The More We Get Together....

Welcome back to the routine of school!  I hope you had a wonderful break!

We will  have a lot to share tomorrow so there may or may not be reading homework depending on what we get to in the day. Check binders.  We will definitely have homework on Tuesday and for the rest of the week.

Nancy's Italian Ice for $1.00 will be on Monday.  As well as it is our library day.  Also please return poetry journals so that we can start learning a new poem.

If you have not done so, please send in the $8.00 Christmas craft money as soon as possible.  We will be making those on Wednesday.  Please make every effort to have your child at school on time on Wednesday.

This week we will be discussing the letter Dd as in dog in a doghouse.  The sight words (word wall words )  are:  The, the, as.
 
Do not get concerned if your child writes a lowercase d and b backwards.  We are working on that in the classroom.  It is a very common occurrence at this age.   To make a lowercase d, I instruct the children to think of a doorbell.  First you ring the doorbell (the round part of the lowercase d) and then you open the door (the straight part of the lowercase d).  When writing a lowercase d, make the doorbell first and then the door.  If you put the door first and then the doorbell, it would be a lowercase b.  Just a little bit of our classroom lingo to help out at home.

In math, we continue to build number sentences for numbers up to 10.

November calendar pages will come home on Friday.

We are still collecting EMPTY toilet tissue rolls for a Christmas secret!

For the month of November, we have been working on learning  if a letter of the alphabet is a vowel or a consonant.  We know that vowels are letters that holds a word together, just like glue.  Give us a word, any word, and ask us to identify the vowels in a word.  We know that y is an "I can't decide" letter.  Y can't decide if it is a vowel or a consonant.

Book orders will come home on Monday.  Our on-line ordering code is GL88R or you can send a check to school (payable to Blount.)  The last day to order books is Friday, November 30.  Book orders will be back in time for Christmas.  

Contact me with any questions or concerns.  These next four weeks are going to fly by.  Enjoy this special time with your child.

Upcoming dates:
Friday, November 30:  Book orders due (optional)
Friday, November 30:  Send in box tops
Thursday, December 20:  Room 115 Christmas Party,  1:45-2:30 pm
Friday, Decemb3er 21:  Kindergarten watches the Polar Express (wear pajamas) 
Monday, December 24-Wednesday, January 2:  NO SCHOOL
Thursday, January 3:  School is in session

2nd Day of Thanks and November's Crafternoon

Here is Tuesday's version of Pilgrims and Native Americans...


Thank you to the families at home that supported our Crafternoon and the parents that helped out in the classroom.  We had a lot of fun celebrating Thanksgiving.  Room 115 is blessed to have such supportive families.  Our next Crafternoon will be in January.  Enjoy the big smiles!


Have a wonderful  Thanksgiving!

The 1st Day of Thanks

The fun begins...

A Short But Very Full Week

This week will fly by quickly.  Lots of fun things planned but Room 115 will attempt to stick to our regular schedule.

Italian Ice will be on sale tomorrow for $1.00.

We will be visiting the library so please return library books on Monday.

Believe it or not but we will get a new poem.  It won't take us long to learn it because it only has two words for us to read.  It is a fun poem to act out.  Be sure to send poetry journals on Monday.

We will not investigate any new letters this week. We will spend our time reviewing.

In math, we are working with making numbers sentences when given a certain number.  This is a hard beginning math concept so it takes a lot of practice.  Kindergarten is a great opportunity for building stamina at practicing and practicing some more.

Refer to Friday's email about the schedule for dressing up as pilgrims and Native Americans for Monday and Tuesday's lunch.  If you are experiencing any holiday stress then please come and join us for lunch.  You will smile as you break bread with Room 115 and remember that all that holiday stress is meaningless. What really matters is enjoying the blessings you have in your child.

No need to send a snack on Tuesday.  Our November Crafternoon will take care of snack and even have a sweet treat for the children.   Thank you so much for supporting our Crafternoons.

Be sure to check book bags on Tuesday.  We have several Thanksgiving treasures that you may want to use for decorations later in the week!

I will post pictures Monday and Tuesday night of the children for those parents that are unable to make it to the school for lunch or the Crafternoon.  Enjoy them with your child!

We are still collecting empty toilet tissue rolls.  It is a secret that requires a lot of toilet tissue rolls.

Please send in $8.00 for the Secret Craft activity by Tuesday.  (By the way, the $8.00 craft does not involve the toilet tissue rolls - those are two separate surprises.)

Here is short slide show of different activities from the past week.  We are working hard and smiling at the same time!


I'm so thankful for Room 115.  I'm very fortunate that I get to spend my day with twenty wonderful children who make the seven hours fly by.  Thank you so much for your support. I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with yummy food, sweet memories, uninterrupted time with your child and somewhere along the way a really good book.  Thanks for sharing your greatest treasure with me.
Contact me with any questions or concerns you may have!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Learning Continues

If you haven't noticed the month of November (and December too) fly by in Kindergarten.  We were so busy last week, that I realized I only  snapped one photo.  Here is my photo to the left!  By the results of the election, it looks like the members of Room 115 have a pulse on the nation's voting trends.

Nancy's Italian Ice will be sold on Tuesday for this week only.  Please return library books and poetry journals.

We continue a Thanksgiving theme for our poetry journal this week. It is a tradition you may want to start at your house once you finish the Thanksgiving turkey.

This week in reading we will be investigating the letter Cc as in "cow on a cab."  The word wall words will be:  we, she, ten, funny.  

Last week, I sent out an email detailing a timed component on the reading tests once your child reaches unit 6.  Do not stress the timed element to your child.  All you need to do is to practice the reading homework sheet that comes home nightly. The goal is for your child to read fluently (read like they talk - not choppy but rather smooth and with voice inflection.) This comes with practice and practice.  Contact me with any questions about  the reading program.  I know it is probably very different than what you remember learning how to read.

I will be assessing phone numbers beginning on Wednesday. 

We will continue to work on understanding the theory behind addition and practicing different ways to add up to sums of 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10.  We've already discovered that when you are adding you can flip flop numbers without changing the answer. That is first grade thinking but it doesn't surprise me because that is how Room 115 thinks:  on a higher level!  We will be working on adding two groups to make a larger group all they way through Thanksgiving.

Our November Crafternoon will be Tuesday, November 20 from 1:45-3:00 (1:10 if you want to help set up the classroom.)  Contact the room parents or myself for more information. Thank you for loving our classroom.

The children will be dressing up as Native Americans and Pilgrims next Monday and Tuesday (the 19 and 20th of November) for lunch.  You are invited to join us. There will not be a program or anything fancy but how often can you eat lunch with Pilgrims and Native Americans!   Each child will get the opportunity to be a Pilgrim and a Native American - that is why we are doing it for two days.  You have to do nothing at home.  The costumes will be provided. Our lunch time is 10:40-11:05.   Join us if you can!

Please continue to save empty toilet tissue rolls. We need a LOT so keep saving until I say no more. It is a Christmas secret!

Speaking of Christmas Secrets:  Here is a letter from the all the Kindergarten teachers:


Kindergarten Parents,
The holidays are quickly approaching and the children have a secret craft they want to make (for you…shhhh), but we need your help with the expense of $8.00 per child.  We’d like to keep it a secret, but if you need more information please e-mail or contact your teacher.  Please send your $8.00 check or cash (payable to Blount) no later than Nov. 20^th.  We will begin our craft when we return from the Thanksgiving holiday. 
Thank you for your cooperation in helping us provide the children an opportunity to experience the gift of giving to those they love so much!

As a parent of a Kindergarten child myself,  I know that there has recently been a lot of expenses.  This is the last expense for 2012.  Thank you for supporting the Kindergarten Curriculum.  

Contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Hello November!

Just look at those very happy children celebrating November! I know how much you treasure your child and I'm so thankful that you trust me with them everyday!  Our classroom is such a joyful place to learn and grow.  Mrs. Green has given Kindergarten permission to wear our pumpkin t-shirts every Tuesday in the month of November (if your child wants to...).  Older siblings must wear regular uniforms on Tuesdays.

Don't forget that Monday, November 5 is the ONLY day to purchase the grade level t-shirts for Kindergarten.  Each grade level has a different day to make a payment.

We are also collecting money for our February 6 field trip  to see Stephen Fite.  If you do not send your money in on Monday with your t-shirt order, please make sure you pay by Tuesday, November 13.  Permission slips to leave the school property will be sent home closer to the date of the concert.  The seven chaperone slots are filled for our classroom.  More may become available closer to the date.  Let me know if you are interested on being on the waiting list.

Remember that Friday is early dismissal. We are dismissing at 1:10 pm.  Please make sure you have made arrangements for your child. Enjoy starting your long weekend a few hours early.  There is no school on Monday in observance of Veteran's Day.

This week is a review week of our introduced alphabet sounds and word wall words.  In math, we will be digging deeper into understanding addition.

Classroom needs:  Please start saving empty toilet tissue rolls.  Send them in at any time.  We need them for a Christmas secret!

Nancy's Italian Ice money, poetry journals and library books are needed on Monday.  Our poem this week is about words that have multiple meanings.  Be sure to ask your child to act out the poem.  It will make you laugh.

What fun we had at the pumpkin patch!  Thank you to the moms and dads that helped me keep track of  the children.  The children did ask if we could return to the patch the next day.


The school policy on passing out birthday invitations at school is that if every child in the class, or  every girl or every boy has  an invitation then I will put them in binders. If you are having a smaller party and inviting a select few then please refer to the class directory for addresses.


We talked about Tuesday's election last week with our Scholastic News.  I encourage you to take your child to vote with you on Tuesday.  Even though I know it is much more convenient to go without them, showing your children the voting process lays the foundation of being a contributing citizen.  Our class will be excited to see who the winner of the election  is when Wednesday morning arrives.

A big thank you to  our military families, both moms and dads, who make the sacrifices to protect our freedom.   I give thanks for you everyday.  Enjoy this Veteran's Day weekend.


Upcoming dates:
11.9  Blount dismisses at 1:10 pm for teacher professional development
11.12  No school in observance of Veteran's Day
11.21-23  Thanksgiving Holidays (no school on Wed., Thurs., Fri.)

Contact me if you have any questions!