Upcoming Week: A Week of Uninterrupted Learning

This week is going to be like fresh air.  There is nothing on the calendar but learning!  I'm so excited.

Monday is Italian Ice for $1.00.
 
Our library day is Monday if a new library book is needed.  AR is going well.  We keep adding students to the five point club.  We also have students that are working hard to enter the 15 point club.  Keep up the excellent reading practice at home.

We've had a quite the busy run on field trips lately.  Thanks to every parent who was able to rearrange schedules in order to assist me in making sure Room 114 was safe and accounted for.  The link for the slide show is Henry and Mudge.

We are going to be investigating the letter Ll in reading.  Our high frequency words will be:  are, that, do.

In math, we are moving into subtraction but will continue with addition practice for the remainder of the school year.   Look for February's calendar pages in Friday's binder.

In reading groups, we have been talking about fluency in our reading.  Fluency is reading like you talk, with expression and intonation.  Your child should be using the paper booklet on Tuesday nights to practice fluency.  If the reading is not fluent then have your child reread and reread until it is smooth reading.  The more your child practices reading, the better the reader he/she will be.

To freshen up reading instruction, reader's theater was introduced last week.   There is a script involved, parts are assigned and fluent reading (with some acting thrown in for fun) is the goal.  Lots of giggles and claps erupt when the scripts are pulled out.  Learning is fun in Room 114!  Check this out Reader's Theater.

Contact me with any concerns or questions.



Upcoming Dates:

3.7  Character Book Parade @ 2:00
3.14 Room 114's March Crafternoon  @ 1:30  (Come at 1:00 to set up)
3.24-3.28  Spring Break
4.18:  School in session due to weather make up day 

5.23:  Kindergarten Program followed by a Room 114 Celebration @ 9:00 

The Middle of February

For February to be a short month, it is a busy one.  Hope you found a very special Valentine that was made just for you.  It left school on Friday inside the money pouch in the take home binder.

Tuesday is the only day to turn in money for the Kindergarten grade level t-shirt.  The price is $12.00 and be sure to mark a size.  This shirt will be able to be worn on Tuesdays with blue jeans for the remainder of the school year.

Tuesday  is Nancy's Italian Ice for $1.00.
 

Send in class picture money by Wednesday.  The picture will be taken on Thursday.  School uniforms will be worn for the class photo.

We are going to be investigating the letter Hh this week in reading.  We will be working  with the high frequency words of:  that, are, do.    To celebrate the letter Hh, the children can wear a hat to school on Thursday.  We will do activities with the hat after our class picture is taken.  If you are concerned about hat hair for the class portrait,  place the hat inside the book bag.

We needed a few extra days to work on addition.  Hopefully, we will finish the unit the is week.

Last week we had two entries into our poetry journal. The first one celebrated hearts.  The second poem was used to visualize and make a movie in our heads.  We are learning so many ways to help us become a lifelong, comprehending reader.  Look for our poetry journal in Friday's book bag.  

Our field trip is Friday.  There are a few tickets remaining if you want to join us ($9.00 for chaperones)  Be sure to wear yellow field trip t-shirts on Friday.  We will eat lunch when we return to the building (around 11:45) so please make sure your child eats a fulfilling breakfast.  I will send an email out to chaperones on Wednesday evening.
 

Email me if you would like to help out on certain Fridays from 11:30-1:30 with science rotations.  Or if you are available on Wednesdays/Thursdays for art activities from 9:15-10:30.  I will set up a schedule from those who want to volunteer and avoid sending out mass emails asking for help.

DATE CHANGE:  The  book character parade has been moved to Friday, March 7 at 2:00 PM.  Just more time to read more books with your child and decide on the perfect character to be in the parade - remember this is NOT an opportunity to wear a Halloween costume.  This is a fun parade and you are invited to attend and cheer when you see Room 114.

 Enjoy as we celebrated Special Person #12 

(click on the link to see a slideshow)

Save the date:  The end of the year celebration for Kindergarten will be Friday, May 23 at 9:00 AM in the lunchroom.  I'm not wishing time away but I wanted to give you plenty of notice for work schedules.  We will have a short celebration of Room 114 after the conclusion of the Kindergarten program.  If you are asking time off from work, you will be at the school until 11:00.  I don't like to think about the end of school so I will not mention this again until the beginning of May.

Camera update:  I found my camera last Monday morning.  I used it Monday and Tuesday and then it disappeared.  Obviously, I am having a difficult time keeping up with my camera at the moment.  Thankful for a back up camera.  One day you will come to the blog and see pictures of Stephen Fite's field trip,  Special Person #11 and the making of our Valentine's mailbox.  

Enjoy this link for our Valentine's Day Party.  Thanks to Mrs. K for organizing and planning our party.  Thank you for contributing the supplies necessary for a party.  What a sweet, sweet time it was to celebrate the friendship in Room 114.

Contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Upcoming Dates:

2.20  Class picture day: wear uniforms

2.21  Box Top Collection 

2.21 Henry and Mudge field trip:  wear yellow field trip t-shirts
3.7  Character Book Parade @ 2:00
3.14 Room 114's March Crafternoon  @ 1:30  (Come at 1:00 to set up)
3.24-3.28  Spring Break
4.18:  School in session due to weather make up day 

5.23:  Kindergarten Program followed by a Room 114 Celebration @ 9:00 

Learing in Room 114 Results in Mini- Explosions

What a great way to end a week.  Our Friday afternoon was spent with mini-explosions, recipes for mixing colors, fine motor development that included painting and math instruction.  Can't beat early childhood education!   For a glimpse into our afternoon, click the link A Friday Afternoon.  Thanks to the parents who volunteered their time and the families that sent in supplies.  The children have no idea how loved they are by all the families.  We will do more activities like this soon and will need more volunteers.

Dads are invited to come up on Tuesday or Wednesday morning for a sweet treat compliments of the PTA.  Donuts for Dads runs from 7:15-8:00. 

Our Valentine's Day party is Friday from 1:30 - 2:15.  Come and help transform the classroom at 1:00 or show up for the celebration at 1:30.  We will use the same procedures for check outs similar to the Christmas Party.  I cannot release your child without the slip of paper from the office.  Contact Mrs. K for more information about the party and how you can help.

Information went home last week about class picture day.

Book orders will be in binders on Monday.  Book orders are optional.  If you choose to order on-line, use the code GL88R.  Money is due on Friday.  

Our Valentine poem last week was so popular because the children could read it without my help immediately upon sight.  Then there was the song about money.  We will be talking about and identifying the value of  coins all month.  The poem this week is meant to help us make mental images in our heads as we hear words.  Learning to read is such an exciting time!  Please make sure poetry journals are returned on Monday.

Remember that Monday, February 17 is teacher in-service day.  There is no school for students on February 17.  Enjoy your three day weekend. 

This week you will receive information about grade level t-shirts.  Grade level t-shirts can be worn every Tuesday with jeans for the remainder of the school year.   The cost of the grade level t-shirt is $12.00.   The Kindergarten grade level t-shirt is  precious and sentimental.  The first few weeks of school, we had the students draw a portrait of their face and  they wrote their name to be used on our t-shirt.   Only the  portraits from our class will be on our t-shirt.  I've included a picture of our t-shirt from last year to help you visualize.  It will be a different color this year.  The ONLY day that you can order this t-shirt is on Tuesday, February 18.  This is a ONE DAY sale only.  I realize you have had the opportunity to purchase a variety of t-shirts at Blount, but this t-shirt is the one the students enjoy the most.  Look for the order form later this week and the ONLY day to turn in money for Kindergarten is Tuesday, February 18.

Nancy's Italian Ice is Monday for $1.00.

Field trip money is due Friday, February 14 for the February 21 field trip to see Henry and Mudge.  Our final field trip is in May to the zoo.

This is a review/benchmark week in reading. Keep reviewing the high frequency words at home.  Those words need to be read instantly and accurately upon sight.  No sounding out or hesitating.    If you are looking for ways to freshen up the learning at home, check out this link for high frequency words. 

We will be finishing up addition this week in math.  Next up will be subtraction.

Heads up:  On Friday, February 28 is a school wide book character parade.  This is my favorite day of the school year as children come to school dressed up as character from literary works. NOTE:  This is not a day to wear your Halloween costume.  Rather, this is a day set aside for characters from books that your children love to read. You will need to make a sign with the name of the character and the book the character is from.    You are invited to attend this parade and will want to attend! Last year, the parade was at 9:30 so I'm assuming it will be the same time this year.  I will let you know  the definite time as soon as I am told. 

Somewhere in my classroom in a very safe place is my camera.  Hopefully I will find it on Monday and next week you can see pictures from our Stophen Fite field trip and our special person of the week.

Contact me with any questions you may have.  Hope to see you on Friday for a special day to celebrate the friendship of Room 114.

Upcoming dates:
2.11 and 2.12  Donuts with Dad
2.14  Valentine's Day Party  1:30-2:15
2.17  No school for students:  teacher in-service day
2.21  Box Top Collection
2.28  Character Book Parade
3.14 Room 114's March Crafternoon  @ 1:30  (Come at 1:00 to set up)
3.24-3.28  Spring Break
4.18:  School in session due to weather make up day

Sensory Overload

Last week was crazy.  The children were so excited we could finally mark a snowy day on our weather graph!

Italian Ice will be Monday for $1.00.  We will miss our library time due to the field trip but I will let the students get a new library book after they take an Accelerated Reader test.  Please make sure your  child returns the poetry journal on Monday.

Since our 100 day celebration was abbreviated, we will be doing 100 day activities all week.  Please make sure your child's collection of 100 pennies is at school by Thursday. Pennies will come home on Friday.

Last Monday, it was so warm that we enjoyed our Italian Ice outside and discussed shadows to prepare for Groundhog Day.    Who knew that school would be closed for the next three days due to snow and ice!  Shadows  (click on the word shadows for a slideshow)













When we returned on Friday, our day was spent celebrating 100, a little break in the day for Groundhog's Day and then a little Super Hero mask production. For any other person than a Kindergarten student, the day may have been  sensory overload but Room 114 handled it like pros.

100 Days Smarter  (click on how Room 114 aged 94 and 95 years overnight)

If you are in need for a dessert idea one night, ask your Room 114 member to tell you the recipe for the Groundhog peeking out of the burrow dessert.  It was enjoyed by all.  Groundhog Treat














Monday is our field trip to the Stephen Fite concert where we celebrate that knowledge is the greatest super power.   We made a super hero mask on Friday.  You can use it with your costume or you can keep it at home for imaginary play.  Monday should be a very fun day!  Be sure the yellow t-shirt is visible for safety measures.

Nothing like 100 year old super heroes!  Click on Super Hero Masks  for more fun!
















I'm looking forward to Tuesday and getting back into a routine full of learning.  Fortunately, we were scheduled to spend another week on the letter Oo with the high frequency words of:  they, you, of.

In math, we will continue to work with addition.  Our January calendars will come home on Tuesday.  Look  for a note on how to discuss January calendar pages with your child.

Found:  A rubbermaid container with a snap lid was left at the Christmas party.  Does it belong to anyone?

We switch our specialist schedule to Mr. Darby starting on Monday.  That means that I will be taking the children outside every day.  We will be going out in the cold temperatures so make sure a coat is sent on the days that the temperature dips. 

Last call:  An empty shoebox is needed for your child's Valentine mailbox.  We will be decorating our mailboxes next week so I need your child's shoebox by Friday.  

Due to the Governor calling for a state of emergency, the three days missed last week will NOT be made up.  As of right now, the only change in the school calendar is Friday, April 18 is now a regular school day.

We created a self portrait of what we would look like at 100 years of age.  Enjoy  A Glimpse into the Future

I will leave the classroom on Wednesday at 11:30 AM for an appointment.  I have an excellent sub.  I will return on Thursday. 

The Opening Ceremony of the Olympics is this Friday.  We will be doing several Olympic activities during the next three weeks.  Pull out the world map and keep it handy as you watch the Olympics with your family and make it into a geography lesson in a sneaky kind of way.  Go Team USA!!!

Contact me with any questions or concerns. 



Upcoming Dates:
2.3  Stephen Fite concert:  dress up as a superhero (yellow t-shirt must be visible)
2.4  PTA Meeting/ Multicultural Night @ 6:00
2.11 and 2.12  Donuts with Dad
2.14  Valentine's Day Party  1:30-2:15
2.17  No school for students:  teacher in-service day
2.21  Box Top Collection
3.14 Room 114's March Crafternoon  @ 1:30  (Come at 1:00 to set up)
3.24-3.28  Spring Break
4.18:  School in session due to weather make up day