Goodbye Busy October...Hello Busy November

Goodbye to a busy October and Hello to an even busier November.  Check back packs tomorrow for our October calendar pages.  There will be a sheet of paper attached to the calendar pages with questions to ask your child about our calendar learning.

Last week was so busy but the important thing we did was celebrate a birthday in Room 115.  This friend makes our classroom a fun place to work in play!

This week we will be studying the letter "Zz" as in "Zebra in the zoo."  The sight words are:  see, nine, of, he.

In math we are going to be using the vocabulary words of:  compare, greater, less and same number as we investigate numbers, sets and groups.

The library is having a book fair this week with proceeds benefiting the library.  Children with money may visit the book fair and purchase a book.  Warning:  The book fair sells items other than just books.  Often the children are drawn to the novelties more than the books.  Please discuss with your child what he/she is allowed to spend the money on.   If you join us for lunch, you may visit the book fair with your child and assist in the shopping.  Please label money that is designated for the book fair.

Our field trip was wonderful.  Thanks to ALL the parents that helped and made sure we were accounted for and well taken care of.  Sometimes, when that many parents get together there is  more visiting than assisting. However, that was not true last Wednesday.  Thanks for being such a supportive bunch of parents for Room 115.  I appreciate you more than you will ever know!



I do not want to compete with the book fair but I will send home a book order on Thursday with a due date of Tuesday, November 8.  There are several excellent titles that I'm ordering for the classroom and I wanted to give you the option too.  Remember book orders are OPTIONAL.  If you are ordering online:  our class code is GL88R.

Nancy's Italian Ice is this Monday.  If it is convenient for you, you may pay in advance for the Italian Ice.  I will let you know when you are running low on credit.

Tuesday, November 8 is our first PTA meeting.  The PTA has made it even easier by giving you the night off from cooking dinner by offering pizza for sale.  Please join us as we support our school.


Heads up:  The week of Novemer 14-18 is American Education Week.  On Wednesday, November 16, the children may come to school dressed up as their future careers.  I know how busy families can be so I wanted to give you plenty of time to listen to your child's ideas and create his/her dream job.

The following is from one parent to another if you are need of some help with Christmas shopping.  Have you heard about Magnatiles in our classroom?   I can promise you that every child in Room 115 likes to spend time with this classroom tool.  I have a set of Magnatiles at my house and my children play with these EVERY DAY!   My husband says that we could get rid of every toy in our house except the Magnatiles, the baby dolls and our dog and the girls would never miss what we got rid of.  I don't agree but I do know that children love these.  If you are in need of a quality toy at your house, I recommend this:  http://www.kaplantoys.com/store/trans/productDetailForm.asp?CatID=4%7CKTBL04%7C0&PID=48099  .  Once you get over the high price, please know that they are very well constructed and the amount that your child will play with it will be worth the steep price.  You are more than welcome to visit the classroom and play with the Magnatiles. It is amazing the creations that the children build with them.   Google for the best price.  Right now the above link has a sale for 20% off your purchase and free shipping.  Go to this website for parent reviews:  http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/magna_tiles/magna_tiles_clear_colors_100_pc_set.cfm  .

We ended the weekend with a celebration of the book Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk.  All Miss Spider wanted was a friend.  We celebrated friendship with our version of Miss Spider's Tea Party complete with a craft.  Thank you to all the parents who assisted, decorated and visited with the children.  It is nice to have so many people loving Room 115.



Email me with any questions or concerns you may have.  Happy Halloween!

Red Ribbons...a Field Trip...Spiders

A new nine weeks means new crayons.  The last thing we did on Friday was open up a new box of  crayons.  We went from eight crayons to twenty four.  The students were disappointed that it was time to dismiss because they wanted a big piece of paper to try out all those new colors.

This week we will be studying the letter "Ww" as in "worm in a wagon."  The word wall words are:  eight, to, do, am.

In math, we will be playing a lot of games to help us understand the vocabulary of more than and less than.  This is a hard concept so we will be revisiting it often.

This nine weeks, I will be working with your child to write his name with only a capital letter at the beginning.  Please reinforce this at home.

Our field trip to Dreamfield's Pumpkin Patch will be this Wednesday.  The weather forecast appears to be perfect.  If you are joining us at the patch, please get there ahead of the bus.  You will need to pay your entrance fee before the bus arrives.  You will know when we have arrived because we will be dressed in our yellow t-shirts.  Jeans may be worn on this field trip.  I have a parent bringing bottles of water for the students.  Please let me know if you can volunteer to send crackers (goldfish or Ritz cheese crackers -  no peanut butter crackers) for the children to refuel.  If you are chaperoning on the field trip, you will be able to check your child out from the pumpkin patch if you desire. Lunch was included in the price so DO NOT SEND A LUNCH on Wednesday.

Did you listen to your child read the poem over the weekend? I can assure you  that Lazy Jane is not a member of Room 115.  Our classroom is filled with hard workers who are trying their best every day.  Did you notice that I used a different font for Lazy Jane?  We talked about how the lowercase a can be written in a different way. Help your child recognize the different ways you can find the letter a in books. 

Red Ribbon Week, celebrating healthy choices for our bodies, is this week. Something special is planned each day.  Since we have our field trip on Wednesday and I don't want to keep up with nineteen hats, I  will allow hat day to be combined with Thursday's sunglasses day.  Please do not send a hat to school on Wednesday.  Refer to the handout from last Wednesday for the full explanation but here is a cheat sheet:
Monday:  We will decorate our door with a red chain.  Wear a red uniform top (not spirit wear) if you have one.   
Tuesday:  Wear crazy socks
Thursday: Sunglasses and a hat
Friday:  Your favorite team jersey/t-shirt

This week our writing center turned into a book publishing center.  It was a busy place in our classroom!  You can tell that Room 115 is an expert at books because there was not a shortage of ideas in the writing center.  We discussed that authors write about what they love.  We had books about family, cats, friends, fairies,bicycles, and pumpkins to name just a few ideas.  Please refer back to the writing handout I gave you at the small group meeting for Room 115.  In that handout, you will see the different stages of writing.  Each one of those stages is normal for a Kindergarten student. Do not be upset if you are not seeing traditional words in your child's writing. All that will come with time.  Rather, listen to your child share the writings he brings home and celebrate the thought process of the story.  Remember I told you that writers are thinkers.  Your child's writing is a concrete example of his thinking.  I encourage you to have an area in your house with writing tools and paper for  your child to have access for the endless thoughts in his head.  As beginning writers, children often write stories.  Don't spell words for them, rather tell them to write the sounds they hear.  If your child writes down the beginning sound and moves to the next word, that is perfectly normal.  Refer back to that handout for reassurance.  Your job is to celebrate and encourage your writer!!!



Monday is  Nancy's Italian Ice for  $1.00.

We rotate to P.E. on Monday.  I will not be taking the children to the playground for the next three weeks since they will be seeing Coach everyday.

I will  be out of the classroom on Thursday morning.  My youngest daughter has a Halloween parade at her school so I will be wearing my mommy hat.  I will be back in the classroom by 11:30.  I have an excellent substitute arranged so the learning will continue to take place.  I will flip  flop the schedule and teach reading in the afternoon.

Friday is a special "spidery" treat for Room 115.  You should have received an email from the room parents with more information.   I will let the children in on the treat, closer to the date.  You are welcome to join us as we celebrate October's learning.  Thank you so much for loving our classroom!

The best part of last week was celebrating a very important birthday.  Happy Birthday to a very sweet member of Room 115!

Upcoming Events:
October 26:  Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch  (wear yellow t-shirts and jeans)
October 26:  Spirit Night at Nancy's Italian Ice
October 28:  Room 115 Celebrates Miss Spider's Tea Party at 2:00.
November 1:  Deadline for Just Give Campaign
Novcmber 8: PTA meeting
November 11:  No school:  Veteran's Day

Contact me with any questions or concerns.

End of the First Nine Weeks

It is hard to believe this is the end of the first nine weeks!  Time is moving so quickly.  Due to my absences last week, reading groups will be abbreviated this week in order for me to assess for report cards.  We will return to our normal routine next week.  Thank you for your patience.

This week will be investigating "Ss" as in "spider in the soup."  Word wall words will be seven, little, down and me.  I will send home a new reading information sheet on Wednesday for those of you that want to get an early jump on word wall words for the second nine weeks.  In January, I will test ALL of the word wall words that have been introduced since the beginning.  Learn the new words but revisit the old ones.

We will continue to compare numbers 0-5 in math.  Please be saving empty egg cartons and empty Cool Whip containers for math.

Thursday is the Fall Festival.  My family is excited and I hope to see your family.  The PTA is asking that Kindergarten families donate individually wrapped candy for the Fall Festival.  You can donate candy up until  Wednesday.  Thank you to the many families that signed up to work a shift at the Fall Festival.  Room 115 is well represented with volunteers.  If  you did not pre-order wristbands, you can purchase them at the gate on the night of the Fall Festival. 

Picture money is due by Friday.

Monday is Italian Ice for $1.00

Monday is also library day.

Upcoming Events:
October 18:  Spirit Night at Burger King (Chantilly Pkwy)
October 20:  Blount Fall Festival at Thompson Park  4:30-7:30
October 26:  Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch  (wear yellow t-shirts and jeans)
October 26:  Spirit Night at Nancy's Italian Ice
November 1:  Deadline for Just Give Campaign
Novcmber 8: PTA meeting
November 11:  No school:  Veteran's Day

Contact me with any questions or concerns.

Preparing for a Busy Month

As we said hello to October, we added a lot of important dates to the calendar.  In October, we will be celebrating two birthdays, a field trip, the Fall Festival and preparing for Halloween.  Throw in report cards and that is a very busy time for our classroom. 

Check out the personalities that come out when we dress out of uniform:



This is a review week for introduced alphabet letters and sight words.  I will be assessing sight words beginning on Wednesday. I will send you an email by Thursday evening letting you know the word wall words your child missed.

In math, we will be spending time comparing the numbers of zero to five.  Check your child's binder from last Friday for the five frame board I sent home for you to practice at home. 

Poetry notebooks will come home on Thursday of this week and need to be returned on Monday, October 17.  The children get so excited when they find word wall words around the classroom and in books. Thanks for taking the time to read the poetry journal with your child.

October 13 is the last opportunity to purchase Fall Festival Tickets before the price increase.  It is a very enjoyable evening and a favorite of the children.  Please consider spending the evening supporting our school.  If you can, please send in a bag of individually wrapped candy that the PTA can use at the festival. 

A PTA membership form went home in Friday's binder for families to join.  We continue to get memberships which makes us closer to getting 100% for our classroom.

This is a short week if ordering juice and snack, please send in $2.00 per item.  

Please save the following items for our classroom:  toilet tissue or paper towel rolls, empty cool whip containers and empty egg cartons.

I will be out of the classroom on Friday.  I've secured a wonderful substitute so the learning will continue despite my absence.

I was reading an article about Steve Jobs over the weekend.  It mentioned how he limited television with his children.  When you look at Job's creativity and his ability to think outside the box and the impact he left on the way we lead our lives today, it really shows the importance of  teaching/modeling for our children to be creative thinkers.  I encourage you to limit screen time (of any sort) at your house.  I know from observing your children that they are wonderful at building, writing, dramatizing and using that imagination.  (My editorial is finished...)

Upcoming important dates:
October 11:  Spirit Night at Jason's Deli
October 12:  Word Wall Word Assessment
October 13:  Final day for early bird prices for Fall Festival Tickets
October 18:  Spirit Night at Burger King (Chantilly Pkwy)
October 20:  Blount Fall Festival at Thompson Park  4:30-7:30
October 26:  Spirit Night at Nancy's Italian Ice
November 1:  Deadline for Just Give Campaign

Contact me with any questions or concerns.

A Very Busy Week

Learning is flying by in our classroom!  This past week was full of adventure and new learning.

We had a terrific time at Lanark.  Check out the pictures.  You want to add Lanark to your list of places to visit on the weekend.  It is open to the public on the third weekend of every month.  Visit their website for more information:  http://www.alabamawildlife.org/alabama-nature-center/  .


Our new letter for this week is Rr as in rooster on the roof.  The word wall words are:  six,look,they,all.  Word wall word assessment is Wednesdy, October 12.  Remember word wall words are to be read instantly, upon sight.  Be sure to check the binder nightly for small group homework.

In math, we will be finishing up number concepts from 0 -5. On Wednesday, I will send home some information on how to help your child at home with math.  Our September calendar pages will come home on Monday. There will be a sheet attached of questions to ask your child about September's pages.

Information came home on Friday about the field trip to the pumpkin patch.  There is no limit to the amount of parents that can attend.  Lunch is included in the price.  Let me know if you need additional time to pay.  I was saving paper by combining the permission slip and the directions.  Keep the directions and return the permission slip.   Let me know if you plan to attend. 

A very special thank you to the parents who took the children to lunch so that I could have a treat and eat lunch with the teachers.  It was a treat for all of us to be out of uniform and showing our team spirit.


Book orders are due Tuesday.  The online activation code is GL88R.

We are making progress on our PTA membership. Please pay your $10.00 membership dues and support our school.

We had fun spending Friday with Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  Room 115 is full of experts on Mickey and Minnie.  Several students were sad to take the items home.  Special thanks to one family who sent a special Mickey Mouse snack to share.  I appreciate your  support of our classroom.


Upcoming events:
October 10:  No school (teacher in-service day)
October 11:  Spirit Night at Jason's Deli
October 12:  Word Wall Word Assessment
October 18:  Spirit Night at Burger King
October 20:  Blount Fall Festival at Thompson Park  4:30-7:30
October 25:  Spirit Night at Nancy's Italian Ice
November 1:  Deadline for Just Give Campaign