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.

Close the Summer...Open School

Has your child shared his/her poetry journal?  We had a tremendous time this week talking about how much fun we are going to have "Now" that we have closed summer and opened school.  Remember poetry journals come home every Friday and need to be returned on Monday.  Please sit down with your child and read and reread the poem together.  This week look for a poem that will help us learn the seasons of the year.

Be sure to send a snack for your child or be prepared to purchase a snack at school starting tomorrow.  Money is collected only on Mondays.  If your child is absent then I will accept snack money upon return to school.  If your child is tardy on Monday then no snack can be purchased for that week.  The school sells orange juice for $2.50 for the week and popcorn, peanut butter crackers, garden Sun Chips and Cheddar Sun Chips for $2.50.  Please make sure all money sent to school is labeled in separate envelopes.  

We read lots of books last week.  I modeled for the children using the book Tuesday how to read a book by just looking at pictures.  They know you don't have to wait until you can read all the words to read a book.  Have your child sit down with a picture book and tell you the story by looking at pictures.  There is a daily reading log in the white notebook for your child to color each evening after reading for 20 minutes.  MPS requires 20 minutes of reading every evening for each student.  I will collect the reading logs at the end of every month.

Did you find the blue sheet in the white notebook last Friday?  Be sure and save this piece of paper that outlines the whole group reading instruction for the first nine weeks.  This week we are studying the letter "Aa".  We will learn the saying of "ant on an apple".   Our word wall words are:  red, blue, yellow, one.  Practice those words to the point where your child accurately reads the words upon sight.  

We will be talking about color, shape and size this week in math.  We will also investigate birthdays, days of the week and months of the year.  

Be sure to sign the behavior log found in the white notebook every evening.  Last week I was pretty forgiving of behavior as we learned the rules and expectations.  This week I'm more strict.  Thank you for your support.

On Thursday, August 26 I will be holding several small group meetings to discuss the upcoming Kindergarten year.  There was an orange sheet of paper in Friday's notebook outlining the details.  You only need to pick one meeting to attend.  I hope that every child will have a representative to attend. The meeting will be more productive without children in attendance.  I'm sorry for any inconvenience. 

Red route bus students will have a new bus tomorrow morning.  Hopefully the addition of this bus will get your children home quicker than last week.  Remember that any time you have a change in transportation, I must have it writing.  I WILL NOT take the word of a child.

Belts are not required to be worn by Kindergarten students.

Field trip t-shirt money is due this Thursday.  Check payable to Blount for $5.00.  

Time for Kids money is due Wednesday, September 8.  Check payable to Time For Kids for $4.50

I'm sending home book order forms tomorrow.  Book orders are voluntary.  You may write one check (payable to Scholastic) if you order from more than one form.  I will send home instructions if you would like to order on-line.  The link to ordering on-line is on the blog.

Since Kindergarten is a non-graded grade, you do not have to return any classwork I send home.  The notebook is labeled with a keep at home side and a return to school side.  Only return papers from the return to school side.

I have pictures from the first week of school that I will put on the blog once I've received all the media release forms.  Hopefully next week you can see the fun we are having.

Finally, if you were missing your child last week then you were not alone.  On the first day of school I read the book Llama, Llama Misses Mama.  For the rest of the week, at some point in the day a child would request that book to be read.  So mamas, I just wanted you to know that you were missed too!  

Email me with any questions or concerns.

The Learning Begins

What a wonderful turnout for Meet and Greet.  It was exciting to put faces to the names on our roll.  We are going to have a fabulous time in Room 115.  Thank you so much for supporting our classroom. 

Tomorrow you may park your car and walk your child into the classroom.  Take the photos you need for your scrapbook and then quickly say goodbye.  The PTA is having a Woo Hoo / Boo Hoo gathering in the library so please drop by after leaving our classroom.  Starting the second day of school, you must drop your child off at the front door.  The children may enter our classroom at 7:50.  If your child arrives at school between 7:30-7;45, he/she will wait in the lunchroom and be supervised by teachers on duty.  Children may not enter the building before 7:30.

For the first week of school, please return the dismissal hat that your child will be wearing.  The dismissal hat makes sure your child is in the correct place at the end of the day.

There is a tremendous amount of paper work that needs to be completed.  The packets are available if you would like to take them home tomorrow morning and get a head start.  They are located to the right (on top of the rice table) as soon as you enter the classroom.  I provided a cheat sheet to assist in knowing what to return.  Packets that are not picked up will be sent home in back packs tomorrow afternoon. 

Remember to check the white notebooks every evening.  There is a section for papers to be kept at home and papers that need to be returned.  Also, initial the behavior chart.  MPS requires that Kindergarten children be read to five nights a week.  You will find a reading chart in the notebook that needs to be completed each night your family reads together.

Please send money if your child will be purchasing a school lunch.  You may write a check for the week, the month or for any lump sum.  You will receive notification when your child's lunch account is running low.  Milk can be purchased separately for $.35.

Volunteers will send snack/juice for this week.  I will send a reminder home to the families that volunteered for snack.  You will need to send/purchase a snack for your child starting the second week of school.

Field trip t-shirt money is due by Thursday, August 19. (check payable to Blount)
Time for Kids money is due by Wednesday, September 8 (check payable to Time for Kids)
Remember to send all money in separate envelopes that are labeled with the purpose.

Your child will be bringing home a poetry notebook on Friday.  There is a letter on the inside cover explaining the poetry notebook.  Poetry notebooks come home every Friday and return to school every Monday.

The children may wear jeans and Blount t-shirts on Friday.  If you did not purchase spirit wear at the Meet and Greet then regular uniform shirts need to be worn.  Spirit wear is sold by the PTA so please contact them if interested.  You may want to send a sweater for your child to wear in the classroom if he/she gets cold.  Sweaters must follow the uniform code and be solid navy, red or white.  

Here are some times to help you visualize what your child will be doing the first week of school:
lunch:  10:50-11:15
nap/rest:  12-1
snack 1-1:15
specialist time:  2:00-2:30  (for the 1st three weeks our class will go to PE)

I will be exposing your children to a wide variety of literature.  I added the Shelfari bookshelf to the blog so that you can know some of the titles I'm reading to the children. One of my goals for your child is that he/she will leave Room 115 with a lifelong desire to read.  There are plenty of wonderful books out there to help me achieve that goal!


Please email me with any questions or concerns you may have.  Please use the school email or my personal email address that can be found in the white notebook. 


Thanks for sharing your greatest treasure with me.