Spring is here!

 A look at our learning...

Fundations: we started unit 4 this week, which will focus on diagraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, ck), learning more trick words (words that can't be sounded out) and reading sentences fluently. Check your child's Friday Folder for their end of unit 3 assessment and please work on any skills missed on this assessment.  

In the photos below we are being diagraph detectives and writing down the words we see that have diagraphs in them. 

Shared Reading/Spelling: we read the Big Book To the store.  I love this time of year because the students are really becoming readers, the texts are getting longer and they are using more strategies when they come to an unknown word.  

Next week's spelling words:

she

they

Writing Workshop: we began our third and final writing unit for Kindergarten; informational writing.  We are learning that informational means non-fiction.  We are learning the components of a non-fiction text.  A few key components we are learning about: table of contents, headings, diagrams, labels, bold words and captions.  This week we read a variety of non-fiction books to learn about penguins.  Next week, we will begin writing our very own informational books about penguins!  

Math: addition and subtraction was our focus for most of the week and the students loved it! We have focused on showing how we know an answer to a story problem using pictures, numbers and words.  We also learned how using a number line can you help you solve math problems. They really liked the domino addition math game on Thursday!  Ask your child all about it, it's an easy one to play at home if you have dominoes.  Check out our class Facebook page to see how Koda showed his family how to play at home!  

April Fool's Day: I love a good April Fool's Day trick, all in good fun!  Check out the class Facebook page to see how I tricked the kiddos with "brownies!"  A few pictures are below. 

Lunch with the Principal: yay Major!  He was chosen to have "Lunch with the Principal" with Mrs. Isenogle and these other Kindergarten friends on Tuesday!

Counselor: this week Dr. Alls taught us strategies to use when we are feeling nervous, worried, etc. during things such as our i-Ready assessments, spelling tests, etc.  While these are great strategies for test taking times, they are also great strategies to use anytime they are having big feelings. Check out the strategies they learned below and ask your child to model it for you at home. 

Special visitor: we had a surprise visitor for a short time on Thursday, my puppy Molly! The kids have heard many stories about her and were excited to finally meet her!

She did so well with them and they did so well with her!  The giggles were priceless.  Check out our class Facebook page for an adorable video!  

Friday craft: check out our adorable bulletin board!  We will add flowers to it closer to May.  We read the books Spring is Here and The Rainy Day to go along with our craft!

Pajamas and Pancakes:  we hope to see everyone tomorrow at "Pajamas and Pancakes" from 8-10 a.m. in the school cafeteria  This is a free event for all BEU families.  Come enjoy breakfast and make a special spring craft!  We will need many more volunteers to help make the event a success!  Including one more griddle and spatula!  Sign up here. 

Have a wonderful Spring Break!

 A look at our learning... 

Fundations: we completed unit 3 and will begin Unit 4 next week.  Unit 4 will focus on diagraphs, which are two letters that make one sound (wh, ch, sh, th, ck) and writing sentences with capitalization at the beginning, punctuation at the end, word spaces between words, quickly spelling known words and tapping out unknown words.  

Writing Workshop: we finished up our opinion writing unit this week.  The students have done a nice job of stating their opinion and writing 3 reasons why they have that opinion.  Our final piece was to write about our favorite special (art, music, P.E., media, counselor or library) and why it is their favorite.  You will see these come home soon and I also make copies to share with the specialists teachers.  It always makes them smile!

When we return from Spring Break we will begin our third and final writing unit for Kindergarten; informational writing.  We will research a variety of animals and write informational books with the facts we have learned.  This is always a favorite of kindergarteners!

Shared Reading: this week we read the Big Books Tools (non-fiction) and One, Not Two (fiction).  We discussed the difference between non-fiction and fiction books and really worked hard on tapping out unknown words and noticing words that have digraphs (sh, ch, th, ck, wh) when we read.  

New spelling words when we return from Spring Break

day

for

Math: we are wrapping up unit 6 and will begin unit 7 when we return from Spring Break.  This week we worked on addition and subtraction through various games and activities and played an attribute game with shapes and sorting.  Check out one of the games in the pictures below. 

Social Studies:  this week we learned about Economics, specifically needs vs. wants.  We learned needs are things we must have in order to survive and wants are things that are nice to have, but not required to live a healthy or safe life.  

Packmate of the Month: yay Asher!  He was chosen, by his peers, as our Packmate of the Month for the month of March!  We celebrated him at an assembly on Friday.  

St. Patrick's Day: I'm sure you heard about the leprechaun that visited our classroom on Monday!  We were outside having some fun with chalk and bubbles with our 3rd grade buddies in Ms. Cohen's class and came back to quite the surprise and mess!  Luckily, the leprechaun left in a hurry and dropped his pot of gold!  Here are a few photos, but be sure you check out our class Facebook page for even more photos and videos!  The almost complete silence and shock of one of the videos cracks me up!  Magical moments like this are one of the many reasons that I love kindergarten!

Family Math Night:  what a great turnout at our annual Family Math Night on Thursday!  I love that so many in our class came!  I wasn't able to snap a picture of everyone, but loved seeing you all!

Couldn't make it this year?  No worries, it occurs every year  Typically on pi night (March 14) but due to that being on a Friday this year, we had it on Thursday.  Mark your calendar for future years! 

PJ's & Pancakes: PJ's and Pancakes has been reschedule to April 5th from 8:00-10:00 a.m.  We once again need volunteers!  Whether you volunteer your time or just donate your griddle and spatula to use for the morning, both are needed.  Sign up here and mark your calendars to attend this free family event. 

Library books: if you are traveling over Spring Break, even to grandparents house or something like that, please keep the library books at home and in their backpack to ensure they don't get lost.  We most certainly want students reading over break, but ask that school books go into their backpack at home immediately when finished reading.  Thanks for helping us with this. 

Bubbles and Chalk: on Monday, we had fun with bubbles and chalk with our 3rd grade buddies in Ms. Cohen's class! Check out even more photos on our class Facebook page!

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More fun at school