September 27, 2013

It is hard to believe we have already had a month of school.  The students are making such great progress!
Reading: 
This week we started something really awesome as a WHOLE SCHOOL!  We are building our reading endurance.  One day every month all of Irving will Drop Everything And Read...no matter where we are!  This DEAR time will get longer each month and will have a different focus each month.  This week we read SILENTLY for 8 minutes!  The kids did great!  Try it at home.  Drop everything and read for 8 whole minutes.  We loved it!

• We worked with our Book Buddies to create monsters based on Ed Emberly's Big Green Monster.  This book has words that are clearly supported by the pictures.  
• We also learned the sight word, the. 
• We practiced labeling pictures and we practiced matching illustrations to text.  

Next week we will start ROUTE TO READING.  Your child will bring home a letter that tells you what skill s/he is focusing on for the next few weeks.

Math
We continue to work on counting, sorting and patterns.  Next month we will bring back the calendar book and begin to write our observations about numbers down in our books.

PICTURE DAY IS TUESDAY!
If for some reason you did not receive the flyer, you can view it here.   You will need Irving's code: 194544.  You can order your pictures here, too.  It takes about 3 minutes.

Bulk Snack for October is brought to you by:

Shaquita Ballard

Molly McNamara

Aurora Pineda

LEXIA

All students learned how to log on to a great program that helps with reading called LEXIA.  Students do this during reading centers on the ipads twice a week.  You can learn how your child can do this program by looking at the flyer on the left.  PLEASE take some time to do this in the next week.  Lexia will show up as a homework option soon.  If you do not have internet access but are still interested, I can print out some sample lessons in a few weeks.  

It's Been a Busy Week!

We have worked really hard this week!

Reading:  We learned a new sight word-we.  We also started reading groups and journals.  During this week's reading groups we just practiced coming to the teacher table, whisper reading and putting our books in book boxes.  Next week we will be more focused on reading books at our reading level.  

When you read at home

DO

• point to each word
• talk about how the pictures go with the words
• have your child read words from our sight word list

DON'T

• cover up the pictures so they can't "cheat."  At this point in their reading there is more meaning in the pictures than in the words.  Using pictures is a good strategy for figuring out unknown words.
• tell your child to "sound it out" if s/he is getting frustrated. If a child is sounding out more than 4-5 words in a few minutes then the meaning of the story is lost.  You don't want your child to lose the joy of reading.

Math:

In math we continue to work on calendar routines.  Practice counting at home with your child.  During math stations we worked on patterning, shapes, counting and showing a set of objects for a given number.

Writing:

We are really working on getting the beginning sounds down for each word we hear in a sentence.  We also practiced drawing a line for each word we wanted to say.  This helps us remember our sentence so we can focus on writing each word.

We are also working on labeling a picture and making a list.

IPADS!

Mrs. Diehl came into our class to show us how to use the ipads during centers.  We learned how to turn the on, search for an app and use the carefully so they last.  We discussed how using an ipad at school is different from playing on one at home.

Irving Pacers:

Perhaps you've heard of the great program parents put on called the Irving Pacers.  On Fridays in the fall and spring students are encouraged to get a little extra exercise and run around the block.  Parents supervise the corners.  After each lap students get a punch in a pacer card.  After three punches they earn a token for a bracelet!  (Super cool...)  This week I had the whole class do it so they understood what it was.  After this week it is purely optional.

Snack Schedule:

Please look at the snack schedule.  Please send a bulk snack in on the first school day of the month you are assigned.  Individually packed snacks do not work as well because we cannot "stretch them" if we run low.  If you prefer that I pick up a bulk snack for you the next time I run to Costco, please send $9.00 in an envelope marked snack the last week of the month before you are assigned.  That gives me time to purchase the snack.  Thanks for your help with this.

Trivia Night

Take a look at the flyer for Irving's first Trivia night!  It should be a great time.  I'm already signed up with a pretty tough team.  Good luck!

Curriculum Night Success!

Thanks to all of you for coming to curriculum night!  I am always amazed at how fast the evening goes!

Please take a minute to look at the conference schedule and snack schedule linked to the left.  If you notice there is an error or you need to change your time, please let me know ASAP!

I will update the blog later this week to let you know abou tall the hard work we are doing in the classroom.  For now...suffice it to say we had a great Monday and successfully made two reading center rotations.  Please ask your child which centers she had today.

Don't forget library books tomorrow!

Looking Forward to Seeing You!!!

Back to School Party
I can't wait to see everyone at the Back to School Party at Barrie Park on Friday at 5:30.  For those of you new to Irving, this is a great event.  Many of the teachers will be there and you will get a chance to meet families from our class and across Irving.  If your children are particularly hardy, they may want to stay and watch the Muppet Movie! 

Curriculum Night
Even better than the Back to School Party is Curriculum Night!  This Thursday, September 12!  It is a chance for you to sit (literally) in your child's seat and learn about our Kindergarten curriculum, our class routines, and our schedule.  Attendance is very strongly recommended.  Childcare is provided in the auditorium.  Children should not be in the classroom.  It is a presentation for adults.  If they want to show you the classroom, that's fine, but please be prepared to walk them to the auditorium for the 30 minute presentation. Bring your calendar so you can sign up for Station Days, conferences and field trips!

Snack
Please plan on packing a snack for your child next week.  If you would prefer to contribute to bulk snacks, just let me know and you can sign up for bulk snacks on curriculum night.  If you are packing a snack there are a few guidelines.

• Please no cookies, brownies, or prepared cakes. 
• No chips of any kind
• No nuts

I am strict about enforcing these rules, as empty calorie snacks simply do not provide the fuel the Kindergarten students need. 

What have we been working on?

• Names! Learning friend's names,  writing names, reading names, rhyming with names, measuring with names
• Numbers 0-10 and their formation
• Isolating beginning sounds
• Good pencil grip
• Characters and settings
• The difference between fiction and nonfiction

P.E. is Monday and Wednesday.  Make sure your child has gym shoes on these days.
Library is Tuesday.  Make sure your child has the library book from the previous week.