A fun, Fall week!

 A look at our learning...

Field trip: We had a blast on our field trip to Peach Tree Farms and Bethel Park! It was the perfect Fall day! Thank you to everyone who donated supplies, transported things and assisted in any way with the field trip.  A HUGE thank you to our PTA for paying the $5 fee for all students.  This is why things like our circus and other fundraisers are so important.  They allow us to do fun things like this without asking families to pay a fee.  Be sure to tell a PTA member thank you.  Even better, join PTA! Only $5 to join and you can be as active as you prefer!

Here are a few pictures from our trip, but many more are in our class Facebook page.  If you aren't a member yet, please join!  Search Facebook for "Concannon's Kindergarten 2024-2025."  I post here often.

Fire Prevention Week: this week was Fire Prevention week and we had fun learning about all things firefighters, firetrucks and fire safety.  On Friday, we enjoyed a visit from the Columbia Fire Department.  We learned about their job, fire suits, equipment and more!  They encouraged the students to remind their families to practice two ways out of their house in case of emergency and discuss where their outdoor meeting spot is. Please take the time to talk about this with your family if you haven't.  You can find more pictures in our class Facebook page. 

Fundations: we learned the name, sound and correct letter formation for lowercase a and g.  We learned there is a "funny a"  and "funny g" that we sometimes see in books, and the regular a and g that we write.  

Please use the following verbal prompts:

a-over, around, down (NOT circle and a stick)

g-over, around, dow....n, curve up

When their mouth says "over," their pencil should make a "hill."  Please watch for this at home and correct if they are not doing this. 

Shared Reading & Spelling: we are excited to begin our spelling routine in Kindergarten.  A detailed note came home about this on Monday, as well as another note today further explaining their spelling check and routines.  Please make sure you have read both of these notes, so you can help your child at home as well.  

I am very proud of their first spelling test.  I want to reiterate to you what I reiterated to them.  It is okay if you missed a word or two, that just tells your brain you need to practice it some more.  I am not upset with them and their parents aren't upset with them and we never will be.  That is part of learning!  When you make a mistake, you can learn from it!  Their spelling check is in their folder for you to review. The most up to date word wall list is also in their folder.  They will bring one home every Friday.

We will practice our spelling words/word wall words in various ways in the classroom: finding the words in books that we read, literacy workstations/centers, "high-fiving" the word and reading it every time we leave our classroom and more.  Practicing in various ways at home will also help set your child up for success with this new routine.  

I will introduce the new word of the week on Monday's (or the first day of the week if Monday is a no school day) to the students, but every Friday in the blog I will give families a sneak peek of next week's word.  I highly encourage you to check this blog every Friday to get a head start on practicing the words at home.

Next week's new spelling word:

can

Writing Workshop: we are working hard on learning how to sound out or stretch out words to help us spell.  In Kindergarten, phonetic spelling is what we mostly want to see, unless it is a word wall word/spelling word.  Those should be spelled correctly at all times. 

To help with this at home, when your child asks "how do I spell...?" please encourage them to "sound it out or stretch it out and write the sounds they hear."  They may ask "did I spell it right?" when finished.  Please try and refrain from telling them no, as this will discourage them and make them afraid to try.  They will start to think everything they do is wrong.  I just say "did you write the sounds you hear? Great! Looks good to me!"  especially if it is close.  At this point in the year, we are hoping for beginning and ending sounds.  So for "house" they may write "hs." If they get a middle sound in there too, great!  

Math:  this week we learned about circles, worked with 10 frames, counted objects and counted backwards from 10. Check the Friday Folder for ways to extend their learning at home. 

Friday Craft: we made these cute fire trucks to tie into Fire Prevention Week and our fire truck visit today! 

Lunch with the principal: Mr. Foulk and Mrs. Isenogle started "Lunch with the Principal."  This is a Beulah tradition that the kids love! Every month, one student from each classroom is chosen for this special time.  Ivvy was chosen from our class for the month of September!  Yay Ivvy! 

Counselor: this week the students learned about bullying and the difference between being unkind and bullying. This can be a tough concept to learn.  Unkind moments can happen, but that doesn't mean it is bullying.  Bullying is a repeated, targeted and intentional behavior.  

Ms. Steffins, a BEU learning specialist, was a guest teacher with Mrs. Alls for the lesson this week.  Mrs. Steffins is getting her Masters in Counseling and helped teach this important lesson as part of her coursework. 

BEU Pumpkin Patch: a reminder that our wonderful PTA is hosting a pumpkin patch at BEU on Sunday from 4-6.  This is a free event.  Every BEU family will be able to take home one pumpkin.  There will be a craft, yummy treats and more!  We still need volunteers to work a 30 minute shift. Sign up here if you are available. 

Heroes’ Day: Beulah Ralph’s annual Heroes’ Day celebration will be Friday, November 8^th. On this day we like to honor our students’ heroes whether they are veterans, grandparents, parents, or role models. Your child’s hero is invited to join us for the day’s events. Kindergarten’s assembly will take place from 9:00-9:30 and classroom activities will follow from 9:30-10:00. If you know a veteran and you’d like to give them a shout out, please use the Veteran Spotlight Form in your child’s Friday Folder to attach a photo, add their information, and return it to school. We love filling our hallway with these photos so our students and visitors can take a moment to honor them! There are extra copies in the main office if you’d like to recognize more than one veteran. 

More fun at school