April showers bring May flowers

 A look at our learning...

Fundations:  the class is getting really good at changing part of a word to make a new word.  For example, if they tap out and spell the word "pick" on their magnet boards, they can quickly show me how to change "pick to kick or chick or lick," etc.  This flexible thinking also helps them when reading and writing.  

Shared Reading & Spelling:  next week will be the last week of introducing new spelling words. We will take a normal spelling test next Friday.  We will take an end of Kindergarten spelling test on Thursday, May 16th that will include ALL 47 words we have learned this year. Although long, this test should not be difficult, as they should already know how to read and write these words. These will be sent home with their report cards on the last day of school.

                                        Next week's new spelling words:

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Writing Workshop: we are very close to finishing our informational books on butterflies. They have done such a nice job writing these non-fiction books and I am so proud of them!  Every child independently wrote their own, 5 page book that included a cover, opening, 3 facts and an ending.  When I think back to the beginning of the year and how their "stories" were simply a drawing with no words and now they are writing 5 page stories, I'm in awe!  No matter how many years I teach, I'm always so impressed and proud with how far they come in one year!  That growth is one of the many reasons I love my job! 

Ask your child to tell you what facts they wrote about in their butterfly book! 

Math: we have begun our final unit in math.  Check your child's Friday Folder for more info and how to help at home.  

This week we had fun making bead bracelets to make combinations of 10.  They can use these bracelets to do addition and subtraction math facts! 

Special celebrations: this week we celebrated Principal's Day on Wednesday and School Nutrition Employees Day on Friday.  

We made Mr. Foulk and Mrs. Nickens their own books called What Does the Principal Do All Day? They were a great mixture of silly and serious responses!  We made posters for Ms. Amy, Ms. Willow and Ms. Salma in the cafeteria.  

On Monday, we will celebrate Nurse Heather for National Nurses Week. My class will also make special books for all of the specialist teachers we have for teacher appreciation week. (Mrs. Starbuck, Mr Fears, Coach C, Mrs. Imhoff and the ladies in the media center.) These teachers are often overlooked during Teacher Appreciation Week and I like to make sure we let them know they are appreciated as well!  We are so thankful for all of these important people who help our school function. While they deserve our thanks on a regular basis, we especially want to thank them during this time. 

Mrs. Nickens special visit: on Wednesday, Mrs. Nickens came to read the wonderful book The World Needs More Purple People by Benjamin Hart and Kristen Bell, as a way to say farewell to the students before she leaves to become the assistant principal at Parkade Elementary next year. The book teaches children to be inquisitive, humerous, kind, out-spoken, diligent and authentic.  Mrs. Nickens gave every student special purple magic powder (pixie sticks) to help them turn into purple people, as well as a friendship bracelet to remember her by.  It was a very sweet time that we all enjoyed.  

Packmate of the Month: yay Easton! He was chosen, by his peers, as our May Packmate of the Month!  What a great choice to end the school year! 

May Day: on Wednesday we celebrated May Day.  This was one of my favorite days when I was a child.  I grew up in a small town and we would walk, as a class, around town delivering homemade May Day baskets to people in town.  I always loved delivering one to my great grandma who lived close to my school.  I have continued this tradition now that I am a teacher and have shared this day with my students every year for my 20 years of teaching.  It is such a wonderful way to teach about spreading kindness and doing something out of the goodness of your own heart. Giving without receiving. We hope all the classrooms or faculty who received one were as excited about receiving one as we were delivering them!  I love how it teaches that the feeling of kindness is the true gift and we don't do it to receive something on our end. Never heard of May Day?  Learn more here.  Even more photos on our class Facebook page. 

Miss Megan:  Wednesday was our last day with Miss Megan, our wonderful doctoral student with the Mizzou Department of Educational, School & Counseling Psychology.  She has been with us twice a week for the entire school year and we just love her dearly!  We will all miss her so much!  She brought donuts to celebrate her last day.  More photos on the class Facebook page. 

Alphabet Countdown: this week we wore hats on H day, enjoyed ice-pops on I day, told jokes on J day, spread kindness on K day (check out the class Facebook page for the special activity we did on this day) and enjoyed a picnic lunch and a beautiful day for L day.  Check out all the photos on our class Facebook page. 

Monday is M for Movie day.  Students can bring a pillow and blanket so they are comfy, but we will not wear pajamas.  We will save that for P day.