January 30, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

The one hundredth day was here, and went!  Can you believe your children so close to finishing their first year in school?  Boy, have they grown!  Thanks to all of your enthusiasm and creativity, our children had a great day, and they were so proud!

Last week, we attended a puppet show by “Kids on the Block” addressing “good touch” and “bad touch” as a culminating activity to the lessons that we had with Mrs. Hammons.  The play was an entertaining approach to discussing the sensitive subject of child abuse.  If you would like more information from this non-profit agency, their web-site is www.ky.kob.org.

I will be attending the Oldham County Learning Institute on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  We will have our first substitute on these days.  Please remind your child they need to follow our school and classroom expectations even when the teacher isn’t present. 

Remember that our Kindergarten Writing Celebration is February 10^th from 11:05-11:30 in our school library.  You are welcome to stay for lunch from 11:32-11:57.  Lunch order forms were sent home last week.  Please let me know if you will not be able to attend, I will try to ask a school friend to come read with your child. 

If you haven’t had a chance to send in the field trip form for “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” yet, please do so before the end of the week, as we need to pay for our seats in advance.

Important Dates this Month:

February 10^th Writing Celebration

February 14^th Valentine Party (information coming home soon).  Before you buy your Valentine’s, know that we are not allowed to give Valentine’s with candy (school policy). 

What are we learning?

Reading Workshop

We will begin our unit on Reading as Mentors.  Children will learn that there are reading role models at school, at home, etc. 

Writing Workshop

This week we will continue working on our All About Me books.  They are very motivated to write a book all about themselves!  Family journals will be sent home on Friday.  Please take time over the weekend to read your child’s letter to you and respond. 

Word Study

This week, we will be reviewing ch, sh, th and wh sounds. We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: came, very, now. Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

Math

In math, we are solving number stories.

Science

On Friday, we began our Science Biographies Unit.  The first scientist we are learning about is George W. Carver. The next two are Jane Goodall and Wilbur and Orville Wright.   

Reminders

*Send in a healthy snack and water bottle every day.

* Sign your child’s weekly planner every night!

* Library book due every Friday!

Related Arts Schedule

Monday-Tuesday                 PE       

Wednesday-Friday           Music

Mystery Reader

Ms. Golladay reads her favorite childhood book, Ira Sleeps Over!

January 23, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

Wow!  Our year has flown by so quickly.  Tuesday is our 100^th Day of School!!!!  I cannot believe we have had 100 days of schools already!  I know this sounds cliché, but it seems like just a few weeks ago, 23 little nervous bundles of energy walked into room 103.  Many students were still learning to write their names and were trying to decide whether or not they we going to like their new classmates, teacher and school.  Everyone has grown so much since those first few days of school.  Now we are all readers, writers, scientists, historians, and most importantly friends.  I would like to thank all of you for letting me educate and grow to love your babies! 

100th Day Project Our class has been adding one number for each school day to our Growing Number Line.  The 100th day of school is coming up soon, and it will be a major celebration! One of the things we will do to celebrate is to hold a “100th Day Fashion Show.”  Please help your child glue, safety pin, or sew 100 things on a plain t-shirt.  Children have been thinking about things they could glue to their shirt including buttons, beads, pennies, paper clips, cereal, etc.  Be as creative as possible!  We have been talking about ways to count the collections without losing track of the numbers.  Making groups of 10 is a good way to count and display the objects.  Children may need a little help gathering materials, but they should be able to do most of the counting themselves.  Please have your child wear their 100th day t-shirt to school on January 24th (may change if we have any snow days)!

Mark your calendars for the Kindergarten Writing Celebration on February 10^th from 11:05-11:30 in our school library.  You are welcome to stay for lunch from 11:32-11:57.  Lunch order forms will come home soon.  Due to the long lunch line, I recommend you bring your own lunch.  The kids are so excited to share their books with you!  Please let me know if you will not be able to attend, I will try to ask a school friend to come read with your child. 

We will be going on a field trip to the Memorial Auditorium to see a performance of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” on March 15^th.  Each class is able to bring two chaperones.  If you are interested, please indicate that on the form and return it.  If we have more than two interested parents, we will pull names out of a hat during morning meeting and let you know if you were one of the lucky winners. 

Important Dates this Month:

January 24^th: 100^th Day of School!

January 25^th: Early Release Day

January 26^th: MegaSkills Assembly

What are we learning?

Reading Workshop

We are continuing to learn about questioning.  We are learning the difference between “thick” and “thin” questions.  Good readers ask questions before, during, and after reading. 

Writing Workshop

This week we will continue working on our All About Me books.  They are very motivated to write a book all about themselves!  Family journals will be sent home on Friday.  Please take time over the weekend to read your child’s letter to you and respond. 

Word Study

This week, we will be learning about th and wh sounds. We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: are, come, if. Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

Math

In math, we a solving number stories and celebrating the 100^th day of school.   

Science

We are finishing a unit about the five senses.  This week we will learn about sight.  We will also learn about the anatomy of our eyes and how the pupil changes shape based on the amount of available light.  On Friday we will begin our Science Biographies Unit.  The first scientist we are learning about is George W. Carver.     

Reminders

*Send in a healthy snack and water bottle 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 Friday!

Related Arts Schedule

Monday                      Music

Tuesday-Friday      PE

Mystery Reader

Terry reads Little Quack's Bedtime!  

January 9, 2012

A note from Ms. Poteet…

As you know, your child has been bringing home books from their guided reading groups all year.  Please make an effort to read these books with your child when they bring them home.  Rereading books helps build fluency, an important skill for proficient readers. Your child may read the book to an older or younger sibling.  This can even be considered all or part of their nightly reading homework (depending on the length of the book).  Please feel free to call or e-mail if you think the books your child is bringing home are too hard or too easy (Keep in mind that shorter books are often read at least twice during school).  Thanks for your help!

Look for information to come home about our 100^th Day of School Fashion Show! 

Important Dates this Month:

January 16^th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day- No School

January 24^th: 100^th Day of School!

January 25^th: Early Release Day

January 26^th: MegaSkills Assembly

What are we learning?

Reading Workshop

The kids are keyed up over the nonfiction books we have been exploring.  They have learned all about bees, pumpkins, sharks, spiders, France, and even penguins while searching nonfiction text features (table of contents, labels, diagrams, maps, charts, fun facts, etc).  We will continue investigating nonfiction text features this week. 

Writing Workshop

This week we will continue working on our All About Me books.  The kids are so excited about writing a book all about themselves and their family!  They cannot wait for you to read them.  Family journals will be sent home on Friday.  Please take time over the weekend to read your child’s letter to you and respond. 

Word Study

This week, we will be reviewing our previously learned word families. We will also learn how to read and write these words that will be added to our Word Wall: would, me, will. Have your child sing you the songs for these words.

Math

In math, we are learning shape vocabulary (side, corner, and angle), about attributes, and the differences and similarities between 2-D & 3-D shapes. 

Everyday Math Home Link Family Note: Manipulating, exploring, and discussing 3-dimensional objects helps children learn the names of these objects and build spatial sense.  Many familiar objects are common 3-D geometric shapes: balls are spheres, dice are cubes, for example.  Children have been learning about 2-D and 3-D shapes and noticing shapes all around them.  At home, encourage your child to think about 2-D and 3-D shapes as he or she looks for objects to place in our classroom Shape Museum.  Activity: Look around your home for objects that have 3-dimensional geometric shapes.  See if you can find examples like these: Sphere: ball, globe Cube: dice, square box Cylinder: can of food Cone: ice cream cone, party hat Rectangular Prism: cereal box, book Bring in a few objects to add to our classroom Shape Museum on Thursday or Friday.

Social Studies

Ms. Hammons our counselor will be coming in to teach us about Good Touch and Bad Touch.

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 Friday!

Related Arts Schedule

Monday                      Art

Tuesday                     Art

Wednesday               Art

Thursday                   Art

Friday                         Music

Mystery Reader

Thanks for being our Mystery Reader!

Mystery Reader

Mr. Isaac is first Mystery Reader of the New Year!

December Memories 2011

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Our Thanksgiving Play

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