Dear Parents,
We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving break. We'd like to thank all of you for making last Monday & Tuesday such a success! We had a wonderful spread of food at the feast, and the children all looked darling! Thanks to the MANY parents who helped with that event, and special thanks to Jen Lipscomb for helping us coordinate all the food & help. Also, Grandparents' Day was another great event. It was wonderful to see so many Grandparents & friends in our room that day. We had a fun time!
Now...onto a very busy but exciting time in kindergarten as we prepare for our Nutcracker presentation on the 17th, as well as continue with all the academics & seasonal artwork!
We will have a new letter this week, Vv, and the Alphafriend is Vinnie Volcano. We will also have a new high frequency word, to. We will continue with our math topic on addition this week, followed by a topic on subtraction next week.
If you check out our webpage, link always at the bottom of the weekly e-mail, I have added a new page tab on the right-hand side. It is for kindergarten websites. I link a website, http://www.spellingcity.com/k2grist that I'd like you all to check out with your children. This is a fun way to reinforce both the sight words and short-vowel words that they will be expected to recognize and spell in kindergarten. I have pre-loaded the list of sight words onto Spelling City, but if you want to make your own list of short-vowel words, you can do that, too. These are just extra tools to reinforce learning. I have also added the link to the math website I e-mailed you about a while ago, along with the login directions. Check it out!
We will return to centers both this week and next week, then we take a break from centers again the week of December 12th. Please check the helper schedule below, as well as on the website. I have made just a few minor changes on the website and the helpers are updated all the way through the next trimester.
This week's sharing is Toy in a Bag. Please send in a toy in a bag or backpack, etc., with three written clues. Please make sure that either you or your child is writing the clues so that we have something to prompt them with if they forget. Thanks!
Thank you for returning your red bags last week. They will go home again this Wednesday as well as the following Wednesday. They will not go home on December 15th.
In lieu of returning red bags this week, please remember to send in November's I Love to Read calendar any time this week, beginning Wednesday.
Remember that the Holiday book order will be closing on December 1st. These books should arrive before we leave for break.
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!
This Week's Activities/Helpers:
MONDAY: Centers (Kristi & Tammy), Sharing, Library
TUESDAY: Centers (Wendy & Manami), Sharing
WEDNESDAY:
Wednesday Envelopes/Red Bags prepped (Karla/Angie/Derek),
Computers (Matt), Sharing, Red Bags go home, Turn in I Love to Read calendars
THURSDAY: Centers (Margaret & Arden), Sharing, Turn in I Love to Read calendars
FRIDAY: ZUMBA!, Turn in I Love to Read calendars
Upcoming Events:
12/1: Dining for Dollars @ Armadillo Willy's
12/15: Nutcracker Paper Costume Making Party @ 1:25 (parent help needed!)
12/17: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance
12/18-1/2: WINTER BREAK
1/17: No School: MLK Holiday
Week of 2/20: No School: President's Week
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Week of 11/21
Dear Parents,
We have a fun & memorable two days this week with the Feast on Monday and Grandparents' Day on Tuesday. Due to the short week & special activities, there will be no homework, no sharing, and there will be no new sight words or letters. This is a review week.
Tomorrow, please join us at 10:15 for the Friendship Feast with Mrs. Arrieta's class. Our class will be dressed as Pilgrims and Mrs. Arrieta's class will be dressed as Native American Indians. You will not want to miss this great photo-op! Besides, you will want to join in on all the great food being brought by all the kindergarten families! Thanks to everyone for volunteering a dish to bring. Please remember to send it in in the morning so that we can set it out, but if it's a hot dish and you prefer to bring it ready-to-go, just let us know that so that we leave some room on the table :) If you volunteered to help with the costumes or the art project, please come in at the designated times. Thank you!
On Tuesday, we will have the grandparents/guests of Abby, Cami, Claire, Damian, Emma, Hunter, Jackson, Jared, Madeline, Miles, Natalie, Patrick, and Railey (is that everyone?) visiting us. There are plenty of grandparents to go around, so if your child is not having a guest, one of the grandparents will be happy to assist him/her with the project. Please remember also that if your children would like to share photos or memories of grandparents who are not able to visit, that they are welcome to do so. Our introduction time will be from about 10:00 to 10:30. The children will introduce their grandparents/guests to the class. I'd like them to tell which side of the family the grandparents are from (mom's, dad's, or both) and where they live (grandparents can help with all of this) and one thing that they like to do together. If the grandparent(s) want to share one thing that they remember about kindergarten, they may do that. Then at 10:30, there is a reception in the cafeteria for the grandparents while the kids go out for snack-recess. When we return to the classroom at 10:50, we will do an art project with the grandparents-- the "Hands & Foot Turkey" and the grandparents can take that project home with them. It should be a fun but busy morning!
Looking ahead on your calendars at this busy time of year, we wanted to make sure that you are all marking your calendars for Friday, December 17th at 10:00-- our annual performance of The Nutcracker. This is something that you will not want to miss. To help you clear your calendar, we have decided that this year, we will do our class holiday party and the Nutcracker performance all on the same day. In the past, we haven't done this and some parents were torn between taking time off for the holiday party or the performance. We will have a big "cast party" after the performance this year so that we can send the kids off on a great holiday break!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, 11/22: Thanksgiving Friendship Feast-- please join us at 10:15!
Tuesday, 11/23: Grandparent's Day, grades K-2, 10:00 in our classroom
Wednesday, 11/24-Friday, 11/26: Thanksgiving Break
Wednesday, 12/1: Dining for Dollars @ Armadillo Willy's
Friday, 12/17: 10:00 am Nutcracker Performance (don't miss this annual kindergarten favorite!)
Monday, 12/20-Friday, 12/31: Winter Break
We have a fun & memorable two days this week with the Feast on Monday and Grandparents' Day on Tuesday. Due to the short week & special activities, there will be no homework, no sharing, and there will be no new sight words or letters. This is a review week.
Tomorrow, please join us at 10:15 for the Friendship Feast with Mrs. Arrieta's class. Our class will be dressed as Pilgrims and Mrs. Arrieta's class will be dressed as Native American Indians. You will not want to miss this great photo-op! Besides, you will want to join in on all the great food being brought by all the kindergarten families! Thanks to everyone for volunteering a dish to bring. Please remember to send it in in the morning so that we can set it out, but if it's a hot dish and you prefer to bring it ready-to-go, just let us know that so that we leave some room on the table :) If you volunteered to help with the costumes or the art project, please come in at the designated times. Thank you!
On Tuesday, we will have the grandparents/guests of Abby, Cami, Claire, Damian, Emma, Hunter, Jackson, Jared, Madeline, Miles, Natalie, Patrick, and Railey (is that everyone?) visiting us. There are plenty of grandparents to go around, so if your child is not having a guest, one of the grandparents will be happy to assist him/her with the project. Please remember also that if your children would like to share photos or memories of grandparents who are not able to visit, that they are welcome to do so. Our introduction time will be from about 10:00 to 10:30. The children will introduce their grandparents/guests to the class. I'd like them to tell which side of the family the grandparents are from (mom's, dad's, or both) and where they live (grandparents can help with all of this) and one thing that they like to do together. If the grandparent(s) want to share one thing that they remember about kindergarten, they may do that. Then at 10:30, there is a reception in the cafeteria for the grandparents while the kids go out for snack-recess. When we return to the classroom at 10:50, we will do an art project with the grandparents-- the "Hands & Foot Turkey" and the grandparents can take that project home with them. It should be a fun but busy morning!
Looking ahead on your calendars at this busy time of year, we wanted to make sure that you are all marking your calendars for Friday, December 17th at 10:00-- our annual performance of The Nutcracker. This is something that you will not want to miss. To help you clear your calendar, we have decided that this year, we will do our class holiday party and the Nutcracker performance all on the same day. In the past, we haven't done this and some parents were torn between taking time off for the holiday party or the performance. We will have a big "cast party" after the performance this year so that we can send the kids off on a great holiday break!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, 11/22: Thanksgiving Friendship Feast-- please join us at 10:15!
Tuesday, 11/23: Grandparent's Day, grades K-2, 10:00 in our classroom
Wednesday, 11/24-Friday, 11/26: Thanksgiving Break
Wednesday, 12/1: Dining for Dollars @ Armadillo Willy's
Friday, 12/17: 10:00 am Nutcracker Performance (don't miss this annual kindergarten favorite!)
Monday, 12/20-Friday, 12/31: Winter Break
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Week of 11/14
Dear Parents,
We hope you were able to enjoy a nice long weekend as we head into a busy week & a half before Thanksgiving!
We have enjoyed meeting with many of you so far during parent-teacher conferences, and have gained some great insights on your children from you. Thank you for meeting with us and being such active participants in your children's educations. We look forward to meeting with the rest of you this week in the library conference room.
We will still be taking a break from centers this week while we continue with parent-teacher conferences, and they won't resume until after Thanksgiving. Then we will start back up with centers for the two weeks before winter break. Last week, I added center helpers through the end of the next trimester. I will still be tweaking it a bit more, as some other parents would like to be added to the schedule, so please check it again as we get closer to the New Year.
Our new letter this week (and next) is Hh. The Alphafriend is Hattie Horse. Our new sight word is a. We start a new math topic this week on addition. We have already been doing addition, in a sense. All of those homework papers on coloring different combinations of each number was obviously addition preparation. You will see much of the same in the upcoming topic. In kindergarten, the children will only be expected to learn addition facts to 10.
This week's sharing is Homemade Item. Please send in something your child has made, either at home, at preschool, etc. It does not have to be in a bag. Children should be prepared to talk about how they made the item. There will be no sharing next week due to the shortened week and all the special activities.
We have an Art Vista lesson on Wednesday. Last week we enjoyed our first "I Love to Read" presentation, so if your child came home with a new book, it was because s/he reached the first level in the program. Keep up all the reading!
This week, we will also be taking a closer look at the Pilgrims & Native Americans as we talk about the first Thanksgiving. We will be preparing for our upcoming feast on Monday the 22nd. If you haven't had a chance to send back the yellow paper regarding the feast (how you can help/what dish you can send) or if you haven't e-mailed Jen Lipscomb, please do so ASAP. If you will not be in town for the Feast, let us know that, too, if you haven't already. It would be great if each child has a parent in attendance. This is a fun time for the kids, as they love to show off their costumes and enjoy the meal with their families. Thanks to those who have already signed up. It looks like we will have plenty of help and many delicious dishes coming our way!
Next Tuesday the 23rd, we have Grandparents' Day at school. They are welcome to come at 10:00 so that they can be introduced by their grandchild. Then, the kindergartners will have snack/recess, and the grandparents will go to the cafeteria for a reception. When they return from the reception at about 11:00, they will participate in a fun art project called the "Hands and Feet Turkey." The grandparents will be tracing children's hands and a foot to make a cute turkey! The grandparents will get to take this turkey home as a keepsake. If your child does not have a local grandparent, feel free to send an aunt, uncle, special friend, etc. Also, the grandparents that come are always great about taking on additional "grandchildren," so don't worry if you don't have someone available. Please let me know if your child has a grandparent(s) coming, and how many will attend so that I can plan for extra chairs.
Mrs. Sheikh has opened a new book order, that is due on December 1st. These books will arrive on time for the holidays, so feel free to order some stocking stuffers!
The Red Bags will go home again this Wednesday, and then the following week, there will be no homework due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Enjoy all the fun in the next week and a half!
This Week's Activities:
MONDAY: No Centers, Sharing, Library
TUESDAY: No Centers, Sharing
WEDNESDAY: Art Vistas (Angie, Tammy, Lorraine), Wednesday Envelopes prepped (Karla/Angie/Derek), Computers (Margaret), Sharing, Red Bags go home
THURSDAY: No Centers, Sharing
FRIDAY: No Centers, ZUMBA!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, 11/15: Parent-Teacher Conferences continue
Monday, 11/22: Thanksgiving Friendship Feast-- please join us at 10:15!
Tuesday, 11/23: Grandparent's Day, grades K-2, 10:00 in our classroom
Wednesday, 11/24-Friday, 11/26: Thanksgiving Break
Friday, 12/17: 10:00 am Nutcracker Performance (don't miss this annual kindergarten favorite!)
Monday, 12/20-Friday, 12/31: Winter Break
We hope you were able to enjoy a nice long weekend as we head into a busy week & a half before Thanksgiving!
We have enjoyed meeting with many of you so far during parent-teacher conferences, and have gained some great insights on your children from you. Thank you for meeting with us and being such active participants in your children's educations. We look forward to meeting with the rest of you this week in the library conference room.
We will still be taking a break from centers this week while we continue with parent-teacher conferences, and they won't resume until after Thanksgiving. Then we will start back up with centers for the two weeks before winter break. Last week, I added center helpers through the end of the next trimester. I will still be tweaking it a bit more, as some other parents would like to be added to the schedule, so please check it again as we get closer to the New Year.
Our new letter this week (and next) is Hh. The Alphafriend is Hattie Horse. Our new sight word is a. We start a new math topic this week on addition. We have already been doing addition, in a sense. All of those homework papers on coloring different combinations of each number was obviously addition preparation. You will see much of the same in the upcoming topic. In kindergarten, the children will only be expected to learn addition facts to 10.
This week's sharing is Homemade Item. Please send in something your child has made, either at home, at preschool, etc. It does not have to be in a bag. Children should be prepared to talk about how they made the item. There will be no sharing next week due to the shortened week and all the special activities.
We have an Art Vista lesson on Wednesday. Last week we enjoyed our first "I Love to Read" presentation, so if your child came home with a new book, it was because s/he reached the first level in the program. Keep up all the reading!
This week, we will also be taking a closer look at the Pilgrims & Native Americans as we talk about the first Thanksgiving. We will be preparing for our upcoming feast on Monday the 22nd. If you haven't had a chance to send back the yellow paper regarding the feast (how you can help/what dish you can send) or if you haven't e-mailed Jen Lipscomb, please do so ASAP. If you will not be in town for the Feast, let us know that, too, if you haven't already. It would be great if each child has a parent in attendance. This is a fun time for the kids, as they love to show off their costumes and enjoy the meal with their families. Thanks to those who have already signed up. It looks like we will have plenty of help and many delicious dishes coming our way!
Next Tuesday the 23rd, we have Grandparents' Day at school. They are welcome to come at 10:00 so that they can be introduced by their grandchild. Then, the kindergartners will have snack/recess, and the grandparents will go to the cafeteria for a reception. When they return from the reception at about 11:00, they will participate in a fun art project called the "Hands and Feet Turkey." The grandparents will be tracing children's hands and a foot to make a cute turkey! The grandparents will get to take this turkey home as a keepsake. If your child does not have a local grandparent, feel free to send an aunt, uncle, special friend, etc. Also, the grandparents that come are always great about taking on additional "grandchildren," so don't worry if you don't have someone available. Please let me know if your child has a grandparent(s) coming, and how many will attend so that I can plan for extra chairs.
Mrs. Sheikh has opened a new book order, that is due on December 1st. These books will arrive on time for the holidays, so feel free to order some stocking stuffers!
The Red Bags will go home again this Wednesday, and then the following week, there will be no homework due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Enjoy all the fun in the next week and a half!
This Week's Activities:
MONDAY: No Centers, Sharing, Library
TUESDAY: No Centers, Sharing
WEDNESDAY: Art Vistas (Angie, Tammy, Lorraine), Wednesday Envelopes prepped (Karla/Angie/Derek), Computers (Margaret), Sharing, Red Bags go home
THURSDAY: No Centers, Sharing
FRIDAY: No Centers, ZUMBA!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, 11/15: Parent-Teacher Conferences continue
Monday, 11/22: Thanksgiving Friendship Feast-- please join us at 10:15!
Tuesday, 11/23: Grandparent's Day, grades K-2, 10:00 in our classroom
Wednesday, 11/24-Friday, 11/26: Thanksgiving Break
Friday, 12/17: 10:00 am Nutcracker Performance (don't miss this annual kindergarten favorite!)
Monday, 12/20-Friday, 12/31: Winter Break
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Week of 11/7
Dear Parents,
We have a 3 day week this week with Veteran's Day on Thursday, and a staff development day on Friday. Enjoy a four-day weekend! Also, don't forget to "Fall back." Hopefully, you enjoyed an extra hour of sleep this morning, but often that isn't the case with kids in the home!
We begin Parent-Teacher conferences this week, through next Friday. Remember that conferences will be held in the Media Center (Library/Computer lab) which is the building directly behind the kindergarten building. Often, we are in the librarian's office, which is behind the check-out desk to the right when you walk in.
We have no centers for the next three weeks due to Parent-Teacher Conferences and Thanksgiving. However, we will still need help on Wednesdays with Computer Lab & prepping the Wednesday envelopes. Centers will resume the week after Thanksgiving. There are a few projects that we may need some help on in class in the upcoming weeks. We will try to send out an e-mail for those projects to see if anyone may be available.
This week's letter is Nn, and the Alphafriend is Nyle Noodle. We will introduce two new sight words, with and be. Our share this week is Song/Poem/Nursery Rhyme. Remember that if your child prefers not to do a song or nursery rhyme, s/he can always sing one of the Alphafriend songs that we've learned. Also, this is a great opportunity to share songs or rhymes in another language, if your child would like to do that. We love hearing the children use the other languages they know!
Our math topic on comparing numbers continues this week. Children should understand the terms fewer, greater, and equal.
We will be glazing our clay projects this Wednesday. Please don't send your children in any extra-special clothes on Wednesday, as the clay glaze does stain. Thanks again to Tammi, Manami, Laura, Margaret, and Nicole for helping out with Clay this year.
We have our first "I Love to Read" presentation this Tuesday. Hopefully, everyone turned in their calendars or e-mailed their minutes to Margaret or Manami. We want every child to be rewarded for the reading they are doing at home!
Please remember to send in your child's Red Bag, with the homework folder inside, tomorrow. We will not have any homework or Red Bags this Wednesday due to the long weekend :)
Thanks to everyone for e-mailing me your schedule changes for 2011 so that I can put together the helper schedule. Once again, it looks like all days are covered, even with some schedule changes. Thanks so much to everyone for your generosity with your time and your flexibility!
If you are interested, there are some new book orders up on the "Book Order" link. They are due December 1st and offer some great selections for stocking stuffers and gifts!
This Week's Activities:
MONDAY: No Centers, Sharing, Library, Red Bags Due w/ I Love to Read Calendars
TUESDAY: No Centers, Sharing
WEDNESDAY: Wednesday Envelopes prepped (Karla/Angie/Derek), Computers (Matt), Sharing, No Red Bags
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, 11/8: Parent-Teacher Conferences begin
Thursday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day
Friday, 11/12: No School: Staff Development Day
Monday, 11/22: Thanksgiving Friendship Feast-- please join us at 10:15!
Tuesday, 11/23: Grandparent's Day, grades K-2
Wednesday, 11/24-Friday, 11/26: Thanksgiving Break
Friday, 12/17: 10:00 am Nutcracker Performance (don't miss this annual kindergarten favorite!)
Monday, 12/20-Friday, 12/31: Winter Break
We have a 3 day week this week with Veteran's Day on Thursday, and a staff development day on Friday. Enjoy a four-day weekend! Also, don't forget to "Fall back." Hopefully, you enjoyed an extra hour of sleep this morning, but often that isn't the case with kids in the home!
We begin Parent-Teacher conferences this week, through next Friday. Remember that conferences will be held in the Media Center (Library/Computer lab) which is the building directly behind the kindergarten building. Often, we are in the librarian's office, which is behind the check-out desk to the right when you walk in.
We have no centers for the next three weeks due to Parent-Teacher Conferences and Thanksgiving. However, we will still need help on Wednesdays with Computer Lab & prepping the Wednesday envelopes. Centers will resume the week after Thanksgiving. There are a few projects that we may need some help on in class in the upcoming weeks. We will try to send out an e-mail for those projects to see if anyone may be available.
This week's letter is Nn, and the Alphafriend is Nyle Noodle. We will introduce two new sight words, with and be. Our share this week is Song/Poem/Nursery Rhyme. Remember that if your child prefers not to do a song or nursery rhyme, s/he can always sing one of the Alphafriend songs that we've learned. Also, this is a great opportunity to share songs or rhymes in another language, if your child would like to do that. We love hearing the children use the other languages they know!
Our math topic on comparing numbers continues this week. Children should understand the terms fewer, greater, and equal.
We will be glazing our clay projects this Wednesday. Please don't send your children in any extra-special clothes on Wednesday, as the clay glaze does stain. Thanks again to Tammi, Manami, Laura, Margaret, and Nicole for helping out with Clay this year.
We have our first "I Love to Read" presentation this Tuesday. Hopefully, everyone turned in their calendars or e-mailed their minutes to Margaret or Manami. We want every child to be rewarded for the reading they are doing at home!
Please remember to send in your child's Red Bag, with the homework folder inside, tomorrow. We will not have any homework or Red Bags this Wednesday due to the long weekend :)
Thanks to everyone for e-mailing me your schedule changes for 2011 so that I can put together the helper schedule. Once again, it looks like all days are covered, even with some schedule changes. Thanks so much to everyone for your generosity with your time and your flexibility!
If you are interested, there are some new book orders up on the "Book Order" link. They are due December 1st and offer some great selections for stocking stuffers and gifts!
This Week's Activities:
MONDAY: No Centers, Sharing, Library, Red Bags Due w/ I Love to Read Calendars
TUESDAY: No Centers, Sharing
WEDNESDAY: Wednesday Envelopes prepped (Karla/Angie/Derek), Computers (Matt), Sharing, No Red Bags
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, 11/8: Parent-Teacher Conferences begin
Thursday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day
Friday, 11/12: No School: Staff Development Day
Monday, 11/22: Thanksgiving Friendship Feast-- please join us at 10:15!
Tuesday, 11/23: Grandparent's Day, grades K-2
Wednesday, 11/24-Friday, 11/26: Thanksgiving Break
Friday, 12/17: 10:00 am Nutcracker Performance (don't miss this annual kindergarten favorite!)
Monday, 12/20-Friday, 12/31: Winter Break