November 5, 2012

Thanks so much for sending in change for Pennies for Patients.  Our class collected a total of $46.02!  Yeah!!!

I am so excited to let you know your child will be participating in Harmony’s Annual Kindergarten production of the Thanksgiving Story.  All families are invited to attend the play on Tuesday, November 20^th at 11:20. Families are also encouraged to stay afterwards to have lunch with their child. A lunch order form will be coming home next week. You may also bring your own lunch if you would prefer (I would recommend this option because the lunch line tends to get pretty long). If you would be willing to lend a helping hand before the play to help get the kids dressed I would appreciate it greatly. Please send me an e-mail if you can come at 11:00 to help.

Information about your child’s costume will be coming home soon after you child picks their part.  We will be making Native American headdresses for our play. Please send in a pack of long feathers for your child to use in their headdress by Tuesday, November 13^th.

As a school policy, kindergarteners do not bring home their first progress report like the other kids do. During our conference I will be able to thoroughly go over your child’s progress report and explain how they are performing and being assessed. Parent-Teacher Conferences begin November 8^th. If you haven’t had a chance to do so, please call the office at 228-2228 after 9:00am to schedule a meeting.

Dates to Remember

·         November 6: Election Day- No School
·         November 8 & 13: Parent-Teacher Conferences
·         November 14: Early Release Day
·         November 15: Fall Fun Day (Please let me know if you still want to sign your child up)
·         November 20: Kindergarten Thanksgiving Play
·         November 21-23: Thanksgiving Break- No School

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

We are learning about the purpose of illustrations and how they help tell the story.  Illustrations can also help us figure out what is going to happen next in the story. 

Writing Workshop

This week we will continue working on writing small moments.

Handwriting

Handwriting instruction will focus on developing fine motor skills as well as the proper formation of the following letters:  O, o, U and u

Word Study

This week, we will explore the letters Oo and Uu. Ask your child about the letter sound chants for both.  We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: so, an, him.  Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

 Math

We are to compare and sequence numbers. 

 Social Studies

We are starting our unit on Native Americans.  We will focusing our learning on two Native American regions- Eastern Woodlands and North Pacific.  We will locating these regions on the map and learning about each regions type of housing, food, and clothing.

Related Arts Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Art	Art	Art	Art	Art

October 15, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

The Husky Hustle was a big success! Our class raised nearly $1,500 to help our PTA purchase I Pads for our school.  Thank you for your support!

Thank you for turning up for the Harmony Harvest as well! We had a great turn out.  If you weren’t able to attend the festival, but are interested in having your child attend one of the events that I am hosting, please contact me. There is plenty of room for more children.  Again, I am auctioning a “Pretend Sleepover Party” in our classroom on Friday, December 7^th from 6-8:30 pm and a Fall Fun Day on November 15^th from 2:30-3:30. 

Fall Conferences:  Now is the time to sign up for your conference.  At the conference, you will receive your child’s first progress report of the year.  The conference gives us time to discuss your child’s progress, and to explain how grading works in Kindergarten.  Our two conference dates are November 8^th and November 13^th, from 2:40 to 5:40.  Conferences run for 20 minutes.  Please call Tina Swinney at Harmony (228-2228) between 9:00 and 2:00 to request a conference time.

What are we learning?

Reading Workshop

This week we continue to focus on finding rhyming words in books and concepts of print. 

Writing Workshop

We will write “Small moment” stories.  These are stories that take a rather small event, and explore the moment with descriptive language.  Because of the short week, we will not write in our Family Journals.  Family journals will return the week after the Fall Break.

Handwriting

Handwriting instruction will focus on developing fine motor skills as well as the proper formation of the following letters:  Vv, Xx, Yy, & Zz.

Word Study

This week, we will explore the letters Vv, Xx, Yy, & Zz. Ask your child about the letter sound chants for both.  We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: her, up and do. Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

Math

This week we are working on writing our numbers 0-20 and skip counting by 10s. 

Science

We are continuing our unit on plants.  We will record our observations about our corn plants.

Reminders

*Send in a healthy snack and water bottle (with a pull up spout) every day.

*Please send in a light jacket or sweater for your child to keep in their back pack. We will have outside recess, weather permitting, every day.

* Sign your child’s weekly planner every night!

* Library book due every Wednesday!

Related Arts Schedule

Monday – Tuesday Music

Wednesday – Thursday PE

October 8, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

The Husky Hustle is this Friday from 1:30-2:15.  This is a family event and the kids love to have families walk with them.  We hope you will join us! Don’t forget to send in your Husky Hustle pledges!  100% of the pledges benefit Harmony students.  We use the money to purchase a classroom set of I pads.   

The Harmony Harvest is also this Friday from 6:00-8:00 pm.  Please be sure to take a look at the silent auction items when you come.  I am auctioning a “Pretend Sleepover Party” in our classroom on Friday, December 7^th from 6:00-8:30 pm and a Fall Fun Day on November 15^th from 2:30-3:30 pm.  The cost of the Pretend Sleepover is $25 and all students are welcome.  It will be a night filled with good treats to eat, games to play, and a movie on the big screen!  The students get to wear their pajamas, bring pillows, stuffed animals, and a sleeping bag.  I hope lots of you sign up for the fun-filled night!  The Fall Fun Day is $10 and 10 students will be able to attend.  We will meet after school, make crafts, and decorate cookies.  It will be a fun filled afternoon.

Don’t forget to send in a healthy snack every day!  Many students have been forgetting the past two weeks!

What are we learning?

Reading Workshop

This week we are focusing on finding rhyming words in books and concepts of print. 

Writing Workshop

We are beginning to use a combination of drawings and writing to compose opinion pieces.  This week I will ask the students to give me their opinion on their favorite nursery rhyme or book.  They will need to explain why they chose each particular nursery rhyme or book.  On Friday, we are writing in our Family Journals.  Please take time over the weekend to read your child’s letter to you and respond. 

Handwriting

Handwriting instruction will focus on developing fine motor skills as well as the proper formation of the following letters:  J, j, W, w, Q, q

Word Study

This week, we will explore the letters Jj, Ww, and Qq. Ask your child about the letter sound chants for both.  We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: they, be, have. Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

Math

This week we are working on writing our numbers 0-20 and skip counting by 10s. 

Science

We are continuing our unit on plants. This week we will learn about the basic needs of a plant and even get to plant our own corn plants.  We will get to be scientist and record our observations about our corn plants.

Reminders

*Send in a healthy peanut-free snack and water bottle (with a pull up spout) every day.

* Our classroom gets very chilly sometimes.  Please send in a light jacket or sweater for your child to keep in their back pack. 

* Sign your child’s weekly planner every night!

* Library book due every Wednesday!

Related Arts Schedule

Monday        Art

Tuesday        Music

Wednesday Music

Thursday       Music

Friday            Music

September 24, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

We are going on our first field trip to the North Oldham Fire Station.  We will be walking to the fire station with a police escort so please make sure your child wears tennis shoes.  Your child will need to wear orange and bring a sack lunch and beach towel. 

We still need one volunteer to lead small reading group on Friday’s from 8:20-8:50.  Let me know if you are interested!

Visit http://www.spellingcity.com/Poteet/ to practice their word wall words. 

What are we learning?

English Language Arts

We are learning about strategies to help us read tricky words.  These strategies include:

Looking at the Picture and Getting your Mouth Ready (saying the initial letter sound and later the final sound of the word).  We will begin using nursery rhymes to practice oral fluency, and to identify spelling patterns in words. We will continue to develop our story ideas, reinforce spacing between words and to stretch out each word to write each sound they hear.  We will use paintings by famous artists to engage our descriptive language skills.  Children will be encouraged to use describing words to add interest to our writing pieces.  Thank you for your responses to the family journals.  Reading your message and sharing the sketches you make is a big treat for the kiddos! 

Handwriting

Handwriting instruction will focus on developing fine motor skills as well as the proper formation of the following letters:  F, f, D and d.

Word Study

This week, we will explore the letters Ff and Dd. Ask your child about the letter sound chants for both.  We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: but, on, and his.  Have your child sing you the songs for these words (sorry, there isn’t a song for “but”)

Math

We continue to find things to count, and explore sorting objects by attributes. 

Wednesday’s Homework: Send in a button or two for a math activity.

Science

We will learn about magnets: What types of objects are attracted to magnets?  How do they work?  We will also observe and record what we learn about magnets.

Dates to remember

September 25^th – Fire House Field Trip

September 26^th – Look for information about the Husky Hustle Walk-a-thon in Wednesday folder.

October 3^rd- Early release day (12:25)

October 5^th-Huber’s Field Trip

October 12^th  – Husky Hustle (in-school);  Harmony Harvest (6-9pm

Related Arts Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
PE	PE	PE	PE	PE

September 17, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

Thanks to some wonderful volunteers we are going to start guided reading groups on Monday.  Look for your child’s reading group book to come home several times this week.  Your child needs to read this book to an adult and bring it back the next day.  Rereading your child’s guided reading book can count for your child’s nightly reading homework.  Just record the book title on their Weekly Planner.

I have noticed a few of our students are struggling to spell their word wall words correctly on our weekly assessments.  Try to make word wall homework fun at home by having your child write their words in shaving cream on the table, roll out the letters of each of their words using play dough, or write each word on an index card, cut the letters apart, and have your child sort the letters.  I also signed our class up for spellingcity.com.  Visit http://www.spellingcity.com/Poteet/ to play games, complete practice assessments, practice reading and spelling our word wall words.  Click on Week 5 to see this week’s words. 

Mark your calendar for Harmony’s Harvest on Friday, October 12^th from 6:00-8:00pm.  The night will be filled with games and good treats. Bring the whole family!  I hope to see you there!

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

This week we will start learning about strategies good readers use including looking at the pictures to help use figure out tricky words (Strategy #1: Look at the Pictures) and sounding out words using the beginning and ending sound (Strategy #2: Get Your Mouth Ready). 

Writing Workshop

We are continuing our Kid Writing unit this week.  Students will focus on how to use capital letters and end punctuation .  On Friday, we are writing our fifth entry in our Family Journals.  Please take time over the weekend to read your child’s letter to you and respond. 

Handwriting

Handwriting instruction will focus on developing fine motor skills as well as the proper formation of the following letters:  C, c, H, & h 

Word Study

This week, we will explore the letters Cc and Hh. Ask your child about the letter sound chants for both.  We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: at, that, for. Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

 Math

We are learning to read and count numbers up to 10, match dots with written numbers, and look for numbers in our world.    

 Science

We are finishing our unit on weather by learning about different types of clouds, precipitation, and rainbows. 

 Reminders

* Send in a healthy peanut-free snack and water bottle (with a pull up spout) every day.

* Our classroom gets very chilly sometimes.  Please send in a light jacket or sweater for your child to keep in their back pack. 

* Sign your child’s weekly planner every night!

* Library book due every Wednesday!

 Dates to Remember

September 25^th: Fire Station Field Trip

September 28^th: MegaSkills Assembly

October 1-5^th: Scholastic Book Fair

October 5^th: Huber’s Field Trip

October 12^th: Husky Hustle 1:30-2:15

October 12^th: Harmony Harvest 6:00-8:00

Related Arts Schedule

Monday         Music

Tuesday        Music

Wednesday    Music

Thursday       PE

Friday          PE

September 10, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

We went to the library for the first time last Thursday for Library Orientation.  We will be going again on Monday for our last orientation session.  We will visit the library again on Wednesday for our first official library check out day.  Your child will be able to check out a new book every Wednesday.  You child is welcome to keep their library book for two weeks, so they don’t have to check out a new book every Wednesday.  As I explained at Parent Orientation, your child may check out a new book in the morning before school any day of the week after they finish their Morning Work.

Please send a special snack that your child can use to practice counting on Tuesday.  Some suggestions include; pretzels, goldfish, carrots, etc.  This special snack will count as their regular snack too.

Thursday is Picture Day!  Pictures will be taken from the shoulder up.  These picture will be used for the yearbook.  You are welcome to send a change of clothes in your child's book bag. 

Reminders

·         Add the new sight words to the ring at the beginning of the week.  There will be 3 new words each week.  These rings should stay inside your students take home folder in case we want to use them in class!  
·         Please continue to practice your student’s lunch number, it helps the cafeteria if they all know their numbers!
·         In the middle of September, I will begin “Shoe Tying Awards” for those who know how to tie their own shoes.  Practice, practice!  J

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

We are learning how to find books and put them away in our classroom library.  We will learn how to do a picture walk of books and what good readers do while reading.  Students will be introduced to their own book bins in their cubbies!

Writing Workshop

This week we are learning how to use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence and periods at the end!  We will continue practicing stretching our words and listening for sounds that we know!   Be sure to look for those family journals on Friday.  They sure loved reading your responses!

Handwriting

Handwriting instruction will focus on developing fine motor skills as well as the proper formation of the following letters:  N, n, P and p.

Word Study

This week, we will explore the letters Nn and Pp. Ask your child about the letter sound chants for both.  We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: you, of, is.  Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

 Math

This week we are learning how to count numbers in the same sequence and understand that numbers tell us how much of how many.  Students will learn what numbers are for and when they are useful.

Everyday Math Home Links When children are ready to, they learn to love books and want to become readers.  In a similar way, children develop positive feelings about mathematics by sharing pleasurable experiences as they count, measure, compare, estimate, and discover patterns in everyday life.    Kindergarten Home Links provide a guide to a variety of activities that parents and children can share in a spirit of exploration and enjoyment, much as they share interesting stories.    The reward for young children is not mathematics will not be a puzzling abstraction but will make sense to them as part of their real world. Take a moment to look at the Family Note.  Then, together with your child, read and do the activity described below.  Family Note: Children enjoy counting things.  Be on the lookout for opportunities to practice this skill.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised how counting things brings about many playful and productive mathematics activities.  Counting hops, skips, jumps, and sidesteps helps children develop counting skills as well as coordination.    Activity: Count the steps you need to walk from the sidewalk to the front door (or any two places).  Try to walk the same distance with fewer steps or with more steps!    Get in the counting habit! When you take a walk, try hopping, skipping, jumping, or sidestepping a certain number of times!

Science

 This week we will begin our Science unit on Seasons and Weather.  Students will learn about the four seasons, weather and the sun! 
Related Arts Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Art	Art	Music	Music	Music

September 4, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

Thank you for coming to Parent Orientation.  It was great to see so many faces.  Kindergarten students’ reading skills progress so quickly, but I need your help.  I would like to have every child meet with their reading group every day.  That is such an amazing opportunity for the children.  To do this, I need about three more people to be a weekly reading group volunteers, or to commit to two days/week.  Dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles are always welcome volunteers!  I promise it is easy and fun and only takes 30 minutes per week.  If you are able to do this, please email me.  J

Our first Early Release Day is on Wednesday.  School will dismiss at 12:25pm.  Please make sure your child knows where they will be going after school.

Keep practicing those lunch numbers! 

In the middle of September, I will begin “Shoe Tying Awards” for those who know how to tie their own shoes.  Practice, practice!  J

Check out our class blog (http://mspoteetsclass.blogspot.com/) for more information about what we are learning in school and to look at our new pictures.

What are we learning?

 Reading Workshop

We are learning how to take care of book and how to find them and put them away in our classroom library.  We will learn how to use symbols and pictures on the backs of the books to help us find the correct basket. 

Writing Workshop

This week, we are learning how writing workshop looks and sounds.  We are also learning how to sound out our words like “bubble gum” and add spaces in between our words.   Be sure to look for those family journals on Friday.  They sure loved reading your responses on Monday!

Handwriting

Handwriting instruction will focus on developing fine motor skills as well as the proper formation of the following letters:  G, g, T and t.

Word Study

This week, we will explore the letters Gg and Tt. Ask your child about the letter sound chants for both.  We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: I, he, it.  Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

 Math

We are learning how to sort objects according to their measureable attributes. 

Everyday Math Home Links When children are ready to, they learn to love books and want to become readers.  In a similar way, children develop positive feelings about mathematics by sharing pleasurable experiences as they count, measure, compare, estimate, and discover patterns in everyday life.  Kindergarten Home Links provide a guide to a variety of activities that parents and children can share in a spirit of exploration and enjoyment, much as they share interesting stories.  The reward for young children is not mathematics will not be a puzzling abstraction but will make sense to them as part of their real world. Take a moment to look at the Family Note.  Then, together with your child, read and do the activity described below.  Family Note: Sorting helps children develop the ability to examine a variety of items and to develop classification categories into which they can be grouped.  Activity: Before unpacking the grocery bag, try to guess how many items are inside it.  Then count to see how close you were.  Sort the grocery items into groups.  Explain why you put certain items together.  Can you think of a different way to sort the items?  You can also practice sorting other items at home such as toys, books, or coins.

 Social Studies

This week we are learning about the Positive Discipline’s Wheel of Choice. 

Related Arts Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
No School	PE	Art	Art	Art