The Countdown!

May 17, 2013

                                    Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds.  All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Word Family’s:  This week we started the short u word families.  We worked with the un and ug word families.  Next week we will continue the short u word families.

Popcorn Words: This week we learned the words blue, yellow, red and pink.  Please practice the popcorn words every night, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult. 

Reading:  We started our animal theme this week.  We read Feathers for Lunch.  We also read books about pigs such as The Three Little Pigs in play format, Pigs to the Rescue and Me First.  In Me First Pinkerton the Pig learned that you do not always have to be the first to do something and it is not always the best to be first.

Writing:  We continued to write in and complete our memory books for our year in kindergarten.  The children really enjoyed writing about their first year in school, the friends they made, all they learned, and what they liked about kindergarten.

Math:  We focused on fluently subtracting numbers up to five.  We practiced counting to 100 and worked on counting to 100 by tens.  Next week we will continue with our counting, with the focus this quarter of counting to 100.  We will be taking a two-minute subtraction quiz.  The children will have two minutes to complete the quiz.  Next week we will continue with subtraction.  We will also talk about three-dimensional shapes. 

REMEMBER:

This past Wednesday was our last library checkout of the year.  Please bring your library books back by next Wednesday May 22^nd.

Please remember to check the ABC Countdown Sheet. 

Brookfield Zoo Field Trip- Thursday May 23^rd 2013.  Permission slips went home Friday May 5th.  Please sign and return if you have not already

Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Kindergarten Graduation Day is Tuesday June 4^th 2013. 10:00 A.M. for the morning class and 2:00 P.M. for the afternoon class.  All family members are welcome.

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

Happy Mother's Day!

May 10, 2013

                                    Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds.  All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Word Family’s:  This week we reviewed our short o word families.  We will be starting our short u family next week.

Popcorn Words: This week we learned the words pretty, funny, under and find.  Please practice the popcorn words every night, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult. 

Reading:  We started our animal theme this week.  We read the story Run Away in which the animals in the forest think something is after them when all it is nature with the wind blowing and branches moving.  We also read When Dinosaurs Came With Everything.  Since Mother’s Day is this upcoming Sunday we also read Are You My Mother?, which is part of the Dr. Seuss series, Celebrate Mother’s Day, and Eric Carle’s famous Does a Kangaroo Have a Mothers, Too?

 

Writing:  We wrote a poem about Mother’s Day. We started writing in our memory books with the end of the year quickly approaching.  Please check your child’s folder to find the great Mother’s Day gift.

Math:  We focused on fluently adding and subtracting numbers up to five.  We practiced counting to 100 and worked on counting to 100 by tens.  Next week we will continue with our counting, with the focus this quarter of counting to 100.  We will take a two-minute addition quiz this Friday.  The children had two minutes to complete the quiz.  Please look for the quiz in their folders early next week.

Social Studies- Our Weekly Reader this week focused on sea creatures.  We learned about some of the strange and interesting ways that sea creatures sleep, move, eat, and hide.  We also learned how some fish scare away their predators.

Art:  This week we made a butterfly project for Mother’s Day.  The children took great pride in their work and were very excited to give their gifts to their mothers.

Thank you to all for all the very generous gifts this week.  It is very thoughtful of you.  It is my pleasure to work with your children each school day.

Happy Mother’s Day!

REMEMBER:

Half Day-Friday May 17^th:  Only the afternoon class will come to school.  The day will be 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.  The children will then take their regular bus home.  If your are picking up your child that day please send a note and pick-ups will be in the office at 12:10 P.M.

Please remember to check the ABC Countdown Sheet. 

Brookfield Zoo Field Trip- Thursday May 23^rd 2013.  Permission slips went home Friday May 5th.  Please look sign and return if you have not already.

Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Kindergarten Graduation Day is Tuesday June 4^th 2013. 10:00 A.M. for the morning class and 2:00 P.M. for the afternoon class.  All family members are welcome.

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

ABC Countdown!

                                                        

                                                           May 3, 2013

                                       Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds.  All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Word Family’s:  This week we worked on our short o word families.  We also began working on a new word family, ock.

Popcorn Words: This week we learned the words was, saw, are and well.  Please practice the popcorn words every night, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult. 

Reading:  We continued our Spring is Here reading theme this week.  We read the book Three Billy Goats Gruff, Eric Carle’s The Lamb and the Butterfly, and a poem titled I Saw It, in which we highlighted all our popcorn words we have learned so far and we focused on our new word saw.

Writing:  We wrote about a butterfly using two of our new popcorn words, was and saw, from this week.

Math:  We focused on fluently adding and subtracting numbers up to five.  We practiced counting to 100 and worked on counting to 100 by tens.  Next week we will continue with our counting, with the focus this quarter of counting to 100.  We completed our Caterpillar Addition project.  We have taken two addition quizzes since last Friday and they will be in your child’s folder this Friday.  The children had two minutes to complete the quiz.

Social Studies- Our Weekly Reader this week focused on butterflies.  We learned what their legs, eyes, wings and antenna are used for.  We even learned what the butterflies’ proboscis is.  Please ask your child to tell you about what they have learned about butterflies.  The children had a great interest in learning about the butterflies. 

Thank you to all who came to our Open House last Thursday April 25^th.  The children were very happy to show off all the projects they worked very hard at completing. 

REMEMBER:

Please remember to check the ABC Countdown Sheet.  

Brookfield Zoo Field Trip- Thursday May 23^rd 2013.  Permission slips are going home today Friday May 5th.  Please look for them in your child’s folder today.

Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Kindergarten Graduation Day is Tuesday June 4^th 2013. 10:00 A.M. for the morning class and 2:00 P.M. for the afternoon class.  All family members are welcome.

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

Happy Earth Day!

                                                      

                                                        April 25, 2013

Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds.  All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Word Family’s:  This week we reviewed our short e word families.  We also began working on new word families, ot and op.

Popcorn Words: This week we learned the words came, make, ate, and ride.  Please practice the popcorn words every night, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult. 

Reading:  We started our Spring is Here reading theme this week.  We read the book When Rabbit Grew Feathers.  It is similar to The Tortoise and the Hare, but in this story Turkey broke Turtles shell and when Rabbit wanted to race Turtle, Turkey hid inside Turtle’s shell and then raced Rabbit with Turtle’s shell on.  From then on Rabbit never bothered Turtle again.  The lesson the children learned was that you do not have to be the best or the fastest, but if you are a nice person and try your best people will stand by you and help you in time of need. We also read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and we focused on what the caterpillar ate, which is one of our popcorn words this week.

Writing:  We wrote about our star student of the week. 

Math:  We focused on fluently adding and subtracting numbers up to five.  We practiced counting to 100 and worked on counting to 100 by tens.  Next week we will continue with our counting, with the focus this quarter of counting to 100.  We started our Caterpillar Addition project, and as soon as the whole class completes them we will take them home.

Social Studies- We also read Too Much Trash from our Weekly Reader.  The story focused on recycling since Monday was Earth Day.  We talked out things we can do to save our planet.  We also read I Love the Earth.

REMEMBER:

Brookfield Zoo Field Trip- Thursday May 23^rd 2013.  Permission slips to follow shortly.

Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Kindergarten Graduation Day is Tuesday June 4^th 2013. 10:00 A.M. for the morning class and 2:00 P.M. for the afternoon class.  All family members are welcome.

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

April 19, 2013

Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds.  All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Word Family’s:  This week we reviewed our short e word families.  We worked on the en, ed, and et word families.  Next week we will start our short o word families ot and op.

Popcorn Words: This week we learned the words eat, please, want, and with.  Please practice the popcorn words every night, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult. 

Reading:  We started our Spring is Here reading theme this week.  We read the book Kevin and his Dad.  The story is about a boy who has to do his chores with his father first, and then father and son can go outside and have fun.  We learned that working together is very rewarding.  We also read the book Spring is Here.   We talked about all the signs of spring we see and enjoy and summer is coming very soon.  Lastly we read the story If I Gave a Mouse a Cookie.

Writing:  We wrote about our star student of the week.  We also wrote a sentence about the story If I Gave a Mouse a Cookie.

Math:  We focused on fluently adding and subtracting numbers up to five.  We practiced counting to 100 and worked on counting to 100 by tens.  Next week we will continue with our counting, with the focus this quarter of counting to 100.

Social Studies- We read a small book called It’s Raining, It’s Pouring and we even talked about the water cycle.  The children learned about evaporation, condensation and precipitation.  The children were very interested in the fact that the water cycle continues over and over.

Art:  We did a spring flower project in which we had to write the numbers counting by tens up to one hundred on individual flower petals.  The projects will be on display for our open house this upcoming Thursday April 25^th.

REMEMBER:

Open House- Thursday April 25^th 6:30 to 8:00 PM

Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Kindergarten Graduation Day is Tuesday June 4^th 2013.

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

Lions, Tigers, and Giraffes Oh My!

April 12, 2013

Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds.  All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Word Family’s:  This week we continued working on our short e word families.  We worked on the et word families.  Next week we will be reviewing the short e word families.

Popcorn Words: This week we learned the words say, away, play and they.  Please practice the popcorn words every night, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult. 

Reading:  Our reading theme this week was a continuation of our farm/ animal theme.  We read the book Rainbow Fish, which focused on sharing and fairness.  We also read Ten Little Fish, which had a math focus of counting back from ten. Lastly, we read the book The Giraffe Made Me Laugh.  The Giraffe Made Me Laugh was a great lead in for our giraffe art project that will be proudly displayed at our Open House on April 25^th.

Writing:  We wrote about Rainbow Fish and how we share just like he does in the story.

Math:  We focused on fluently adding and subtracting numbers up to five.  Next week we will continue with our counting, with the focus this quarter of counting to 100.

Art:  We worked on a few projects this week in anticipation of Open House.  We did a Rainbow Fish project, and made lions, tigers, and giraffes, all of which will be displayed at our Open House.  The children are so very proud of their work and cannot wait to show their work to their loved ones.

REMEMBER                       

 Please sign the report card envelopes and return.

Mismatch Tuesday April 16.  Have fun mismatching your clothes!

Please return your spring kite project as soon as you are finished.  They will be displayed at Open House 

Open House- Thursday April 25th

Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Kindergarten Graduation Day is Tuesday June 4^th 2013.

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!

Welcome Back!

                                                        

                                                        April 5, 2013

Focus on Curriculum

Jolly Phonics: We have completed all our jolly phonics sounds.  Now we know the sounds of the letters and letter combinations: s, a, t, i, p, n, c, k, e, r, h, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, j, oa, oa, ie, ee, or,oo, ch, sh, ng, th, ou, qu, ue, oi, er, ar, z, w, v, y, and z. Please try and practice with your letter cards at home.  Please ask your child to say the letter names and sounds.  All students have a bag of cards with letters, pictures, and words. They should try to match the letters, pictures, and words. You may choose to make it a game such as Memory, Rummy or Go Fish. Use your imagination!  Keep the cards in a special place at home so they can use them again and again.  The cards can stay at home.

Word Family’s:  This week we reviewed our short e word families.  We worked on the en and ed word families.

Popcorn Words: This week we learned the words who, what, where and there.  Please practice the popcorn words every night, we are getting quite a few and they are getting more difficult. 

Reading:  Our reading theme this week was a continuation of our farm theme.  We read books The Three Little Pigs, Mouse’s Birthday, and Eek! There’s a Mouse in the House!  While we read the books we discussed the key elements of the stories; who are the characters, what is the main ideas of the stories, and where the stories takes place (the settings).  It was a great way for the students to get exposure to our new popcorn words.

There is a spring reading project that will be going home today.  Each student will have a chance to read a story and do a kite project that focuses on who, what and where.

Students will also be receiving a form on Friday for a free ticket to a Kane County Cougars baseball game.  The tickets are from Ozzie’s Reading Club.  The tickets were awarded to students because they kept up with their reading this year.  Have fun at the ball game!

Writing:  We wrote about our star student of the week.  We also wrote a sentence telling what each student did over spring break.

Math:  We focused on addition and subtraction.  We used counters and ten frames to help write addition and subtraction number sentences.  We wrote our numbers one through twenty.  We even played a Jeopardy math game in which the student’s were able to use the interactive white board in our classroom.    Please practice writing numbers and counting at home.

REMEMBER                       

Report cards will be sent home Monday April 8^th.  Please sign the envelope and return.

No School- Tuesday April 9^th 2013- Teacher Institute

No School- Friday April 12^th 2013- Parent/ Teacher Conferences

Please practice the popcorn words with your child.

Kindergarten Graduation Day is Tuesday June 4^th 2013.

Bring your library books on Wednesdays!

Wear your gym shoes Thursdays and Fridays!