A peek at our week

Twice a month a Kindergarten newsletter will come home that is from all 5 Kindergarten teachers.  Please check the Friday folder for this today. 

A look at our learning this week...

Morning Work: this is the time the students are arriving between 8-8:20.  Once they unpack they begin their morning work, which is either something on paper (right now it's their handwriting sheets to practice the letters learned in Fundations) or a morning tub.  Morning tubs are buckets of activities ranging from fine motor skills, cooperative learning, literacy, math, etc.  We alternate days...so one day it is a paper/pencil activity and one day it is a morning tub.  Check out some pictures of the morning tubs we started this week:

ST Math morning tub

Pattern blocks to build letters tub

Patterns with snap cubes morning tub

Patterns with shapes morning tub

Puzzle morning tub-cooperative learning

Fundations: we learned the name, sound and correct letter formation for lowercase u and i. Please check the Friday Folder for ways to help at home.  

Please use the following verbal prompts with your child when they are writing the letters:

i-down, dot

u-down, curve up, down

They should now be "experts" at the following lowercase letters: t, b, f, n, m, i, u

Shared Reading: This week we learned 2 new word wall words: am  and I. We learned that when I is by itself it must always be uppercase.  We read the Big Book I am a community worker to help us learn these words.  On Friday they received their own copy of this book to keep in their book boxes to read daily at Read to Self time. 

Your child has learned how to read and spell the following word wall words this year: a, I, am.  Please practice writing these words at home and locating them in books. 

Daily 5: We have begun Daily 5 centers.  These are literacy centers that we do each morning.  They work on a variety of skills at this time: reading, writing, fine motor skills, spelling, etc.  Once they are able to use the centers independently I will begin pulling small reading groups during this time (sometime in October is my goal).  While I am reading with small groups of children, the other students will be working with a partner at the centers. However, we must build up to this so that they are independent and not relying on teacher help during this time as I will be busy teaching small groups how to read and won't be able to help them at their centers.  That is why we just spend the next several weeks practicing before reading groups begin. Here are a few of the centers: 

Name writing center

Computer center-Starfall.com

Friends book center

puzzle center

Math: please check the Friday folder for homelinks you can work on to extend their learning in the classroom.  

Writing: this week we worked on writing letters and cards to students at Kohfeldt Elementary in Texas City, Texas.  Dr. Majerus will deliver the letters when he takes the donation items down next week.  

Makerspace Friday's: Mrs. Fitch, our media specialist, has Makerspace Friday's.  A Makerspace are collaborative spaces where students gather to get creative with DIY projects, invent new ones and share ideas.  She often tries to incorporate STEM projects (science, technology, engineering, math) during this time.  Makerspace Friday's are optional and are on a first come first serve basis.  Only so many time slots are available for the entire school so we won't be able to participate each week, but I do try and sign my class up often! This week we celebrated International Dot Day. You can find more information here about this special day. Mrs. Fitch read us the story and had a variety of art supplies for us to make our own dots.  She is going to display them in the media center.  

  

Have a great weekend!

Enjoy the warm weather!