Ms. Concannon's Kindergarten

Friday, March 13, 2026

Snapshots of a Busy Week

A look at our learning...

Fundations: this week we focused on the diagraph ck. We are learning that this diagraph appears at the end of a word AND follows a short vowel sound. Check your Friday Folder for ways to work on this at home as well.

Spelling Words: as mentioned last week, I have noticed a decline in students’ scores on their weekly spelling tests over the past few weeks. Spring (or almost spring!) is a busy and fun time with baseball games, cheer practices, and more time outside. Even with these activities, it’s still important to make time for daily schoolwork and practicing these skills.

Each Friday, I include the new spelling words for the following week in this Friday blog (see below). I strongly encourage families to check the blog and begin practicing the new words over the weekend. Those extra 2–3 days of practice can really make a difference in students’ confidence and success on their tests.

Practice can be quick and simple: write words in chalk outside, review flashcards in the car on the way to activities, or read through them together for a few minutes at bedtime. Starting practice early and building the habit that schoolwork comes before extracurriculars will help set students up for success.

Next week's new spelling words-3 of them:

his

went

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!

Next week, 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!

Math: we have finished our unit on 2D shapes and will begin learning about 3D shapes next week. By now, all students should be able to identify the following shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, rhombus, and hexagon. Please be sure to check your child’s Friday Folder for ideas and activities to help extend their learning at home.

Makerspace: we visited the Makerspace in the media center with Mrs. Fitch, building on our previous visits. Students were able to choose from many fun hands-on activities, as you can see in the photos below. A makerspace is a creative learning area where students explore, build, design, and solve problems using different materials and tools. It encourages creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking while students learn through play and exploration.

Here are a few photos. You can find even more on our class Facebook page!

Lunch with the Principal: yay Israel! He was chosen to have Lunch with the Principal for the month of March. He enjoyed lunch with Mr. Foulk and these other kindergarten winners on Monday!

Sneaky Reading Challenge: a reminder that the March Sneaky Reading Challenge is to read at bedtime. This is the easiest one yet! Don't forget to snap a picture and share it to the class Facebook page before the end of March! We love catching and sharing these moments when they are reading outside of school!

More fun at school

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Learning and growing

A look at our learning...

Fundations: we continued our work on digraphs and fluently reading sentences. We are learning that when we read, we want to sound like we do when we talk and not like robots (word by word).

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 You & I and the fun and silly poem The Leprechaun Song. Ask your child to sing this fun St. Patrick's Day poem for you! 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: they are doing a great job sharing their opinion on various topics and supporting their opinion with 3 reasons why they feel that way. We are really working hard on writing longer pieces, sounding out words, and writing sounds that make sense, using 2 finger word spaces and ending with punctuation. Next week will be our final week of the opinion writing unit.

Sharing their growth in writing is always one of my favorite parts of parent-teacher conferences, and I hope you enjoyed seeing their progress as much as I do!

My favorite food is soup because there are so many types of soup. They are yummy. My most favorite soup is broccoli cheddar.

Math: our math work has continued to focus on shapes. Students have been sorting shapes by different attributes, such as the number of sides and corners. We have also been using pattern blocks to create new designs and pictures using a variety of shapes. During our Math Work Places, students are learning and practicing several games that help reinforce shape recognition and sorting skills in a fun, hands-on way.

Our March Number Corner is centered around the saying “in like a lion, out like a lamb.” This phrase means that March often begins with wild, stormy winter-like weather (like a lion) and ends with calmer, milder spring weather (like a lamb). Each day we are observing and tracking the weather together to decide whether the day feels more like a “lion” or a “lamb.” This activity also helps introduce ideas we will explore more during our upcoming weather science unit.

Counselor: during counselor time this week, students learned about positive affirmations—kind and encouraging things we can say to ourselves and to others. We talked about how our words can help build confidence, encourage friends, and remind us that we are capable of learning and growing.

Each morning in our classroom, we also start the day by listening to and singing along with the Affirmations Song by Snoop Dogg, which is something we have been doing since the beginning of the school year. The song reminds us that we are going to have a great day, that we can try our best, and that we can do hard things. It’s a fun way to begin the morning with a positive mindset! Check it out here.

Kindergarten Registration: do you have a child who will be a Kindergartener NEXT school year? Join us for Kindergarten Registration at Beulah Ralph Elementary on Thursday, March 12th from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Students must turn 5 before August 1, 2026 to register for kindergarten. Don't want to wait until then to register? Register online now at https://www.cpsk12.org/family-resources/enroll/kindergarten

We strongly encourage families to register online before attending. If you have questions about registering your kindergartener, contact Barb Lambert, BEU Secretary at (573) 214-3840. Please share with any and all families you know who have incoming kindergarteners!

Thank you: thank you to all of the families who took the time to attend their child’s parent-teacher conference this week. I truly enjoyed sharing their growth with you and celebrating all of their hard work. We are so fortunate to have so many supportive families, and I sincerely appreciate the partnership we share. It is amazing to see the progress students make throughout the kindergarten year, and moments when everything “clicks” are such a reminder of why I love teaching. Watching that growth happen is truly incredible!

Scholastic Book Fair: this week, Mrs. Fitch in the media center held a random drawing to give away free books from the Scholastic Book Fair. All students in the school had their names entered, and the winners were selected completely at random to ensure fairness.

A big shoutout to Gwen and Emma for being two of the winners from our class, how exciting! We are so happy for them!