A look at our learning...
Fundations: we are officially in our final week of Fundations for kindergarten, and it truly is amazing to look back and see just how much growth has happened this year! I encourage you to really sit back and think about where your child started in August compared to where they are now. At the beginning of the year, our focus was on learning letter names, letter sounds, and correct letter formation. Those were BIG skills for little learners!
Now, here we are at the end of kindergarten, and these students are independently tapping out (sounding out) words, writing complete sentences, remembering uppercase letters at the beginning, punctuation at the end, and spaces between words. And they are doing it with growing confidence and independence every single day!
Watching this growth happen is one of the most rewarding parts of the school year. They have worked so hard, and they should all be incredibly proud of themselves!
Shared Reading: this week we read the Big Book What Is at the Zoo? and had so much fun talking about zoos! Students made lots of personal connections as we shared stories about times they have visited the zoo and, for those who haven’t been, which animals they would most like to see someday. Making connections to what we read is such an important reading skill because it helps students better understand and engage with stories and informational texts. We loved hearing everyone’s ideas and experiences!
Spelling: next week will be our final week of introducing new spelling words for kindergarten! We will have our usual spelling test on Friday, May 8th. Then, during the week of May 11th, students will take a cumulative spelling test over all 49 spelling words they have learned throughout the school year.
While this test will be longer than usual, it should not feel difficult for students since these are all words they have already practiced and learned this year. I strongly encourage you to continue practicing spelling words daily at home leading up to the test. Students have worked hard on these words all year long and should be able to spell them correctly with confidence!
Next week's new spelling words:
come
where
Writing: we are wrapping up our informational (non-fiction) writing unit, and the students have absolutely loved it! Informational writing is always a favorite in kindergarten because students are naturally so curious and love learning and sharing facts about real things. Over the past month, students have written informational books about penguins and butterflies.
Our butterfly writing connected perfectly with our science learning as we have been able to watch our caterpillars form chrysalises and patiently wait for them to transform into butterflies over the last couple of weeks. We were so excited to release the butterflies this week. The students have been fascinated by the entire process!
Throughout the week, we also spent time cleaning out writing folders, so you should have noticed lots of writing papers coming home paper-clipped together. As you look through them, I encourage you once again to take note of the incredible growth your child has made this year. It is truly amazing to compare beginning-of-the-year writing to what they are able to do now!
I have kept students’ informational books about penguins and butterflies here at school, and those will come home at the end of the year with report cards, along with writing samples from throughout the year, so you can really see the growth they have made from beginning to end.
Math: we have officially finished our unit on 2D and 3D shapes! At this point in the year, students should be able to identify and name the following shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, trapezoid, rhombus, cylinder, sphere, cube, cone, pyramid, triangular prism, and rectangular prism. We have worked hard all year building strong math vocabulary and learning to recognize shapes in the world around us!
Our final math unit of kindergarten will focus on weight, length, and addition and subtraction within 10. It is always exciting to see students continue growing in their math confidence as we finish out the school year!
We released all 5 butterflies this week, and the students were so excited to watch them fly away. They sure were beautiful! There are a few photos below, but you can find even more pictures and videos on our class Facebook page.
4th grade buddies: this week, the 3rd–5th graders took the MAP test, and our job as their K–2 buddies was to cheer them on and encourage them to do their best! Each day, we delivered treats, cards, or encouraging notes to our buddies in Ms. Cohen’s 4th grade class to help brighten their day and motivate them during testing week.
Today, our buddies surprised us by thanking us with suckers! We have loved getting to encourage them this week and sure do love our 4th grade buddies!
Special Celebrations: today we celebrated both Principal’s Day and School Lunch Heroes Day! We spent time making cards for Mrs. Amy and all of our wonderful lunch ladies to thank them for all they do for our school each and every day.
We also made one of my favorite yearly projects for Mr. Foulk and Mrs. Isenogle called What Does the Principal Do All Day? The students wrote and illustrated what they think our principals do all day long — some responses were very thoughtful and serious, while others were absolutely hilarious! This activity is always such a hit!
Next Wednesday, we will celebrate School Nurse’s Day and honor Nurse Emily and Ms. Kate. We are so thankful for all of the amazing people who help our school run smoothly every day. It truly takes so many caring adults working together to make our school such a wonderful place, and they all and they all deserve love, appreciation, and recognition!
Alphabet Countdown: this week we wore hats on Monday for H is for Hat Day, enjoyed yummy Bomb Pop popsicles for I is for Ice Pop Day, and loved showing off our team attire on J is for Jersey Day.
On Thursday, we spread so much love and joy during K is for Kindness Day! We made May Day baskets, played a “Kindness or Trash?” game where students listened to different scenarios and decided whether the actions were kind or needed to be “thrown in the trash,” and completed a fun Skittles activity where students pulled a color without looking and answered a matching kindness question before enjoying the rest of their candy. Most importantly, we focused on spreading kindness in all we did throughout the day!
Finally, we wrapped up the week with L is for Lunch Outside Day and enjoyed a picnic lunch outside on a BEAUTIFUL Friday with Mrs. Croom's class. The weather seriously could not have been more perfect! As always, even more photos on the class Facebook page.
Alphabet Countdown Reminders For Next Week: next week is a fun-filled week in our Alphabet Countdown, and most days students will need to bring something from home!
On Monday, we will celebrate M is for Movie Day. Students should bring a pillow and blanket or sleeping bag so they can watch the movie comfortably. Please note that this is not a pajama or stuffed animal day — just a cozy movie day!
Wednesday is O is for Outdoors Day, and we plan to spend as much time outside as possible enjoying the beautiful spring weather. I encourage families to apply sunscreen to their child before school and send them with either a hat or sunglasses. Students should also bring a beach towel or bath towel to sit on during our outdoor learning activities and while eating lunch outside.
Thursday is P is for Pajama Day! Students may wear pajamas to school, but please make sure they still wear tennis shoes so they can safely participate in all school activities.
Finally, Friday is Q is for Quiet Day. Students should bring a favorite book from home to enjoy during our quiet reading times throughout the day.
May Day: on Friday we celebrated May Day. This was one of my favorite childhood traditions and one I have continued every year I've taught. In the small town I grew up in we actually left school and walked around town delivering to the elderly. I loved taking one to my great grandma.
For many, it's sadly a long-lost tradition. Many young folks (yes even young teachers...aging myself lol) have never heard of this day. While there are many meanings behind May Day, the one we celebrate is the arrival and joy that Spring brings. We made May Day flower baskets and secretly delivered to classrooms or staff members of their choosing. Ask them to tell you about it!
It's also a lesson in kindness. We talked about how fun it was and how good it felt to surprise people and how we did something to simply bring joy to others and not because we were getting something or expecting something in return. A big lesson for many children (and adults!)
I hope they treasure this special day as I did as a child.
