Week of 4/1

As we head into our final week before Spring Break, I hate to say it, but the weeks after the break are going to just fly by! We have a lot to pack in and a lot of upcoming events, so keep updating your calendars with the information at the bottom of this post. You will notice I've added a lot of upcoming events.

Spring Fling

This Friday, April 5th, we will have a favorite kindergarten event, "Spring Fling." This is a morning of spring fun-- special art projects, outside fun, music, and festivity. We are hoping the weather will cooperate, but if it doesn't, we will change some of the activities and make it work. Thank you to all who have offered to help: Amanda, Mary, Sarah, Eden, Barb, and Brandie. This event kicks off at 1:00 and will last until about 2:30 (including clean-up time).

Language Arts
The sound we'll be studying this week is ea. We will be reading and spelling words like read, leap, seat, and cheat. Our sight words are this and where. Our story this week will be Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller. This book takes a look at oviparous animals. We will be creating our own books about oviparous animals as a follow-up.

Cornerstone
We have a Cornerstone lesson this Wednesday. I believe the lesson is on understanding & care. Thank you Kassie and Sarah for presenting this lesson.  

Math
We continue to work on subtraction concepts. Children have been using 10-frames, number bonds, and manipulatives like the rekenrek to solve subtraction problems. We have also been working on story problems, as you've seen demonstrated in the past two weeks on SeeSaw. The children seem to be doing well with their subtraction facts-- thank you for the additional reinforcement you've been doing at home.

Science
We will continue our science unit on Wood & Paper this week. We have been discussing different types of wood, which trees provide the wood, and how different types of wood are manufactured. We will also be discussing some of wood's byproducts and conducting different experiments with both wood and paper. This week, we will be recreating two types of manmade wood (particleboard and plywood) and sanding wood.

Helper Calendar
Thank you to all the volunteers for filling up the remaining slots on the helper calendar. Our kindergarten program truly would not be the same without all of you.  There are still several spots left on Friday, May 4th, for helping with painting the large paper dolls in the cafeteria. Please join us if you can!

Blue Bags
Please send in your child's Blue Bag on Monday. We will not be sending the bags home this Wednesday due to the upcoming vacation week, however, we will send home the Wednesday envelopes. Please try and have those back by Friday at the latest.

Upcoming Events
Field Trip:
We have a field trip coming up on Wednesday, April 24th. Permission slips for this trip will go home after Spring Break. We will be going to Emma Prusch Farm near downtown San Jose as a culmination of our farm unit. This trip is definitely a more "hands-on" chaperoning event, where you will be helping the children feed the animals, and walking them through the farm. Due to farm and school district insurance policies, younger siblings are not allowed on this trip. I will need six chaperones. If you are interested in chaperoning (the trip is for the duration of the kindergarten session) please email me.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:Monday: Return Blue Bags (Yvonne), Daily 5, Centers (Jenny & Mary)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Barb & Claire)
Wednesday:Recess 101, Cornerstone (Kassie & Sarah)

Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Brandie & Belinda)
Friday: Spring Fling (Amanda, Mary, Sarah, Brandie, Barb, and Eden)

Upcoming Events:

Friday 4/5: Spring Fling
4/8-4/12: Spring Break
Wednesday, 4/24: Field Trip to Prusch Farm
Wednesday, 4/24: Parent Volunteer Tea
Friday, 5/3: Kindergarten Movie Night for Auction Winners
Friday 5/10: Mother's Day Celebration
Friday 5/10: Alta Vista Fantasy Faire 5:00-8:30pm
Wednesday, 5/15: Art Vista Art Show
Wednesday, 5/22: Open House
Monday, 5/27: Memorial Day Holiday
Friday 5/31: Alta Vista Variety Show
Wednesday, 6/5: School-wide Olympic Day
Thursday, 6/6: Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony-- please attend (parents only)
Friday, 6/7: Last Day of School

Week of 3/25

Happy Spring! There are two new class books circulating right now. There is one called "If I Caught a Leprechaun" that tells all the wonderful things the Grasshoppers would do with their leprechaun gold. Another one is based on the book we read last week, "A Rainbow of My Own." Children wrote about what they'd do with a rainbow. We hope you enjoy them! As always, please return them to school the next school day so the next child can have a turn, and be sure to write a comment for our budding authors.

Language Arts
We are going to continue studying r-controlled vowels this week, since they are in so many words. Look for words containing ar, er, or, ir, and ur when you are reading with your child. Our sight words are that and have. We will be reading various spring-themed stories this week.

Math
We continue reinforcing subtraction skills. You should've received our latest subtraction work in your child's SeeSaw account. Children had to show several ways to solve their subtraction story problem, and recorded their own story problem in SeeSaw as well. Keep practicing subtraction facts at home with counters, fingers, and 10-frames.

Science
We will begin a new science unit on Wood & Paper this week. This is a really fun unit where we will be discussing different types of wood, which trees provide the wood, and how different types of wood are manufactured. We will also be discussing some of wood's byproducts and conducting different experiments with both wood and paper. The children have really enjoyed this unit in the past.

Helper Calendar
Thank you so much for filling in the helper calendar through the end of centers so quickly! I believe we only have 5 spots left. If you are interested, please check the Sign-Up Genius.

Upcoming Events
Multicultural Night:
Please come to the Alta Vista cafeteria this Friday night, March 29th, from 5:00 to 8:00 to enjoy a trip around the world, all in one room! The AV Multicultural Night is in its seventh year, and it is an amazing evening celebrating the many cultures that make up the AV community.

Spring Fling:
On Friday, April 5th, we will have a favorite kindergarten event, "Spring Fling." This is a morning of spring fun-- special art projects, outside fun, music, and festivity! Thank you to all who have offered to help! So far I have: Amanda, Mary, Sarah, Eden, Brandie, and Barb. If anyone else wants to join, please email me.

Mother's Day:
Just a reminder to the moms that we will have a Mother's Day celebration in class on Friday, May 10th. I would love every child in my class to have a mother there to celebrate. If mom is not able to come, another "representative" such as a grandma, aunt, or even dad is welcome to come. I just want to give you an extended amount of time to plan ahead so that someone is able to join us for this event.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Hiromi), Daily 5, Centers (Claire & Jenny)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Barb & Ellen)
Wednesday: Recess 101, Snap Circuits in MakerSpace, Blue Bags go Home

Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Erika/Pablo & Elena)
Friday: Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Barb & Claire), Multicultural Night (5:00-8:00)

Upcoming Events
3/29: Multicultural Faire
4/05: Spring Fling
4/8-4/12: Spring Break
4/26: Cambrian Relay for Life
5/10: Mother's Day Celebration @ 1:30
5/15: Art Vista Show
5/22: Open House

Week of 3/18

We had a wonderful time building leprechaun traps on Friday. The children were so creative and really put some thought into their designs. Thanks to the Kleinke family & the Sunalp family for the great team of helpers. I look forward to hearing about what happened over the weekend on Monday!

Thank you all for meeting with me during conference time. I gained some insights from all of you about your children, and I look forward to our final trimester together! We have about 11 weeks left together to prepare your children for first grade-- let's continue working as a team to make that happen. Centers return this week now that conferences have concluded. Please check the schedule below to see if you are helping this week.

Language Arts
This week we will be studying and reviewing r-controlled vowels such as ar, er, ir, or, and ur. We also have two new sight words, they and into. Please continue reinforcing sight words. See the list of words on our webpage for more reinforcement, or go to http://spellingcity.com/k2grist/ Your children will be able to play word games on this website to become more familiar with these words, although only a few games are free. After your child has mastered these words, start working on the 1st grade 100 word list, that can be found here.

The stories this week will focus on rainbows. We will read A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman and a non-fiction book about rainbows.

Math
We are reinforcing both subtraction & addition facts using the number bonds. Children study the two "parts" that make the "whole" for addition facts. For subtraction, one of the "parts" is missing on the number bond, and the children have to figure out what it is by looking at the "whole" and the other "part." Centers return this week, so we will be working in small groups on more subtraction reinforcement.

Science
Along with the books we are reading about rainbows, we will be doing some fun rainbow science. We will be creating rainbows in our room by using prisms, and we have a fun experiment with milk and food coloring, where we will create "rainbows" in the dish of milk.

Upcoming Events
On Friday, April 5th, we will have a favorite kindergarten event, "Spring Fling." This is an afternoon of spring fun-- special art projects, outside fun, music, and festivity! We need many helpers to make this event a success. Please sign up in the Sign-Up Genius for April 5th.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Yvonne), Daily 5, Centers (Jenny & Elena)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Barb & Erika/Pablo)
Wednesday: Recess 101, Blue Bags go Home
Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Brandie & Belinda)
Friday: Grandma Gail, Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Barb & Yvonne)

Week of 3/11

I have enjoyed meeting with about half of you already for parent-teacher conferences, and I am looking forward to meeting with the rest of you this week-- it's great to share your child's successes with you. It's hard to believe that we are already in our last trimester of kindergarten. The time will pass quickly in this last 3 months, and before you know it, we will be moving on to first grade! After we meet, please be sure to praise your children for the progress they've made, and also continue to support them in areas where they still need reinforcement to meet end-of-year standards. If you need to confirm your time next week, click here.

There will continue to be no centers this week due to parent-teacher conferences, except Friday, when we will have leprechaun trap building as our STEAM center. All other centers will resume on Monday, March 18.

Language Arts
Our sight words this week are was and she. We will introduce another r-controlled vowel, ar. Children will read & spell words such as car, March, and far. We will also review the digraph sh.  We will be doing a lot of writing this week with a St. Patrick's Day theme. We will be writing about what we will do with a leprechaun's gold (because we are definitely catching a leprechaun this week! ;) We will also be writing about where we would hide gold if we were a leprechaun. Our story this week is Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie dePaola. It is a great story about a man who does catch a leprechaun, and what he gets from that leprechaun.

Math
We have moved onto subtraction now. This can be a difficult concept that will need reinforcement. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

STEAM
We will take another visit to the Makerspace Wednesday to work with Snap Circuits. Children will experiment with circuit building to hopefully light a lightbulb and turn on a small fan. Also this Friday, we will have our second annual classroom leprechaun trap build! The children are really excited about designing and building leprechaun traps. Thank you for all the supplies you've been sending!

Upcoming Events
Our "Spring Fling" event is coming up on Friday, April 5th. We will have special spring-themed centers for a fun send-off to Spring Break. We will have face painting, planting, spin art, painting garden stakes, and outdoor fun, to name a few. We need lots of helpers to make this event a success! Please check the Sign-Up Genius under 4/5 to sign up.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Blue Bags Returned (Hiromi), Daily 5, No Centers
Tuesday: Daily 5, No Centers
Wednesday: Recess 101, Trip to the Makerspace, Blue Bags go home

Thursday: Daily 5, No Centers
Friday: Story Time with Grandma Gail, Leprechaun Trap Building (Mary, Brandie, Barb)

Upcoming Events
3/7-3/13: Spring Conferences
3/29: Mulitcultural Faire
4/05: Spring Fling
4/8-4/12: Spring Break
4/26: Cambrian Relay for Life
5/10: Mother's Day Celebration

Week of 3/4

We had a very fun, "Seussical" week in celebration of Read Across America last week. We read many Dr. Seuss books, and did a few Dr. Seuss-themed projects. A favorite on Friday was playing with "Oobleck" and stacking "Dr. Seuss Hats."

We have an Art Vista lesson this Wednesday. Thank you to Kassie, Karla, and Elena for helping with our art lessons this year.

Thank you for answering the call for boxes and items that we can use for our leprechaun traps on March 15th. We will keep collecting up until the 15th.

Language Arts

This week, we are taking a look at an r-controlled vowels, or. We will also review oo. We will be spelling and writing words with these sounds, such as boot, food,  fork, horn, etc. Our sight words this week are with and play. Keep reinforcing the sight words-- they really help with reading fluency. We are now up to 38 sight words. For a list of all the sight words, please see the "High Frequency Word" tab on this website.

This week, we will also be preparing for our first writing assessment. Children will need to write one complete sentence independently to a prompt. Our prompt this time involves informational writing. I will be sharing these papers with you at your child's conference.

Math
We are continuing with Eureka Math Module 4. This week, we will be diving further into subtraction. This module lasts all the way until April, since it covers some of the core kindergarten math concepts. Parent tips for helping your child with this unit can be found here. Please continue reinforcing the concept at home.

Upcoming Events
Conferences:
Parent-teacher conferences begin this week on Thursday, March 7th.  This trimester, they will be in the media center if you have an a.m. conference (NOT the office). P.M. conferences will be in the classroom. The media center is the building directly behind the kindergarten building. I will be in one of the side rooms of the media center and will put a sign on the door so you know where to go. If you have forgotten your date/time, please check this link. I have now made this document viewable only (cannot be edited). If you need to change your time, please email me. Just a reminder that we will not have centers during conference weeks EXCEPT on 3/15 for the leprechaun trap building STEAM centers.

Spring Fling:
On Friday, April 5th, we will have a special event called Spring Fling. Fun spring-themed centers will be a part of the day to celebrate the kick-off to our Spring Break. We will have planting, face painting, spin art, outside games & activities, outdoor painting easels, garden stake painting, and more! Please email me if you can help out on the 5th between about 1:00 and 2:15-- we will need many helpers to make this event a success.

Mother's Day:
Please note that I have added a new event to the calendar below. On Friday, May 10th, we will be celebrating Mother's Day in class. There is a special presentation and some light refreshments are served. I would really love every mom to be there to be celebrated, so I give lots of notice on this event. If a mom is unable to come, please send another representative for her if possible (aunt, grandma, even dad!) Please mark your calendars for 5/10!

Please remember to send in your child's Blue Bag tomorrow.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Yvonne), Daily 5
Tuesday: Daily 5, Writing Assessment
Wednesday:Art Vistas (Kassie, Karla, Elena), Recess 101, Blue Bags go home
Thursday: Daily 5, Conferences Begin
Friday: Daily 5, Conferences Continue

Upcoming Events
3/7-3/13: Spring Conferences
3/29: Mulitcultural Faire 
4/05: Spring Fling
4/8-4/12: Spring Break
4/26: Cambrian Relay for Life
5/10: Mother's Day Celebration