We had such a fun HIBERNATION day!  We learned about other animals that hibernate, did some great bear measuring and made a hibernating bear craft.  All in all it was a success.  See the pictures linked on the left.

Reading:  We got new books this week in guided reading groups.  Students are learning how to do picture walks and use the first letter of a word to help them figure out unknown words.  I finished trimester 1 assessments this week, too.

Writing:  We are doing a lot of non-fiction writing during Writers Workshop.  Students chose new writing goals during writing conferences.

Math:  We worked on shapes a lot this week during math stations.  We also did some number stories.

Bears:  We learned about polar bears and finished up our panda bear writing.

Field Trip:  We will go rain or shine.  If the weather is too cold we will adjust times to make sure there is plenty of time in the indoor exhibits.

•  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather.  
• Please make sure your child has a disposable lunch!  (No lunchboxes, tupperware, no thermoses, etc.)  The chaperones will have their hands full of hats and mittens and other gear.  Carrying heavy lunches is too much to ask!  
• Make sure your child is on time Tuesday morning.
• Finally, there is no limit on chaperones.  If you would like to join us you are more than welcome!  

Upcoming Dates:
November 25th:  Zoo Field Trip
December 17th:  Winter Concerts-These are always in the morning.  There will be two times.  There will be a reception after the second concert.
December 12th:  Report Cards go homefff
December 19th:  Last Day of School before Winter Break
January 5th:  School Resumes

November 16th

We had a great week in Kindergarten finishing up some of our Reading Literature Standards and beginning to learn about how to read Informational Texts.

Reading:  We worked with our Book Buddies twice this week to begin our bear research projects.  The students had to answer four questions about bears and then present it using an app called  Explain Everything.  When these are completed you will see a digital copy of them.  They are very impressive!

Writing: We continue to work on informational writing.  This week our focus has been on bears.

Math:  We are working on naming shapes and on number stories within five.  Please practice identifying these shapes at home:  square, rectangle, triangle, circle, hexagon, rhombus.  In general the students know the shapes, but right now only one student knows all 6 shapes consistently.  Keep practicing!

Bears:  We are gearing up for our trip to the zoo!  We have learned a lot about bears and will continue to learn about them this week.  One thing we are very excited about is our HIBERNATION DAY on Friday!  Students can wear pajamas to get ready to hibernate.  They can also bring a special book from home to read (under our tables...I mean...in our dens).  Students can bring a bear snack- such as fish..or goldfish, teddy grahams, honeycomb cereal, berries, gummy bears, etc.  We will also have a teddy bear picnic...so a TEDDY BEAR is a must!  We will all eat in the Kindergarten pod on towels with our bears.  Parents are welcome to join us for our picnic, but there will be nothing formal.  If your child plans on getting hot lunch on Friday, we will make sure they get their milk or hot lunch. 

50th day of School and Bears...Oh My!

We had a great 50th day of school.  Your kids looked great!  They had a lot of fun learning about the number 50 and about life in the 1950s.  The dance party was great.  The pictures, taken from the ipad, were all pretty out of focus.  As you can imagine...it's hard to get kids to stop moving when at a sock hop!



Dates:
Monday, November 10th:  No School in honor of Veterans Day
Friday, November 14th:  Permission slip due
Tuesday, November 25th: Field Trip to Brookfield Zoo

 Reading: We took our summative assessment on characters, settings and main events this week.  The students have made so much progress on this standard and I expect they will continue to show great things.  As we discussed at conferences, we most expect to see an AP (approaching proficiency) at this time of year.  We will be looking at these assessments as a grade level and scoring them together. As soon as that is done I will copy the assessments and send them home.

Writing:  We started nonfiction writing this week!  We started by writing about things we know a lot about.  Soon we will look at text features, like captions, labels and diagrams and add that to our writing.   This will all come in handy when we do our BEAR RESEARCH project!

Math:  We continue to work on writing numbers correctly.  We used the "wet, dry, try" method of practicing during math stations.  Mr. Degman came in again to help us learn the names of all the pattern block shapes.  Look for an assignment to be emailed to you.  Of course we also spent some time counting to 50!  (Look for the rest of the pictures linked to the left!)

Bears:  We will begin a study of bears for the next few weeks.  We will learn about bears while applying our nonfiction writing, reading nonfiction books, using technology to publish writing and to address the science standards of animal habitats.  Be sure to send in the permission slip by next Friday to the Brookfield Zoo!

Stand up to Cancer:Has your child come home talking about funny pictures of the teachers standing in funny places?  This is part of a "Stand up to Cancer" campaign that the student council is sponsoring.  Your child can "vote" for their favorite picture by putting some money in the their favorite picture's envelope.  All the money goes to Cancer Research.  Money accepted until next week!

Happy Halloween!

Let's get right down to the business at hand!  While we have been learning a lot this week about bats, segmenting words and good number writing...what we are really thinking about is
Halloween!
A few things to remember!!

• Do not send your child to school in costume.  
• Costumes will be put on at 1:00 in the afternoon.
• Label ALL parts of a costume. 
• NO weapons as part of a costume.
• Room Parents have worked hard to plan a party with some "fun food".  Please do not send additional food or candy to the party unless you signed up on our sign up genius.  
• All parents are welcome to watch the parade at 1:40.  If it is not raining-we will be outside-so please help your child think about how to wear the costume over a jacket or under a jacket.  They don't like to cover it up once it is on...but with the temps predicted, they will freeze without a jacket!  
• All parents are welcome to join us for the party.  We will likely go right up to the bell.  Please come in and help us pack up at the end of the day! (No need to wait outside for us...just c'mon in and help your child gather all their belongings.  

Picture Retakes is MONDAY NOVEMBER 3rd.  If your child was absent, plan on getting pictures taken.  If your child's picture was unsatisfactory, please return the whole package and write a note explaining why you want a retake.

Wednesday, November 5th is our 50th day of school!  Remember to dress up like it was the 1950s!  Just a few ideas:  Boys can wear rolled up jeans, put gel in their hair and wear a cardigan.  Girls can wear a poodle skirt or longer skirt, bobby socks and a high pony tail!  Pearls are a lovely touch!

Monday, November 10th:  No School for Veteran's Day

Tuesday, November 25th:  Field Trip to Brookfield Zoo!  Can you chaperone?  Let me know!  We'd love to have you.  Chaperones don't ride the bus, so the earlier we plan carpooling, the better!

What a full fall week!  I really enjoyed being able to meet with al of you during our conference.  100% attendance is a teachers dream!  If you got home and realized you forgot to ask me something, please don't hesitate to send an email or schedule another conference.  I know the time goes fast.

Reading:  We continued working on beginning, middle and end in reading.  During reading groups we are focusing on using the first letter to help us figure out a new word.  We are also working on pointing to each word when we read.
Writing:  Each of the students chose a writing goal this week.  Ask your child what his/her goal is.
Math: During math we are working on measuring and using ten frames to help us visualize numbers.   A lot of students are writing numbers backwards or having trouble identifying numbers.  We will do some additional number writing practice next week.

A BIG thanks to all of you who supported our Fun Run!  The kids had a great time running for a good cause!  If you did not get a chance to contribute, but would still like to, pledges are accepted until the end of next week.

We also had a visit from a dentist!  You will find a dental screening form in your papers this week.  If you sign it and return it our class gets a prize!  You are not consenting when you sign-but it is as great, free service if you are interested.

Next week we have another busy week!  We will

• Have a bus evacuation drill on Monday.
• Meet a real author on Tuesday!
• Go to the Book Fair on Tuesday.  It is open every day after school next week!  It's a great chance to get some books and support our school.  There are adult books, too.  If you want to send money in with your child to buy a book, please put the money in an envelope with any instructions you have.
• Friday is our Halloween Parade and Party!  Thanks to Kim and all our Room Parents for organizing such a great party!  Please read her emails!

Reading:  We are working on RL3-identifying characters, setting, and beginning, middle and end.

Writing:  We continue to work on spaces between words.  Next week we will choose goals to improve our writing.

Math:  We are comparing lengths and measuring.  Mr. Degman helped a group work on showing numbers and counting using the app educreations.  He will be coming in two times a week to integrate technology into our math lessons.

PLEASE!  IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY, REGISTER FOR THE FUN RUN!  THIS IS A BIG FUNDRAISER FOR US AND IT IS A GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL!

REGISTER FOR TRIVIA NIGHT, TOO!  Yes-it is a fundraiser-but it is so much fun!  This is a child free night at the Wire answering trivia questions and having a blast.  If you don't have a team, you can register and we will make a team for you.  Last year some parents from my class formed a team and became great friends.  It is a great opportunity to get to know some of the people you'll be seeing around Irving for the next 6 years!  (I'm playing on a team of people I met when my oldest was in Kindergarten...6 years ago!)

An author is coming to Irving!  Please read the purple flier in folders today.  It has information about getting a signed copy of a book for your child from the author of the Five Little Monkey books.  Click on the title to visit her website!

See you all at conferences next week!  I can't wait!

We had a great week!
 Our first trip to the library was a success.  If you turned in an application for a library card, your library card is in the folder.  Congratulations!  Thanks to our volunteer chaperones.  We will be doing a research project in November using our new library cards.  

 Reading:  We have added several new centers to our guided reading centers.   Next week we will get new groups and students will get new books each week for their book bags.  We are focusing on beginning, middle and end.  We also started using Lexia this week.  Please see the instructions for how to use Lexia at home.

Writing:  We are also focusing on beginning, middle and end in our writing.  Students are getting more independent about getting sounds down on paper for their words.  We will really focus on spaces between our words next week.

Math:   We completed our first chapter in the My Math curriculum.  We worked on concepts of more than, less than and equal to.  We are also practicing writing and reading numbers 1-20.

Upcoming Dates:
October 10: No school for institute day
October 13:  No school for Columbus Day
October 22:  FUN RUN!  See the link to the left to register your child if you have not already!
October 31:  Halloween Party and Parade -Details on times coming soon.  Kids can bring costumes to school and will change after lunch.
November 5:  Our 50th day of School!  Your child will want to wear a 50's inspired outfit that day.  Keep this in mind as you gather Halloween costumes.