Zero the Hero, Phone Numbers, Reading Groups, and More!

Last Monday was the 20th day of school.  Our daily schedule was changed because of the addition of four new classes in the school.  Wouldn't you know that Zero the Hero came by to see us but it was during our new specialist time.  He dropped off a special "zero" snack and said he would try and meet us next time.

We are starting a new chapter in math this week.  We move from two dimensional shapes to three.  Lots of new vocabulary words in this chapter:  cone, cube, curved surface, cylinder, flat surface, roll, slide, sphere, stack, and three dimensional shapes.  We will also discuss positional words of:  above, behind, below, beside, next to, and  in front of. 

In reading this week we are recognizing Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz.  The sight words are:  the, little.

Last week, information came home about the Blount Fall Festival.  For those new to Blount this year,  the fall festival is a favorite night with the children.  Wristbands are on sale right now at an Early Bird Price.  Optional t-shirts can currently be purchased too.  Fall Festival t-shirts can be worn on the day of the Fall Festival and on Fridays for the remainder of the year.  Consider volunteering for the Fall Festival.  It is a great way to meet other parents.

Please help your child to remember to return  library books and poetry journals on Monday.  Monday is also Italian Ice for $1.00.  This Friday is Box Top collection day.  You can send in box tops any day of  the week.

Did you sing along with the phone number song this weekend?  I heard it sung throughout the day all week long in Room 114 by people who had that song in their hearts.  I will do a phone number check the week of October 7.  Our poem this week deals with the four seasons of the year.  Look for the poetry journal in Friday's book bag.

The deadline if you are paying for the entire Kindergarten Expenses all at one time is Thursday, October 3.   If you choose to pay field trip by field trip then please send in the Lanark field trip payment by Wednesday, September 25.

At the cluster meeting, there was an overwhelming interest for chaperones for the Lanark field trip.  Lanark limits the number of chaperones.  Be sure to check your child's binder Monday afternoon or your email around 3:25. This is the fairest way I know to make it even for the distribution of chaperone slots.  Good news!!!  We were able to secure chaperone tickets for all those who  emailed/contacted me  for Goodnight Moon, Stephen Fite and Henry and Mudge.  The pumpkin patch and the zoo field trips have no limit of chaperone slots. 

We started reading groups last week. Reading groups meet everyday!   Responsible workers  in reading groups are those who know the job at hand and have what it takes to get the job done.  Fortunately I work with responsible students. 

We are working hard at writing in the classroom.  Refer to my writing handout that was passed out at cluster meeting night.  When your child is writing and asks you to spell a word, tell him to sound out the word.  Tell him to sound out the sounds he hears.  If he looks at the word he wrote and comments that it doesn't look right, you can do two things.  First, give him the option of looking for the word in a book until he finds the conventional spelling.  Or you  can explain that in Kindergarten that is how we write by the sounds we here and leave it at that.  If you get in the habit of giving your child the conventional spelling when asked, your child will be more concerned about the correct spelling than the content of the story.  At this stage of development, we want content rather than correct spelling.  Remember, if you are a writer that demonstrates you are a thinker.  Room 114 wants to be full of thinkers so please support me on this.  Just say, "Spell it the way it sounds."  Remember those stages of writing from that handout. It is perfectly fine if your child is in stage one or stage five.   Don't stress about the stages just encourage your child getting thoughts down on paper. 

Because of the implementation of the new reading program, please give me one more week before I begin to utilize classroom volunteers.  I will send out an email towards the end of the week to those of you who want to work in the classroom. Thank you for being patient with me. 

Since the first day of school we have been reading the Mercy Watson chapter books.  We have started the last book of the series.  Visit Mercy Watson's website and have your child tell you all about the characters.   Mercy is a fun loving pig!
 
Thanks for sharing your greatest treasure with me.  Our school day goes by quickly because the children are so great to work with.  Our class is full of 19 children who are kind to one another, respect authority,  work hard and do their best.  I'm the luckiest teacher in the building.


 Contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. 

Upcoming Events:
9.26  Fall Festival T-shirt orders are due
9.27  Box Top collection day
10.2  Turn in money or unsold Blount Discount Cards
10.4  Kindergarten field trip to Lanark Nature Center (Millbrook)
10.8  Fall Picture Day
10.10  Early Bird Sale ends for Blount Fall Festival Wristbands
10.14  No school - teacher professional development day
10.17  Blount Fall Festival
10.30  Kindergarten field trip to Dream Field Farms Pumpkin Patch
11.11 No school in observance of Veteran's Day
11.25-11.29  Thanksgiving Holidays - no school