Hello October

A look at our learning...

September Reading Logs: September has come to an end and reading logs were due today.  if you forgot to sign and turn yours in, please do so on Thursday.  Thanks to everyone who shared a "Sneaky Reading Challenge" photo on our class Facebook page during September.  October Reading Logs are in your child's Friday Folder, along with a new "Sneaky Reading Challenge." Reading is required homework at BEU.  In K-1, the expectation is at least 4 days as week for 15 minutes at a time.  Reading TO your child is what is appropriate right now.  We DO NOT expect Kindergarteners to be readers at this point in the year. 

Fundations: this week we learned the letter name, sound and correct formation for lowercase c and o.  Please use the verbal prompts below to practice at home. Your child should be saying these prompts to themselves every time they write a letter on their homework to ensure they are doing it correctly.  Don’t forget about the weekly handwriting “homework” in the Friday Folder. The extra practice at home really does help your child in the classroom.

c: over, around, open

o: over, around, close

At school, we have learned that the "over" motion should look like a "hill" or a "rainbow." Watch for this when forming these letters . 

Handwriting Homework: please make sure your child's name is on their optional handwriting homework.  Many students are turning it in without a name and it takes up class time to figure out whose it is.  This is also a great opportunity for them to practice writing their name and forming letters learned correctly.  Please make sure the student is writing their name, not an adult. 

Word Wall Words: this week we learned our first two Word Wall Words.  You may think of these as spelling words.  The kids were SO excited!  Our first words are a and I.  We learned how a and I are letters, but can also be words.  We also learned that when I is by itself, it must be uppercase.  

Writing Workshop: we are learning that writers can tell stories through their pictures.  In Kindergarten we write stories about the things we do in our everyday life.  This means we need to get really good at drawing people.  In Kindergarten we DO NOT draw stick people or spider people (ask your child what this is lol).  We are learning to draw people using shapes.  They are doing so well!  The precursor to writing is being able to draw a picture and verbally tell what is happening.  

Ask your child to draw a person for you using shapes, not sticks.  A great thing for them to work on when they are off of school next week! 

Check out the video I posted on our class Facebook page today.  They are so focused working on this skill! 

Math: we are ready to begin unit 2.  Check your child's Friday Folder for a note explaining what we will be learning over the next few weeks and how to support their learning at home. 

Class Celebration: we are trying to earn a Pajama Day in our classroom! Every day that we have a Secret Walker winner we earn a sticker on our 10 frame.  When we earn 10 stickers we will celebrate by wearing PJ’s to school! We are getting close!

Science: we have begun our "Bears through the seasons" science unit.  This is a resource provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation and ties in wonderfully with our Kindergarten science objectives.  We will learn about weather, living and non-living, seasons and more!  This curriculum follows the 4 seasons and will tie in Missouri black bears and their habitat during the seasons.  This week we have been discussing the season of summer.  We have discussed how we dress in the summer, what the weather is like in the summer, fun things we like to do in the summer and what bears do in the summer.  We have also learned about how we know what the weather will be each day and how we know what to wear based on the weather.  We are so lucky to have this amazing resource at school! 

roaring like bears

Counselor: this week's lesson with Mrs. Bergeson was about sharing and cooperation.  A tough, but important, skill!  They had to work in groups to build one tower out of blocks.  For some, this was an easy task. For others, it was difficult to hear and be accepting of other ideas different than their own. These are important skills we work on daily in Kindergarten.

Positive Note: one of our school characteristics is "positive." At the end of each day I will read a Positive Note (aka Happy Note) out loud to the class.  I choose someone to receive this note that had an excellent day!  The note is always on a fun notepad.  This month it is on a star notepad for our space theme.  Once every child has earned a space Positive Note, I will switch to another themed notepad and start again.  It is my goal that every child earns a Positive Note at least once a month. 

Learning next week: I hate that we are missing 3 days of school together next week!  We are just getting into a good school routine with academics! While teachers are attending Professional Development, I hope you can enjoy a little family time together.  To help keep the students in routine and prepare them for their return next Thursday I encourage you to read with your child daily and record on their October reading log, practice writing all the letters we have learned so far in Fundations (t, b, f, n, m, i, u, o, c), practice writing our new Word Wall Words and tie in math skills from the past few weeks.  The weather is going to be beautiful!  So many of these things can be down outside!  Reading, writing letters and words with chalk, etc.!  I hope they are outside daily! 

Kindergarten cuties

Practicing writing our names in chalk

What's happening in room 302?

 A look at our learning...

Fundations: this week we learned the name, sound and correct letter formation for lowercase n and m. 

Please use the following verbal prompts when practicing at home:

n: down, up and over

m: down, up and over, up and over

So far this year we have learned the following letters: t, b, f, n, m.  Now that they have learned how to form these letters, they should be forming them correctly at all times, not just during Fundations.  If your child has one of these letters in their name, please hold them accountable for forming it correctly every time they write their name. 

Writing: we continue to work on 3 star coloring.  3 star coloring doesn't mean it has to be perfect, nobody is perfect, but rather it means we put forth our best effort and aren't rushing through just to be finished.  

Math: this week we learned about graphing and made a graph based on who is 5 years old and who is 6 years old in our class, worked with numbers to 10 and how to show those numbers in different ways, counting and ST Math. Check your parent packet in the Friday Folder for ways to extend their math learning at home. 

Dot Day: on Friday we celebrated Dot Day.  To learn more about this fun day, click here 

We read the book and created our own masterpieces!  They came home in your child's Take Home Folder this week.  

Student ID/Lunch Number: can you child enter their student ID independently?  If not, please practice at home daily until they can.  A keypad like you see in the photos below is coming home in their folders today.  We have been practicing at school for several weeks,  Many have theirs memorized so we will be stopping this daily practice at school, but I encourage you to practice at home if you see that your child does not know theirs quite yet.  Even if they don't eat a school lunch, it is important to learn this number as they will use it in other ways during their school journey. 

Secret Walker: this "award" recognizes someone who exhibited excellent hallway behavior.  Every morning I pull a name stick out of a bucket at random.  The students don't know whose name is on the stick.  I watch that child all day to see if they are walking quietly in the hallway with "bubbles, tails and eyes forward." At the end of the day, if that child was successful, I announce who the Secret Walker was, we cheer for them and they earn a certificate to take home!  If the Secret Walker struggled with doing their job in the hallway that day, I never announce who it was, but rather put their name stick back in the bucket and let the class know we'd try for a winner the next day.  

Packmate of the Month: Congratulations to Teddy and Sadie!  Teddy was chosen, by his classmates, as our September Packmate of the Month.  He was honored in an assembly today. Sadie was chosen by Coach C for being an outstanding packmate in specials (P.E.).  Students will vote every month for one of their classmates that they believe are kind, respectful, responsible, positive and do their best...our 5 school character traits.  It is a private vote and the winner is kept a secret until their name is announced during the assembly. The specialists also choose one student from the entire Kindergarten, not just our class, as their specialists pick of the month. Their Kindergarten and First Grade classes are at the assembly, as well as the Packmate of the Month's families.

September Reading Challenge: don't forget to post your child's "Sneaky Reading Challenge" photo on our class Facebook page.  This month's challenge was "reading on the way to or from an appointment." I know several kiddos have been in and out of school this month for various appointments, so that car ride is a great time to get out a book and read!  I'd love to see their photos!  The challenges are shared every month when I send home that month's reading log.  Don't forget that the BEU homework expectation for grades K-1 is for your child to read or be read to at least 4 times a week/15 minutes per time, record on the reading log sent home and send in at the end of the month.  

Crafts: this love Pete the Cat, so this week we made our own Pete who is rocking in his school shoes!  These came home on Monday.  This craft had a lot of pieces so we really had to focus on following multi step directions, cutting some smaller pieces than we ever have before, using an appropriate amount of glue and problem solving.  They did a great job!  

Morning Greeter: we have a special new job this week!  Our teacher helper of the day gets to greet our friends each morning.  They stand at our classroom door until the 8:20 bell rings.  They say good morning to our friends as they walk in and ask if they'd like a hug, high five, fist bump or handshake.  This is such a sweet way to start our day! It is also a great way for them to work on addressing others when spoken to, making eye contact, using a strong voice and showing kindness.  Big social skills!  Every child will have an opportunity, as our job chart is a rotating schedule.  Ask your child about all of our classroom jobs; they will be happy to share with you! 

Counselor: this week they focused on a tough subject with Mrs. Bergeson: bullying.  This is a word that is used often, but many times incorrectly.  We are learning that sometimes people can be mean and sometimes people can be a bully and there is a big difference between the two.  Sometimes we can have a mean moment, but that doesn't mean we are a bully.  A bullying situation is something that is targeted and happening over and over again.  We want to be careful when using the word bully and really think about if that is the appropriate word or if it was just a mean moment.  We also learned strategies for dealing with both: telling them to stop, using an assertive/strong voice, making sure we aren't doing back to them what they are doing to us and reporting to an adult if none of those things work.  A big subject, but an important one. 

                            We have a new friend!  We are so excited he is here!

Kindergarten Family Picnic: we had such a great turnout and the most beautiful weather for our Kindergarten family picnic.  I love this annual Beulah Ralph tradition.  I hope you enjoyed visiting with other families and we greatly appreciate you coming!  

More fun at school this week...