The circus is here!

A look at our learning...

Fundations: we learned the name, sound and correct letter formation for lowercase a and g.  We learned there is a "funny a"  and "funny g" that we sometimes see in books, and the regular a and g that we write.  

Please use the following verbal prompts:

a-over, around, down (NOT circle and a stick)

g-over, around, dow....n, curve up

When their mouth says "over," their pencil should make a "hill."  Please watch for this at home and correct if they are not doing this. 

Shared Reading & Spelling: we are excited to begin our spelling routine in Kindergarten.  A detailed note came home about this on Monday, as well as another note today further explaining their spelling check and routines.  Please make sure you have read both of these notes, so you can help your child at home as well.  

I am very proud of their first spelling test.  I want to reiterate to you what I reiterated to them.  It is okay if you missed a word or two, that just tells your brain you need to practice it some more.  I am not upset with them and their parents aren't upset with them and we never will be. They are also not "in trouble" for missing a word.  That is a part of learning!  When you make a mistake, you can learn from it!  Their spelling check is in their folder for you to review. The most up to date word wall list is also in their folder.  They will bring one home every Friday.

We will practice our spelling words/word wall words in various ways in the classroom: finding the words in books that we read, literacy workstations/centers, "high-fiving" the word and reading it every time we leave our classroom and more.  Practicing in various ways at home will also help set your child up for success with this new routine.  

I will introduce the new word of the week on Monday's (or the first day of the week if Monday is a no school day) to the students, but every Friday in the blog I will give families a sneak peek of next week's word.  I highly encourage you to check this blog every Friday to get a head start on practicing the words at home.

Next week's new spelling word:

can

Next week's spelling check will be on Thursday, due to no school on Friday.

Writing: We are continuing our work on telling stories through pictures and adding details like people, characters, and settings. Students are getting more confident with their drawings and are beginning to transfer this understanding into their own stories.

Many students are starting to add beginning sounds when labeling or “writing a story,” which is exactly what we hope for at this point in kindergarten. Spelling full words will come as they learn more letters.  For now, this beginning-sound writing is an exciting and important step!

Literacy Workstations:  this week we began literacy workstations. Students work at a station with a partner.  Stations mostly include literacy and fine motor skills tasks, but we will also mix in some math stations from time to time.  During this time, I pull students to work one on one or in small groups at my teacher table on more individualized instruction.  

Math: This week, our kindergartners learned about number racks (also called “reks”) and practiced showing numbers on them. We even made our own number racks to keep in our math toolkits for regular use, helping students explore numbers and build a strong foundation for counting and quantities.

Friday Craft: today we read the silly book Frankenstein doesn't wear earmuffs and made these cute Frankenstein's to decorate our classroom! Check them out tonight at the circus!

Custodian's Day:  on Thursday we celebrated Mr. Brandon, Ms. Teesha, Mr. Bobby and Ms. Angela for Custodian's Day!  We are so lucky to have an amazing team of custodians at BEU! 

It was a bittersweet day as well, as it was Mr. Brandon's last day with us.  He was our head custodian.  He loves BEU and was sad to leave, but he drives 45 minutes, one way, to work every day and he was able to find a job closer to home.  The kids love him and we were all sad to see him leave, but we wish him well!  We made cards for him and the other custodians on Thursday.  Thank you to those who sent additional gifts as well! They have a hard, but important, job in our school and deserve all the accolades! 

Flash's Big Top Circus:  the big day is finally here!  The kids are SO excited about their first circus as an official timberwolf!  We hope to see you all tonight from 6:00-8:30 p.m. Thank you to everyone who donated an item for our class Lego basket or signed up to work a shift tonight!  We see you and appreciate you! 

Spirit-wear Monday: now that the spirit-wear orders have arrived, we hope to see everyone wearing their BEU gear on Monday!  Wearing their spirit-wear every Monday is a special Beulah Ralph tradition!  

More fun at school...