that chickens like to eat little bugs, grasses and grains.  We also learned that foxes like to eat chickens.  Because some of the farm's chickens have been eaten by a fox, we could only look at the chickens in the chicken house.



The kids were excited to see the different colored chickens. They learned that during warm seasons hens lay an egg a day, especially when they are two to three years old.  We learned that the eggs that turn into chicken instead of quiches must be kept warm.

This was a great extension to our service project of collecting water bottles to purchase a flock of chickens from Heifer International.  We have talked about how some animals can help a village in many different ways.  The chickens help by laying eggs, producing manure to fertilize crops, and then meat.

Our bottle drive had a sudden boost as Camden's mom told a co-worker about our drive and he brought in THREE big garbage bags of water bottles.  Now we have to practice counting by fives (the nickel deposit) to see how many times we get to one hundred.  When we get to one hundred twenty times we will have enough money to buy a flock of chickens.  The kids will be hanging their posters advertising the bottle drive tomorrow.  Just think, this all started from a discussion about what the Pilgrims needed to survive in the New World.  You never know where learning will take you!

Our Service Project

November 9, 2012

Dear Families,

Our kindergarten class has been learning about the Pilgrims.  We were sad when we learned so many died the first winter because they didn’t have enough healthy food.  Then we learned people all over the world still don’t have enough healthy food. 

We decided we want to help by buying animals from Heifer International.  In order to earn money we are collecting WATER and JUICE bottles ONLY.  For every twenty bottles we collect we will earn $1.00.  If we collect enough bottles we could buy chickens, or rabbits, or pigs, or a sheep.

When we give others an animal, we give them more than just one meal.  We will be learning how animals can be important to a village.

Please help us by sending in your water or juice bottles over the next few weeks.  Ask your neighbors or relatives for their water and juice bottles.  We are only collecting the containers of healthy beverages to promote learning what we NEED to survive.

We will let you know of our progress as we collect, sort, and count our bottles!

                                                     

Reliving the Mayflower (and macaroni bracelets)

What a day to be in kindergarten!  We started our morning with making macaroni bracelets that had been dyed several lovely colors.  The kids made all sorts of patterns with their bracelets. We learned that the noodles made a fun popping sound when stepped on, so then the kids all pitched in to pick up the leftover "beads."

Then the class was ready to go back into time to recreate the trip the Pilgrims took on the Mayflower.  Yesterday we had read a letter from a child riding on the Mayflower. First the kids had to figure out how to board the turned-up-table-wrapped-with-brown-paper replica Mayflower.  Once all 14 students were loaded onto the "boat" they were served a meal of cold oatmeal and split peas (food we had read about the Pilgrims eating while on board the Mayflower).  Then a "storm" hit and cracked our "mast" and made leaks on our ship.  At this point the kids had to find a way to fix the leaks.  They used glue and scrap paper to patch the leaks, working together and testing the effectiveness of their patches.  Once the hard work of keeping the ship sea-worthy was complete the kids enjoyed a snack of cheese, another food the Pilgrims had with them aboard the ship.  When they finally reached Plymouth the class. was relieved to be off that crowded ship breathing fresh air.

I was very impressed with the group's cooperation while patching up the ship.  Everyone was looking to help one another.  They also assumed the role of the Pilgrims, when I asked if they should turn around and go back to England they replied, "NO!  We don't like the king, he won't let us worship the way we want."  They grumbled a bunch about how England hadn't been treating them fairly, and though the trip was unpleasant, it was better than living in England.  This was my first attempt to do an activity like this, and my kiddos showed me it's one that will happen again.

Tin Foil Mayflowers

Our class has started thinking about the Pilgrims and how they left their homes to find a place that would allow them to be free from the king.  We watched a video about the Mayflower's   journey and read a list of suggested items for the Pilgrims to bring.  Yesterday I had the kids pack brown paper bags with illustrated objects a Pilgrim would have packed.  They all managed to put in some cheese, a few packed nails, many packed weapons, and some put in beer, because even the children drank beer while on board the Mayflower.

Today we made tin foil boats to represent the Mayflower.  We packed those boats with toy people until the boats sunk.  Kids blew on the boats to represent storms, and watched the boats sink.  Then we discussed how there is a maximum amount of weight any floating vessel can hold.  The Mayflower just couldn't hold all the things the Pilgrims might have wanted to bring, so choices had to be made between needs and wants.

It was fun to have that discussion, and talk a bit about history.  However, the kids just had a blast playing with foil and sinking the people.  Try it at home with pennies and aluminum foil.  I guarantee at least thirty minutes of fun!

November Newsletter

Our words to study in November are

Is

It

In

We

You

Some fun ways to practice these words include:

*Making the words with spaghetti

*Cheering the letters to these words

*Writing the words over and over using different colors.

*Cutting the letters to make these words out of newspaper and gluing them on a sheet of paper.

November is also a great month to talk about family traditions and healthy eating.  We will be comparing and contrasting our lives with those of the Pilgrims.  As we do this we will touch upon many social studies and science standards.  

         Dates to remember this month:

Wednesday, November 7 is an Early Release Day

Monday, November 12:  No School

Tuesday-Friday, November 21-23:  No School

I would love to have even more parents come  into the classroom to help out with projects, prep, and reading to the kids.  If you are interested in coming in, please let me know.

Here’s to a wonderful month!

                                                                                 Becky Roper

Halloween Fun

It's hard to keep a group of 15 five and six year olds calm on Halloween.  I wanted to recognize the holiday, yet not go crazy with 15 costumes, parades through the school and platters of cupcakes.  So we played it down a bit.  I took all the standards I wanted to cover for the day and found ways to teach them with the theme of Halloween.

We made jack-o-lanterns and then sorted them from the shortest to the tallest. Each child tested one jack-o'-lantern against others to determine its correct place in the lineup.  This helped the children to compare and contrast two objects and sequence items according to a rule.

Then we listened to two stories with spooky characters. We talked about the characters in the books, made a list of the characters with a focus on the first sound and number of syllables for each word.  The children were given the opportunity to make a spooky puppet.  They had to cut out a mixed up sentence starter, "I am a" and finish it using the name of their puppet.  This student is showing off his zombie puppet.  Note that we are becoming more familiar with letters, syllables and words in this fun but educational project.

But we weren't done yet.  We enjoyed a snack of jack-o'-lantern clementines, cheese, crackers and carrots, and one treat (cookies decorated like witch hats).  We talked about how oranges keep us from getting sick, cheese builds strong bones, and crackers give us energy.  Then we talked about how the cookie was a once in a while treat.  I think that covers a few science standards regarding what animals need (and want) to survive.

Then we made a graph to show what kind of face we wanted to carve for our jack-o-lantern.  The kids made a happy, mad, or scared face (once again focussing on the onset and number of syllables for each word).   This covers standards as we collected and shared data, compared numbers, and discussed more and less.  We also had to do some problem solving when our graph came up with a tie.

All in all, it was a pretty mellow Halloween day.  The kids were having fun, but were calm.  Here's to a safe night of trick or treating!

More Experimenting

Last week we had so much fun experimenting with floating vegetables we tried some more this week.  We tested a mango, an apple, kale, an orange, garlic, a delicata squash, and a baby carrot.  We were surprised to discover that only the baby carrot sunk.  After checking all of the fruits and vegetables I asked the class if they thought a pumpkin would float.  Everyone took a turn holding two pumpkins of different sizes and predicting if the pumpkins would float or sink.

Many children used the fact the pumpkins felt heavy to justify both the float and sink predictions.  This will lead us into some exploration of why some heavy things sink, while other heavy things float. The
pumpkins did float, and as a result we have even MORE questions.

The chart above shows some of our questions, which will turn into future experiments.
* Do balls float? Would a baseball, basketball, golfball, marble, tennis ball, and football float?
* Do all seeds float?
*Do pizzas and pies float?
*Can you make a floating object sink if you change what it looks like?

The question we will answer tomorrow is, "Do jack o' lanterns float?"  Stay tuned.....

Pumpkin Fun

Our class has been learning about measurement by using pumpkins.  We have measured the weight, height and circumference of our pumpkins.  The kids have watched videos of a pumpkin's life cycle and we have sequenced the life cycle.  We read a book about picking apples and pumpkins then made a journal entry about the connections we made to the story.

All this pumpkin work has me thinking about Halloween.  In order to maintain a sense of calm during the day at school, I'm asking parents to not send costumes with their children on Halloween.  We will make masks at school instead.  We will also enjoy some orange and black snacks.  If you have any healthy snack ideas please contact me by e-mail (broper@svrsu.org) or by calling 882-7585.

Stone Soup

We took a trip to a farmer's market on Friday and used ten dollars to purchase several different vegetables.  The class bought a bag of root vegetables including beets, carrots, potatoes and parsnips.  Then we purchased some lettuce, kohlrabi and summer turnips.

Today we discussed these vegetables and performed an experiment with them.  The students guessed whether each vegetable would float or sink and then we put it into water.  We were surprised that the summer turnip floated.  Most of the other vegetables we tried sunk.

After our experiment we put all of the ingredients into a crock pot along with some garlic and barley.  We waited a few hours and then invited Mrs. Burgess' class to join us for the story Stone Soup, and then to enjoy the soup we made.  Our soup was a lovely shade of pink.  What vegetable do you think we added to create that color?

Horseshoe Crabs and Shaving Cream

We practiced being scientists today as we observed and wondered about a horseshoe crab.  The students felt, smelt, and looked at the horseshoe crab before they drew what they saw.  Then we each wrote something we observed about the horseshoe crab.  We pulled back together as a group and then wondered about our observations.  We will look for answers soon.

The other fun part about today was using shaving cream!  The class enjoyed making shapes out of the shaving cream.  Then we did numbers.  This is an easy way to practice making numbers, shapes and letters at home.

Monday Fun

Today we were so excited to use some new games I found at Goodwill.  Camden's grandfather, Mr. V, came in and led one of the games while I had some fun using different shaped circles to paint designs with the kids.

The class also worked on separating words in sentences.  We made Halloween sticker stories for journals and discovered how many syllables were in some Halloween words.  It was exciting to see some children start writing independently for choice time!

We are now spending some learning time with Mrs. Burgess' kindergarten.  Mrs. Burgess and I are sharing students to target their literacy needs better.  Everyone meets for a few songs to start, we divide into groups, and then regroup for a final song or story.  The kids are enjoying meeting some other kindergarten students.

If you have not signed up for a conference yet please let me know what time would work best for you.  Have a nice evening!

Shape Collage Sharing

We are now discussing shapes in Unit 2 of our Everyday Math program.  The class talked about the attributes of each shape.  Then we made our own shape collages and shared them with our class.  I was impressed with how several children used shapes to make patterns or pictures and then told us about how they made their art.

Families can continue our study of shapes at home by pointing out shapes at the dinner table, in the house, out in the yard, and while driving.  You can make shapes with sticks or spaghetti.  Have fun with shapes!

October Newsletter

October Newsletter

We have been very busy already this month.  The children are working on learning more about shapes and patterns as we count forward and backward.  We have focused on the following sight words:  the, and, a, I, go, like, and to.  The class is writing in journals and reading to themselves each day.  We have been going to the Morris Farm once a week with Farmer Abi to learn more about living things, tools, and how to perform a service for others.

We have parent teacher conferences Wednesday, October 24 and Thursday, October 25.  A sign up sheet has been sent home.  If you need another, just send in a note or call 882-7585 or email me at broper@svrsu.org. 

Our first book order has just been shipped!  More book orders will follow.  This is an optional way to build your child’s library.  The PIE book fair (during conferences) is another great opportunity to find great books as well.

As the weather chills I’d like to remind you all to write your child’s name in ANYTHING you want returned home.  This includes coats, hats, mittens, boots and especially SNOWPANTS!  I encourage you all to help your child practice getting in and out of cold weather clothes to gain greater independence with this task.  The more independent each child is, the more time we have for learning and playing.

Please remember to check out our classroom blog! http://msroperskindergarten.blogspot.com/

Sign up for emails and you’ll receive our almost daily updates of all the wonderful things happening in kindergarten.  It’s also a great way to prompt conversations with your child. 

That’s all for now, and remember, we’re in this together! PLEASE let me know of any concerns or questions you might have. 

                                                               Your Partner in Learning,

                                                                        Becky Roper

Busy Days in Kindergarten

Today we read a Cheerio counting book.  Then we glued groups of ten cheerios onto a piece o paper and enjoyed snacking on extras.  You could do this at home by counting out noodles, popcorn, peas, etc... just see how many groups of ten you can make.

We also read a new poem about falling leaves.  We looked for our October sight words in the poem and then Nevaeh's mom helped us cut out leaf puppets to make fall through the air.

Our class has a new pet.  We have a yellow Beta fish.  The whole class discussed how we would keep our fish safe.  We will not put anything in the water but food.  We will not move the fish bowl.  We will just watch the fish.

The kids really enjoyed the firemen coming into school to talk with us about fire safety.  All the kids are charged with asking their families to help them know TWO WAYS OUT of the house in case of a fire.

Tomorrow we will be weeding in the school garden.  Bring some mud boots if you have them!

Columbus Day!

Enjoy this long weekend with your children.  While you are out and about, or enjoying some quiet time at home, look for our October sight words with your child.
Our October sight words are:
the
go
to
a
I
like

See how many of these words you can find, and take note of where you find them.  Happy hunting!

Swiss Chard Harvest

Today we worked on our Social Studies and Science standards by harvesting Swiss chard in the school garden at Morris Farm.  The class was providing a service to the school by reaping the chard for tomorrow's lunch.  We learned more about the parts of a plant (especially the parts we eat) when we were shown how to take the chard from the garden by Miss Abby, our farm to school coordinator.  When we returned to the classroom the kids enjoyed using crayons and watercolors to create a picture of Swiss chard.

Book Bags

Today we talked about our Book Bags.  We talked about books that are just right for us.  Some children have already brought in their books from home and were excited to add those books.  We sorted money today and counted how many days we have already been in school.  Many thanks go out to Heidi Thiboutot for volunteering her time and making the book bags and song cards that went into the bags.

Lemon Letters and Pattern Creations

Today we created our own patterns by using sorting tools.  Most of the children used patterns based on color.  We also made books about the number six.   The class enjoyed a lesson about finding books that  are "just right" for them.  I modeled wearing all sorts of shoes that were not just right and then found the "perfect" pair of shoes for me.  Then we read a "just right" book for the class called "Farm Animals."  Everyone enjoyed knowing these books would be going into our Read to Self Book Bags.  

Please be sure to send in a few books from home that are "just right" for your child as we learn how to read to ourselves.

We had great fun reinforcing the Ll sound as we squeezed lemons to make "invisible ink" to write our letter Ll.  Some words to describe the lemons were "sour," "bumpy," and "slimy."  Our invisible ink was then warmed with heat from a toaster and the Ll's made another appearance.  

We played Whack A Word with our giant fly swatters today.  We used our October words for "whacking."  Those words are:  the, and, a, I, go, like and to. It was a fun day!

n

Whack-A-Letter

Today we enjoyed using oversized fly swatters to play the game "Whack-A-Letter."  Not only did this game promote letter recognition, it also let us practice how to ask for a turn politely and how to use our tools safely (no high sticking the fly swatters).

 We also tried our first letter sort today.  Many of the students were quite successful putting b's on one side of their papers and r's on the other.  The best part of the day was when Camden's grampa came in to visit!  We love having company.  Let me know if you would like to come in as well.

Boothbay Railway Village Field Trip

HURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Trip to Boothbay Railway Village

Today we went to the Boothbay Railway Village.  We saw many antiques and learned that ice didn't always come from the door on the freezer.  We watched an antique gasoline engine start up by spinning really big wheels.  We went for a train ride and a Model T ride.  The class saw an old washing machine, cookstove and an antique toilet.  We found letters and numbers EVERYWHERE!  Wyatt was excited to see the letter W on a sign as we road on the train.  

 Getting ready for the train ride....

 The steam whistle was LOUD!

Emma learns how to drive a car with just a lever.

 Model T rides

 Camden checks out how a steam engine works.

Reacting to the steam whistle

 Luke and Tucker are ready to ride!

We learned there are all sorts of ways to tell time.  This sundial showed us Roman numerals.  Can you tell what time we took this picture?

Praying Mantis

Yesterday one of the students found a praying mantis on the playground and we scooped it up to study inside.  Today we read information about praying mantids (as they are also called).  We discovered that praying mantids are predators of butterflies, moths, aphids, and other insects.  We also learned that birds, bats and other praying mantids will eat a praying mantis.  The kids discovered that a praying mantis has jointed legs to help it bend, and then we looked at some of the joints on our own bodies.
After the kids drew what they had just learned we went outside to search for some insects to feed our praying mantis.  It was a fun learning experience dictated by the interests of the kids, my favorite kind of teaching.

Numbers and Rhymes

Today we worked with rhyming words and the number two.  The class enjoyed singing a silly song using different rhyming words.  Don't worry, it'll come home soon for you to enjoy alllll night long!  I noticed some kids had trouble understanding how to make a rhyming word.  You can help at home by reading books with rhymes, like Dr. Seuss books and pointing out the words that rhyme to your child.  Be sure to explain the words rhyme because they have the same ending sound.

We also made books with illustrations of two objects.  It was interesting to see what they chose to draw.  A few kiddos even attempted WRITING what they saw.

It was great to see almost all of you at the Open House, I loved seeing the grandparents and aunts and uncles as well.  Some of you asked about volunteering in the classroom.  Send me a note in the notebook about when you might be available and I will set it up.

Have a nice evening!

Going to the Farm!

Yesterday we walked over to Morris Farm to meet Miss Abi.  She talked with us about what lives on a farm and we met some chickens.  We also picked Sun Gold tomatoes and tasted them.  Some children really liked these little tomatoes.  Others took a quick "no thank-you" bite.  When we returned from the farm we made a picture graph of the color chicken we liked best.  Black was the favorite color.  We will continue to meet with Miss Abi throughout the school year and incorporate our science, math, literacy and social studies standards into our work with her.

A field trip form should have come home today.  We are going to the Boothbay Railway Village on Thursday, September 27.  Students will need to bring a bag lunch.

Please remember to send back your Kindergarten Contact information so I can get the final information out to all of you as soon as possible.  Thanks!

Long and Short

Today we observed how our names can be longer and shorter than other names.  We made our bodies long and short, and then we built long unifix cube trains.  We all practiced how to go to a quiet space to restart our mouths, bodies, and minds when we need a break.  The class learned yet another new song, "Black Socks."  Thanks to everyone who returned the classroom directory sheet.  Remember to get them in by Friday so I can give everyone the contact information for the students in this class.

Kindergarten News

                                           September 13                                          

We are settling into our class routines.  The class has been developing rules that will help us achieve our hopes and dreams for the school your.  Our rules are as follows:

We are safe.

We are kind.

We are responsible.

We all make mistakes and that is how we learn.

The class has been working with our names this week.  We had our first fire drill and did a great job.  The class is enjoying several songs and stories. 

I’m noticing some hungry kiddos at the end of the day, so they may eat during choice time.  Please send in two snacks for your child to help keep rumbling tummies away.

Our Open House is next Wednesday night, September 19.  Come on in and have your child show you the room.  We have a daily blog up and running.  You can find it at

http://msroperskindergarten.blogspot.com/

As birthdays pop up and friendships are formed, you might find yourself wanting to contact other children’s families. To that end I am making a student directory.  Please fill out the sheet below regarding the contact information you are willing to share.  I am also asking for your permission to post your child’s picture on our classroom blog.  If you are uncomfortable with this please just check “No” and I’ll be sure to leave your child’s picture out of our blog. Please return the sheet by Friday, September 21.

Thanks, and have a super weekend.

Kindergarten Contact Information

Student name:

Parent/Guardian name:

Phone number(s):

E-mail:

I give permission for my child’s picture to be posted on the classroom blog

____yes

____no

Please return this form by Friday, September 21.  Thanks!

Computers!

We played a game with our names.We played on an I-Pad.  We made pictures on computers. We used some STICKY ICKY play-do!  We had an extra recess to celebrate good behavior!

Making Rules

Today we wrote rules for the classroom. We drew pictures of what it looks like to follow our rules.  We also did a great job with our first fire drill.  The class enjoyed the chant "Who Took the Cookies From the Cookie Jar." We even ended our day with our new chant, which is great for reinforcing everyone's names.  

Hopes and Dreams

We have been talking about what we hope to do this year in kindergarten.  The class wants to play outside, paint, and "learn stuff."  We will use these hopes and dreams to help develop the rules to follow that will help us do all we want to in kindergarten.

Fire Drill

Today we practiced how to do a fire drill.  We went to Physical Education.  We sang the songs "Pizza Hut,"  "Awake, Alert Alive," and we chanted about five little monkeys jumping on the bed. We talked about rules. We watched our caterpillar that Luke brought in.  We made our names with foam letters.  We read about a shark in the park, and about an old lady who swallowed a fly.

Our class is HUNGRY at the end of the day.  Please send enough snacks for your child to have two snack times a day.  It was an exciting day.

Name Work

Today we practiced reading and writing each others names. The students wrote names on whiteboards, used names in songs, and found letter magnets to spell names. We also read the book Chrysanthemum, about a little girl with a very special name.  Please talk with your child about how you chose his or her name, or look up the meaning of his or her name.

The First Days Of Kindergarten

We have been learning about how school works these first few days of school.  The class has been introduced to the tools we use in the classroom.  We have enjoyed learning several new songs.  The kids love using the pointer to follow along as we sing.  The class has mastered walking quietly down the hall, a feat even my older kids struggled with last year!  They are greeting each other and learning to share.  They are writing their names and even attempting words like "bowling," "swing," and "airplane."  They have enjoyed using our math manipulatives for sorting and counting.  

I have been writing in each student's notebook each day.  To make sure you have seen the notebooks I would like you to either respond to me, or at least initial what you have read.  These notebooks can be a super way for us to talk back and forth and also keep a record of your child's first year at school.
You will be able to view this newsletter on our school website.  Follow the link to Ms. Roper's class
Ms. Roper's Class and click on "Our Blog."

Remember that Monday is school picture day.  If you haven't sent in your child's picture money in the envelope, please be sure to do so on Monday.  We have had an exhausting, but productive week.  Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or concerns.