The End of the 1st Semester

It is so hard to believe that this week is the end of the first semester of Kindergarten.  Time is moving so quickly.  We were fortunate to have 100% percent attendance on Wednesday.  We haven't had perfect attendance in over three weeks so this was a very happy day to have the complete class learning, working and playing together!   The students will report back on Tuesday, January 4, 2011.

Reading is a review week of introduced letter sounds and word wall words.  I will assess the students on word wall words on Wednesday.  The entire first semester of word wall words will be required to be read instantly and accurately.  I will try to notify you by Thursday evening the words your child missed, if any.  I will be doing report card assessments this week so reading groups will be abbreviated.  Homework may not come home each night.  Please check the white binder nightly to see if your child has reading homework.

Our December calendar pages will come home on Friday.  You will find a December calendar, a tally page, a write the date, adding the date, odd/even and a weather graph.  The calendar notebook is a favorite time of the day.  Ask us to tell you what we know about the December pages brought home on Friday.

Tuesday is library day so please return library books. 

Our class party is Thursday from 1:30-2:15.  An email was sent on Thursday and a hard copy of the email was in Friday's binder.  Please return the letter or email our room parent as to how you can assist in the planning of the party.  Parents are invited to attend.

NOTE:  You may check your child out after the party.  Please follow the instructions to quickly and smoothly check your child out.  When you enter the building before the party begins, there will be a table set up in front of the office.  Upon completing the necessary paperwork, you will be given a slip of paper notifying me that your child has already been signed out.  When you enter our classroom, please hand me the slip of paper.  I CANNOT release your child at the end of the party unless I have that slip of paper from the office.

This is our last week to rest in Kindergarten.  Nap mats will be sent home on Friday.  To celebrate the ending of naps, we will watch the movie The Polar Express on Friday while laying on our nap mats.  The children are allowed to wear their pajamas!  If you would like for your child NOT to watch the movie, please notify me in writing by Thursday so that I can make arrangements for your child.

We will be bringing home some Christmas secrets on Thursday.  They are meant to be opened early. We will be taking down our Christmas tree on Friday so please look in backpacks for our ornaments from the tree.  Friday's back pack will have our poetry journal with a special poem to celebrate the new year and a special song book that we've been working for the month of December.


DIBELS reports  will go home on Tuesday.  Please sign the paper and return on Wednesday.

Thank you for saving the toilet tissue rolls.  Our Christmas secret is completed so no need to save them anymore.  Heads up that your child will need one adult sized shoe box in January.  So if you have Christmas shoes under your tree, do not throw away the box.  Please do not send the shoe boxes to school until I ask for them.

If you are still in need of a Christmas present for your child, I highly recommend the book Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett.  I usually refuse to read books by actors but this is a wonderful family book.  It is requested every night at my house.  It is the perfect way to end the day.  Go ahead and splurge on the mitts because they add to the fun!  It is hard to find locally so I've included a link to amazon.com.  The price can't be beat and you may want to order two to give away as a gift to a beloved child in your life outside your family.    Click on the link to find out more information. Tickle Monster (the perfect book to end the day or anytime during the day!)

Thank you so much for sharing your child with me.  Our days go by quickly  and are filled with fun!  Email me with any questions or concerns you may have!  Have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Not only is this the most wonderful time of the year but it is also the busiest time in Room 115.  We are working hard to get the room decorated for our party on Thursday, December 16.  Look for more information to come home this week about our class party.  Parents are invited to attend the party.


Originally this week was to be a review week but I'm changing things up a bit.  This week we will be studying the letter Jj as in "jellybean in the jar."  The word wall words are:  with, for, then, some.  I will be assessing the students on word wall words for the first semester next Wednesday, December 15.  The words from this week will NOT be assessed until the third nine weeks.  Next week will be a review week.


Our class is scheduled for DIBELS testing this Tuesday.  There is nothing you need to do to prepare your child for this test other than make sure he/she is in attendance.  There will be no reading homework on Tuesday.


In math, we are beginning to learn about money!  We will begin with naming the coins and knowing their values.  We continue to work on number concepts up to ten.  

We had plenty of questions this week when a student brought in a wishbone from his Thanksgiving feast.  It was just like our poem.  We were so excited to hear who got the bigger half!  Our poem last week was easily to put to music and was the perfect opportunity to pull out the musical instruments.  We are quite the performers!  This week's poem involves candy so it is sure to be hit with this crowd.  Please make sure poetry notebooks are returned to school every Monday.


There will be no organized library class on Tuesday due to DIBELS testing.  I will allow your child to check out a new book when his/her library book is returned to school any day this week. 

Thank you for saving toilet tissue rolls. I have enough for our Christmas Secret.  This Friday, the children will rotate to all the Kindergarten classrooms to enjoy a day of activities in preparation of Christmas.  

I do take the children outside every day unless it is raining so please make sure coats/jackets are sent to school.  All coats and sweaters should be labeled with your child's name so we can quickly locate owners!  


I will be placing a book order on Monday.  Books will arrive before our holiday break.  Let me know if your order is a Christmas Secret and I will get it to you without your child knowing.


The Santa Store is this week.  The children may bring money and do some of their Christmas shopping.  Look for the items your child purchases in book bags the same day you send money to school.  

Email me with any questions or concerns you may have.  Have a great week!!!   I hope to see you at our party next week.  Put it on your calendar!  We are preparing for your visit!

All I do is read, read, read...no matter what...I got books on my mind...can't ever get enough!

We had a fabulous time reading the books brought in to celebrate American Education Week.  We loved them all!!!  Books are definitely a favorite in Room 115.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I'm excited for the children to take out their journals and write about their break.  There will be a lot to share tomorrow.

PLEASE continue to send in empty toilet tissue/paper towel rolls.  We will be making a Christmas Secret next week and toilet tissue rolls are still in demand.  

This week we will be investigating the letter "Ii" as in "insect in the ink."  The word wall words are:  when, want, soon, get. 

Note: I'm flip flopping the reading schedule for the month of December.   Next week we will be studying the letter Jj instead of the week of December 13.  December 13 is now a review week. 

In math we are counting, making sets, patterning and understanding graphs.  Our November calendar pages will come home on Tuesday.  Please look over the calendar pages with your child.  You will see a monthly calendar, a weather graph, an odd/even page, writing the date and adding the date.  In December we will be adding money to our calendar notebook.

Our poem this week is about getting together.  Please be on the look out for our poetry journal on Fridays.  We had fun reading "The Wishbone" and pretending to pull one.  Poetry journals need to be returned on Mondays.

I will send home an optional book order on Tuesday.  Book orders are due on Monday, December 7.  The book order will be back in time before the holidays.  Please let me know if your book order is a Christmas Secret and I will make arrangements for delivery when it comes in.  If you choose to order on-line, our activation code is GL88R.

Upcoming dates:  Tuesday, December 15 is word wall assessment for Room 115 (first and second nine weeks' words will be assessed)
Thursday, December 17:  Classroom Christmas Party
Friday, December 18:  The Kindergarten students will wear pajamas to school and watch Polar Express.

Be sure to scroll down and see pictures of pilgrims and Native Americans and our future careers.  Please let me know of any questions or concerns you may have!

Harvesting Fun - Happy Thanksgiving

The Future Is Bright - Career Day

The Middle of November

The Middle of  November is a very busy place in Room 115.  Our thoughts are filled with turkeys, pilgrims, the Mayflower and Native Americans on top of learning to read and count!!! 

This is a review week in reading of all introduced letter/sounds and word wall words.  Use this week to polish up your child's weaknesses.  Work hard this week on letter/sounds and word wall words so that everyone (including moms and dads) can take it easy next week.

This is American Education Week.  It is also National Children's Book Week.  We will be celebrating books and education for the next five days.  On Tuesday, your child may come to school dressed as his/her future career.  In Monday's folder, look for a schedule of  the day your child may bring his/her favorite book to school.  I'm going to try and find time during the day to read the books to the students.  The book your child brings to school will come home the same day.  Also to celebrate American Education Week, guest readers are invited to visit the classroom and read a story to us.  Please email me if you are interested in reading to the class.  I will try very hard to accommodate your schedule so that you can get to all of your responsibilities but still spend time with Room 115. We are very good listeners and always enjoy a good book.

 Our poem this week revolves around the Thanksgiving tradition of the wishbone.  Please check book bags on Friday for this poem and maybe your feast next week will have a wishbone!

Also in Friday's book bag will be a special book we are making about Thanksgiving.  We are making comparisons between present day and long ago.  Please be sure to find this book on Friday so that you can read and reread it next week.

Don't forget to pre-order the Blount yearbook for the early bird price of $20. 

School Spirit Nights are Monday at Mellow Mushroom and Friday at Baumhower Wings.  Enjoy an evening of not cooking and helping the school at the same time!

We will be dressed as pilgrims and Native Americans for lunch on
Wednesday and Thursday.  Our lunch time is 10:50-11:15.  Be sure to sign in at the office and meet us in the lunchroom.  Thursday's lunch menu is a traditional Thanksgiving meal but we will be eating as pilgrims and Native Americans on Wednesday too!  You will want to bring your camera if you are joining us for lunch!

There is a Blount Holiday Market on Tuesday in the lunchroom from 5:30-9 pm.  Come out and start your holiday shopping early.

Reminders:
1.  Our library day is Tuesday.  Please return library books on Tuesday.
2.  Please save empty toilet tissue rolls for a very special Christmas secret.  You may send them in at any time.
3.  Box Top collection date is Friday.  Please send in Box Tops any day this week.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I'm very thankful for the seventeen children that make Room 115 such a wonderful place to laugh, work and play!  Thank you so much for trusting me with your child!  Email me with any questions or concerns.

Busy Days

You have to have energy to work in Room 115.  Our days are filled with movement, discussions, listening, investigating, creating, friendship, laughter and encouragement.  Room 115 is a very special place to work!  Thank you for supporting our classroom.

We are getting so good at learning the letters of the alphabet.  We love to sing the song "Letter Pop" and hold up the appropriate letter.  A way to help us learn our letters is to find words in a book, on a billboard or in a menu and ask us to spell it for you.   Or tell us to find a certain letter and see how long it takes us to find it.

This is a short week but full of lots of learning.  In reading we will be studying the letter "Dd as in dog on a doghouse."  The word wall words are The/the, as.  Next week will be a review week.

Our poem this week only has two words for us to learn how to read.  It is a great poem to read with a variety of voices.  I'm sure your child will be excited to share it with you.  Look for the poetry journal in Wednesday's back pack.  We enjoyed acting out the poem from last week.  We quickly became experts on the multiple meanings of gobble.  We know how to gobble as a plump and proud turkey and then we can quickly turn around and gobble down the turkey.

We are making preparations for Thanksgiving.  Please join us on Wednesday, November 17 or Friday, November 19 as we dress up as Native Americans and pilgrims and eat lunch together.  We are making the costumes at school, so your only responsibility is to enjoy our reenactment of that very important feast!  Our lunch time is 10:50-11:15.

We will be working on our phone numbers in math this week.  Addresses and phone numbers will be assessed on report cards so please help your child learn them.  In math, we will also be working on making sets and understanding the numbers up to 10.

The  Blount yearbook is on sale for $20.  The yearbook will be published in the spring.  


Upcoming dates to remember are:
Monday, November 15:  Spirit night at Mellow Mushroom
Tuesday, November 16:  Dress up as your future career
Tuesday, November 16:  Blount Holiday Market from 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Wednesday, November 17:  Day 1 of dressing up for Thanksgiving at lunch
Thursday, November 18:  Day 2 of dressing up for Thanksgiving at lunch
Friday, November 19:  Spirit night at Baumhower Wings

Don't forget library books are due on Tuesday.  Now that we are getting a sizable collection of word wall words, the students like to get "eye to eye and knee to knee" and practice their reading skills.  It is a very exciting time to watch the students try out their knowledge of letters and words and sentences.  Our classroom is certainly a place where books are valued and cherished.

If you are purchasing snack/juice this week, please send in $1.50 per item because of the short week.  Have a wonderful four day weekend.  Please take time to celebrate the meaning of Veteran's Day!

Please start saving empty toilet tissue rolls.  We need a lot for a very special Christmas secret!

Thank you for sharing your child with me.  I believe that Room 115 is one of the happiest places in the world.  It is all because of the seventeen children who make up Room 115.  Email me with any questions or concerns you may have.

PIcking the Perfect Pumpkins

November Begins

We celebrated the end of October with a visit to the pumpkin patch.  It was fun to watch the students pick the perfect pumpkins.  We begin to welcome November and the fun it brings.

NOTE:  I created a slide show of our perfect pumpkins but it is not posting so I will check with my blog expert and try and get it posted soon.  Thanks for being patient with me as I learn to blog.

In reading this week we will study the letter "Cc" as in "cow on a cab".  The word wall words are we, she, ten, funny.  Please make sure that you are doing the reading homework each night.  When a review sheet 4 comes home that means more than likely your child will have an unit review the next day.

In math we are focusing on concepts of ten.  I'm establishing a number sense for your child.  Just because your child can count up to (or past) ten, does not mean  that your child understands the whole-part-part relationship of a number.  We are focusing on numbers. For example:  I'm working with the students to learn that 7 can be made from 4 and 3, 5 and 2, 6 and 1, and 7 and 0.

Our poem this week deals with multiple meaning words.  It will help you get into the mood for Thanksgiving.  Poetry notebooks come home every Friday and need to be returned on Monday.

We spend a lot of time listening to books and learning how good readers comprehend stories.  We are learning how to make connections when we read.  We are learning how to make a text to self connection and text to text connections.  A text to self connection is when something in the story makes us think of our own lives.  A text to text connection is when something happens in a story that makes us think of another story we read.  To make connections we have to use our schema.  Hopefully you are all caught up with the reading lingo that we use in Room 115.

There will be no library this week due to the book fair.  Instead, when your child is finished reading the library book, send the book to school and I will allow time during the day to check out a new book.  The book fair ends Wednesday.  Please label all money for the book fair.

Don't forget that school photo proofs are due on Monday, November 1.  The pick up date for the chicken fundraiser is Wednesday at the park across the street.  Information about the chicken went home in folders last Friday..

Preparing for the Pumpkin Patch

Last week we were busy becoming experts on pumpkins to prepare for our upcoming field trip to the pumpkin patch.  We read a variety of books on pumpkins and can easily retell the steps of growing a pumpkin.  Our poem last week was about a Jack-0-Lantern and we are counting down the days until Halloween in our calendar notebook.  Our heads are full of pumpkin thoughts!  I will allow the children to wear their pumpkin t-shirts on Thursday but they must have regular uniform bottoms (no jeans on Thursday!).

This week is a review week of all word wall  words and introduced letter sounds.  Use this week to polish up on any words/sounds your child is having difficulty with.

In math we are doing a lot of counting.  Ways to reinforce counting at home might be:  count the chairs at your dining room table,  count the cars  in the driveway, count the number of windows in your house, count the number of shoes in a closet.  Go ahead and count backwards too.  If you really want to advance the counting being done say things like this.  "I have two people at the kitchen table and I'm waiting for three more."  Once those three people make it to the table, count how many people are now sitting at the table.  This is reinforcing the concept of parts make up a whole.  For example:  five is the whole  and the two people sitting at the table and the three people missing from the table make up the parts.  I'm not focusing on addition facts rather I'm teaching the children that parts make up a whole.  Kindergarten students require a lot of practice of understanding parts and wholes so don't get discouraged, rather keep practicing.

This week is Red Ribbon Week.  We will celebrate making healthy choices for our bodies.  Each day has a theme to emphasize SAYING NO TO DRUGS!
Monday:  "We are proud to be drug free."  Classes make red chains to hang outside their classroom to show they are drug free.  Each student will sign his/her link in the chain.  The children are asked to wear a RED uniform shirt or a red spirit wear t-shirt.  Jeans are NOT to be worn on Monday.
Tuesday:  "Sock it to drugs and slip into good character"  Students wear crazy socks and slippers. (This is grade level t-shirt day.)
Wednesday:  "Hats off to not using drgus"  Students wear their favorite hat to show they are drug free.  (This is our field trip day...wear field trip t-shirts and jeans)
Thursday:  "We are too cool to do drugs"  Students will wear their sunglasses to shade out drugs.  (Pumpkin t-shirts may be worn on Thursday but NO jeans,) 
Friday:  "Team up against drugs"  Students wear their favorite team's jersey.


Don't forget to return library books on Tuesday.  The children get so excited when they see a word wall word in their library books!

Tuesday night is spirit night at Jason's Deli.  My family will be there and I hope to see you too.


I will send home the calendar pages from the month of October in Friday's notebook.  Please take the time to go over the pages with your child.  You will have an October calendar, a weather chart, an odd/even page and a write the date page.  It is hard to believe that November starts next week.  

Don't forget to listen to your child read the poem from the poetry notebook.  The children enjoy returning to our old poems and reading them.  Thank you for taking the time to celebrate your child as a beginning reader.


I will be out of the classroom on Thursday morning but will return after lunch.  I secured an excellent substitute so the children won't even know that I am gone.

Classroom needs:  100 plastic spoons (for math games), 100 colored plastic drinking cups (for math games),  pom-poms (size 3/4")  from a craft store (assorted colors) 

 Have a safe weekend as your family celebrates the end of October!

On Our Way to Becoming Writers

In the mornings before the 8:10 bell rings, I allow the students to work anywhere in the room.  I have no restrictions.  I allow this time for them to talk to their friends and do something that makes them happy.  The photo to the right warms my heart because the writing center is overcrowded and it is by CHOICE!  Our class is full of blossoming writers who have no hesitancy about writing words or drawing pictures to convey meaning.  Little do the children know that reading and writing go hand in hand but I know it.  This photo shows that Room 115 is on its way to becoming lifelong readers and writers!

This week in reading we are studying the letter "Zz as in zebra in the zoo."  The word wall words are:  see, nine, of, he.  As you study word wall words, do not neglect the words from the first nine weeks.  I will assess the children on all of our word wall words in December.  I know your evenings are busy but remember to do the twenty minutes of reading.  If you are not doing the twenty minutes of reading pull out the handout from our small group meeting about why not to skip your twenty minutes.  As a parent that handout haunts me on busy nights when it would be so easy to skip our twenty minutes of reading.  Thank you so much for supporting your child as an emerging reader.

In math we continue to work with number sense, making sets and understanding parts and wholes.  We are learning songs that help us skip count.

On Friday we are having a pumpkin day where we study, investigate and read books about pumpkins.  We need to do research before our field trip to the pumpkin patch on Wednesday, October 27.  Parents are welcome to join us on our field trip.  The cost for parents is $5.00.  Parents will pay for their admittance at the pumpkin patch.  We've started to decorate our classroom in preparation for our pumpkin day.  On Friday we made a scene from the book "Five Little Pumpkins".  Our assignment did not allow us to use scissors.  We could only tear our paper into the shapes we needed.  It was an excellent  fine motor skill activity but the children wanted to use their scissors sooooo badly!

 The children had great fun acting out the poem "The Worm Song."  Our poetry journal is fun part of our week.  We spend all week on one poem.  We make mental images of the poem. We search for words we can read. We listen to see if the poem has a rhythm and read with our friends. We act out the poems and of course we illustrate!  Hopefully you are enjoying the poems as much as we are.

On Friday the PTA surprised us with  a Popsicle party for our class' 100% membership.  Popsicles are an excellent way to end a very busy week.  The PTA works so hard for the school.   Please support the PTA with the following activities this week:

• Chicken fundraiser is due Wednesday, Octbober 20

• Spirit Night at the Eastchase Chick-fil-a is Wednesday, October 20 (be sure and tell the cashier that you are with our school.)

Library books are due on Tuesday.  Tuesday is also the day when the grade level t-shirts (the rainbow shirt) may be worn with jeans.

November book orders are going home on Monday.  You may order online or send your order to school by Friday.  Book orders are voluntary! If you order on-line, our class code is GL88R.

Email me with any questions or concerns you may have.  As always thank you for trusting me with your child.

A New Nine Weeks

It is hard to believe that we are starting the second nine weeks of Kindergarten.  Time is flying by.  A new box of crayons and a chance to select a new spot to work will be on the agenda for Tuesday.  Report cards will be issued on Thursday at 3:10.  You will receive two copies of the report card:  one for you to keep and one for you to sign and return to school on Friday. 

Last week Zero the Hero stopped by with a zero treat plus a new book for the classroom.  When we read the book, we used our schemas and knew why Zero the Hero chose that book for our classroom.  Counting by 10s is quickly becoming a classroom favorite activity. 

This week we will be talking about the letter "Ww" as in "worm in a wagon."  The word wall words for the week are:  eight, to, do, am.   There will be a handout in Tuesday's notebook with word wall words and letter sound introductions for the second nine weeks.  I will assess word wall words on Wednesday, December 15.  All sixty-six words covered during the first semester will be assessed so do not NEGLECT the word wall words from the first nine weeks.

In math this week, we will be working with numbers and making sets.  We will practice writing the numerals.  There will be lots and lots of counting and even some counting backwards.  Refer to the numeral formation sheet that was given out at the small group meeting.

Thursday was picture day and it was so fun to see everyone out of uniforms.  We were so excited to wear comfortable clothing.

Last week's poem was full of the Ss sound and it helped us to get into the mood of Halloween.  I don'texpect the children to be able to read the poems.  Rather, it is a time for you to model what a good reader sounds like, look for word wall words or sounds your child knows, and to find enjoyment in poems.  Thank you for supporting the learning style of our classroom.

This week I will expect the children to write their first names with a capital letter at the beginning and all lowercase letters for the remainder.  Please monitor this at home too.

The PTA is having a chicken tender fundraiser until Tuesday, October 19.  Thank you for supporting our PTA.

Please only send water bottles to school that have a dripless spout.  Water bottles that easily and quickly pour out result in spoiled classroom work and that leads to frustration from the student with spoiled work. 

Email me with any questions or concerns you may have.  Have a great week!

Using Your Schema...What is Schema??!!

 This week I will be assessing the students for report cards.  Report cards will be issued on Thursday, October 14.    I will still have reading groups but they will be abbreviated than normal.  Please do not be concerned if you do not receive notification this week of your child passing a unit.  I will  assess word wall words on Wednesday.  I will notify you by Friday how your child did on the word wall words.  Remember that word wall words must be read instantly and upon sight. This past week I purchased some alphabet stamps that work with playdough and a popular assignment was to spell word wall words!  Our classroom is blossoming with readers!

This week we will be working with the letter Ss as in "spider in the soup.".  The word wall words for this week are:  seven, little, down, me.  These words will be assessed in December.

We continue to spend our math time working with numbers, sets and learning how to write numerals.
 
During whole group reading instruction, I have been modeling for the students "how to use your schema to understand stories." I've instructed the children that schema is everything in your head that you know to be true and make sense. Your schema comes from all the places you've been, things you've done,  and books you've read.  Your schema is all the experiences you've had that makes up who you are.  When children use their schema, it allows to them to make connections to the text of the story and assists in predicting and comprehending.  When you hear your child say "I'm using my schema" you will know that your child is laying the foundation to be a comprehending reader!

We are busy learning about letters, words and sentences during centers.  As you can see by these photographs, our classroom is a very joyful place full of children who are working hard and doing their best.

We have a busy week..  Please take notice of the following dates:  

•   Tuesday:  return library books

• Tuesday:  PTA meeting at 6:00.  The classroom with the highest percentage of families in attendance gets a Nancy's Italian Ice party and the teacher gets a gift card to Walmart.   (There will be NO homework on Tuesday night so please try to attend.)

• Wednesday:  word wall words assessment

• Thursday is picture day with children allowed to be out of uniform. 

• Friday is the last day to turn in money for the Pumpkin Patch field trip. 

 There will be no school on Monday, October 11.  It is a teacher in-service day.  Enjoy your three day weekend.  Be sure to spend a little bit of time this weekend reading and rereading your child's poetry journal!

Email me with any questions or concerns.

A Busy Week

We started off the week by a visit from Zero the Hero.  We've been puzzled as to what he looked like and this past week he gave us a glimpse.  He wrote a note and left us a puppet that he said looked a little bit like him.  In typical zero fashion, he left us a treat in the shape of a zero.  With the passing of the 30th day of school, we are getting the hang of counting by tens.

This week is a review week of all introduced letters/sounds and word wall words.  Word wall word assessment for report cards will be Wednesday, October 6.  Word wall words need to be read instantly upon sight.  

In math we are continuing a study on numerals.  Refer back to last week's post about the details.  

Everyone is bringing home a game for Monday's reading homework.  Your child will teach you the rules.  The game does NOT need to be returned to school.

On Thursday we will say goodbye to September by bringing home our September pages from our daily calendar notebook. Please take the time Thursday evening to listen to your child explain the pages. You will have a September calendar page, a weather graph, and a tally page.  Ask us questions about the days of the week, what day of the week is for a certain date, help us count by fives from the tally page and ask us questions about the different kinds of weather we had in September.  In October we will be adding odd/even numbers and learning how to write the date.

This is the final week for the Innisbrook fundraiser.  Money is collected on Thursday, September 30th.  

Please send in Box Top labels on Thursday.  The class that collects the most labels gets a party and we would love to interrupt our day to have a party.

Our field trip to ASF was delightful.  The students were so well behaved!  Thanks to the many moms who assisted!  Tigger was by far the favorite memory with Rabbit yelling "STOP!" coming in second place. Field trip information will be coming home on Tuesday for our October field trip to Dream Field Farms Pumpkin Patch. Money is due by Friday, October 8. 

As I update the blog, it is raining outside my window.  So I'm sure that Lazy Jane is no longer thirsty.  Be sure to send poetry journals back to school on Monday so we can get a new poem.  Poetry notebooks should be in back packs on Friday afternoon.  Please let me know if your child's poetry notebook is not making it home.

Email me with any questions or concerns you may have.  Have a good week.

Celebrating the Letter M

Whew!  We certainly became experts on the letter M.  Our day of celebrating Mickey and Minnie Mouse was busy with hats, sorting our items and celebrating our favorite team!  The following pictures are several ways we sorted our items from home:  things you can wear, items for a picnic,   things to play with, and books to read.

 

 This week looks to be just as busy.  We will be investigating the letter "Rr" as in "rooster on the roof."  The word wall words this week are:  six, look, they, all.  Next week is a review of all the sounds and word wall words introduced.  I will be assessing word wall words for report cards on Wednesday, October 6.  Make sure your child is able to read the words instantly and accurately upon sight.

For the next three weeks in math, we will be working on number concepts, counting in a sequence from 1-20, counting backwards from 10, recognizing numerals 0-9 and comparing sets up to 10.  We will be using the words more than, less than, most and least.  Last week we had a special math day using M&M's.  We counted, sorted, made patterns and had enough leftover to eat!

Field trip t-shirts will be sent home on Monday.  Look for the t-shirt in your child's book bag.  This t-shirt is to be worn on ALL field trips.  It is a safety measure for me to keep track of the children quickly and  easily.  Our first field trip is this Thursday to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to see The House at Pooh Corner.  The children may wear blue jeans with their field trip shirt.  I will send a letter home on Tuesday to the parents that are attending the field trip. 

I am going to send home lunch numbers for the children who have been assigned a lunch number.  If your child has a lunch number, look for it in the money pouch on Monday.  Please help your child learn his/her number even if you don't purchase a lunch.  We use the lunch numbers for user names on the computer.  Do not be concerned if your child does not have a lunch number.  This problem is a system problem and beyond our school's control.

More books continue to be published at the writing center.  Everything from take offs of No David! to word books to books about friendship made their appearances last week.  Please encourage your child as a writer!   We will begin journal writing in October.

Remember to check your child's folder each evening for the reading homework sheets.  They do NOT need to be returned.  Due to our field trip, there will be NO reading homework on Thursday. 

I hope "Lazy Jane" does not live at your house.  The children had a fun time with that poem.  Please notice on that poem that I used a font that makes a "fancy a."  The children need to be able to recognize all the different ways that an "a" can be written.  This week's poem has a lot of sight words!

I will be sending home scores from your child's assessment from Stars Early Literacy on Monday.  Contact me if you have any questions understanding the report.

Don't forget that every Tuesday is library day!

If you have not done so, please join the PTA.  A membership is $10.  Our class would like to be recognized as having 100% membership.  The PTA does a tremendous job of supporting the classrooms.  

We've been patiently waiting and this week we FINALLY get to go to the computer lab.  We will be working in the computer lab for the next three weeks!

I will be out of the classroom on Tuesday morning.  I will return after lunch.  I have an excellent substitute so the children won't even know the difference. Thank you for supporting the learning taking place in our classroom.

Full Swing of Kindergarten

After 24 days of Kindergarten, we are definitely in the full swing of learning.  We started reading groups this week and did great.  Remember homework sheets do NOT need to be returned.   Check the white binders daily for reading homework.

We ended the day on Friday with a science lesson on the five senses of taste, touch, hear, smell, and sight.  We popped popcorn in an air popper and used all five senses.  As you go about your day, ask your child what senses he/she is using to accomplish the task.  We discussed that most activities do not use all five senses.  

Please help your child to remember to pack his/her library book for Tuesday's visit to the library.  

We continue to work with complex patterns this week.  We are experts at the ABABAB (ex. red, blue, red, blue) pattern.  This week we will investigate AABB, ABC, AABBCC, and any other patterns the children create.  Your child should be noticing patterns in the environment.  Patterning is a foundational math skill.

This week we are investigating the letter  "Mm" as in "monkey on a mountain."  The word wall words for the week are:  five, go, so, no.  We will celebrate the letter Mm on Thursday with a Micky/Minnie Mouse day.  Please send one item to school that has Mickey or Minnie Mouse on it.  If you do not have an item, please let me know.  

Hopefully your child taught you the motions for Tony Chestnut from our poetry journal.  The children are so excited when we find a word wall word in our poetry notebook. Thank you for taking the time to celebrate our beginning reading skills.


If you have a family member or close friend that is deployed, please send me his/her name and address.  Blount participates in Adopt a Troop and we would be honored to write to your service member.

Book orders for this month are going home on Monday.  Book orders are voluntary and come home once a month.  You may order on-line or send in payment (check payable to Scholastic) by Friday, September 17.  

The students will be bringing home an Innisbrook fundraiser on Tuesday.  Far away friends and family may order on-line at www.innisbrook.com with our school number being 112533.  Thank you so much for supporting our school.  

The policy at Blount is birthday invitations may be distributed at school as long as you have an invitation for every child in the classroom or an invitation for every girl or an invitation for every boy.  I will give you contact information for specific children if your party is small. 

The writing center is by far the most popular center in Room 115.  Book making is a hit and I try to find time during the day to read all of their books.  The most successful writing at this age is telling stories.  Please refer to the handout I passed out at the small group meeting on ways to help your child become a writer at home.    We always have a need for paper for our writing center.  White paper is great but so is colored paper, stickers, envelopes, stamps and anything else you think we would like to write on or with.   

Thank you supporting the learning of Room 115.  Please contact me with any questions or concerns. 

Good Looking Kids in Hilarious Hats

I know that our classroom is filled with happy children but if you needed proof look at the personality of our Hilarious Hats.  As is evident in the photograph to the left, happy children create hilarious hats.  We made a lot of people smile with our hats.  Everyone had an opportunity to share how the hats were created.  Then we sorted the hats every which way you can imagine;  hats with feathers, pink hats, tall hats, paper hats, hats with sparkles, animal hats, hats with wiggle eyes... and the sorting went on.  Thank you so much for supporting the learning of our classroom.  The children were very proud of their hats.

We will start small group reading instruction on Tuesday.  Check folders every night this week for a reading homework sheet.  Reading homework sheets do not need to be returned. Do not hesitate to ask questions about the reading instruction.

This week the entire class will be investigating the letter "Kk" as in "kid in a kayak."  The word wall words are:   three, four, pink, you.  I sent home a progress sheet on Friday as to the status of your child in learning the word wall words.  Remember to stay current on word wall words.  Do not wait until the end of the nine weeks to start practicing them.

How many times this weekend did your child pass by a mirror  and say "Hi, good looking kid!" ?  I hear that phrase from children in the bathroom while washing hands!  Thank you for taking the time and sharing our poetry journal.  This week, our poem is set to music and complete with motions.  Poetry journals come home every Friday.

Don't forget to send library books on Tuesday.  Check book bags for our latest selection.

This is a short week so if you are purchasing snack/juice, please send in $2.00 per item.  Time for Kids is due on Wednesday (check payable to Time for Kids for $4.50).  Payment for our field trip to ASF is due on Friday (check payable to Blount for $17.50).  Chaperone tickets for our class are sold out.  If you want to attend, please email me and I will see what I can do as it gets closer to the date.

In math we continue to make patterns.  We are very good at making simple patterns and our next goal is to move to more complex patterns.  Numeral recognition is another objective for this week. We are starting to practice numeral writing.  Please refer to the handout from our small group meeting on how to help your child at home.

On Wednesday, a letter will come home to notify me of the phone number you want your child to learn.  Please return to school on Thursday. 

Heads up that the lunchroom sells fruit roll ups for $.50.  Our lunch time goes by quickly and a lot of food gets thrown away so I was not promoting another item to put on our lunch tray.  However, the children noticed the fruit roll-ups and they are quite popular.  Please talk to your child if he/she is allowed to purchase a fruit roll-up. The only reason I'm writing about the fruit roll-ups is that they can quickly deplete a lunch account and I wanted you to be aware.

The picture above is almost a class portrait.  We had one friend absent on Friday.   Our class size is now at seventeen.  This was a difficult week but in the best interest of all the children it was the correct decision.  We should stay at seventeen for a very long time.

Contact me with any questions you may have.

We Like To Rhyme All The Time

We are busy being Kindergarten students.  Our days are filled with investigations, explorations, friendship and laughter.  This past week we read a lot of books with rhymes.  We came up with a catch phrase of "We like to rhyme all the time."  Even our poem last week was filled with a rhyming pattern.  Help us rhyme at home.  It is perfectly normal for our rhyme to be a made up word.  Rhyming is a good foundation of being a strong reader.  


Be sure to send library books on Tuesday so that we can check out a new book.  Our library day is every Tuesday.


This week we are learning about "Hh" as in "horse in a house."   Our word wall words are I, brown, black, white.

To celebrate the letter Hh, Friday will be Hilarious Hat Day.  You can create your own hilarious hat to wear to school or you can take an ordinary hat and add decorations to make it hilarious.  Hats will come home on Friday afternoon. 

On Tuesday an August page will be coming home from our calendar notebook.   Ask us how many days are in August.  Help us count the days in August:  counting up from 1 and counting down from 31.  Also, we have been learning the days of the week.  Pick a date on the calendar and help us move our finger up the column to discover the day of the week.  For the month of September we are adding a tally chart and a weather chart to our calendar notebook.  Lots of math skills are taught during our calendar time.

In math we will be discussing patterns and numeral recognition.  We will be making a birthday book this week and discussing the months of the year.

Poetry journals come home on Friday.  This week is a very fun one to act out.  Be prepared for some drama!


Please send juice/snack money on Monday.  Lunch money can be paid at anytime.  All money needs to be labeled for the purpose.

Grade level t-shirt money is to be turned in on Monday.  A letter went home on Thursday about grade level t-shirts that can be worn on Tuesdays.  All proceeds of these shirts go back into the classrooms to update technology.  Thank you for supporting our school during these financial times.

Information about our field trip to Alabama Shakespeare Festival will be coming home this week.  We will be attending the play "The House at Pooh Corner" on September 23.  

Remember I must have it in writing if your child is changing the manner of afternoon transportation.  I am unable to take the word of a child.


Email me with any questions or concerns.

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10!!!

We are keeping track of the number of days we've been in Kindergarten.  Last Friday was the tenth day of school and we received a letter from Zero the Hero.  Zero the Hero wrote that he will be visiting our classroom every ten days.  We were excited to find a special treat from Zero the Hero.  We love to count our way through school.

Tuesday is our day to visit the library.  Last week we were able to bring a book home.  Please keep this book home to read and reread and reread during the week.  This week the library will be closed due to school-wide testing.  Please return library books on Tuesday, August 31.  

Our class will be tested on Tuesday using DIBELS.  I will explain DIBELS at our small group meeting on Thursday.  I will not be administering the test to the children but I will be in the room with them.  There is nothing to do to prepare your child for this test.

In reading this week, we will be investigating "Ee" as in eel on wheels.  The sight words for the week are:  orange, two, purple, green.  Remember sight words need to be recognized immediately upon sight.  


We continue to discuss shapes, color and size in math.   We will also be graphing this week.


Please note that I do not have extra snacks/juice in the classroom.  If you choose not to purchase or send a snack from home, then your child will not have a snack for that day.  You may purchase snack/juice for the entire week on Mondays only.  Orange juice is sold for $2.50 for the week.  Popcorn, peanut butter crackers, Cheddar Sun Chips or Garden Salsa Sun Chips are sold for $2.50 for the entire week.  All money needs to be labeled in separate envelopes.


Due to a new computer program there has been a mix up with lunch numbers.  Half of our class has a lunch number and the other half does not.  I'm waiting to pass out lunch numbers until the entire class has a lunch number.  Please do not be concerned about your child's lunch number.


We are still learning the procedures of the lunchroom but you are invited to join us for lunch.  Our lunch time is 10:50-11:15.  You do not need to make reservations.  Please sign in at the office and wait for our class to pass by.  Note:  Due to testing this week, I will have seven extra students for lunch on Monday and Wednesday of this week. Please do not come Monday and Wednesday of this week only.  Thanks for your cooperation.  

I will be sending home a reminder about Thursday's small group meeting.  If you need to switch your time, please let me know.  I look forward to talking to you about Room 115.

Did you read the poem Four Seasons?  I'm ready for the cool weather of fall.  Please return the poetry notebook every Monday.  Look for a new poem on Friday.


We will begin going to computers on August 30.  If you have not done so, please purchase a set of headphones before that date.


The classroom has a need for Band-Aids.  Thank you for supporting our classroom.


I had a family emergency this weekend.  I am unable to upload photos from the classroom this weekend.  Thank you for understanding.  I will try and upload photos during the week so you can experience our classroom. 


Email me with any questions or concerns you may have.